Lil' Dean Fam

On Tuesday, both of my boys will start school.  Ryan enters the first grade on his sixth birthday and Evan will begin preschool.  They are both VERY excited to be back in school.  This was our last week before school so we crammed it full of fun things and a little preparation for the upcoming academic year. On Monday we went to the Library and got hair cuts.  On Tuesday we went to the Splash Park with friends.  On Wednesday we went to the Draper Pool. On Thursday we went bowling.  and on Friday we had lunch with the teachers and I finished getting 722 students entered into the computers for AR.    

I visited with my diabetes doctor a few months ago and after talking about some of the issues I'd been having with controlling my blood sugars and losing weight, we decided to try a new drug for a trial period.  The drug is called Symilin and it replaces the hormone Amalin that your pancreas makes.  Most people know that your pancreas makes insulin and it is common practice to use as a treatment for diabetics, really, it's the only treatment Type 1 diabetics use.  There are several different types of insulin patients use but most don't use an amalin replacement.  From what I understand, Symilin does three different things.  1. it makes digestion slower 2. it makes the insulin you take more effective and 3. it makes you feel full. So, at the beginning of May, I decided to try Symilin for 6-8 weeks.  Symilin doses start at 15 and then go up to 60.  For a new user, you take 15 micrograms and then after 3 days without nausea, you can increase by another ...

Last year my dad bought me some Nike shoes for my birthday.  It's funny but they really changed my life!  I was able to wear them while I struggled to heal my heel.  I learned to run in these shoes.  They've done five 5K races and I've logged over 130 miles on these shoes.  I love the Nike+GPS sensor that they are compatible with and it makes working out so much more fun and meaningful.  I noticed that these shoes, Nike Lunar Glide II came in a new model, the Lunar Glide III.  I really wanted a pair and was super excited about getting them.  I got a gift card for the Nike Online store through the Coke Rewards points I'd earned so that brought the cost down a little which is a total bonus!  I've just put the new shoes on but I really love the color and they're already super comfortable!  

This year for the Balloon Festival I didn't take the kids down to the park and really, it ended up being a neat experience anyway.  The balloons launch from the park just down the street from our house, within walking distance.  Because they are so close, the balloons were literally just flying over our neighborhood.  I could hear the flames while I was still in bed.  I looked out the window and there was a giant blue balloon in front of the window.  I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots.  My neighbors were out too but I had my large lens on so it was difficult to get the balloons and the people in the same shot.  I entered the first three shots into the photo contest.  Doubt I'll win because my photography skills aren't the greatest.  Maybe I'll get lucky!   

Grandma and Grandpa took all three grand kids camping last weekend.  They took their trailer and went down to Springville.  The boys told me all about it when they got home, I was surprised by how much I missed them after just two days!  I think their favorite part was the s'mores!   Friday night one of my cousins got married so they took the kids and went to the wedding.  That's why they look so "nice" for a camping trip.   \  My mom told me a story about their trip that I wanted to write down and remember.  I guess Ryan and Evan had hidden from my parents while they were camping and it scared my mom.  So, she told them that they needed to be good and not hide or they would have to take them back home. Later that day they drove back to Salt Lake for the wedding and the boys fell asleep.  When Ryan woke up, they were near our home and he thought that he had gotten into trouble and was being taken home.  He got a little hy...

This Summer Ryan did county league soccer with all of his buddies from our ward.  They learned a lot about how to play as a team.  We sort of took turns coaching since there were so many interruptions with all of the different summer schedules.   Ryan attended a free soccer clinic one day as part of the league and he learned a lot about how to handle the ball. I think he enjoyed the soccer a lot more than the tee ball.  I'm glad he was able to participate and I think he had a lot of fun. Evan even got to play in one game!  This is Ryan with his best buddy Easton after their last game, and with their trophies.  

This year we took swimming lessons at the South County Outdoor pool in Riverton.  We've had really good experiences with group lessons in the past.  Cheap, close, and great instructors.  This year, our experience wasn't quite as favorable.  However, I don't think the kids noticed AT ALL except for the two days that the lessons were canceled because the heater was broken, so I won't go on about it any more.  Evan is finally old enough to take swimming lessons so he was absolutely thrilled to be able to get in the water with his big brother and "swim" for a while.  I'd like to do another session since we only had four 45 minute lessons, but we'll see!    Ryan, Maycee, and Curen Elementary back stroke: monkey, airplane, soldier  This is Ryan's attempt at back stroke.  When I showed him this video, he said, "Mom, I thought I was really swimming".  But then I showed him the front-crawl video and he was satisfied with his swimming...