Face Painting

I bought a face painting kit. The kids had fun painting each other's faces today. James was a good sport to go along with it.

Lynnlee's Halloween Party

Lynnlee planned a Halloween party for her friends. It was full of a yummy Halloween dinner, games, face painting and dancing. I hope to continue a tradition with a funny meal like this whether it's with friends or just our family. It was fun thinking of funny names for ordinary snacks and foods.

Running Lately

I'm currently not training for anything while I figure out some health things with my body. For now I am enjoying running a few times a week and swimming Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The last two Saturdays I ran the North Lake trail and it is beautiful!

Rec Center Halloween Party

Friday we went to the Legacy Center for the annual Halloween Party. It has been a tradition that was paused during Covid. This was our first year back and it was a fun night!

(Marshall and James went hunting for the night hoping to have success since they didn't find a deer the weekend before.)

Fall Band Concert

James had his fall band concert. Marshall and Grandpa and Grandma Lowry got to go. He did a great job and continues to amaze all of us with his French horn playing abilities!

Single Ventricle Clinic

For the last few years we have been hearing about the Single Ventricle Clinic or Uplift when we got to Lynnlee's annual check ups. The doctor is always good about letting us know what to keep on our radar. This year Lynnlee had her first experience with it. She had two days of testing at the U of U and Primary Children's Medical Center. Then a third days was spent meeting with doctors and going over results. 

She had ultrasounds to check her liver and kidneys which are often affected by the Fontan surgery which she had ten years ago! The Fontan surgery was the final step of rerouting her blood from the right side of her heart and instead it goes directly to her lungs. Because of this there is a back up of blood in the liver.

She had labs done to check her kidney function and liver function, as well as bone health, and over all labs to check electrolytes, platelets and cells.

She had an echocargiogram, EKG, and DXA scan.

While we were waiting to see the doctors she was given this cute stuffed animal from a volunteer taking around a prize to each patient. 

Everything came back normal for Lynnlee. She has some liver fibrosis but it isn't worrisome at this point and it is normal for her circulation. Everything else looks good for now. We have learned that the purpose of this clinic is to catch things before they get worse. Usually there are not symptoms and by the time the symptoms show the problem has gotten out of hand. So Lynnlee will have this clinic every year now and she grows and matures into an adult. 

We had lunch at the hospital and then stopped at Coldstone in Sugar House on the way home.

It was a rough few days for Lynnlee. It was hard to miss school and not fun being poked, prodded and feeling sort of violated. She's older now and more aware of being uncomfortable wearing a patient gown, and having all of these tests done. She is one tough girl! The cardiologist said Lynnlee will need a cardiac cath and stress test this summer. Here we start on a new phase of life with Tricuspid Atresia. We are praying and hoping she can continue to have the best case scenario possible.

Lott Family Farm Fieldtrip

Taggart and Sienna got to go on a field trip to the Lott Family Farm just to the west of Dry Creek. It was pajama day at school so all of the kids were there in their pjs. Also, we got our first snow the night before so it was still on the ground when they went.

Snow, Jack-o-Lanterns and Fondue

We had our first snowstorm Sunday night. 

Monday we really crammed a lot into the night. We had a delicous Italian dinner, carved our pumpkins, ate chocolate fondue to celebrate our 17th anniversary and then I gave the boys haircuts. It was a crazy busy night!

70th Birthday Party Surprise

Ali and my dad planned an epic surprise party for my mom's 70th birthday! Charlie flew in from Texas. Kasey was in town and Jack and Lily came to the party. Megan was in town staying with Jenny so she came as well. Plus Betsy, my family and Ali's family which made for the perfect gathering. 

My mom and dad had a meeting which helped her not suspect a thing. We set up while they were gone and she was so surprised when she got home!

Her reaction was priceless! During the planning it got really tricky keeping the real plan straight from the fake plan. It was very entertaining covering up and making up stories to trick my mom from knowing the surprise. It was so nice when we actually pulled it off. I was so afraid I would spill the beans.

We had the surprise at 1:30 so it was so nice to have the rest of the afternoon to socialize and play games.

Hunting

The boys left Friday morning to go hunting near Strawberry. The weather was pretty nice Friday. They rode four wheelers around and scouted out the area.

 

Saturday James and Marshall got up bright and early to watch for deer. 

They watched and waited and did find any. The storm came in around lunch time. Everyone was cold and wet and there were no signs of any deer. They decided to pack up and head home. 

They had a great time being up there together and James was pretty stoked he got to drive the four wheeler.