Happy 5 Year Anniversary - December 4, 2009

Look what Tyson got me for our 5 year anniversary!

Wait - here's the Before picture...

And the After picture!

 

Kind of dark pictures because I'm still stuck in bed.

The best part? He didn't go out and put a dent in our savings or a big charge on our credit card. He's been saving small amounts of cash here and there in an envelope for 5 years. What a sweetie! Thanks, Honey. Happy Anniversary!

Grandma's Birthday & Halloween

(Don't miss the other two posts I posted on the same day as today).
-- Tyson

We were blessed to have my mother-in-law Laurie stay with us most of October. That meant we got to spend her birthday with her.

We made her a chocolate cake and Tyler gave her a special present in special wrapping paper.

Tyler loves his pumpkin (he often wants to sleep with it, but we don't let him). He also loves his Grandma's red socks. She got a hole in them while she was here and threw them away, so Tyler gave his Grandma another pair. They're probably a bit more like feet warmers than socks. But at least they'd work great if Laurie visits us during the dead of winter. (Now that I think about it, I should have explained that to her. Haha, oops, lots on my mind lately, that's my excuse I'm sticking with).

Birthday hugs from Tyler are the best! Or course he doesn't let go of his blue blanket for a second.

Tyler took this one, with a little help, and was really excited about it. 

The next day Laurie caught an early morning flight home and I tried to convince a two-year-old how cool it was to dress up as a puppy. He wasn't buying it. I put his pants on him in the dark so he couldn't tell. He cried. "Take it off Daddy! Take it off!" Funny thing is, once he put on his costume, I carried him to our closest neighbor (the little boys in the apartment upstairs) and he got a hand full of candy, he really caught on quick to the trick or treat part of Halloween.

Our little puppy playing fetch with every single stick he could find.

Have you ever seen a cuter dalmatian?

Proof that we both were smiling by the time we were done trick or treating. We had a pumpkin full of candy after all. "More trick or treat Daddy?"

Tyler showing off his stash. That was just a couple of houses too. Either there weren't a lot of trick or treaters, or "Tyler Puppy" won them all over with his adorable puppy dog eyes. 

 "Tyler what does a puppy say?" 

 "arf, arf"

Tyler wagging his little tale. Video would have been better, the sequence probably would have gone viral.

What? He's a puppy that walked a long ways.

Tyler pouring out his booty on his exhausted daddy. That was my costume this Halloween, exhausted daddy.

The very next day, aside from wanting to eat all of his candy he said a couple of times, "More puppy please!" Of course, that was always right before it was time to eat, bathe or sleep (not "play time").

October, Glad You're Over

Heads up, if you haven't read the post before this. Do it now. 

You read it yet? Good, that's the fun part.  Carrie usually writes all of the blog posts in our family blog. But I imagine I'll be taking over for a while. I've noticed I'm a little more verbose in my posts than she is. Just fair warning to everyone. 

 Now, This is the not so fun part. 

Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear; 

On September 28th my 101 year old Grandma Rowe passed away. 

But with joy, wend your way 

She had a long and faithful life, and like the spirits of all men and women who die, was taken straight home to God who gave her life. I was able to fly out to Utah and attend the funeral, work gave me some time off. Heavenly Father's presence and that of his angels and of our ancestors could be felt all throughout. I was able to spend some time with my brothers and sister, one of the rare times we had been together since before Trever left on his mission in 1999. Unfortunately Carrie didn't feel well enough to go.

Though hard to you, this journey may appear

Carrie had morning sickness, bad enough she couldn't even take care of Tyler after I left. Some wonderful angels from our church congregation came to help her and took care of him.

Grace shall be as your day,

I got back on Sunday, Oct 4th. Carrie was pale, she was throwing up. She couldn't keep anything down. On Monday Oct 5th while Tyler stayed with one of our angels, I took Carrie to Acute Care. The first of many trips to get medical treatment. They gave her some medication and IVs and off we went.

'Tis better far for us to strive

The Friday of that week, I took her again, this time to triage. Carrie felt like dying, and there was nothing I could do but hold her hand as they poked her for another IV. Work was great, they let me go but I needed to get back that night to produce the 10PM news. We were already short staffed. Carrie spent the night in the hospital, so dehydrated because she wouldn't drink and if she did, she'd just throw it right up. That's when we found out, Carrie has what is called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. 

