That's what friend's are for...

As most of you know there was a tornado that hit our town on May 13th. I was out of town at my parent's house and it was quite nerve wracking for me to have Jason and all of my friends here and not knowing what was going on.
A lot of our friend's homes were affected. A lot of people lost significant belongings and such. Almost everyone whose home was affected had to move out. The student's and their spouses and the community really pulled together to help out. Jason spent a lot of time helping people salvage belongings before they got ruined by rain. I felt awful when I got back that I hadn't been able to help. I was lucky enough to be able to go and be of some help to a friend who had to get all of their belongings packed and moved in just a few short days. Here are a bunch of us in the midst of packing. We had to wear masks because although the roof was still sitting on the house, it had been lifted and there was insulation all though the air in the house.And here are a few other pictures of the houses. I should have walked out in the street and turned so that you could see some of the worst houses, but I was feeling lazy.

Easter!

We had a fun weekend. Saturday morning there was an Easter egg "hunt", aka the lawn was littered with eggs, that SAA put together. They had the cutest little lamb there. Benton was a much bigger fan than Tab was.Benton carried his bucket around like this pretty much the entire time. It was hilarious.
Here he is patiently waiting for them to let him have at the eggs.Tab enjoyed picking up the eggs on the ground. After picking up a few on the ground, I made him look for some of the ones that were actually hidden. He didn't think it was as fun to actually have to hunt for them.Benton on the other hand took his time looking for just the right eggs.After this, we went to a community hunt at Truman University. It was a lot of fun last year, so we decided to swing over. They had the Easter Bunny there and the school's mascot. Tab was really interested in the Easter bunny guy until we got close. Benton was kind of terrified. Can't blame the kids. He is kinda freaky looking.Here are the boys this afternoon with their baskets. Poor kids got pretty pathetic baskets. Other than some candy, Tab's had a book in it. Good thing they don't care and were happy with the candy.
We had stake conference today, so no Easter outfits. Don't worry, I'll take pics of them next week and post them.

Fun Run 2009

Every year the SAA puts together a 5K/10K/1 mile/Kid's Run. It was held this past Saturday. My fabulous friend, Aimee was in charge of it this year with a ton of help from Gentri too. Jason, Tab and I each ran.

Here is Jason finishing up the 10K. Poor guy had to take his gloves off and run with them in his pocket as it started to warm up during the race. I was proud of him.Sorry, no pictures of me finishing, as I ran the 5K I finished first so Jason wasn't there to take any pictures. I finished in 29:26, so nothing spectacular, but I won't complain seeing as I'm 31 weeks. Here we both are at the finish line.This is sort of a random picture but it is of my really good friend Mel finishing the 10K. I post it because she is such an inspiration to me. She totally helps me get the mental game on. Thanks for the goods runs and Good job!Here is Tab getting ready for the kids run.And they're off.Here is a picture of one of Tab's best friends finishing! Way to go Alex.Tab walking. He wasn't too happy about how long his run turned out to be. I think it is something like .4 miles...lol.There is my boy. He finished dead last and crying and I couldn't be more proud. The funny thing is about an hour or two after the run he told me he wanted to go do his run again. What a silly kid.

Visiting the Fire Department

About a week ago we went to the Fire Department for an SAA Children's Social. The boys loved it. For some reason I was having a really hard time getting a decent picture. Everything was blurry with lights streaking. I tried with my flash on and off and neither worked very well, so please excuse the lousy pictures.

They started out by talking to the kids about stop drop and roll and such.
Then one of the firefighters put all of his gear on so that the kids could see and hear what they sound like with their ventilators on. They talked to the kids about not being scared of them if they ever have to come in our house and not to run away from them. Tab was terrified of the guy. Benton was a little nervous but went up and gave him a high 5. After that they took all of the kids in to see the firetrucks. They let them climb all over and through them. The boys thought that it was pretty special. This is the closest we could get to a group shot. Benton loved climbing around on their seats in the firetruck.Right before we left Benton discovered the big tires and was completely fascinated. I had a hard time getting him to leave at that point.And of course the firemen all slid down the pole for the kids.And then the boys wanted to also.

AAOA Convention in Las Vegas

My friend, Janae', and I went to the AAOA (Advocates for the American Osteopathic Association) convention from Oct. 26-29th in Las Vegas. We were super busy the entire time but still had a blast. We learned a lot and were proud to represent the ATSU-KCOM chapter of SAA (Student Advocate Association). I have to put in a quick thank you to my mother in law, Margie. I couldn't have gone without her coming to watch the boys.

