About time I wrote again!

Well it has been a long time since I posted anything and so much has happened. I had a complete knee replacement done on my right knee a week ago last Friday and I can't believe how much this little piece of your body can hurt when it wants to but let me tell you . . . it HURTS! I don't think I've ever had anything in my whole body hurt like this and to think I get to do it all over again on my left knee next summer. I can hardly wait.

They put an epidural in my back and then something in my IV to make me sleepy. They said I wouldn't be knocked out but I wouldn't remember anything either. While I was asleep they put another epidural in my groin right at the top of my right leg. This one dripped morphine onto the new knee cap and I assumed it would take all of the pain away. While it worked really well and kept me numb for the most part, it never took the pain completely away and I've had to deal with that.

I was in the hospital for four days and then I came home on Monday evening. Bob was such a trooper and stayed with me whenever I was awake. I appreciate his help so much, I couldn't have done this without him or Amy. Amy has taken such good care of me during the day while Bob's at work. I'd be a mess without her help.

They sent me home with Loritab 7.5 mg which isn't very strong. Not even as strong as what I was taking for the pain while I waited for surgery. Needless to say, I was in continual pain which was not any fun. I called the Dr. on Tuesday and told him that they just weren't cutting through the pain so he asked me if I'd ever taken Oxycontin. I told him I had taken it when I had my rotater cuff surgery but I really didn't like it. The problem was that I couldn't remember why I didn't like it so he thought I should try it. He called some in for me and Brooke went and picked them up for me. I took two just like it said to and went to bed around 10:30. I woke up about midnight and had a really bad headache. I took some Tylenol with codeine and went back to sleep. Then I woke up an hour later with a full blown migraine headache. Now not only did my knee hurt but my head felt like it was going to explode. Before I could even think about what to do I was in the bathroom trying to throw up, but since there was nothing in my stomach to throw up, I just sat there and dry heaved into the toilet for a half an hour.

I couldn't help but have Bob awake by now so he came in and asked if there was anything he could do. I told him to wait a minute and I'd be out. I asked him to give me a blessing which he gladly did. I fell asleep finally and when I woke up my head was much better but my headache was not completely gone. Now I remembered why I hate Oxycontin. I called the Dr. Wednesday morning and he said he wasn't going to mess around with the pain anymore and put me right on Dylated. It works a little bit better but it still gives me just a touch of a headache so I have to be really careful. I tried to call the home health nurse assigned to me yesterday but she never called me back. I wanted to know if I could take the Loritab and alternate it every two hours with the Dylated, kind of like you do with Ibuprofen and Tylenol in children. I called her service twice and never heard back from her so today I just did it and man, do I feel so much better. I cried through my exercises yesterday but when I did them today it seemed so much easier. Don't get me wrong, it still hurt like nothing else, but I didn't cry even once.

I'm going to go to school in the morning for a half day. We have a faculty meeting at 8:30 and I really need to go so Cheri is going to pick me up and Amy will come and get me when I'm ready. I have had really high blood pressure since my surgery. It's consistently been up in the 170's over lower 100's which is really not good. Danielle was going to call my doctor and keep him aware of it so we'll just have to see what happens.

I'm really tired now and I think I'll try to take a little nap before dinner. I haven't been sleeping very good at night because I keep this dang machine moving my leg all night long and so I'm tired a lot lately. I'll try to keep this up to date so that next summer when I have to go through the whole ordeal again I'll remember how I felt. There's something to look forward to aye? Real fun!

Finally, Our 2nd Canada Trip , , ,

Treyson - What a stud!

Our Little Kennedy Girl!

(Heather took lots pictures of the kids while we were there so I'm going to post them, in no specific order, throughout this post. Heather! you are amazing!)
Kennedy 'HANNAH MONTANA' Who?

Our Little Andie Mae

(The not so perfect pictures are ones I took but hey, how can they be bad when the subjects are all so great?)

Michael & Princess Clair Bear

Amy & Princess Alie Kae

We have had a great summer with two trips to Canada and a lot of memory builders with my family. I have the best family and we have so much fun when we are together. I can't wait until we do it all again. This time all of our family got to go except for Cyndi.

