First half of May

I can't believe the first half of May is already over! Time is flying!! Here's some notables from the first half of May.

The weather has been awesome. It changes lots, as can be expected in the spring months, but I grew up knowing that by May, it was going to be crazy hot. (Thank you Vegas and SG) But for the most part, the weather in May has been awesome. Nice and warm some days, windy and rainy the next. Now that the weather has been more predictably nice, the kids are allowed to have their quiet time outside. SO GLORIOUS! Lindy naps, and the other two stay outside for a full two hours. It does both me, and them, so much good. One day, Miles and Gwen used that time to give their bikes a good washing. :) Usually, it means they are in the backyard with a blanket, a bunch of books, and LOTS of bunnies to play with.



Uncle Jeffrey came home from his mission to Slovakia! YAY!!! We'd been waiting and waiting, and it was so exciting to welcome him home at the airport and then play all evening with him at the Garner's.


One Saturday, I had a baby shower to attend, so Richie borrow the kayaks from his parents, rounded up Grandpa Garner, Jacob, Jeffrey and Tanner, took our kids and went kayaking down the Jordan River. I'm so glad my kids have a dad that wants to do that kind of stuff. If it was up to me all the time, "adventurous" things like that would probably never happen. I asked him to snap at least one picture, and he said the only place he remembered to take out the camera was under this nasty overpass. :) Cute kids though.


No pictures for this info, but I wanted to make sure it was documented somewhere. Gwen has had a problem with UTI's for as long as I can remember. Most of the time, they aren't bad and we can usually deal with it in about half a day, with some baths and cranberry juice. Other times, we get mega-UTIs and it takes a day or two of torture, and sometimes antibiotics to clear it up. Over the years, we've become quite pro and dealing with them. We try to prevent them as best we can, but when they inevitably hit, we throw every remedy and tactic up our sleeves at it, using antibiotics as a last resort just because that whole process is a pain.
Well, her Doctor has mentioned before that it's not common for girls so young to get so many UTIs, and that if they persist, we should check out her kidneys to make sure there isn't a more serious problem. I was trying to avoid that route, but after her worst UTI to date, we decided to take her in and get everything checked out. They did an ultrasound of her kidneys and found hydro-nephrosis- which is a fancy way of saying that she has water on her kidneys. It was low grade, but any amount of water on the kidneys is cause for further investigation. So we had to take her in for a VCUG. That's where they sedate her, but a catheter in her, pump her bladder full of dye and then flush it out as they xray her renal system to check for any reflux.
Gwen was so brave throughout the entire process. They said she was the easiest child they have ever sedated and the quickest pee-er! Atta girl! :) Letting the sedation wear off was hilarious. I with I would have filmed it or snapped a picture. She sat there eating her treats pleasantly, and then she'd look really concerned and ask me why the sink was moving, or why there were two doors instead of one. She kept repeating herself, asking me over and over again why she has a bracelet on her arm, and asking if they root beer she was drinking was healthy for her. It was good entertainment.
They didn't find any other problems in her renal system! Yay! That's the good news. The bad news about all of it is that it means there is no fix for her UTIs. We just have to deal with them and she should grow out of them by the time she is about 8 or so. So cross your fingers she grows out of them quickly, because they are the worst!