When we got in, we dropped off our stuff in our hotel room and went over to the SAA dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe.

The AACOFP(Advocates for the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians) was kind enough to sponsor the dinner for us. We got to meet so many of the fabulous women we work with over email who really help our organization to thrive and be successful. The food was incredible. While we were there, Janae' and I were able to sit with one of the other members of our organization, Ruth, who is living in Michigan during their 3rd and 4th year. It was so awesome to see her again. we were able to catch up and she was able to provide us with a few great suggestions about some of the issues we had been facing. Thanks again Ruth.

Unfortunately Janae' and I didn't really have a ton of time to enjoy ourselves and look around. We must have walked by this waterfall at least 2-3 dozen times and once we finally decided that we needed to stop for a moment to enjoy it. Isn't it incredible?

It was interesting how every evening there were different types of performers out and about in the hotel. These ones were incredible.

We had the opportunity to go to the ATSU-KCOM Alumni reception one evening. We spent quite a bit of time talking to Craig Phelps, D.O. (who is the team doctor for the NBA Phoenix Suns and the WNBA Phoenix Mercury) about the various stages of life through med school and after med school. He was able to offer us a lot of great advice. It was a fairly formal event, so we got the chance to get dressed up. That doesn't happen too often with kids around, lol. So, Janae' and I had someone snap a picture for us. It isn't great, but what can you expect from a tourist who doesn't speak English very well? And don't ask me why I bent my knee like that.

Missouri Conservation Center

For a Children's Social with SAA, I took the boys to the Missouri Conservation Center. It was so neat. They had set up a bunch of different displays and activities just for the kids.

They had a little bat out on a table for them to look at. Tab was quite fascinated by it and we had to keep a close eye on him as he was determined to get it out of it's cage.

Benton thought it was pretty neat too.

They had this big "cave" that they made by taping some big black tarps together and then attaching it to a fan. The kids all got to grab an animal fur or a stuffed animal and go inside. They had a bit too much fun with the flashlights inside as I believe one of them came out in pieces. Opps.

They had set up a station for them to use some stamps of birds and such to make some book marks.

Benton got caught under the table sucking the ink off of the stamps.

Out in the main area of the conservation center, where they just have their usual displays was really fun as well. They had an awesome bee hive. The little tube on the side went to outside. We joked about how much it would stink to have to be the one mowing the grass where the bees exited the building. (sorry about the glare, it was hard to get a decent picture, even without the flash)

Tab thought the binoculars were really cool. He spent quite a bit of time just looking around through them out the window.

And of course there was a little treat afterwords. It was the perfect day for a popsicle.

Pillow Hockey

Jason and I attended a "Date Night" activity hosted by the SAA group that I am a part of. It was advertised as dinner and pillow hockey. We thought, ok we'll go and "play", thinking it would be an ok event. Can I tell you how wrong I was. We had an absolute blast. Everyone was sweating and laughing. I hope that this is one that they do next year too.

If, during the game you kicked the ball, or usedany other body part to progress the ball, you had to sit on the floor for 10 seconds. My friend, Tasheena spent a lot of time sitting on the ground!

Truman Farm

Today a bunch of us got together for a "children's social" and Truman University's Farm. Tab had a blast and Benton tolerated being toted around. We started out visiting the greenhouse. Tab could have cared less about the plants. He just wanted me to turn the water on so he could spray me with the hose.

Then we went out and they were checking out the cows.Tab thought that this was particularly neat, but wasn't quite sure what was going on.Then they had them plant some pumpkin seeds. Tab continuously poked around in the dirt with his name stick. I'm not even sure if there are any seeds left in the dirt. He also ate a fair amount of dirt and then got upset about it when it didn't taste like chocolate.I tried to get the boys to pose for a cute outdoor picture, but they aren't really into the whole cooperating thing.
What is a visit to a farm without a hayride? This was as close as we could get to a picture with all three of us in it. Sigh.
Then they got to go pet some horses. This was Tab's favorite part. Pardon the picture, my camera got turned to some funky setting. Benton liked the grass but wasn't so sure about the horse.We came upon a grassy area covered with dandylions and stopped for a minute. Tab LOVES to pick dandylions.Benton, well, he likes to eat them aparently.I tried to get a picture of how funny his hair is. It was just blowing in the breeze. His hair is so fine and sticks straight up to begin with. It was hilarious. This is the C'mon mom, I'm so done with having my picture taken look.We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to be outside!