Ammon's 7th birthday

My children are up at the crack of dawn everyday. Especially Talmage. Today was no different. And considering it was Ammon's birthday... we opened his few presents before anyone else was up. He loves Pokemon and Ben 10, both on Cartoon Network. So Dad got him Ben 10 dvd and Mom got him cool Pokemon card set. Happy Birthday Ammon. Now the countdown to Baptism starts!!!

Ammon's Hospital Pictures

Most of you know how everything went with Ammon in the hospital. But here are the pictures that we took along the way. Ammon is such a trooper. We were very lucky to have the wonderful nurses and doctors along with us. The nurse, Cindy, that Ammon had right out of surgery was very spiritual. And had a great sense of humor. At first, she was very serious, but she had to be considering all that was going on with Ammon. But once things were under control, we saw her easier going side. Which is perfect for Michael & I because we are a couple who likes to laugh. When Dr. Teodori called and asked her what it was that was done that made Ammon's blood start clotting, her reply was prayer. He said Prayer? She said yes. I kept praying, I don't want to have to take this baby back to surgery. His reply was OK. Ammon never got to see the great painting that Dr. Teodori has for his office. It is surgens operating, and right behind them is the Savior. It shows great humility and faith to know that our surgern knew that he wasn't doing this all on his own.

Talmage, Garrett & Spencer's fun...

Talmage, Garrett, and Spencer were well taken care of while we spent time in the hospital with Ammon. T and Gman got to go to Chuck E. Cheese with Aunt Carol and Aunt Donna one day for lunch. They got to go swimming and have fun too. They took care of one another. Talmage can be a very good big brother. He'll call Garrett, bud or buddy. He's very cute with Spenc too. He will carry him and he is definatly the one we call if we need him to get Spenc out of trouble. We were very grateful for our neice Leesha who came over the night before the surgery to stay with the 3 for us while we were all at the hospital. They love her. Then, my friend Kristine came around noon time to take the second shift. Thank you both so much.

Pictures of Spencer!

New fun pool toys!!

Aunt Carol and Aunt Donna made a special trip over to for Ammon's surgery and to help out my parents with the 3 boys. They brought along with them some super cool blow up toys for the pool so we tried them out the day before we had to go to the hospital with Ammon. Poor Ammon, his shoulders got sunburned at the beach in Texas so we made sure he was well covered from the sun. My aunts both love the pool too. They live in Palm Desert, CA where it gets even hotter than Mesa. One summer day last year I was talking to them on the phone and their car thermometer read 126 degrees. Yuck!!

A new du for Ammon!

From the middle of 1st grade, Ammon had been requesting a Mohawk hair due. We kept telling him that he would have to wait until the weather was much warmer before we would allow that hair style. As summer grew closer and we knew that he would going into the hospital for open heart surgery, Michael & I decided that it would be worth it to him and us. Even Michael's mom thought it would be ok, that was a total shock to us. In life you have to pick your battles, especially with your kids. Hair grows out and Ammon's hair grows really fast. This was one thing we thought he could have just for him. So, on Saturday night in Texas, Bill's wife April gave Ammon his long awaited mohawk. She even gelled it up for him. Their 3 girls loved watching Ammon's transformation. I kept saying he went to Texas and didn't want to be a cowboy, so he came back an Indian. Sophie really thought Ammon was cute.

Day at the Beach

Ammon got his first taste of the ocean and beach in Texas. He collected sea shells, swam in the ocean, got a wicked sun burn on his upper back and shoulders. All in all he, Daddy and Bill, one of Michael's favorite companions on his mission, had a good time at the beach. So much fun that we are talking about taking all the boys back to Texas and rent a house on the beach with Bill and his family next summer. We'll see how that goes. All the boys really want to go.