Denver Days

Fred and I flew to see Shannon and her family.

Originally we were going to help her after her scheduled C Section, but then she delivered early and we got to use the week to just play. 

My assigned seat in the car was in the middle next to Mima.

Buddy and Mima are happy helpers.

The first three days, Buddy had preschool in the morning so we ran errands with Mima.

It worked out on this day that we got to pick up Brian from work and go to Freddy's for lunch.

Fred's assigned seat was way in the back with Buddy. 

After school one of the days, we went to this park. 

They have parks everywhere and the kids know which one is which and make their requests.

As usual, Fred came prepared with something special to play with at the park.

This is a little balsa wood glider.

Mima allowed Granpa to help her walk around the wall.

They keep this BIG box in the living room to store the toys in.

This is how Mima goes digging for what she wants.

We drove about 50 miles to Colorado Springs to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

It was windy at this elevation, but it was a pretty nice zoo.

Brian was at work. He got to choose which activity to save for Saturday so he could come along.

This zoo is set up pretty neat. The public can feed the giraffes. 

Mima is getting a kiss here.

On Friday morning was parent teacher conference for Buddy.

This is a slide on their playground. 

Some new design for a teeter totter.

After parent conference, we drove to Greeley Colorado to the Colorado Train Museum.

They have miniature trains and scenery filling the museum. 

This is a small scene that the children can push buttons to activate lights, run trains etc.

Mima is working on the lights and moving the carousel. 

After the museum, we stopped for lunch at Carls Jr. Shannon packed their lunch in case we couldn't find a place to eat that they liked. 

Buddy was not really cooperative for this picture.

Maybe that's why I take more pictures of Mima????

After our big day at the museum, we went to Monkey Bizness. It is filled with bounce houses and stuff for little ones 2-5. Mima is looking the part.

Saturday we drove to Golden Colorado for another train museum.

This one is full size really old trains. Some you can walk inside and look around.

This is a train that use to deliver mail. 

Here is an engine.

Better view at the top.

Going back to the cars.

Happy Family!

Here is our Granma/Granpa pose.

Sunday morning it was gorgeous outside. Shannon sent the kids out to play.

Church wasn't until 12:30 so we had lots of time.

The kids have lots of really great outdoor toys.

They played together really nicely.

Granpa came out for a look.

Shannon & Brian said another family from church said they had their kids jump on the trampoline before church for an hour. By the time church started the kids were so tired that they sat quietly.

So Shannon & Brian decided to try it out. I brought sticker/coloring books for the kids, but I'm too not sure it really helped keep them quiet. 

This missionary greeted us as we went into the chapel. I looked at his name tag and it said "Elder Merkley". Well I totally knew he was from the Merkley family in Bremerton. He looks just like his Dad did when we knew them 20 years ago. After Sacrament meeting, I went up to ask him where he was from. I over heard him tell the people he was talking to that he was from Seattle. So I knew it! Sure enough we confirmed he was that Merkley family. His parents were Shannon's primary teachers AND she used to babysit this Elder and his older brother. So then I got on Facebook and found his Mom and sent her a message and included this picture.

THAT WAS SO FUN!

We had a really nice time with Shannon, Brian and the babies.

The babies fell asleep on the way to the airport. I did say goodbye to Mima before she feel asleep.

Shannon called and said that Mima was pretty distraught when she woke up and I was gone.

That's just what a granma wants to hear!

I have the greatest doctor

Actually Stacy is a Nurse Practitioner, but whatever her qualifications she is fantastic.

I had my annual physical this morning and arrived with my list of ailments/frustrations.

First and foremost, I haven't slept good for pretty much going on two years. It started in March of 2014 when I started taking weight-loss meds. The side affects for me were dry mouth, constipation and interrupted, fitful sleep. After I had lost about 35 pounds and felt really in control, I went off the meds mostly because I couldn't stand the side affects anymore. Now the benefits of the weight loss was I got off my high blood pressure meds and my anti depressants and overall felt happy because when you lose lots of weight, you find your real self again.

