Metal Testing

Ever since Chloe had PFAPA and Strep problems she has also been getting sores on her mouth both on the inside as well as outside. Then she got braces and for the past year and a half it seems as though her mouth was never cleared up from some sort of sore. She has tried cream. pills, sprays=you name it and nothing has seemed to work. We finally decided to have her tested for a metal allergy since it seemed to intensify with the addition of braces. 

So we took her in and they put the patches on her and said don't go outside, sweat, or get wet for the next 24 hours. Landon thought that was about the funniest thing he had ever heard when referring to Chloe. 

Well the tests came back negative-no metal allergies. Which is good. They thing the reason she has been having such a hard time with the sores while having her braces on is because of the way her mouth is stretched, which causes her skin to crack and then get saliva in it which causes sores. Makes sense-luckily the braces are coming off in about a month, so there should start to be some relief. 

Stargazing at Bryce Canyon plus a few more bucket list items

For the past few years we have thought it would be fun to attend the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival. This year when we were making our bucket list it came up and we looked up the dates and booked a camp site.

First thing we had to do when we got to camp was set up the tent and the hammock.

(poor Bryce fell out of the hammock at one point and got scrapped up pretty badly, but he got over it pretty fast)

After getting camp all set up we wandered over to Ruby's Inn and Old Town Bryce Canyon to walk around for a bit.

(these people got themselves thrown into jail)

After that the kids went for a little swim, I did some reading, and Landon went to the tent to take a little nap.

After swimming Bryce was worn out so he took a little nap as well.

Time for dinner and dessert. Marking another thing off the bucket list-Roast Starburst.

 After dinner we went to the visitors center to check it out.

 Then we had to wait until dark for the stargazing event. It had to be completely dark, so it was late. We drove to a designated spot and they shuttled us out to the telescopes. These aren't your normal telescopes but huge ones brought in from NASA. There is no light allowed at the stargazing site except for natural light and a little bit of red light that the people hosting the event have. So therefore there are no actual pictures of the star gazing. I would have to say everyone enjoyed it but Bryce it was just to late for him and it was kind of cold. You also had to wait in some lines to see different things through the telescopes, and he was just ready for bed. I think we all liked it and it was pretty cool, but I think we were also a little disappointed, because even though we were seeing stars and planets that were super far away they still looked like tiny specs through the telescopes and I think we were kind of expecting giant planets to appear-haha. It was fun though and educational and we all liked the portion where they pointed out lots of constellations to us. Definitely glad we did it.

Family Selfie before heading home. :)

Checked off the Summer Bucket List

Go Camping

Roast Starburst

Star Gazing at Bryce Canyon

#ellisonsummerbucketlist

The Squirts

Bryce is seriously one of the pickiest eaters I know. Sometimes I wonder how he even stays alive. However there is one thing he will eat well and that is fruit. Between fruit and cereal that's pretty much what keeps him going. I always worry that he eats so much fruit that it will affect his system, but most of the time he handles it pretty well. It is not uncommon for him to sit down and eat an entire carton of raspberries or blackberries.

The other day he came and sat down with a huge bunch of grapes. He turned to me and said "I'm going to eat these all and then I'm going to have the squirts". LOL that kid. He must have remembered me saying that to him at some point.

Luckily he didn't have the squirts afterwards. 

#BryceEE

Swim and Tennis Lessons

This Summer Bryce took swim lessons again. He really is becoming quite the little swimmer. He took them from the same people he did last year. This year there was not adjustment period or tears the first few days. He just jumped right in-literally. And he even wore his goggles, since that is what they wanted him to do, although that is the only time he would wear them was at swim lessons. LOL. He loves jumping in and going under water. Sometimes he stays under so long it scares Mom a little bit. By the end of swim lessons he could almost swim the width of the pool without any help.

Bryce also took tennis lessons-that was something he had put on the bucket list and luckily I was able to find some tennis lessons offered through the city for kids his age. This was a new experience for him, especially since this is not anything anyone in our family plays so he hasn't been around the sport at all. He did a great job listening to his coaches and following directions. He loved played some of the games they do, and kissing his biceps (how the teach them to follow through with their swing). He was even able to start hitting the ball over the net. I think if he wants to we will definitely sign him up again next summer.

Girls Camp

Chloe attended her second year of girls camp. As it was time to get ready to go she kind of kept thinking it wasn't going to be fun, and she wasn't sure she wanted to go. If you know Chloe this is saying a lot because she is all about the out doors and camping. I told her just to go and she would end up having more fun than she thought she was going to. Without to much persuasion she decided to go.

Camp lasted for three days and when she finally got home she didn't stop talking about all the fun she had for hours. The leaders did a really good job with the theme "oh the places you'll go-Dr. Suess". She had fun adventures-hiking, zip lining, and trying to ride deer. And she made lots of good memories and friendships with the girls in our ward (staying up late and talking). I'm glad she gets to have this experience and hope in the future she will continue to choose to go.

Taking Matters (Keys) into his own hands

Our normally easy going child, Bryce, has really been struggling lately. He has been throwing tantrums like you wouldn't believe and not just little ones either huge meltdowns. I think it is partly him testing boundaries and partly the fact that he is realizing just how smart he is and that he wants to voice his opinion or make the decisions. It seems about  90% of the tantrums are results of power struggles-us telling him to do something and him having other ideas on whether that's what he wants to do or how and when he wants to do it. It has been hard, because this is not normal for him. I get frustrated easily when he is having a tantrum. I am trying to do better as Landon and I both realize that if we talk to him about things beforehand normally the transition goes much smoother, but there are still moments when nothing we can do or say will stop the crying. The worst part probably is not just that he cries and screams but that he also throws things and will sometimes even hit or kick. He will also say things like "well if you don't let me do it I'm not going to be your friend" or "I'll break something then". Where does he come up with this stuff? Every now and then something he does when he's angry is so funny its hard not to laugh a little even though I'm furious.

The other day he threw a big fit in Tanners room so I took him out of there and locked the door. I went to my room to work on some stuff while he had a meltdown. After a few minutes I couldn't hear crying and I could hear the distinct sound of a chair being scooted across the tile. I went to investigate and there was Bryce with some keys unlocking Tanner's door. He had scooted a chair over to the key hanger to get them down. (HA-like I said to smart for his own good).

Hopefully this phase passes quickly. In the meantime Lord give me the strength to be patient.
#Brycee

Crazy Week but Still Checking Things Off

After Chloe's birthday party Saydee came and stayed with us for about a week and a half. It was a super crazy time because Chloe had lots of practices and also a basketball camp that week, but between all of that we still managed to squeeze in some fun and mark several items off our bucket list.

Huge Water Balloon Fight

Pick Berries or Fruit

Washington Rec Center

Yogurtland

Splash Pad

Little Jamaica

Go to the Movies (two times-once just Chloe and Saydee and once with the cousins)

Snow Cones

Watch Mr. Bean

Judds

Play with Puppies (we found some frogs too)

Holy Cow as I was doing this blog post I couldn't believe the amount of stuff we fit into 10 days. WOW!!! No wonder I feel tired all of the time-haha!

#ellisonsummerbucketlist