Funny Story... Kind of

This is a very long story so... Here is a condensed version and then if you want to read the whole story you can find it below!
Sunday morning 4:30 Jax throws up, I take him to the bathroom to clean him up, I faint, bonk my head and begin convulsing. The nurse on the "nurse hot line" tells Tyler he should have called 911 and that I needed medical attention immediately. Neighbors come to watch the kids until my parents can get here. Tyler drives to hospital very quickly. I only want to speak Spanish. Get to hospital and learn I fainted from stress, dehydration, and getting up too quickly. And I have a concussion from hitting my head. Yay, no brain damage or heart problems! Come home, Teresa made lots of food and cleaned my kitchen. My accident is announced at church, people text, call, and stop by. Everyone disappointed that it's only a concussion. Jax and Link sick till Wednesday.


Longer version:
So Sunday was quite an eventful day for our family. It all started at 4:30 in the morning. I was dead asleep when Tyler woke me up saying he thought Jaxon was throwing up. I jumped out of bed and hurried to him and sure enough, he had thrown up all over himself and his bed. I took Jaxon into the bathroom to clean him up while Tyler took his bedding to the laundry room. On my way to the bathroom I started feeling really weird. My body felt tingly and I felt really sick to my stomach. I just assumed I had the same thing Jaxon had. Jaxon had throw up in his eye so I started washing his face. I thought I was going to throw up so I hurried to put my hair in a ponytail. I got really dizzy and confused and didn't know what was going on. The next thing I knew I could hear Jaxon saying "Mommy, do you think you can get up?" I opened my eyes and I was laying on the floor. I was so confused. I asked Jaxon what happened and he told me that I fell down. I yelled for Tyler and he came running into the bathroom. I told him I think I passed out. He helped me up and sat me on the toilet. Everything was so fuzzy and confusing. Tyler told me later, because I don't remember this, that I convulsed and was talking crazy and saying that the night before I knew I was going to die and more crazy stuff like that. I do remember that Tyler's voice was shaky which scared me. I also remember looking at myself as we passed by the mirror on our way back to my bed and I looked freakishly white/gray/green. I'd never seen anyone that color and it scared me even more. Let me just explain that I seriously had never experienced anything like this before. I felt so strange all over. It felt like my body wasn't mine. I wanted out of my body, if that makes any sense at all. Anyway, I'm laying in bed, convincing myself I was dying, while Tyler was calling my dad. Then I called my sister, Emily. One of them, I'm not sure who, gave Tyler a number to a nurse hot line so he called a nurse and explained everything that had happened. She told him that because I was convulsing he needed to call 911. Well, of course we're not going to call 911 for a couple reasons. 1. that would cost an arm and a leg. 2. Tyler could drive us there faster then an ambulance would. and 3. We had to find someone to watch our kids before we could go anywhere anyway. So Tyler started calling neighbors and ward members, by now it's about 5:30, and he finally got ahold of the 1st councilor in the bishopric and he and his wife came over to sit with the kids until my parents got here. When Tyler said someone was on their was over I told him I needed to clean the house but of course he made me lay back down and told me no. It was also about this time that I noticed the humongous bump on my head just above my right eyebrow. Bro. Christiansen and Tyler gave me a blessing and I asked if they would call my 1st counselor so she could fill in for me at Ward Council, which was in an hour and a half. My dad and Teresa left their house about the same time but they live 50 minutes away. So... to make this story a little shorter... Once at the hospital they did a CAT scan, an EKG and blood work and decided that I had a concussion from the fall and had fainted from dehydration, stress, and getting up too quickly. At first I was really irritated that we went to the hospital for nothing, not that I wanted something to be wrong, but Tyler assured me that it was good we went just to make sure that nothing was wrong like bleeding in my brain or a heart arrhythmia. Side note: for some reason I only wanted to speak Spanish. The only problem is that I don't actually speak Spanish. And I remember being really frustrated that I couldn't speak Spanish and thinking that if I couldn't speak Spanish, I just shouldn't talk at all. So I sang De Colores a few times. Then, at the hospital I thought everything was really funny. I had to try really hard not to laugh and kept saying, "That's so funny! Everyone is so funny!" When absolutely nothing was happening. Ok, back to the story. By the time we got home it was about 10:30. My wonderful, amazing step-mom had made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup with thick homemade noodles - my favorite! And a bunch of mashed potatoes for Tyler. And jello for the boys. Plus she had cleaned my kitchen! My parents made sure we were settled and then they headed home to get some much needed rest. I got a text that afternoon from a friend in our ward saying that it was announced over the pulpit that I fainted, hit my head and was in the hospital. Great! I know that it was announced out of love and concern but I was pretty embarrassed and felt a little silly. I wasn't seriously injured and I didn't want people to worry needlessly. Plus, I feel like people got all worked up and when they find out it's just a concussion I think they will all be sorely disappointed. I've been trying to think of some sort of made up condition so maybe people won't be so let down. Anyway... Jaxon was had stopped throwing up by Sunday afternoon. Then he threw up again Tuesday morning. Linkon got sick Monday night and was sick most of the day on Tuesday. Today they were both feeling much better and so far no one else who came in contact with them is sick. The massive bump on my head is barely raised anymore and luckily it hasn't bruised, yet. I also bruised my right shoulder on the heat vent that sticks out of the wall and I bruised my hip/butt on a toy Jaxon had left in there the night before. So, other than the constant migraine I am feeling just fine! I am so grateful that I wasn't hurt any more than I was. Our bathroom isn't huge and I was lucky that I hit my head on the floor and not on the bathtub, toilet or sink. I am also indescribably grateful for the wonderful people in my life who are so willing to help out, even at 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning! Plus 2 different ladies in our ward brought food. There, I'm done! Sorry, it's so long but that's the whole story!