Our useless cares from us to drive;

In brief, it is the most extreme of morning sickness and potentially fatal. She was just in so much pain, wasting away. That weekend my mother-in-law flew in to the rescue. That weekend, Tyler got sick.

Why should we morn or think our lot is hard?

We would find out later that week he had H1N1, but only after Laurie and I had both gotten sick. The pediatrician told me anyone who lives in the house and has symptoms has it too. Between Tyler, Carrie, and my own physical therapy and nerve tests I averaged about 5 visits to a medical facility a week for two weeks.

'Tis not so, all is right

A couple of days later I again took Carrie to the hospital.

Why should we think to earn a great reward?

I started making calls, it was obvious this was going to be a routine thing.

If we now shun the fight?

It took days to get a hold of a doctor, still I never talked to one. Just receptionists and nurses. I wanted a way so Carrie could more routinely get the fluids and electrolytes her body needs.

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take;

Finally, they said they'd set her up with a PICC line so she could more regularly get fluids. Now, every other day, through a 6 to 10 hour process I give her two liters of IV fluid.

Our God will never us forsake,

She seems to be doing better, but still she can't take care of Tyler, she can't really take care of herself completely. She no longer throws up 7+ times a day, and can generally keep things down. Still, we have about 13 more weeks of this at the least, possibly several more months.

And should we die before our journey's through,

My mother-in-law stayed most of the month of October with us. Now my sister-in-law Lisa is here, soon my mom will get here to help take care of Tyler and Carrie. What's ahead? I don't know. Gratefully we're all over the H1N1. At least that's one trial out of the way.

Happy day! All is well!

I was able to give Carrie a blessing with the help of our Elder's Quorum Presidency. Sometimes God takes away the hardship and miraculously heals us, but ofttimes He strengthens our shoulders so we can bear the burdens placed upon them. The blessing promised Carrie and baby will be okay in the long run, that she would be comforted, but that this trial will not go away. Still, what comfort to know that my princess and our new baby will live and will one day be healthy.

We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;

I share with you my witness of God's love for us. He knows us. He hears us. We are never alone. We may climb our own personal hill of Calvary on our knees but God will never leave us comfortless. There have been times when I felt prompted to check on Tyler, to check on Carrie, to call a doctor, to ask a question. I know that I have been guided by His hand and that through that small and simple guiding, at the very least Carrie's life has been saved.

With the just we shall dwell!

Our trial is not over, not even half way over and even though Heavenly Father in His wisdom wants us to go through this, I know He has not left us without comfort, guidance, and a way to overcome.

But if our lives are spared again

Some people say that religion is a crutch. They have it all wrong, my faith is a set of wings, a telescope, an iron rod. Wings, that lift us above our worldly trials, that allows us to be in the world but not of it. Telescope, that allows us to see the bigger picture, see past the trials that may seem like mountains. And an iron rod, long and stretched like the rail of a stair leading back Home.

To see the saints their rest obtain,

How can we follow Him, travel His path, and not expect to experience even in the smallest degree some of what Our Savior experienced?

O how we'll make this chorus swell, 

All is well! All is well!

Willow Tree Announcement

On September 22nd I (Tyson) came back from taking Tyler to the library in the morning and Carrie had a present for me.

Curious, I unwrapped the box and saw that it was in a Willow Tree box. I'd given Carrie a few over the years and wondered if she was using it as a container for something else. I opened the box to find this.

There was also a note that said "Congratulations, New Dad".

It didn't take me long to solve this little mystery.

WE ARE EXPECTING! Carrie's pregnant!

Baby's coming sometime around June 1st. We're very excited for our new addition to our family. I am absolutely convinced that Baby#2 is a little girl. But I was convinced of that before Tyler was even born, Tyler would be a boy and baby #2 a girl.

Tyler says he wants a brother.

Carrie for a while thought it was twins (it's not, we've since had an ultrasound).

Not me, I know it's a girl and we can't wait until our little princess arrives.

P.S. Many of you have probably already heard this story, or at least the announcement. If we missed you, it's not because we don't love you, but rather that life got ... hard, which I'll explain in another post.