Women's Gab Session

I felt bad for her but she was okay with it and told me not to worry about it. Jamon just started a new job working with his brother out at Van Orden farms and Cyndi was booked up to work on those days that we would be gone so she said that there was no way. I felt really bad but she was ok about the whole deal, so the whole family went to Calgary except for Cyndi Lynne and her family. We really missed them.

Jeffrey and Emily with Jaycee and Jaclyn

Taylor & Blake - Two of my "JOCK" nephews!

We left at 12:40 a.m. so that all the kids could sleep. Alie is a terrible traveler and Andie's not much better, but this way they both slept the whole way there. Bob did all of the driving except the last couple of hours when Adam drove on the way up and I drove from Dillon to Blackfoot on the way home. Brooke and Kade traveled with us and their kids slept all the way too. It sure makes for a better trip when they do that.

Our Little Alie Kae

We got to Calgary on Friday morning around 10:00 a.m. and Bob and Kade took a quick cat nap. I had been cramped up in the back with junk under my feet so when I finally got a chance to get out and walk around I was so stiff and sore I could hardly stand it. I was that way for a couple of days which was really not a lot of fun but it did get better with time. All it took was the few days before we had to go home. Then I got to do it all over again. I sat in the front this time.

Cyndi with Jaclyn

Friday was my sister Cyndi's birthday and we had a lot of fun. Of course Cyndi did all the cooking for her birthday. It was absolutely amazing. She is a fabulous cook, I wish I'd got some of her cooking smarts. She spoils us to the max every time we visit.

Adam, Brittany and Pam

Heather took pictures of Alie, Andie, Treyson and Kennedy. She's so good with that camera of hers. She took some awesome pictures. She even took a couple of Cyndi and I when we were ready to leave. Of course I looked terrible. It was about 9:00 on Thursday night and Heather promised me that she will photo-shop it and make me look better than I do on a good day. I told her I wanted 50 lbs. off , a new hairdo, and my skin crystal clear. She promised me she would do her best so I'm gonna hold her to it. I haven't got the proof of that pic yet but Adam and Amy have some of theirs and Brooke just got a couple. The ones we've seen so far are amazing, I can't wait to see the rest of them.

Kevin and Bob

Cyndi and Kevin really spoiled us. Kevin had ordered a bunch of coats on the internet and was giving them all away. He gave Bob two really nice jackets that fit him perfectly. Cyndi had bought me a beautiful lantern for my patio. It has potpourri in the bottom and a candle on top of that. It's so cool, I just love it. Then I also got another lantern, a tray for my bathroom counter and a brown chest for my watches and jewelery. I really didn't need them but they are awesome and I love them.

We celebrated Grandpa Cameron's birthday (which isn't until the end of November) on Saturday at McKenzie Lake over in South West Calgary where Pam and Cherri live.

Adam, Brittany & Andie at Cherri's

Mom & Dad at the beach

Then that night we had a nice dinner at Cherri's house. Apryl came up with the idea of drawing out a family tree and each of us writing our family on the branches and then our grandkids on the branches as leaves. That way the kids could see where they came from and how they all fit into our family. What a great idea eh? It was a lot of fun and I think it helped the kids to understand a little better.

Dad at the beach

Then Grandpa talked to all of us about his life and the accomplishments and trials he has had throughout his life. He talked about his childhood, when he was first introduced to the church and how he met Grandma. It was so nice and it was so good to see him relaxed and enjoying his family. He has been such a great example to me in my life, and to my children. I'm very grateful for that. Whenever I've needed anything he has always been there with the answer to any question or concern. He's an amazing man and I love him very much.

A few comments

Kourtni, McKenzie, Holly & Grandpa

My girls all did a bunch of shopping and came home with some really cute things. Amy was worried about Cyndi Lynne so she made sure, though she couldn't afford it, that we had outfits for Lauren, Camryn and Griffen. She even bought Cyndi a shirt so that they all had a bit of Calgary. She's got such a big heart! She would do anything for anyone. I'm very proud of her and pray for her continually. We had such a great time. I just love my sisters and their families so much. I had a really hard time saying good-bye. I've been very blessed throughout my life. I was born into a family that loves and supports each other, with parents who care about their children as well as each other. A family who can be together forever if we try hard enough. Nothing worthwhile comes very easy, but I know it can be worth it. I look forward to visiting again soon. I love being home again, but a vacation is always a welcomed treat!