Jealous yet?

I just wanted to show off the beautiful view from my window and one of the reasons I love it here! As the sun sets, just before it slips down behind the moutnains to the west and as long as its not hid behind the clouds, it shines across the valley onto the mountains in the east. Its one of my favorite views in the valley! I snapped this picture tonight just before the sun disappeared in the west. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE it here?!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

We put our tree up right after Thanksgiving and the boys had so much fun! Of course it took a lot of coaching to get them to put the ornaments on the tree rather then throw them at each other or hang them on their ears and toes. And by the time we were done the ornaments were all on the same four branches. Also, I found a record player here and bought a Christmas record at D.I. so we got to listen to old time favorite Christmas songs while decorating the tree. There's just something about that fuzz and crackel coming from the record player that makes me feel so warm and cozy! Jaxon keeps asking if it's still Christmas time and about a dozen times a day Linkon has to point out all the lights and the tree. I am so excited to share Christmas with these two little guys! They make everything so much more exciting and fun!

Picture update

These are just a couple pictures from the last week or so. I still haven't got pictures from Halloween but hopefully I will soon. The above one is of Jax in the snow. When it snowed last week we got almost 2 inches and I could NOT keep Jaxon inside! He played till well past dark and woke up before me the next morning to go out and play.
The one below is of Jaxon pulling Linkon. Jax loves to tie his bike to everything and pull it around.

Pictures

I need help choosing a few pictures of the boys to order and frame. Let me know which ones are your favorite!

Linkon

Jaxon

Boys Together

Jaxon's Birthday

Jaxon is 3! I can't believe it! He is getting so big! His birthday was on Conference Sunday. He had waffles for breakfast, with candles of course and then Matt and Amy and their boys came over for dinner and Stratton and Amy made Jaxon rice crispy treats that we all loved! On Monday we went to Matt and Amy's and had dinner, we really like to eat together! Then Grandma and Grandpa Barnes and Grandpa Campbell came over for cake and ice cream. Tyler and I got him a big boy bike and he got money and a cool truck toy from grandparents. He had a wonderful birthday! Of course now we face the problem of convincing him it is NOT his birthday anymore and that it won't be again for quite a while. Here are some pictures from his birthday.