As time passed, I think my sleep did improve some but I continued waking usually around 4:30 in the morning on a regular basis. I've tried several different over the counter sleep aids like Melatonin, Mid Nite and lately an Equate brand of ZZZ Quil. I fall asleep a lot sooner with the Z Quil, but I still wake at the early hours and it is very fitful sleep after that. 

Being over weight is always an issue for me, but honestly I have made great efforts and changes in my eating and exercise with no success. I just hover around the same 2 or 3 pounds. It's more frustrating than in the past because being sleepy takes it toll. I'm too tired to get out of bed most mornings to do my morning work out. Then I sit at a desk all day and pretty much read to get through my day. Well reading makes me sleepy and since it's kind of boring too then I think - oh I'll get something to eat. Whether the snack is junky or healthy it is still additional calories that I wouldn't eat if I didn't feel tired. 

My lab results were really good news. I was in the prediabetic range from my blood screening though our insurance company at the end of last year. Well my numbers are back in the normal range. So that was a relief. I also take a low dose of thyroid medication and my numbers have doubled so she is going to up my dosage. When I first started the thyroid medication in Feb of 2014, I lost six pounds right off. So I think perhaps my thyroid has been the block to my weightloss efforts. 

She is prescribing a non narcotic, non habit forming sleep aid for me that should give me a continuous feed to keep me asleep. Now if I would only stop breathing through my mouth I think that should work. Being over weight also contributes to sleep apnea which I have a mild form of so I get to sleep in my darth vadar mask. It's lovely. Anyway, when I breath through my mouth the air coming in the tube dries out my mouth so bad that I wake up and I have to get out of bed and rinse out my mouth and drink. I don't know why all of the sudden I am breathing through my mouth AND from reading on my computer screen at work for the last 6 months all day, I have developed Computer Vision Syndrome, also referred to as Digital Eye Strain, describes a group of eye and vision-related problems that result from prolonged computer, tablet, e-reader and cell phone use. Many individuals experience eye discomfort and vision problems when viewing digital screens for extended periods. The level of discomfort appears to increase with the amount of digital screen use.So I wake up and my mouth is dry and my eyes are dry and so uncomfortable that I have put in eye drops. So I'm a mess. 

I even bought the new updated cpap machine that has a heated tube that is supposed to get me more moisture or something like that. Well Our insurance covers the machine, but not the new fancy tube until June. So I think I'm going to see how much it would cost just to buy it. I can't wait that long to see if that will help my dry mouth problem. 

So going into my appointment this morning I was feeling so discouraged and pretty depressed and walked out feeling empowered and like there is hope.

Stacy listens and hears your concerns and she always provides options and answers. She is one of the greatest blessings from moving here. 

So my post today is kind of out there, but I need to document all of this so I can remember it.

Stuff we did this weekend

On Friday after work we went to Red Robin for dinner. We shared their new Marco Polo chicken sandwich. When it came time to pay our bill, we had earned a free burger. So our meal cost us $6.00 including the tip.

After that, we met our neighbors at the St. George Tabernacle to listen to T.C. Christensen speak. Here is a little info on him.

T. C. Christensen
Born	1953 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	1973–present
Notable work	Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration Emma Smith: My Story 17 Miracles Ephraim's Rescue The Cokeville Miracle

We didn't really expect to enjoy it much, but he only spoke about 45 minutes. He had four clips from a couple of his movies and then talked about some of the back ground of those clips. It was really good. After that we tried out a new burger/ice cream joint - Iceberg. It was good.

Saturday was chores and then we did a little shopping. I finally made prints of Scott & Jess's updated family picture for our entry. Also printed off one from Disneyland of Corinne's family. All our photos are out of date. We never did hang any from Christmas of last year because they were such a HUGE disappointment. So for now this is still our only family portrait display. 

