Lake Powell '09

Well, it's time for our wrap up of our annual Lake Powell trip. *Warning* picture overload. .

Henry loved jumping into the water, from the boat and even off little cliffs.

Paisley with the wind in her hair!

Henry swingin himself in the boat.

Driving dump trucks.

Not being pregnant was pretty exciting. I even got to wakeboard a few times. I never did manage to get up on the air chair though.

Charlotte and her favorite cousin Ashlyn. I caught them walking around holding hands, cute!

Handsome Daddy and Paisley.

Charlotte playing with Paisley in the "fort".

Henry's turn.

Paisley was cracking everyone up doing her sniffy face all day.


Henry could usually be found sitting on a quad or "m-m-motorcycle." Even this one in the trailer.

. Henry liked to do this face when he saw the camera.

Tucker loved swimming, paddling the red kayak (which I managed to not get a picture of), riding the tube, and "belly boarding" (riding on his belly on the knee board behind the boat) He loved playing with his cousin Elisabeth and wanted to do everything with her.

Trent spent time on the dirt bike and the air chair (I didn't get a lot of pictures that I should have). He took us all on rides on the tube as well.It was a wonderful trip and all the kids did great and enjoyed themselves the whole time! We love getting so much time with Daddy and all our P* family and cousins!

The Fourth

Paisley was patriotic in her red and stripes. We had some shopping to do before we left to Lake Powell, so Paisley and I hit a couple of stores. Then we got home, made potato salad and headed to Bart and Dusti's in Queen Creek for swimming BBQing and fireworks. it was great!

Food Allergies

A couple of weeks ago Henry got his blood drawn to retest for his allergies. We got the results back yesterday and we're very happy! Henry's tested negative for wheat, peanut, and other nut allergies! His egg allergy has almost disappeared, the doctor recommended not to give him plain eggs, but said that cooked in foods it was fine. His milk allergy remains, which we will retest in one more year. But for now we are so happy! Say hello to a whole new food world Henry, you're going to love it!

Here he is today eating a peanut butter sandwich! I hope this means no more grabbing crusts off the top of the trash and sneaking away to a corner to eat it:)

On the other hand, now we have Paisley. Yesterday I gave her some of my scrambled eggs. This led to her breaking out in hives and vomiting several times. I also suspect that the eczema on her face may be related to a wheat allergy (it started showing up around the time I introduced cheerios). I plan to just watch her carefully until her first birthday when I will probably have her tested as well. I guess it's a waiting game then.

A friend of a friend

This family needs help and I wanted to spread the word.

***FEDERAL EMPLOYEES- PLEASE DONATE LEAVE TO RYAN HESS***

My name is Margie Hess, my husband Ryan was diagnosed on June 12, 2009 with a rare and aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Since this is an aggressive form of T-Cell Lymphoma, his doctor has put him on an aggressive chemo regimen that will result in him being unable to work for the next 4-6 months and possibly longer. At the time of diagnosis he was finishing up his 1st year as a Podiatry Resident at the V.A. in Tucson, AZ. Ryan is a devoted husband and father of two children, Hallie (5) and Max (2). By the end of this month (June 2009), Ryan will use up the last of his vacation and sick leave and will have to go on unpaid leave. Ryan is the sole provider for our family; I stay at home with both the kids. Without him working we have no income. I need to stay home to help care for him, so I cannot get a job right now, either. As difficult as it is for our family to have to ask for help, we have realized that we must do so at this time. We were told that any federal employee (ie: military, Border Patrol, DEA, FB I, Dept of Justice, EPA etc. EXCEPT Post Office employees) can donate vacation time to be used as sick leave for another Federal employee. We would be so thankful for any number of extra paid days we can accumulate. Thank you so much.



How can you help if you ARE a Federal Employee?



Go to your HR department and request to donate leave to Ryan Hess who works for the VA. (Your HR person will know the form that needs to be filled out- each Federal agency has their own form to donate leave)



Once filled out and signed, the HR person will then need to fax or e-mail the form to:



OLIVIA McCLURE - Benefits Specialist (TUCSON V.A.)



Phone #: (520) 792-1450 x 6076



Fax # : (520) 629-1849



E-Mail : olivia.mcclure@va.gov







ALSO, for those who are federal employees, please print out this message and post it in break/lunch rooms to help get the word out as well as emailing it to co-workers!







How to help if you are NOT a Federal Employee:



PASS this along to ANYONE and EVERYONE that you know and then ask them to pass the message along. Post it on blogs, Facebook…whatever you can think of.



Thanks again everyone- this will help SO much!



GO TEAM RYAN HESS!



(E-mail teamryanhess@gmail.com to receive updates or to send a message

Haven't done one of these in a long time

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just kid stuff

So, Paisley turned 9 months old last week. She is very skilled in the ways of babyism. She has broken 4 top teeth through in a matter of about a month. She now stands unassisted for long periods of time, even squatting down and picking things up and popping right back up. She can stand up without the assistance of anything stable, just pop up in the middle of a room. She can crawl very fast and chase any of us wherever we go, she almost always crawls around with on hand holding a toy, making a clopping sound. She can take two steps. She usually does this when transferring from one piece of furniture to the next. She is darling and happy and easygoing. She is rarely fussy or needy. She has begun babbling, "dadadaada. . " She is so happy and easy in the pool. She sits in her floaty seat and is so happy to float around chewing on a toy. Henry wouldn't stay in that thing for 2 seconds, but she loves it. Thank goodness, because it makes pool time so much easier. She is simply darling and loved by all. She plays with the other kids like a big girl. She knows she belongs with them. Tucker will tell me what Paisley is being while they're playing. . "Mom, Paisley's a baby storm trooper. . she's a super hero, and her power is spit up.. . she's Megatron.. ." It's so great that he includes her. I love watching the kids together. I think they will grow up having such a close bond. The one thing I struggle with having them so close is that I feel I rarely get to enjoy them individually. I feel like the baby moments have passed me by so quickly. I hope to start having individual dates with each of them on a regular basis. I hope they all know how much I love each of them and their own unique personalities. I am so blessed!

Robin is 28 (and referring to herself in the 3rd person)

I had a great birthday. Sunday we celebrated Father's Day, Trent's, amd my birthday all in one with Trent's family. I made a frostless german cake (the coconut and pecans were baked into the bottom and the cake was flipped) for the first time and thought it came out pretty well. I got lots of good stuff, including a certificate for a massage that I can't wait to redeem.

Then yesterday I got some birthday calls (Gina you were first) and Trent gave me some of the presents that I wanted from etsy including earrings, my mason jar pin cushion, and some nesting dolls. Yes!

earrings from emily and trentMy big sister Sarah came with her boys and I got to leave the house alone! I had lunch with Mel, Kathi, Abbie and Sophie. It was so nice. Then I wandered Target looking at all their stuff without anyone bugging me. I wanted to use my gift certificate from Troy and Jen, but didn't find great stuff, so I decided to hang on to it. The mommy time from Sarah was such an awesome gift!

After we put the two littlest monkeys in bed Trent's parents came over so we could have a date. It was nice to have dinner alone together after he had been gone all last week.

Thanks everyone for making it a great birthday!