Isaac's Long-awaited Surgery

May the 4th was Isaac's big cleft palate surgery. The official term is "Aveolar bone-graft nasolabial fistula" repair. Years ago we knew the day would come; and here it was! The surgery was scheduled at Primary Children's Hospital under Dr. Louis Morales. I knew Isaac would be in great hands.

Tick Tock..... we did a lot of waiting.

Isaac dressed in his hospital gown..... the famous slippers too  ;)

Butterflies are calmed with kisses..... and a little medication haha. 

Our heartstrings were tugged. He didn't act nervous. I think I was more than him. I knew what was coming. I asked him if he was anxious and he nodded his head. I figured he was too but he put on a brave face.

"May the 4th be with you!" 

One of the nurses asked Isaac if he wanted to ride into the surgical room in a wagon. He gladly accepted....

He played games which helped his nerves I think.....

Waiting, waiting....

Scar buddies for life! Like mom like son. Haha

The surgery lasted 1.5 hours. Isaac woke up in recovery with his little hospital side-kick that he colored.....

It's difficult to see your child go under anesthesia and then have to manage the pain after surgery....

He didn't swell up as much as I thought he would. Just a little bit.
He slept when he didn't have discomfort. Pain of course is always worse at night. That was the rough time. He never complained about his mouth, only his hip where the bone was scraped from.

The next morning he was feeling OK (as long as the meds were given on time). He managed to sip down some foods in liquid form ;)

Eventually he was able to hobble around. Discharge papers took forever. We were all ready to go. It would be much more comfortable recovering at home. We had a 4 hour drive, plus a stop at the store, which wasn't ideal but we made it....

Isaac didn't go to school for a week. He had instructions that he couldn't do any physical activities like trampoline, biking, swimming, playing ball etc, for 5 weeks. This is one reason we didn't wait until summer to schedule the surgery. That would have been cruel. He did manage to get lots of screen time that week. More importantly, lots of rest.

He moved like an 80 year old man for a week and a half; posture and all. He couldn't walk up straight for a quite a while. Eventually he felt good enough to get a hair-cut. What a handsome little man! 

and have I mentioned that I  L.O.V.E  his style?!

He will continue to follow instructions and recover.
Thank you friends and family for all for your love & support! XO

Spring & Summer Smiles :)

Sssssssspring is here once again! The craziness gets kicked up a notch......

Isaac and Ava are both working on their summer smiles (some are there; some are not). 
Isaac lost one of his front teeth....

It wasn't long before another tooth followed suit! Wow, he looks like a first grader now!

Ava lost a bottom tooth. These kids are keeping the tooth fairy busy :)

 We are looking forward to moving our Friday night jam session to the porch when the weather warms up.

This is a little older news, but Bryan and I went with our friends to a Taj Mahal concert in Park City, Utah. It was great to eat some good food, hear some great tunes and have a date night!

 The season is going to get a little busier. Bryan has projects and field work lined up. Currently he's checking his study sites since the herps are coming out. Kids will be out of school for summer this month. Wow. We try to take time and relax when we can.....

 Earth Day we "Stood for Science" with our neighbors in town....

The weather this time of year gives you whiplash. We try to take advantage of the nice days.

The clouds make beautiful sunsets......

Looking forward to planting seeds and watching my garden grow :)
I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by. It's a trend now.

Moab Spring Break: Happy Easter!

...... our spring break adventure was wrapping up. It was Easter Sunday. We decided to have an egg hunt at a nice little park by the Colorado River. Then we went up to Potash Road to see some more rock art, take a little walk and do a little climbing. This was the warmest day of the week...

So glad we reunited with these shining faces!

Happy Easter! 
Look at those cutie pies :)

Zeek may or may not have been thrilled about his transformation hahaha

I hope that we can meet in Moab at least once every year. We would love to raft again, bike, or do some off-roading sometime too. We have a lot of great memories in this neck of Utah. The break flew by as we expected it to because that's how life seems to be rolling these days. I cherish the memories we get to make as a family when we can. Until the next road leads us to another Hami adventure!