Disneyland

We made a last hoorah trip to Disneyland last week before our passes didn't work until the end of summer. I rather like the fact that they don't work in the summer because it is too crowded! We thought about going on the new submarine Nemo ride but, decided not to do it. It was a 3+ hour wait. Blah! Anyway, they had a blast and still love Playhouse Disney. JoJo was standing right outside before the Playhouse Disney show.

Here is a video of Krista playing in the waterfall in California Adventure. She runs up to the camera and says, "I'm all wet...that was fun!"

Miracle Herbs

I was excited when we had our enrichment night to make an herbal pillow that is suppose to help the sinuses. I'd found a recipe on line for it and thought it would be fun to share with everyone. (we also made dream pillows that night)

Here is some of the history that intrigued me:
What does a sinus pillow do?
The refreshing aromatic fill of fresh Peppermint, Spearmint and Eucalyptus encourage the opening of the sinus passages and unencumbered breathing.
What is a dream pillow?
For hundreds of year people have used herb mixtures to effect their dreams. In the same way that certain fragrances (like baking bread or fresh roses) evoke a pleasant memory for you, herbs also evoke pleasant associations of memory. Our noses are said to be the most direct route to our minds and recollections. The subtle fragrances in the Dream Pillow blends are mixed to give you pleasant, interesting dreams and promote deeper sleep. Dream pillows have been around for many many years, it was common place for our grandmothers to stitch up a headache pillow to erase the pain of headaches or have a dream pillow on every bed filled with natures bountiful herbs and flowers. It was also common to see them in hospitals to help patients.

So although I was intrigued, did I really think it would work? Jacob has the worst sinus problems so, I was willing to try anything. We placed it next to him on a dresser at night while he slept. Day after day, Jacob would wake up and have no need to take all the medications he was given by the doctor. To me this was totally miraculous. (I mean how many doctors, how many medications...that weren't really working...and this simple thing helped?!) However, the reason for this post is because the story didn't stop there.

We only have one of these pillows. Ryan woke up several nights in a row, this week, and was screaming and crying. He wasn't totally awake but, he wasn't totally asleep either. This made it very difficult to talk and reason with him. After several nights and much cajoling, his chief complaints were: Eyes burning/itching, clear mucus stuck in his throat...causing choking, and not being able to breathe very well.

I was so upset watching him go through this that my first reaction was give him lots of Claritin, look into buying an air purifier, and take him to an allergist. I'm not saying that I have ruled all these things out (in fact we have a doctor's appointment) but, Jake suggested that I put the sinus pillow in his room for a couple of nights and see what happened.

Well, not only has he stopped waking up at night, he is sleeping more hours than he used to and seems generally happier during the day. Could this pillow really be helping? Well, my mind was still in doubt. However, while the pillow was out of our room at night I noticed that my nose was stuffy in the morning and I wasn't sleeping as deep for the entire time that the pillow was in Ryan's room. Is this just coincidence? Well, with a science background, I would say I have to allow for that possibillity but, does it feel like it could be helping? Yes! It feels like a miracle. I will be making more. If anyone makes them and has success please share and if anyone has had success with herbs in general let me know!

If anyone is interested in the recipes here they are:

NOTE: So that it was easier to do at enrichment night, clever girls came up with the idea of making the pillows longer so that you could fold the material down inside the bag and just tie the end shut. Also, to keep them fresh longer, keep them in a Ziploc bag when you are not using it. Also, because they were doing it for so many people they bought the ingredients online, in bulk, for very cheap. The pillows cost between $1 and $3 each.

HERBAL PILLOWS
By Karen Hegre

Sinus Headache Pillow

Cut two pieces of material 10 x 4 inches and sew together. Making a bag, leave one end open and stuff your bag with the following ingredients;

Mix together in a bowl;

1/2 cup of flax seeds
1 part crushed spearmint leaf
1 part crushed peppermint leaf
1 part lavender buds
1 part eucalyptus leaf
1 part rosemary leaf

Stuff the bag and sew the end!

Dream Pillow

Combine the following in a bowl;
1 cup mugwort
1/2 cup rose petals
1/2 cup german chamomile
1/2 cup sweet hops
1/3 cup lavender buds
1/3 cup crushed catnip
1/4 cup peppermint

Mix the ingredients together....make cloth bags from a 5 x 12 inch piece of material....fill the bag with your mixture....sew the top of the bag shut.

He Did It!

Ryan graduated from preschool today! He was so excited to see us in the front row that when he was suppose to pose for a picture with his teacher, Miss Sandy, he pointed to us and shouted his excitement to see us there.