The Beach

Tyler and I took the boys up to the beach on Tuesday. It was beautiful and the only other person on or near the lake was a guy in a tractor digging out the boat ramp. This time of year is a perfect time to go because there aren't many people and the lake is low enough that there is some good sand to play in. It was really hot though so we didn't stay too long. We also took the dog. He loves the water and the boys had a lot of fun throwing sticks and rocks in for him to chase. DETOUR--> Memory Lane: Being up there reminded me so much of being a little girl. We used to camp at Calamity all the time and I remember walking along the beach looking for unique drift wood. We also boated a lot and when we had a lot of people with us we would find a good beach where half of us would stay while the others went out on the boat. One of my favorite parts about boating was being the flag girl, except when mom and dad were skiing beacuse they hardly ever fell. But when Josh and Emily were learning to knee board or ski then it was a little more exciting! I loved when Dad would take us girls out on the tube. Mom would drive real slow and it was so relaxing it would almost put me to sleep, actually, it probably did more than once. I also loved when Dad would go really fast and us little kids would all climb in the very front of the boat. I loved feeling the boat hit the waves and thinking we were going fast enough and hitting big enough waves we could almost just take off and fly! When the boat wasn't on the water the deck area was a perfect stage and I remember, and I think we have it on tape somewhere, my sisters and I dancing on it. Emily was by far the best though! The cabin also doubled as a play house for kittens. Bet you didn't know that did you, dad? Sometimes I will smell gasoline that will remind me of the exhaust of the boat and instantly I am right back on the lake and I can hear the gurgle of the motor being let down into the water and feel the rythm of the boat rocking back and forth, back and forth. When we sold the boat Dad had to practically pry Amy off the back of it and we all chased it down the road yelling and crying. I think it would have been less painful if mom and dad had just sold one of the boys. Just kidding Josh and Bridg! Obviously I love you both more than a boat! END OF DETOUR So, back to the beach. I told Amy about how much fun we had and we thought it would be fun to go again yesterday. We were a little nervous because the road had caved in the day before so we held our breath and drove very carefuly to the boat ramp. Jaxon was so excited to have Stratton there. A new friend of mine that has a little boy Jaxon's age also came for a while so the three of them had a blast exploring and wandering all over the beach. So here is a plethora of pictures from the lake, there are a lot but we all love pictures, right?!





I was worried Jaxon was going to hit Stratton with his stick but he just ran past his yelling in jibberish.


Uncle Bridger entertaining all the little boys while we helped Amy and Matt move.

This was at Amy's last weekend while we canned salsa. Amy has these wrestling masks at her house that the boys thought were pretty darn cool. I just loved this picture! Thanks Em for taking it!

DOG

This is ___________. Actually his name is Cougar but we're not really crazy about the name so it will probably be different. Anyway, we've been looking for a dog for a while. We wanted it to have all its shots, be fixed, between 6 months and 2 years old, not a huge dog but big enough to stay outside, won't chase livestock and of course would be great with the kids. I know, its a really big list. After months of looking we finally found this guy. And the best part, he was free! Plus we got a huge bag of dog food. He is only 10 months old so he still has lots of puppy energy and lots to learn but he is already a pretty good dog. He sits and kind of stays. We just got him tonight and he was pretty hyper to be in a new place so hopefully he will calm down over the next couple of days and we can all get used to each other. He is really good with the boys but he likes to charge full speed toward them and then dodge them at the last moment possible which Jaxon loves and Linkon hates. Linkon will run after him calling "goo-ger" and as soon as the dog heads towards him Link turns and runs away crying. Anyway, hopefully he will be a good dog for us and keep all the critters and murderers away.
In other news... it is officially Fall. But not because of the calendar. Its offical because I can smell it. Don't you just love the smell of autumn? I wish I could describe it but I don't think I could even try. I love all the colors I can see from my window. I looked out at the mountains to the east and I could see beautiful patches of red and yellow all over the hills and mountains. Fall is my favorite time of year and I am so excited to be living in such a beautiful place!

So we've been here in Swan Valley for a while now and we love it! The ward is wonderful! And it's at 9:30 so Tyler can always come to at least sacrament meeting with us. Everyone in the ward seems really excited to have little kids in the ward. There are only about 4 kids in the entire nursery that are active. The ward is small and it is shrinking every week because half the people leave during the winter. Everyone is so close here. They seem like a big family. Jaxon and Linkon are so excited to have so many grandmas! In Relief Society yesterday Linkon walked from one lady to the next saying "Gamma!" He just loves all the attention he gets! Last night a young couple in the ward brought us the most amazing cinnamon rolls. They were huckleberry! Instead of raisins she used huckleberries, genius! Anyway, we are really enjoying life here and Tyler doesn't complain about the drive...too much!