Saturday night we stayed home and watched Valentine's Day on VidAngel. Sunday was church and choir. After choir, I went to Judy's house for a lesson on cookie decorating. Thank goodness they turned out pretty. It was an ugly process outlining for the icing. She used this really cool rolling pin. I might need to buy one. She had already taken off the one end of discs when I took this picture. The dics make the rolling pin roll your cookie dough at an exact measurement. I thought it was pretty amazing. 

Here are my cookies.

After cookie decorating, she started preparing for our Valentine's Dinner. Judy and Shan have us over for dinner a lot. Their son and his fiance' and their daughter and her husband are usually always there too. We are kind of family now. It's nice. Judy is a party planner. Dinner for a holiday or birthday are pretty jazzy. She bought everyone gifts and candy. 

Always a fun time, but I eat way too much. 

Oh and everyone and their brother is in St George this weekend. 

The ward following us had David Bednar, his wife and three other general authorities visiting. 

The message between he and his wife was:

Grandparents, leave your families and go on a mission. They will get along without you. Your families will be far more blessed with your service than you being at every event. 

AND

We have always lived in hard times. Be positive and faithful. 

The prophets of old saw our day and rejoiced. 

I LOVE WEEKENDS!

I love my friends

Our party animal friends hosted Super Bowl Sunday 

The consensus was - Boring game.

We do know that true Bronco fans most likely did not have that sentiment.

But this crowd did - minus Jerry - the guy in the hat in the front. 

 While the guys sat and watched the game, the ladies of the house gathered round the table, ate, talked, played on our phones and laptops.

 We did eat, but this was after we were all filled to the gills.

 Obviously, I was the only one taking pictures so I wanted to get in on the action.

Judy B is always good for a enthusiastic pose. She's the real party animal.

Then there is my bestest friend Fred. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how blessed I am. We had one of those talks, instigated by me and in the midst of it I thought to myself
"Man - he is so easy to please. Get your head on straight Gayle and enjoy it".

The Big Day came Early

Shannon has been having a really good experience being a surrogate for this lovely family.

Pregnancy has been going great and she has been feeling good. 

The last few weeks she has finally been feeling like she would like to be done.

Chasing Buddy has become impossible so he has been kind of having a hey day.

Shannon checks her Blood Pressure every so often when Brian checks his.

Her's was kind of high on Friday. If I remember some of the facts correctly,

Saturday morning her limbs began to feel tingly.

By Sunday her doctor said to go to the ER and be checked out.

She was admitted with Preeclampsia.

Brian brought the kids in Sunday night with chocolate cookies. 

Little Orphan Annie here.

I believe Monday Buddy had a little mishap at Preschool.

No one saw what happened, but he knocked out his front tooth.

Now he will be toothless on the upper and bottom in the exact same place.

He knocked out his baby tooth on the bottom when it was barely coming in. 

Shannon and baby Kiwi were closely monitored Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and both were doing good so Shannon enjoyed a few days of Hospital Spa treatment. Wednesday night her blood pressure spiked so it was time to deliver the baby.

Meet Baby Kiwi. 

Born Jan 27th at 10:02 PM

4 lbs 15 oz

Her Apgar number was 9

Her original scheduled C Section was Feb 26th. 

Shannon is feeling much better today - Friday. Thursday was rough with side affects from all the medications that were administered to bring down her blood pressure. She thinks she will be ready to go home on Sunday. She doesn't know yet when baby will go home with her family. 

Working on health

Fred and I are making changes in our lifestyle because we have had a health screening that came back with very unhappy numbers for both of us. We have decided together, that we need to make some changes and get ourselves in a better state of health. It just so happens that our medical insurance has a program where you can participate in health screenings and other online programs and earn points towards rewards.... It is a dollar per point value and these are the rewards that we have earned and now have at home. Plus we both got a fitbit for Christmas.

This is our stationary bike. Right now it is in the living room in front of the TV. Fred is using it more than I am. In fact, I've only really been on it once. I hate seats. This may be his.

We haven't inflated this yet. It came in a set I ordered. It had the step below, this ball and a DVD with exercises. I haven't looked at the DVD yet, but I will. 

