OOWWIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Mike thinks these pictures are a little too graphic for the blog, but some of you want to see them. (If you can guess, he hasn't been the nurse - he's grateful that I haven't minded.) If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip these pictures and be glad I didn't put the pictures we took that night in the ER. My parents are the only ones who have seen those - I suppose if you really want to see them, we can send them on a request basis.

These were taken February 27 (1 week +1 day after) We had to wait that long until they looked ok enough to blog. The black on her middle finger is the bone poking up out of the skin.




After her first follow-up visit 10 days after the accident, the doctor determined he needed to operate to trim back the exposed bone on her middle finger. He was hoping the tissue would grow back, but no luck.



March 11 - Surgery Day - Before

She rode like this to the operating room on her belly with her head at the foot of the bed, a princess on her magic carpet. Going against the grain. The nurses didn't care - they figured she might as well have fun. It made everyone we passed in the hall smile.

After Surgery - the first after picture she wasn't really smiling and I told her that we couldn't leave until she gave me a good smile. She perked right up.

These last three were taken March 16th (3 1/2 weeks post accident - 5 days after surgery)

Making the best of having to have her fingers wrapped - we painted the bandages too! :) I have been so proud of Whitney. She has kept a good attitude and been a real trouper through it all. Even when she has had to keep them covered and not been allowed to do anything (bike riding, PE, recess, etc) that could bump them. She hasn't complained much - even when she has had to cover them to go to the beach and not use her hand. (I'm sure you're all thinking - I would take covering my hand if I could go to the beach!) To begin with, changing the dressings was pretty traumatic, but after a few weeks - she was pulling it off herself. It was a week or more before she would even look at them though.

We are counting our blessings - it could have been so much worse. When it tipped over, she said she fell back and hit her head. We're so glad it only smashed two fingers on her left hand instead of her hand, arm, chest or head. Anytime she has needed the use of two hands at school there have been 6 pairs ready and willing. Many people from BYUH and our ward have been so kind and concerned. It has made this challenge manageable.

A Castle is a Castle

Whether it's made of . . .

SNOW (Jan 09)

OR

SAND (Mar 09)

Beach Excursion

After having been here for 5 weeks I FINALLY put my swimming suit on. "Where is the proof," you ask? Well, let's not be ridiculous. I still only got wet up to my knees, but that's progress, right?! Brynlee fell asleep on the way and slept for 2 hours letting us play. She must like the sound of the ocean because she rarely naps like that at home. It was so much fun to build our sandcastle and moat and watch at the girls' disgust that a wave could so easily destroy all of our hard work. But they quickly went to work repairing it and digging the moat out, again. I am not sure I will love the beach once Brynlee is mobile though. Sand has a way of getting EVERYWHERE! But I am sure you are all thinking you don't want to hear it - because I get to be in the sand and sun instead of snow. But we do miss you!

Brynlee's Snuggle

My friend, Cheree, gave this little snuggle blanket to Brynlee when she was born and in the past few weeks has come to love snuggling with it (hence the different outfits and poses). She loves to rub it on her face when she is trying to go to sleep and wakes up rubbing it and chewing on it. So cute!

She's Got Hops!

Although this looks photo-shopped - it is completely un-edited. Mike captured this picture when he took the girls to the beach without me. I was at home feeding Bryn. When I downloaded the pictures and saw it - it looked fake to me. But it isn't! Great shot, Daddy!

Kenna's Birthday!

Our Kenna just turned 6! Whoa! She is still the family comedian and keeps us laughing. Both of her sisters love her to pieces. She's already transforming into an island princess!

Mom and Dad got her beach toys - to the beach!

Grandpa and Grandma sent her an ipod docking station - she loves it!

Tuellers came over for cake and ice cream and brought Kenna this candy lei and a dollar ring that she loved. I don't know why I didn't think of a lei - we aren't Hawaiian thinkers yet.

Kenna didn't really know many people here yet, but she really wanted to play on the beach. Instead of a party we decided to have two friends over for her "rolly pancake" birthday breakfast on Saturday and then head to the beach.

But Mother Nature had other plans - it rained.

Then rained harder. There was standing water in our driveway.