Our Family (all except Kendall. We missed you.)

Dinner for Twelve . . .

After all of the festivities involving grandpa's birthday celebration and after the weekend was over, all of my sisters (except Apryl, she'd already gone back to Edmonton) and I and our husbands all got together and went out for ginger beef. I love that stuff! Barb and Ryan, my niece and her husband, went with us. We had a really nice night with lots of laughs and good conversation. It's so fun to be all together. Some people think that we have a very large family and in this day and age that is not a common thing. I'm so grateful that our parents saw fit to have seven children and that my sisters are my very best friends. I love them so much and am grateful to each of them for the things I learn from them and the support they give to me. They are so special to me and I love them all so much!

Sister Cyndi & KevinSister Pam & RyanSister Julie & DougSister Cherri & MikeNiece Barb & RyanThanks to all you guys in Calgary who showed us such a great time. I love you all so much!

Our 1st Canada Trip . . .

We headed up to Canada on the 23rd of June and went as far as Cardston where we stayed for three days spending time with my mom and dad. It was awesome to be there and we had a great visit. You can't go to Cardston without stopping for lunch for Mongolian at Ming's Garden on Main Street. It was great to have ginger beef again. I don't know why no one in the U.S. can make ginger beef but it seems to be a foreign concept here.


We took a ride in the country and out to Grandma Olsen's old ranch. It was great to see the old house where my mom grew up and the remains of the two room farmhouse where I lived the first year of my life. Then we headed out to the Beazer Graveyard to visit my grandparents graves. It's been so, so long since I had been there, it was nice to see that it's being well kept and cared for.

Mom had a rather hard time there but she seems to be having a hard time about most things these days. Her memory is getting worse everyday. At one point she asked me who I was again and I told her my name was Dori. She said that that was interesting because she also had a daughter named Dori. I told her I know, it was me and that I was her daughter. Then she asked me if her mother knew that I was getting married. I told her she had better know because not only was I already married for almost thirty-two years, but I have four children and seven grandchildren. That seemed to throw her a little bit but she just smiled and I hugged her. It's so hard to see her regress so badly. My dad says that she thinks she's in high school again and talks about getting ready for dances and dates and what not. He is so patient and kind to her. I am so grateful to him for taking such good care of her. I know it must be extremely hard to do.

After spending three or four days in Cardston we headed to Calgary to visit with Cyndi and Kevin and their family. We got there on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning we headed for Invermere, British Columbia to spend four days at their condo there. It was so great! We took drives to see the beautiful country, went on a four-wheel ride into the deep woods and saw deer, bears, wolves, foxes, you name it. If it was natural to the area - we saw it. It was amazing.



We went down to the hot tubs every night to relax before going to bed and it was so good on my knees. I slept like a baby every night. It was hard to come back home and face the same old grind of real life again. I'm so grateful to Cyndi and Kevin for taking us under their wings and letting us use their resources to gear up to face the world again. It was a well earned vacation and spending time with them, being able to talk to them about anything was very therapeutic. I'm forever in their debt.



After we got home the doctor called and scheduled my knee replacement surgery for August 14th. I'm really excited, NOT! but it has to be done. I really wanted to have it done in July so I'd be ready to go back to school but if I had I wouldn't have been able to go back to Canada in two weeks for Grandpa Cameron's 80th birthday celebration. Adam and Brittany and Brooke and Kade and their families are going also and Amy sent for her passport just yesterday so if her's comes she and Alie will go too. Cyndi has to stay and work, and Jamon will just be starting work for his bother driving truck. I wish she could go but I understand, I just hope she isn't too upset after we are gone.

Besides my teacher re-treat and our trip to Canada I have been busy around the house as well. I got crazy one afternoon and painted the cabinet next to and over my fridge. It looked pretty good so I decided to go for it and painted another cabinet the next day. By then I was tired of it and was wishing I had never started the stupid project. I got ambitious the next day and painted another cabinet and then stayed up all night getting the rest of them done. What A Pain! I'm just glad it's finally done. I went to bed at 6:30 that morning and slept until about 11:00. Not a good night sleep to say the least and since then I've been having trouble sleeping at night. I hate getting in bad habits like that. It takes forever to get back on track again.