Ireland Adventure

Prologue -

Last year for Christmas, with Lisa's help (she gave us buddy passes - standby Delta Airlines flight tickets), I put together an Amazing Place (a play on "The Amazing Race") gift for Tyson. Basically, he could choose some exotic place to travel to using our buddy passes and I would make it happen (with help from a lot of people!). He made his choice and we spent a year saving up for a trip to Ireland. It's a place we've both wanted to visit and we both have ancestors from there. It was Tyson's first use of his passport, so we had to make it good! My Mom flew out to stay with Tyler so it could be just a Tyson and Carrie trip. We've been looking forward to our Ireland Adventure for so long!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

We knew our chances were slim. The flight out of Sioux Falls was sold out, but had a reputation for a few no shows. Tyson and I got to the airport a little after 5am, checked in, and waited. As the flight was ready to close, it appeared our waiting had paid off. The gate agent said there were 2 seats left on the plane so we boarded and walked down the aisle to the very back of the plane where we found ONE seat. Opps. The gate agent had miscounted. The flight attendant told me to go ahead and take it, but since she wouldn't let Tyson sit on my lap, I opted to get off the plane with him and try again tomorrow.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Take two. No problems today. We were back at the airport before the crack of dawn and checked in again. The gate agent recognized us from yesterday and assigned us seats right away - as this plane was quite a bit more empty than yesterday's. From Sioux Falls to Atlanta and then to JFK. We spent our layovers reading books and trying to pop our ears (at least on my part. Worst part about flying!). We were ecstatic to be assigned seats together in Business Class on our overnight flight from JFK-Dublin (best part about flying nonrev)!

Talk about the royal treatment. Warm, lemon scented washcloths, a 5 course gourmet meal, individual screens to watch all the movies you desire, noise cancellation earphones, fresh squeezed orange juice, seats that recline almost all the way, a real pillow and blanket, a take home freshening up travel kit, and breakfast in the morning. I have to admit, I was not pleased to hear the pilot announce that we had made it to Dublin an hour and a half early, but I'll bet the coach class passengers were happy!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Arriving early in the morning, Tyson got his stamp in his passport and we emerged into the overcast, brisk morning air of Dublin. Freshening up and then getting a map and some city information from a girl with a super cool Irish accent at the Info desk, we were on our way! I was surprised at what an easy city Dublin is to get in and around. We took a double decker bus in to the train station, stored our bags and bought train tickets for later in the day, and then took the bus into the heart of the city. Dublin is quite beautiful in a colorful, architectural sense. I loved all the old buildings that are preserved and still quite functional today. Everywhere there were baskets of flowers and bright colorful doors. That was my favorite thing to see!

We explored up and down Grafton Street while awaiting our tour of the city.

Inside the Grafton Street shopping center. Tyson thought it was hilarious that they charge everyone 20 cents to use the bathroom.

My red scarf from H&M. Love that store!

We chose Viking Tours based on good reviews. They drove us all over Dublin in an old WWII amphibian craft which meant we also got to tour from the water too - just a canal, not the actual River Liffey like I was hoping. It was a good way to go in that we got to see way more of Dublin than we could have seen on foot, but, while our tour guide was funny, we both wished he would have told a few more stories and history about what we were seeing.

Our tour bus, er...boat?

The Ha'Penny Bridge

St. Patrick's Cathedral

The back of the U2 recording studio in Dublin.

After sandwiches and hot chocolate for lunch, we made our way to Trinity college where we saw the Book of Kells (see Wikipedia) and the gorgeous old library. I wish we could have taken pictures in there because it is quite possibly the most beautiful library I've ever seen. Complete with arched ceilings, dark wooden ladders extending two stories (think Beauty and the Beast), books from floor to ceiling with old - imagine 1st edition Book of Mormon - binding, busts of philosophers and other famous people, and even a few students tucked into hidden corners on the upper level.

Outside the Trinity College Library and Museum.

Everyone was so nice and helpful. Especially the girl who helped us speed walk several blocks to the correct bustop so we could make it back to the train station in time. I felt like we really were on The Amazing Race when they ask a local to run with them to help them find their next destination. We made it (just in time!) to our train and settled into our seats.

