Christmas Vacation Part 2

After spending the week with the Gurneys, we had to get back to Utah before the snow got too bad. All of my sisters and their families were in town, so we had a little Christmas with all of them. My Grandma Ballard was there along with my Aunt Wendy. We had such a good time together. Lynn left a few days earlier than me and the boys. We went to Kamas Rec center and swam, visited Kim, went to Cafe Rio, and shopped in Provo. Porter had fun playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii.

Peyton was holding on to the racket and Lynn lifted him up while he was still holding on.

Here are all of the grand kids on Erin's side.

A picture with Grandma Ballard and all of us!

Mom and Dad Belcher

Porter was so excited to get this Batman Imaginext!

My sisters and I went to Park City for the day to go shopping!

My mom and aunt Gayleene planned an awesome girls night out that began with a dinner at The Roof and a play at the Hale Center Theater. We had such a fun time together and the play was so funny. The Roof had amazing food and it was the coolest atmosphere with the Salt Lake Temple in the background.

Lisa and I after dinner with the Capitol in the background.

Left to right (My Mom, Grandma Ballard, Aunt Wendy, Aunt Gaylene)

Christmas Vacation Part 1

Our Christmas Vacation was so much fun. The kids and I left early and went to Utah while Lynn had a few more days of school. Grandma Belcher picked us up and we went to the Salt Lake Children's Museum. The boys had a lot of fun with their cousins. We hung out for a couple of days until Lynn flew in.


We picked Lynn up and it started snowing immediately. We were scared to continue on to Emmett, but we had a feeling that we should just go for it. We were almost to Burley, Id when it started to be white out conditions. We could only see 2 feet in front of us because of the high winds and snow. I have never been so scared in my life. We then had to stop on the freeway and we didn't know why. So we were bumper to bumper for 3 hours while cars that were stuck were being pulled off the freeway with tow trucks. The highway patrol closed the highway behind us and in front of us, so we could literally go nowhere. We made the most of it and the kids were happy. We said about three prayers for saftey and they were all answered because we got to Emmett safely.


We had fun with the Gurney's and we were so happy that Grandpa Gurney was able to have Christmas Eve and Christmas morning off. Porter had fun watching his cousins play their Nintendo DS. Peyton had fun with his cousins too.


All of the kids woke up around 5:00 am. Christmas morning. So all of the presents were unwrapped by 7:00 am. Peyton loved the light saber that Aunt Shelly got Porter. The kids were so spoiled. Thanks to all who gave them gifts!

Both kids were thrilled with their stockings. I love Peyton's smile in this one.

Porter feel asleep while watching a movie on the computer.

Lynn, Porter, and Peyton Christmas morning

Porter was excited to get this Batman Lego pen and also Mr. Freeze.

Pre-Christmas Fun

This whole month we've been busy getting ready for Christmas! Here are some pictures to show you what we've been up to.

Porter and I decorated this gingerbread house together. It was a premade kit because I had already made a whole bunch of gingerbread for the Trail Center's gingerbread display.

Peyton, like any toddler, has been playing with all of the Christmas Tree ornaments, which thankfully are not breakable.

Lynn has been sporting the sweetest looking sweaters. Here is the one we found at The Salvation Army for an "Ugly Sweater" party. So much fun!


We decided that we were going to have a little Christmas morning of our own so that we could give the kids the presents that wouldn't fit in the suitcases to go to Grandma and Grandpa's.

Porter enjoyed this Star Wars ornament from Peyton.

The boys are always wanting me to built forts or tents, so we got them this igloo tent. Peyton especially loves it. Porter said, "I always wanted one of these!"

Lynn made us breakfast bacon, eggs, English muffins, and juice!

This is the quilt that I made for Lynn. I decided that I wasn't going to spend any money on his present, so I got some old jeans and tee shirts and this is what the finished product looks like.


Here is Porter opening his and Peyton's Spiderman scooter. We decided to get them a few presents that they can share so that they don't get too possessive of their things. So far it's worked out great!


Now that we've had a Pre-Christmas with our own little family, we are ready to spend the real Christmas day with extended family!

Dodgeball Champs?!?

Well, two sports...two championships. I would have never thought it could happen. I've only dreamt it might happen or wished that I might be as fortunate as my fabulous intramural athletic inlaws (Kim and Kerry) that win all their sports. This years been great so far. One of my law student friends asked if I would like to play dodgeball with them. I thought that sounded like fun and it was. We ended up making it to the B league finals and won. The funny thing is the team we played made it the finals because all the teams on their side of the bracket forfeited. I don't think that they were very good, but none the less we still get the beloved intramural championship t-shirt.

Disco

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We Are The Elves

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Pedodontists are special people

I was just thinking of funny things that have happened to me recently and I thought I would record one for the ages, just for fun. In the not to distant past I was fulfilling my rotation in our school's pediatric dentistry clinic. Each time I performed my rotation I have had a blast. Usually the kids are great, the staff is great, and the I enjoy all the faculty in the department as well.
Anyway, the other day on my rotation everything was going normal and great as always. Shortly after I arrived I was assigned to a patient and an assistant, after which I logged onto the computer to review all the important information regarding my patient. I was quick to notice a note in the history that this particular child was wiggly and began to cry while they placed a couple sealants. With his age and history I began to wonder how this visit would unfold.
The child was brought back to the chair and I tried my best to help the child feel comfortable by performing the tell show do technique. The child seemed to be Ok for the most part. As I talked with the child I noticed something in his mouth, a piece of candy. I explained the need to take it out. Of course the child didn't want to do that, but after some persuasion (you'll get it back when we're done) it came out. We placed the child back in the correct position and started to get the final things ready. I turned back to the child and once again there was something in the mouth. Yep, another piece of candy. Again, we convinced him, after some persuasion to take it out and sit back again. I think that happened one more time. We tried to keep the child's hands out of his pockets so no more candy would appear. We placed protective sunglasses on and started the nitrous protocol. Both of which we had to keep repositioning because the child would only sit still for short periods of time. As soon as the nitrous started working the patient was anesthatised and a rubber dam was placed. Knowing that our time was limited we tried performing the procedure as quickly as possible. With all our efforts the child ended up pulling the rubber dam off the mouth three different times, two of which there appeared another piece of candy. Needless to say by the final stages of the appointment the child started to whimper and squirm more than before. To our relief the simple filling was complete and restored after about 20 minutes, which seemed like eternity. It was an experience that re-enforced my decision to not persue a specialty in pedo. I love kids and most of the time they can be the best patients, but experiences like this one remind me why I prefer adults.