Andie Mae Turns One!



Last Sunday we celebrated little Andie's first birthday. She is such a gorgeous little thing. I just love her to bits. She was a real little trooper and opened presents like a pro. She is walking, rather running all over the place and she's such an itty bitty thing that it's incredible just trying to keep up with her. she is truly a sweetheart.


This Sunday is Vickie's 60th birthday surprise celebration in Utah and we all got invited so I guess Jennifer will come down here and then we'll pick up Cherri and Jeannie and drive down to surprise her. It will only be a short road trip. It's about 90 minutes down and 90 minutes back and if we stay an hour or so we should be back before supper time. Should be fun.

On Monday night I'm having a barbeque in the back yard as a sort of going away party for Rodger and Jeannie. They are going on a mission next month to Oklaholma. It's a year long mission and we'll surely miss them. Maybe we'll have to have another barbeque welcoming them home next year, who knows?

Anyway with my knee surgery next month that will about round out my summer. I guess all in all I've been able to do a lot of stuff this year, even more so than other summers. It's been a busy summer but a really fun one.

Where has the summer gone?

I can't believe we are already to the middle of July and only about a month away from heading back to school. Where has the summer gone? It seems as though we just got out of school. I have been able to do a lot of things which I'll fill you in on and accomplished many of the projects I set out to do this summer so I feel pretty good about that. We have one more trip to make to Canada to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday and then I'll be home for the rest of the year. Actually, I'm scheduled for knee replacement surgery on August 14th so I may be late starting school anyway. Not looking forward to that one!

First of all, our teacher re-treat was awesome this year. We had a great time in Ennis, Montana. We took the four-wheelers and had so much fun on them. It was a little scary hauling them, loading and unloading them by ourselves just us girls but everything was great.

It was Jennifer's birthday while we were there so we went to the Follies in Virginia City which was awesome. We had our pictures taken at an old time photo shop. It was fun and I'll post the picture here so you can see just how much fun we had.

It was a much shorter drive than McCall ever is so that made it really nice not spending all day in the car. The country was beautiful and even though we got rained on a bit while four-wheeling, we still had a great ride. We almost missed the lake! Drove right past it, thank goodness someone was paying attention and turned around in time to see it before we went right on by, We would have ended up in Virginia City if we had kept going. The rain didn't help!

Any way, it was a great chance to relax and enjoy great friendships. These girls really are my family and I love spending time with all of them.

School's OUT for Summer!

Whooo Hooo! Yesterday was our last day of school. We met for breakfast at the Shilling House and then went to the school to check out. Student's last day was Thursday and they left at about 12:30 that day, then we had a district meeting at the high school in the afternoon and were done about 2:00. It was so nice to be done a little early. I was up at the school until 2:00 in the morning finishing up a ProShow for the last day. I took my pictures and Jane's pictures and anyone else's pictures and made a slide show to loop all morning long on Thursday, the last day of school. It turned out really good and then I sold copies of it for $2.00 with all the proceeds going to Relay for Life. I only made about $30 bucks but every little bit helps I know.

Boy, did I have a time with it though. I put it together on my school computer and then tried to burn it to a disk. Turns out our DVD players are only players and not DVD recorders so I either had to come home and redo it all or use Kris Fackrell's external DVD drive to burn them on. Kris was still at the school burning her play's DVDs for her drama students so when she was done she brought it downstairs and helped me. We rendered it (it takes 40+ minutes to render) and tried to burn it but then realized we had to load the drive's software on my computer first. So the rendering was useless and we had to stop, load the software and re-render it (another 40+ minutes) before we could burn it. We finally had one copy of it by 2:00 a.m. and quit and went home. The next morning I started copying disks and had about fifteen or so of them to sell. It was crazy!

I'm really looking forward to this summer. It should be a pretty good one. We are taking our Teacher Retreat in Enis, Montana this year. We're going to take the four wheelers and do a lot of riding together. I think it's going to be a lot of fun and it's only a two and a half hour drive away instead of a six or seven hour drive like McCall is. It's also Jennifer's birthday while we're there so we're going to go to the Folies there and then the Open Mic Improv after that. I'm really looking forward to it.