We had our Barnes Family Reunion a week ago up towards Hiece(sp?). We had a blast but we were missing a few people, Josh and Tim and Nicole's family. Emily's family, Amy's family, me and my boys, dad, and Bridger all went up on Thursday. Rhett, Lynn, Grandma and Grandpa Barnes, and Ty and Mare came up on Friday. Teresa and Desi didn't make it up till Sunday morning. And Tyler was able to come up all day Sunday. We had so much fun! We had an archery contest and gun shooting contest. Me and Bridger were on a team and we took second and I won a lantern. We also played Frisbee golf and of course minute to win it games. We had plenty of food, four wheelers and even a creek for the boys to play in. I was so proud of myself for going camping without Tyler. I thought I'd get scared sleeping in my own tent, and I wasn't very close to anyone, but I did just fine! I will try and get pictures up as soon as possible.

Swan Valley or Bust!

So we are mostly packed up and we are moving out tomorrow morning. Tonight is our last night in our little trailer house and I have to admit I am feeling a little sad. It is just so weird to think about not coming home here anymore. I will miss my huge closet and my massive shower. I will also miss the internet for a while. We have no idea what internet company even reaches out there so we don't know when we will be able to have it again. I will post pictures of our temporary home as soon as I can. I think I might go crazy since I don't know anyone there and it is so far from everything. I am excited to give this whole "live in the middle of no where" thing a try. I've always wanted to live somewhere like this so we'll see if I can really hack it being that far away from a grocery store. FYI, the nearest real grocery store is 30 miles away in Driggs. Idaho Falls is 45 miles away. So I won't be taking weekly and bi-weekly trips to the store anymore. I am always nervous about moving to a new place. I don't know anyone. What if I don't fit in? What if no one likes me? What if no one cares at all that I even moved? I actually do okay on my own but its always nice to have some friends in the ward, especially since Tyler works every other Sunday and I have to go to church alone. I still have some packing to do so I best be gettin to it. So, so long for now friends.

Swan Valley bound

So, it's official. We are moving to Swan Valley in just a couple weeks. I am feeling a lot of different emotions. I am excited to be out of this trailer park and all the crazy trailer trash. Ok, who am I kidding? I am totally trailer trash so that will be coming with us! But there are some crazies that I won't miss. I am excited to be in a bigger house (for a while) and to have a big yard for the boys to play in, plus it is so beautiful there. I am not excited about it being an hour drive to Menan and family. I am not excited to pack everything up and move it all. Also, winter creates some problems since the highway going to and from Swan Valley is often closed because of drifting snow... so we would have to either move or Tyler would have to stay with his dad during his work week. I really don't want to have to pack everything up and move it and then unpack everything. I am also really sad about leaving my house. When we first moved in our neighbors were just moving out and I asked them if they were so excited to be getting out of their tiny trailer and she told me "no" and that she was going to miss her house and all the memories it held for them. I thought she was crazy. But now I feel the exact same way. This was Tyler's and my first house together. It was where we brought our boys home from the hospital. It holds so many fun memories for us that it is sad to leave. And I will miss my wonderful neighbors and all the great ward members. I am nervous about going to a new ward and meeting new people. Jaxon loves his nursery and I feel bad about taking him away from all his friends there. Oh, and did I mention I am NOT excited about packing up the entire house? When I moved to Menan I was 5 so I really didn't have anything to do with the packing. When I moved into this house all I had was my clothes and a few other little items. When we moved away for the summers all we took was clothes, a few toys and some kitchen things. This will be the first time I have really had to move all my stuff so I am not looking forward to that. I am, however, looking forward to cleaning out all the junk and getting a little more organized. Hey, maybe we could just hook up to the trailer, haul it up to Swan, park it next to the house there and then just take everything from one front door to the next, then haul the trailer right back here when we were done! Now there's an idea! Anyway, there ya have it. We are moving to Swan Valley. And after we get there... who knows? We are really hoping Tyler can get a better job so we can have some stability and so he can have his weekends off and get home at a decent hour. We would love to stay here in the Rexburg/Idaho Falls area so we can be close to family and we really want to raise our kids here. But, we just don't know right now what's going to happen.

