Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I thought it would be fun (and memorable) to take Zack to the midnight showing of the latest Harry Potter film "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." The first mistake was letting Zack have a sleepover the night before, because they were up until around 3am. So, he already started the day off exhausted. Then he started guitar lessons that same day and we did a lot of running around. We went and bought some candy and then headed to the theatre around 10:30 p.m. He ate some candy and then it was just too long of a wait and he started getting sleepy and complaining he wanted to go home and go to bed. I was not happy, especially since I had such high hopes of this being such a great experience for him and a great memory. Fortunately, once the movie started, he perked up and made it through the nearly 3 hour long film. It had some amazing effects and was pretty funny, which was a surprise. I think I expected more action similar to the previous film, but this one seemed to leave a lot of loose ends. We got home around 3am and Wednesday will be a very LONG day for me, but it was worth it. We are looking forward to the next film due to come out in 2010.

I'm Selling Discovery Toys

Hi all, I am now an "Educational Consultant" for Discovery Toys! My kids loved these toys when they were little and I am excited to bring it to Utah. Check out my website at: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/home/laraujo

Megan is Graduating Today

My cousin, Megan, is graduating from high school today! She is at the top of her class of over 400 students in Brentwood and has been accepted to UC Davis where she will be studying something on the lines of Biopsychology. She is really into the brain! CONGRATULATIONS MEGAN, WE ARE ALL SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!

Scooter UPDATE

Scooter managed to get his cast off himself on Memorial Day, so I had to take him to the darn ER Vet to have it put back on. His vet said to bring him back to them 10 days after that to have it checked, so we took him in Thursday. He was in a SUPER grumpy mood that morning, he was growling at me and clawed me when I was petting him, I think he had had it with that cast thing! After they checked him and brought him out, the vet tech said the Doctor took off the split and that the leg looked really good. She said he was "going at it" licking the leg the minute they took it off. He has some sores on his paw and on the back of his arm I think from the lack of air and pressure from being in the split for 5 weeks. He is still acting like he has a cast on, doesn't use the leg much unless he is sitting or stretching it out. They said it will take a while for him to realize he can use it again. They will recheck it in a week and we will go from there. He still can't go outside for two weeks, so I hope that goes by fast, he just sits by the sliding glass door and looks at the other cats outside, it is so sad!

Sicker than a DOG

Monday started off just fine, the kids and I were hanging around the house, not doing much. Me and Zack were playing Monopoly in the afternoon before I needed to head to work. I was going to start getting ready to go around 2:20 p.m. when I started having pains in my stomach. It just wouldn't stop, so I called the hospital to tell them I was staying home sick. Within 1/2 hour I was violently ill, throwing up non stop. I had the kids call Sammy and I told him he needed to come home because something was wrong with me. I threw up so much there was nothing left and was dry heaving over and over again. I couldn't even keep a sip of water down. I was so weak, I could barely walk to the room and was white as a ghost. I don't think I have ever been so sick in my entire life! Sammy talked to the advice nurse and she told him to give me ice chips so I wouldn't get dehydrated, and if it wasn't better in 2 hours to take me to the ER. We had just bought a snow cone machine and so Jordyn was feeding me shaved ice, it was so good! I think it saved my life. I stopped throwing up around 6:30 p.m. and was starting to get my color back around 8:30 p.m. I was still not feeling completely better, but was on my way. All night my body ached, I think from the strain on my muscles for such a long period of time.

Wednesday I went back to work at the hospital and Thursday I got my appetite back, finally! I pray my kids and Sammy don't get it, it was seriously the most horrible thing I have experienced I think in my entire life!

My sister Laura and my nephew Chase and cousin Isis had the same thing, so it is definitely going around. I've talked to a few other people to have had or know someone who has had the same thing.

Jordyn was so sweet the entire time, she kept checking on me, brought me ice and water whenever I needed it without complaining. If I made a noise she was checking to make sure I wasn't dead. She will be a great mom someday!

Scooter's Broken Arm

When I came home from work on Tuesday, I found Scooter (my gray cat) holding his paw in the air and not letting it touch the ground. It appeared swollen, but no other signs of trauma anywhere on him. I thought it might be a bee sting like Willie had on his paw last summer, so we waited until the next morning to see if it would go down. He was still in bad shape Wednesday a.m. He growled and hissed if you touched the paw. I took him to the vet and they thought it was a bite of some sort, so they shaved his arm to take a look. They found a bruise, but no bite wound. His wrist was a bit loose, so they did an x-ray and low and behold found his arm bone to be completed fractured and sticking out to the side. The doctor explained how it needed plates and pins and screws and all I could see were dollar signs ($$$$$$). He said a specialist in Salt Lake would charge about $1500 to fix it. I said I couldn't do that, he said he could fix it for about $750. So, I went ahead and had him do the surgery, and they would allow us to pay half now and the rest later (THANK GOD). He also had a dislocated wrist because of the way the bone broke and overlapped the other bone. The vet has no idea how this kind of break could have happened. He assumes he got it stuck in something and his weight (VERY FAT CAT) made it snap.

The surgery went really well and Scooter is now back home and in a splint up to his armpit. He flops it around, but is getting used to it finally. I am sure he'll be getting around pretty good in a day or so.

Needless to say, our 19th wedding anniversary (May 5) was put on the back burner as will Mother's Day, but it is worth it to save my little Scooter!

Kids on the Farm

Jordyn & Bell selling rocks, they made $7 dollars each! Look out Donald Trump, these may be his new apprentices!

Zack, Terron and Colton bring back the chicken eggs!

Jordyn and Bell, they love that tree! They hang on and bounce up and down, tons of fun!

Bell up in the air!

Here are some cute pictures of Jordyn and Zack on the Farm!