The scenery to Galway (Western Ireland) was very pastoral and beautiful.

Unfortunately I don't remember much of it as my head kept nodding. Something about a swaying train and jet lag makes a girl sleepy...We arrived in Galway in the early evening and splurged on a taxi to our Bed and Breakfast which was located in Salthill - a suburb of the city. Kudos to Tyson for finding the Claremount House. It was a perfect B&B - homey, nice and comfy, friendly hosts without being intrusive. It was located right across the street from Galway Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. We met quite a few other travelers there from all over the world who were seeing the Irish sights and researching ancestry.

Late this evening we attended Trad on the Prom. A well done show full of traditional Irish music, song, dancing. The dancing especially was phenomenal! What a day. Back at the B&B, I quite literally fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

As we were not crazy enough to venture renting our own car in Ireland (picture driving a stick shift on narrow roads - oh, did I mention you have to drive on the other side of the road and that the steering wheel is in the right hand side of the car?), we set up two day tours with The Galway Tour Company to explore all over Western Ireland. Today's trip was ultimately to the Cliffs of Moher.

Our driver and tour guide was a little old Irish man named Desmond. He did an excellent job showing us the beautiful scenery, a small castle, a mystical fairy ring-fort believed to be inhabited by leprechauns, the Burren, and the Cliffs of Moher.

Ballyalban Fairy Fort - and our co-pilot leprechaun on the tour bus.

The Burren (meaning "a stony place") - The over 5000 year old Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb and the flora that springs up everywhere amidst the limestone.

Lunch at a perfectly quaint pub in Doolin. Delicious seafood chowder!

Dunguaire Castle

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Before we came to Ireland, Tyson and I rented "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. A classic from the 50s (and pretty funny too), it was filmed in the very part of Ireland we were touring today, the village of Cong. Unfortunately our stops in the beautiful filming locations were ridiculously short - and sometimes it was just a drive by look. Maybe we will rent a car after all when we come back someday.

Along with seeing Connemara National Park, at least we were able to spend some time at the picturesque Kylemore Abbey.

 

The Ross Errilly Friary was built in 1351 and is still amazingly intact. You can see fireplaces and stairway passages, even where the ceilings were placed for the different levels. Very neat.

Centuries old hand laid stone walls were everywhere. It's interesting that if you want the same kind of stone wall built now on your property, it's very expensive.

Mountain sheep dotted the mountain side as far as we could see. It was amazing how high up they could get and easy to see their white fleece against the green.

Ruins of a traditional Irish home. The larger room was the kitchen and living room. The smaller room was the bedroom - for all 10 or so people in the family. Out of respect and mostly superstition, people today build around these old homes, instead of rebuilding or restoring them.

Peat is still cut and used as fuel in some places in Ireland today.

The beautiful Kylemore Abbey and gardens.

We made it back to Galway in time to catch a bus back to Dublin where we checked into the Globetrotter Hostel, which is located in a 200 year old building in the city center. It was late evening, but the city was still going strong. We walked to the Temple Bar area for some music and dinner. The nightlife in Dublin is not really our thing. Too much smoke. But it is quaint and although we were always careful, especially with our money, we felt safe everywhere in Ireland.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Although we were hoping to stay one more day in Ireland to visit Cork and the Blarney Castle, alas, flight availability did not allow this. Guess we'll have to come back! So, we rose before the sun came up and packed up. Our hostel was awesome enough to serve most of their full Irish breakfast to us half an hour earlier than they typically do. Then we were at the bus stop and on our way.

Airport check in was smooth sailing so we had some time to do some last minute shopping and actually found some pretty great souvenir items and deals. When does that ever happen in an airport? Though we were sad to leave a day early, the bonus was that we were able to fly Business class again back to the States. Sweet! We made every one of our connections (barely! We got the last 2 seats from JFK-Atlanta) and arrived home in the late evening. Tyson was so excited to see Tyler he woke him up. Okay, not on purpose, but he did admit he wasn't sorry about it.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Hmmm, apparently Tyler did just fine without us. He missed us, but had his Grandma and our tape of lullabye songs to keep him company. In fact, when my Mom did leave a few days later, Tyler said, "I miss Grandma." Alright, then, where should we go next, Honey?