 I ordered this digital food scale. I do weight my proteins most of the time for my salads. I have been using my scale from LA Weight Loss, but this is so much cooler.

At work I sit. A LOT. I figure, it can't hurt. I ordered this to take to work to put under my desk. I should be getting up out of my seat about every hour at east, but this will help with movement and increase my step count on my fitbit. I don't know if it will work out, but it's worth a try.

 I've had a Giselle Glider for over a year. At first, I didn't use it because it made the bottom of my feet feel weird. It was very annoying. My friend told me it takes time for your foot to get use to the motion and movement in your shoe. Well I have finally crossed over that weird feeling and I am using this a lot. I fit in at least 10 minutes before work and sometimes longer. I also use it at night when I want to watch TV. I'm starting the Friends series on Netflix again. 

I bought new walking shoes and a sweatshirt to bring to work so I can walk on my lunch hour. Sometimes I don't take an hour so walking does fit in the time, but sometimes I do and eat at my desk. It really depends on the weather. I don't walk in the summer and sometimes it is too cold.

I also use our weight bench about two mornings a week. Nothing heavy duty. There are only two movement I can do on the weight bench because I don't use the leg press thing - it's bad for your knees. Another move I can't reach the "paddles". I also use 5 lb hand weights for three movements on the floor. It's not much, but I know strength training is really important.

It is nice that we are in this together. I hope we can improve our numbers by the time we have our next screening  AND keep it up until we die. 

A really nice weekend

So I really enjoyed this last weekend. 

To start off every weekend, we go out to dinner.

We had a gift card and a certificate for a free appetizer at Texas Roadhouse so that's where we went.

We never order appetizers because it just fills you up, but since it was free we got sucked in.

We ordered their cheese fries so I ordered a side Caesar salad and two skewers of grilled shrimp.

I wasn't going to eat their rolls, but I caved and ate two. They really are not that fantastic except when you eat them as soon as they set them down nice & warm.

We've been working on cleaning up our eating and have been doing really well. Meaning not really any treats, chips and are adding lots of fish, veggies and smoothies made with spinach. So we splurged and went to Burger King (another gift card) and I got a carmel sundae and Fred ordered their snicker pie piece.

After Saturday chores and a certain amount of nesting, we headed to see Star Wars.

Surprisingly, we had not had any lunch yet... (hehehe) so we decided to split a Marv's burger & fries.

Still within better eating habits when you share.

Then since we were in the splurging mentality of the weekend we walked across the parking lot to Grandma Tobler's Bakery and bought these cookies.

 The best part of this moment really was the fact that we sat outside at a little table with mid weight jackets on in the beautiful sunshine. We have just finished a week that was Pacific Northwest weather. I can't handle gray skies anymore. 

 I think that Fred actually might love cookies more than I do. Or maybe it just seems that way because he eats more of them than I do. You know, I try to be "good" (HA)

 So after all the eating, we went to see the show.

I'm not a big Star Wars fan by any means, but this really was good.

Now I didn't care for the Finn actor or the Jet Pilot Ace actor, but the actress who played Rey, she was good. I hope they don't pursue anything between Finn and Rey. I'm not feeling it.

 After the show, we went home and watched the original Star Wars. We own all of the DVDs. 

A couple other thoughts about the movie. Harrison Ford we have seen through the years as he has aged. He did look older, but you know it's him. Carrie Fisher on the other hand...if you didn't know it was her I would have never matched her to the original Leia. She didn't look old or frumpy at all, but she just didn't look anything like her former self. Maybe if she would have colored her hair dark...I don't know. It was just weird.

And then some random.....

On Friday sitting at my desk I looked out and see this tank driving down the road.

Today, I look out the window and see this hot air balloon. We have a lot of these around here and usually flying above and around our neighborhood. Today though this balloon was traveling really low to the ground way out here. He did shift course and go back up and continued south.

Oh and one more tidbit from the weekend.