So instead of pouting - we watched Little Rascals which Kenna got for her birthday and painted fingers and toes to wait out the rain.



When the rain slowed to just a drizzle, Mike took the 4 girls to the beach to play.

On their birthday Kenna asked Bekah what cake she was going to have and Bekah hadn't decided. Kenna wanted to match cakes since they couldn't be together. She had already chosen a butterfly cake and Bekah thought that was a good idea. I emailed Melinda the pattern and a picture of Kenna's cake so they got to match. We just wish the cakes didn't have to be an ocean plus a state away!

Kenna and Bekah - The Twins

Makenna and Rebekah were born two hours apart March 6, 2003, Kenna in Utah and Bekah in Washington. We've always joked that they have been twins forever and agreed to be born only if they could come together. They have always been very close and rarely ever fought. Whenever they are together they are inseparable. Even after Bekah moved to Idaho 2.2 miles away from us, it took months for them to not have tears when their play day was over for fear that they wouldn't get to see each other for awhile like it had been before. For the past 2 1/2 years living close has been fabulous and their relationship has continued to flourish. They are such a crack up and love being together. Not many days go by without Kenna talking about Bekah and wanting to know what she is doing right then. When we still lived in Idaho they talked on the phone at least once a day (they each had memorized the other one's phone number) and usually played a few times a week. The time change is pretty tricky so they don't get to talk as much. When they got to talk on their birthday I loved to hear Kenna say, "What are you going to do for OUR birthday?" We miss you guys! Happy Birthday girls! Hopefully you won't have to have too many birthdays apart - how about a Hawaiian 7th birthday?!

Grandpa Pack

Roland Samuel Pack
October 3, 1913 – February 20, 2009

Mike's grandpa recently passed away. What a wonderful day to be reunited with his sweetheart after having been separated for over 11 years. Our girls have been blessed to know 3 great-grandparents and have a sweet relationship with each of them. When we told them he had passed away, they asked if we were sad. We explained to them that he had lived a great life and was now able to be with Grandma Pack and Heavenly Father and Jesus again. What a wonderful reunion that must have been!

We tried to make a point of visiting Grandpa and making sure we got pictures with him. Our second to last visit in Emmett was my favorite. Grandpa was very witty and made us all laugh. He also took the girls for a spin on his walker - as you can see in the pictures, he is pushing them. They loved it. I love how the pictures capture their admiration for him.

One time Grandpa came to stay with us for a weekend when we lived in Orem. One night, he had spent the evening with a cousin and we were going to be at Jenna's until late so we asked that when Grandpa got back and went to bed that he not lock the deadbolt because we didn't have a key to it. He must have misunderstood, so sure enough - after midnight when we got home we were locked out of our house. It was springtime and I was pregnant with Whitney. Grandpa didn't sleep with his hearing aides in, and we didn't want to wake him so we didn't knock very loud. We weighed our options and chose to sleep in the car, at first laying the seat down and sleeping in the trunk and later moving to the front seats.

Grandpa had been worried that we weren't home yet so he kept checking at the window to see if we were home. But seeing our car but not us, he would go back to bed. About 3 or 4 in the morning, I woke up to Grandpa in his pajamas with un-combed hair knocking on the car window. It gave me quite a scare. He felt so bad that he had locked us out. We all laughed! Up until about a year ago, everytime we saw Grandpa - he would remind us of how he had locked us out and we would all laugh again.

(Mike's Comments) It doesn't happen very often, but Katrina has turned over the keyboard and our blog to me, so I'm going to take full advantage of it! :) I am so grateful the the life and example of Grandad. Even as the sun was setting on his mortal life, he made it a point to send birthday cards, with his own handwriting (with a little help from Aunt Kathleen). How treasured were these little notes of love and appreciation. One of my favorite things about Grandad, and what I think had the greatest influence on me, is his eternal and unwaivering love for his companion, Grandma Pack. He would always speak with such tenderness in his mentions of her, how he missed her, and how grateful he was for the eternal nature of their relationship. He also never missed an opportunity to share his testimony of the restored gospel and his love for the Savior. That made an significant impression on my young (and not so young) mind. Looking at images of him with my children, his amazing daughter (who became my mom), and with me, I am flooded with countless memories of reunions, visits to John Day & Marsing, birthdays, baptisms, and all the things that bring families together. And that, ultimately, is what I and so many others have learned from Grandad - that we have the promise of forever with those we love following a life well lived. Such was the life of my Grandad. I love you - give Grandma & Dad a squeeze for us!