They received a certificate, we watched a movie with pictures of all the kids throughout the year, and then they sang a song called Kindergarten Here We Come. Then there was a little party in their classroom afterwards. We learned that during chit chat club today, they came up with their own ideas about what rules would be good to have in kindergarten. The number one thing they thought of was "NO PUTTING YOUR FEET ON THE WALL" Cute :-)

I can't believe he starts kindergarten in exactly a month. We actually got to go to his kindergarten today for an assessment that they do to determine which teacher he will have and what students he will be with. (How cool is that?) He said he loved the new classrooms and had fun with the kindergartner teachers that he met. Way to go Ryan!

Congrats Godard Family!

We are so happy to hear that Ben has been accepted to Johns Hopkins for graduate school! This wiil further his career and they don't even have to move! Way to go! We're so excited for you. Happy Father's day Ben!

I Accept

Picture is of my grandfather who passed away in 1980. I wish I could have known him better. This is dedicated to him.

I will work on genealogy for the next 100 days and see how much I can do. It's hard to find time for such a time consuming thing, with two little ones at home, but I am happy for this push. My progress in this area had completely stalled.

And even though I picked an ongoing process I really think this will help because I have just started doing this work. My goal for the next 100 days is to continue organizing and documenting the information I have to make time for finding more relatives.
Thanks Amy for such an inspiring challenge.

See Amy's blog that started this and learn the story

Cubs Party

Happy end of the T-ball season! We had a blast at Pizza Hut. What a fun year we had. Coach Jake even got a plaque. Ryan went crazy with his old friend Zach and Krista was right there in the pack, as usual. She really wants to be a Cub :-)

From My Sister--See an ISS

GET OUT YOUR TELESCOPES!

"You guys also have a great view of the Space Station tomorrow (tuesday) night. Definitely something to see if you haven't seen one before."

Date/Time: Tue Jun 05/08:53 PM
Duration: 5 minutes
Max Elevation: 60 degrees
Approach (Deg-Dir): 10 above WSW
Departure (Deg-Dir): 11 above NE

Sightings this week

WHAT IS AN ISS?:
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) IS AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION INVOLVING THE EFFORTS OF 16 COUNTRIES BUILT TO MAINTAIN A LONG TERM HUMAN PRESENCE IN OUTER SPACE, PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR MICROGRAVITY EXPERIMENTATION AND SERVING AS A 'FIRST STEP' TO FAR-REACHING SPACE EXPLORATION. (FROM NASA.GOV)

Congrats Carver!

Ryan's favorite 2nd cousin in Florida! Ryan misses you Carver! We'll post pics of Ryan's preschool graduation later this month.

Discovery Science Center, Legoland, Dodgers Game

Vacation before Hawaii

We had so much fun having Daddy home with us for so long while he was inbetween his old job and his new! We took a few pictures of some of the things we did. It's been a really long time since we've seen Jake that often! The kids really loved the Science Center & Legoland. Those two places are made for exactly their age and are so hands on for my kids who love to touch everything! Ryan's favorite thing at Legoland was the firefighter show. He was laughing so hard and running down the steps to get to the water they were spraying on the kids! Krista really liked the ride she could do by herself--Royal Joust Ride.

Daddy's favorite thing was the Cubs game, of course. (Well until they lost in a lame way at the end) We had fun with my uncle and my cousin there. I'm always surprised at how many Cubs fans there are in ANY stadium that is not Wrigleys. We definately didn't stick out. If there are any Cubs fans out there will you please commiserate with my husband?! They just aren't very good......for so many years....oh dear! Alright, they have come close a few times but, what are these games where they are ahead something like 10-0 in the 7th inning and then they lose?!!!!!! Can we say, NO GOOD PITCHERS! Okay, all this aside, because of Jake, I will always be a fan, rain or shine. Go Cubs! (I still can't believe I cheered for Cubs at a Dodger game! I'm still a Dodger fan!)

Hawaii-Oahu

Hawaii Trip

What a fantastic time we had! We still can't believe it all fell into place. Thank-you, thank-you grandma! The kids had such a great time with you. Thanks for everything. Grandma shared with us one of her favorite things the kids had said.

Ryan praying before breakfast said, "....and please don't let my Rice Chex go soggy while I am praying...." I love this age!

We spent our entire time on Oahu. We went to the spectacular Polynesian Cultural Center, the Temple, BYU-Hawaii, swam with dolphins, ate dinner by sunset at Northshore and went snorkeling in the infamous Hanauma Bay.


The weather was beautiful and I loved driving around the island. The skies looked like they were painted and the beaches were so clear and warm. It really is paradise. But, where do Hawaiians go for vacation?

I gave up trying to pronounce street names and kept reminding myself that I was in the U.S. I wished my old roomate from college was there to "translate". I suddenly understood why Utah was such a shock to her and why she spent about 2 hours on the phone one night to describe to her friends at home, on Oahu, what snow looked, felt, and tasted like.

Can we go here at least once a year?!