Friday, April 8, 2011

Spring Break

This year Jake had work off for Spring Break so we were able to escape the North Pole for a several days. We were able to spend a few hours with Jake's parents in Springville, UT and then we headed off to Cedar City, UT where we spent the weekend with Jake's brother, Andy and his family. The cousins had fun playing together and I had fun shopping for a few clothes, because I forgot my suitcase at home. I couldn't believe it when we were unloading at Andy's and my suitcase was no where to be found. I was sure to pack every little thing for all of my kids and then I left my nicely packed bag sitting in my closet at home.
Sunday evening we headed to St. George, UT. We decided to rent a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home for 4 nights and 3 days with another family that was in our ward last year, the Tolmans. It worked out really well and our kids had fun swimming and playing together with their kids. They spent a lot of time playing in the backyard, which had a nice swing set and trampoline. It was sunny and low 70's when we were there and it felt so good to get some much needed Vitamin D and "thaw out".
We were also able to spend a few hours with Jake's sister, Sunny and her family. They live in Hurricane, UT which is only about a ten minute drive from St. George. They treated us to a yummy barbeque and we enjoyed being able to visit with them. On the way to Idaho we stopped at Jake's sister, Cari's house and spent the night. The kids had fun playing with more cousins.
The next morning we left for Idaho Falls because I had an appointment to have a radioactive ablation done on my thyroid. Sounds scary but a really simple procedure, simply swallow a pill and then avoid close contact with people, especially children for a few days. Just after Christmas I was diagnosed with Graves disease (hyperthyroidism). For several months I was taking medicine to control my symptoms but they weren't really helping so I decided to go and see an endroconologist in Idaho Falls. He has dealt with a lot of thyroid issues for the region and after looking at my labs and visiting with me he said that I was the most extreme case of hyperthyroidism that he had ever seen. He suggested radioactive iodine ablation so I can get feeling better soon. Radioactive ablation kills your thyroid so I will still have to take medicine everyday for hypothyroidism but at least I will be able to control my racing heart rate and other symptoms I was experiencing. It is amazing how much you can take for granted sometimes. I never knew how much one gland in your body could effect your health and life so much.

Playing outside with Cambrie and Calina
Jake trying to get Zach to like swimming.
Tyler the water dog!
Brooke waiting for the big bucket to fill up with water and soak her.
Playing in the shallow end with the little ones
Playing on the slide and swing set
Zach was not sure about the turf grass at first
Having a good ole' time
Posing on the patio
Riding the kiddie Cars at a family fun center we took the kids to
Kennady and Zach
Cousin Hailey teaching the girls how to ride the roller coaster!
Zach snuggling in with Aunt Sunny





2 comments:

Clarissa said...

It was tons of fun to see you guys for a couple of days! Hope you are feeling better from your procedure.

Meliss said...

oh my goodness, Jess! I haven't looked at your blog forever. I had no idea you have Graves Disease. That is super scary. I hope you are feeling a little better after the procedure. Good thing you happen to know a medical professional who could help you out with blood pressures, heart rates, etc. HOpefully you were able to get things under control a little quicker since you probably had an idea what all those were at before you went in for an appointment. Must have been hard dealing with all that with a little guy. Take care of yourself!