5 Months Old

Brynlee is 5 months old! And weighs around 16 lbs!




She is rolling both ways - front to back and back to front.

Her "measuring blanket" is getting so small!

She LOVES her toes. Such a fun toy - can't leave home without them! So cute!

I read about taking a nursing picture from over my shoulder in a magazine so you can remember what they look like. You spend so much time like this you would think you wouldn't forget. I'm glad I did. And will probably love it more when she is weaned. I love that she is playing with her hair - what little she has. She does this most of the time when she eats. Very adorable.

Doctors and Nurses and Owies, Oh My!

Nothing like having everyone in the medical field know you by name. In two weeks time (only in Hawaii for a week and a half), we have had 7 doctor visits (2 in Utah/Urgent Care right before we flew here), 4 nurse visits (TB testing), 2 ER visits (for the same injury just two hospitals), and all 3 kids have been on antibiotics.


To explain, Kenna had an ear infection causing a high fever and cough for 5+ days, and Brynlee had bronchitis. (Both needed antibiotics) In order to be employed or go to school here in Hawaii you have to be tested for TB so that comprised our 4 nurse trips.

Then Thursday (before moving in) we came to show our friend the new house and check to make sure it was ready for our stuff to be delivered Friday and Whitney decided she wanted to be more like me. She was climbing on a pogoda/flower bed decoration and it tipped over and smashed two of her fingers. The thud and following scream raised the hair on our necks! Mike scooped her up and ran to the sink - upon examination we knew we were in for an ER visit. Laurie kept Kenna, which was a huge help!


We went to the local hospital where they gave her some tylenol with codine and they were going to stitch it, but I asked if we needed to go to a plastic surgeon or specialist to try to save her fingers. He called a doctor in "town" (that is what Honolulu is called) and sent us off to the next ER an hour away. It was worth the stop - at least they were able to make Whitney more comfortable with the meds. We didn't get home until 3 AM, and no stitches afterall. The crush fractured the bones of her left middle and index fingers. They said that they didn't want to stitch it to avoid infection. If it got infected, there was a high possibility the infection would spread to the bone which is hard to treat and could result in losing her finger. Although it made for a long night - I am glad we went. We returned the next day to see the orthopedic hand surgeon who is excellent.

The pagoda
It used to be much taller - there were several layers that
looked like the top one stacked up taller than Whitney.

So - like mother like daughter. We are starting a short finger club - ANYONE WANT TO JOIN? It is a little painful - but it doesn't last too long, right Whitney?

Moving, Again

Our New Home

Since we loved it so much the first time, we decided to move again. The day after we arrived, BYUH housing called because they had just added a new house and wanted to see if we liked it better. After checking it out we decided it was a better fit for our family. Luckily our stuff hadn't come yet. They were still working on the house so we couldn't move in until the next Friday (after having been here for a week and a half). Our other house would have been fine, but was on the main highway and had no storage. Our new house is newly remodeled and is right across the street from the girls school. We are greatful the timing worked out so well and we were able to get into this house. I think that we will like it. The down side - we have almost doubled our commute to the beach - 348 steps! It's rough!


Our stuff made it to Honolulu a few days before we could move in so the moving company just held our stuff for an extra couple of days. We had to be pretty creative with meals and toys. We were very excited to see our stuff. Unfortunately, we have to wait a little longer to figure out what "normal" is. Read the next post to see why. So many people have been great and very willing to help. It has helped us feel not quite so far from home and family.

It was like Christmas in February getting to unpack all of our stuff. Things we missed most


--kitchen appliances/utensils/cooking stuff

It is crazy trying to feed a family cooking with only a frying pan and sauce pan and no microwave. We realized how much we take simple things for granted. We bought some canned veggies to eat with a few dinners - but the funny thing about that is you need a can opener. We didn't think about that at the store though. Luckily our friends the Tuellers had an extra they loaned to us.