Then we come home and leave for Canada less than a week later. We're going to go up and see my folks for a while and then go to Calgary to spend some time with Cyndi and Kevin. We're going to go to Invemere and hang out at their condo riding four wheelers and relaxing by the pool. Sounds great aye? I'm really looking forward to it and to relaxing for a change.

When we get home from Calgary I only have about a week or so before I have surgery for a complete right knee replacement. I'm sure that will be the highlight of my summer! I'll be in the hospital for about four days and then down at home with a hospice nurse for another week or so. I'm in for hours upon hours of physical therapy for the next several months and we'll see how all that works out. For now, I'm just happy to be out of school! We'll see what the rest of it brings!

Derek's Farewell and Lauren's Baptism

This is going to be a fun weekend. Derek, Julie and Doug's second oldest son, is going on a mission to San Jose, California Spanish Speaking and his farewell is this Sunday at 9:00 in the morning. Yeah, early but I'm sure well worth the extra effort it will take to be there on time. I can't believe little Derek is all grown up and ready to go. He's pretty excited and so is all of the family.

My sister Cyndi came down last Wednesday and brought mom and dad with her. We went up to Julie's last night and got to see everyone. Dad has lost a lot of weight and looked a little tired. I worry about him, he takes such good care of mom but it looks like it's wearing on him somewhat. My mom looks good but when you talk to her it becomes quite evident that her health is really failing. Her memory is getting worse and worse and she can't remember things for more than a minute or two at a time. She didn't have any trouble remembering me last night and always knew who I was but had a real hard time keeping track of who Amy was. She asked her many times who she was and whose little girl Alie was. Then she would ask Amy if she was getting married soon or if she had a boyfriend. Amy explained to her a few times that her husband had passed away two years ago and then mom would tell her how sorry she was and ask if there was anything she could do for her. I felt so bad for her. It was heart wrenching to watch.

Then as we would talk she would fade in and out and then ask more questions about things we had just told her. It was hard to see her that way. Dad is so patient with her and would just kindly explain it to her again. She asked us once if her mother knew where she was because she would be upset if she didn't know. I told her that her mother did know and that seemed to satisfy her. She is so sweet, I don't ever want to loose her but know that that is not an option. I am so thankful for my knowledge of life after death and the fact that we, as a family belong together for eternity and that through our faithfulness we will be.

Adam and Brittany came up from Utah for the weekend. I really encouraged them to come so they could see grandma and grandpa. They have never met Andie and I wanted them to at least get to see her. I am so grateful for the effort and sacrifice they made to come. I know it meant a lot to grandma and grandpa and also to me. I love the picture they took with them at Lauren's baptism. Thanks you guys, I love you all so much!

Any way, we got to visit with Cyndi and Kandace as well before they left and came to Blackfoot to have Cyndi do their nails. I'm looking forward to spending some time with Cyndi and Kevin in Calgary next month. I think we'll take the four wheelers with us and just spend some time having fun. It's been a while since we spent some time with them, I'm sure it will be fun. I am so looking forward to a vacation. Cyndi and I talked a little about it yesterday and I'm very excited.

Kendall and Jen came up last night also and we had a really nice visit together. They are building a new home and doing really well. I'm excited for them, they are so happy and so good together. Jen makes him so very happy, I am grateful to her for that. He deserves to be happy. Jordann and her boyfriend came up as well. She is such a sweetie. I hope she is happy, she's had a rough life and deserves to be happy.

With Lauren turning eight this last birthday she is now old enough to be baptized and so her Uncle Logan is going to baptize her on Sunday evening after Derek's farewell. Adam and Brittany are coming from Salt Lake on Saturday and Adam will confirm her Sunday night.

They bought a new Pathfinder so they have to come up to talk to the bank anyway so they'll be able to go to Derek's farewell and also Lauren's baptism. I'm excited about that. I'm also really excited that my folks will get to see little Andie Mae. This might be the last chance my mom will get to see their little family so I'm really glad they'll be here.

I guess I'd better go, still got things to get done this morning. I'll blog more after the weekend. It should be a good one!

Lauren's Birthday

Well, Lauren turned eight today and was so excited for her birthday to finally arrive. We all went over there at 6:30 and had cake and ice cream while she opened presents. She is such a sweet girl and I can't believe that she's already so old. I sure love her and wish her a very happy ninth year. She deserves it, she's the best!