Hales/Campbell Family at Garff Ranch

Two weekends ago we were invited by Tyler's mom and step-dad to go with them to a Ranch in Park City. The Ranch belongs to Bob Garff, the owner of all the Ken Garff dealerships in Utah. He and Elder Hales are good friends and he told Elder Hales to take his family, which kind of includes us now, up to his working ranch. All of Steve's kids were able to go and all of the Campbell kids except Ryan were there. There were 20 adults and 12 kids there. We were so excited to get to hang out with Steve's kids and their kids. They are all so kind to us and we appreciate them letting us come along on their family adventures. We really enjoy their company and look forward to getting to know them even more!
The massive cabin sits on 15,000 acres in the mountains of Park City. The master suit was probably the size of my entire house - about 900 sq feet. The kitchen was the size of a commercial kitchen and there were 4 private suits upstairs that all had their own bathrooms, we got one of these suits because we have a baby(if you can call Link a baby anymore)! There was also a huge bunk room downstairs with 6 or 7 bunk beds. There was so much gorgeous wood work and detailing that I could not get over. Elder Hales said that some of the family members did all the wood detailing and carving in the house. Just below the cabin is the barn and arena. There is also a gorgeous country club just down the road that Bob Garff is a member of so on Saturday the guys were able to go golfing while the girls took the kids to the pool. (ps, this country club yearly membership costs 1 million bucks!!!) Tyler had so much fun golfing! The course was amazing. He literally could have golfed all day! He said golfing on the municipal golf course will never be the same again! Jaxon had a blast swimming and going down the huge slide. After swimming and golfing we had an amazing lunch at the country club and then headed back to the cabin to ride horses. Both boys fell asleep so I went riding by myself. I'm not sure if it was because I was alone for once or just that I have missed riding so much but I had the BEST time ever! I could have ridden all afternoon! I was a little nervous riding because I haven't been on a horse in almost 4 years. As I was running my horse around the arena I just kept thinking about my mom and how she used to say "a horse can't run faster then I can ride. I just hold on tighter and smile wider." And I did. I kicked that horse into a dead run, held on tight and smiled. I probably looked a little silly but I didn't really care! We rode around the arena for a while and gave the kids rides and then 4 of us went out on a longer ride up around the cabin. I was so sore by the time we were done but it was so worth it! When we got back I had Tyler wake up the boys and bring them down so they could have a quick ride with me. They both loved it! Jaxon just wanted to gallop the entire time and Linkon would rock back and forth and kick the horse. The rest of the day was spent hanging out and playing games. Elder and Sister Hales are so funny! They just feed off each other! It was really fun to sit and play games and eat with Elder Hales. I always knew apostles are just "ordinary" people but I still expected that all they talk about is Gospel doctrines and bare their testimony every few minutes so it was neat for me to see that Elder Hales really is just a man. He loves baseball and he tells jokes and loves to make people laugh! Also Tyler sat in Elder Hales room and they watched ESPN together for a while, which Tyler LOVED!
On Sunday we had a little meeting were a few people bore their testimonies. Sister Hales said she was so grateful to be on the earth at this time when we have the scriptures. She knew so much history and so many facts about the scriptures, I was really touched and inspired to learn more and study my scriptures more. Also, while we were there she mentioned a few times how it is so important that husbands help their wives and wives do NOT nag their husbands. I just thought, Elder and Sister Hales have been married 57 years and they are so happy together; maybe this is the key. So I am trying to nag less and Tyler is doing a great job at helping me with the boys more.
We had such a wonderful time and wish we could have stayed a week longer! We did get to go back to Steve and Gail's house and hang out with Tyler's sisters and their families till Monday which was so much fun. Jaxon had an awesome time playing with cousins and when he woke up in his own bed Tuesday and Wednesday morning he cried and was so upset that there were no cousins to play with.
I don't know why but the only pictures we took the entire time were a couple of Jaxon on the horse with me and they are not very good. I borrowed the other ones from Steve, I hope he doesn't mind!

This is looking from the dining room into the great room. The table is one of the things the owners carved themselves.

Playing games