--my boppy

--our computer - hence the lack of blog posts

--a couch - but it didn't come - we will be replacing it soon since it isn't very much fun to lounge on our tile floor

--toys



Whitney and Makenna found the Easter decorations box and helped us unpack it. (Not sure why they thought we needed Easter decorations in February) I came out and found Brynlee like this - not complaining at all. I was amazed that she just laid there. They even put the grass stuff to make hair.



The moving company would have unpacked everything, but since we had to go into Honolulu, they didn't even have time to get all the boxes inside. Laurie came over to let them finish getting boxes inside and lock up. This picture is Saturday evening - after a day and a half of unpacking, we still hadn't found the legs to our table. What can you do? The tile is awfully hard so it was a quick meal!

Famine

CHECK BELOW THIS POST - I'M PERIODICALLY ADDING NEW THINGS. HAWAII PICTURES SOON!

I wrote this awhile ago in hopes that I would get caught up, but that hasn't happened. Most of this is past tense, but I am not going to take the time to change it - do you want a post or not?! We are now in Hawaii and going on three weeks of living out of suitcases. There are only so many meals that you can cook with just a frying pan and sauce pan, plastic utensils and no microwave. We are excited to get settled and figure out what our new "normal" is going to be. Everyone here has been so kind and willing to help. We are so grateful to everyone! Especially the Tuellers!!! Hawaii pics to come soon!

I apologize for the famine in the past three months. We have been absolutely crazy! As you read you will see why. I keep hoping that I will do posts periodically, but then end up doing marathon sessions instead. I have lots to post. Just to prepare any avid readers of this blog, there is a good chance there will be another famine. So you may want to read just one post per day so it doesn't seem so bad. We have accepted at job at BYU Hawaii where Mike will be the Director of Communications and Marketing. This will be a HUGE change and adjustment for everyone, but we are excited for the memories and growth that will come from it.

There was some serious contention surrounding this decision and our share of singing "Love at Home" on the couch, but we finally decided to accept an adventure of a lifetime. I am already excited to leave the cold - January is a good time to leave Idaho. This will be an amazing experience for our family as well as for Mike in his career. One of the first questions the girls asked was if they could do their homework on the beach. There is a public access very close to our house. I counted 199 steps from our driveway to the beach. That will be a lot of fun. We are very sad to leave family, but hope to get lots of visitors.

With all that said - would anyone still like to reprimand me for being a slacker blogger? I have to reduce my household items to 6,000 lbs and will be without it for up to 35 days (that includes the computer - so there is yet another famine on the horizon). Hopefully once we get settled, I will be able to be a more faithful blogger. Promises, promises.

In an attempt to get caught up, I haven't been working on recent posts, but I better start from now and work backward or none of it will happen. So keep looking below this post for new stuff. And note the dates - they should be about when they actually happened.

2nd First Day of School

They didn't start school until after Presidents' Day because they had to get a TB test and it takes 48 hrs to read so their first day was a week after we got here. The girls wanted to wear the same thing they wore for their first day of school in Idaho. I did much better this time around - no tears. But I got a phone call from the school every day their first week with one of them in tears. The first day I was in devotional so the phone was turned off. I felt really bad because Whitney was pretty upset. But what can you do? They are both doing much better now, after a lot of time spent at the school. I have been glad to be able to get to know their teachers and friends. And luckily we are just right across the street.

Devotional was great! Sheri Dew was here and spoke about needing to be strengthened against Satan because he is working harder than ever. One thing that really spoke to me was the need to come to understand how the Holy Ghost speaks to me personally. A simple concept, but something I have started trying to understand better. It was excellent. If anyone is interested the talk can be found on byuh.edu under devotionals. Maybe that isn't at all what she said, but that is what I heard. I love how the holy ghost works that way.

Brynlee's Been Sick

Brynlee got two teeth a few days before she turned 4 months - yes 4 MONTHS! She wasn't fussy or anything and Daddy is the one who found them - not nursing Mom. But shortly after that, she got sick and was so fussy I knew something was wrong. The instacare doctor in Utah told me that she was fine, so we got on the airplane the next day. She continued to get worse that week so I finally took her to the doctor on Friday. It was really scaring me because she would get into coughing fits that she couldn't even cry. Before she got sick she was sleeping 11-12 hours/night. It was fabulous. But then she got sick and the only way to settle her down was to feed her. I couldn't just let her cry because that would send her into a coughing fit. Flashback to newborn nights. The Hawaii doc thought it was RSV, tested her and sent us home on nebulizer treatments. They helped, but she still wasn't improving so we went back again on Wednesday - the RSV test was negative, and he determined it was bronchitis instead. Fortunately, the antibiotics did the trick and we have our happy Brynlee back. YAY!

One night I had to run to our friends' house to borrow their cooler, and Brynlee got really mad. After screaming awhile, she crashed on Mike - the screaming he didn't love, but really enjoyed snuggling with her. I tried to wake her up to feed her, but she was just too worn out. Poor baby. Side note - the reason we needed to borrow a cooler was because the fridge in our house didn't work. Unfortunately, we had milk and eggs and cheese in there. To save the food, we borrowed the cooler. I was very grateful that I didn't go to Costco to stock up like I had been planning because I was too worn out. The only casualty was a gallon of milk - it could have been much worse. BYU was great and quickly came to replace it.





I didn't realize this until I was looking at pictures, but her little "stork bites" on her eyelids turned dark when she got sick. Maybe they will be a good indicator of illness.

Happy Presidents' Day!

This was the first time Mike has ever had Presidents' Day off, so we ventured out to the zoo. When in Idaho, we bought a zoo pass which we have used several times - definately enough to pay for itself. There is a list of zoos that will honor that pass across the country. When we were going through papers in preparation to move, I ran across the reciprocal zoo list. Jokingly, I said, "And I bet Honolulu is on there." And surprise, surprise - it was! So our trip was free! Even better! They have three tiger cubs that were born in September that were adorable. It was very fun to watch - I think someday I would like to have a pet tiger. I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Maybe in heaven.

On this trip and also the one before it, we learned that our GPS isn't very familiar with Hawaii yet. Our first failed attempt was trying to get to a Walmart. It sent us into the middle of a very residental area, and told us we were approaching Walmart on the left. There never has been or ever will be a Walmart there. By the time we finally did find a Walmart, we were tired and a little on the grumpy side. I miss having super Walmarts where you can get everything - including all the food you need. Even "supers" here only have basic food items. Oh well. Finding the zoo wasn't quite as bad, but it took us a round-about way that took longer than it needed to.

There are some really amazing trees here. I never knew there could be so many shades of green. It is funny because driving to Honolulu takes at least an hour so it is kind of a drive. We have tried to play "I Spy," but it doesn't really work. Everything we spy is green! But absolutely beautiful!

The hippos (that is not derogatory to my girls - there really is a hippo in that water)



"Llama Face!" Aunt Jenna and any other Johansons who enjoying quoting The Emperor's New Groove will appreciate this one. We took this picture so we could post it with that caption.



They had a really cool fish exhibit with huge, very colorful fish. You can walk all around it and then the kids can crawl through a tunnel to get to the middle to see on top and it looks like they are in the water.

Banana Harvest

We haven't gotten him a machete yet, so the one small borrowed kitchen knife had to do. The roosters had gotten to the bottom few, I didn't even know that roosters really flew anywhere, but I guess they do when they want a banana up in a tree. They were tasty. The girls were sad that our new house doesn't have a banana tree. I guess we will have to plant one like Uncle Alan.

1st time IN the water

On Valentines' afternoon we hit the beach. It has been pretty crazy weather, locals say it hasn't been this windy ever - maybe we brought the Idaho wind. Oops! I didn't get to put my suit on because Bryn needed to eat, but that's how it goes. I will someday, right? She doesn't love the beach because it has been so windy and she can't breathe - I should tell her that it really is overrated. I tried to photoshop out the farmers' tan with no luck - I guess we'll have to let the sun do it instead.



Jumping the waves with Dad's help (Kenna's turn)



Whitney's turn