May In Our New Home On Wheels!

Ok so THE FIFTH WHEEL FINALLY CAME!!!!! In came in on Wednesday morning May 4th. We went to see it later that afternoon, as we needed a couple measurements for Lizzy's bed project, and we just really wanted to see it in person! Thursday was serious pack everything else up day. In the afternoon I had a follow-up appointment with my general practitioner as some things had come up with my blood work. She was mainly concerned with my elevated liver enzymes, indicating a liver disease.....because of my family history. I'd already been told to follow a strict NASH diet as well as a diabetic diet, as my sugars were high as well. So I'd been doing that for almost a month and had lost 11 pounds! Which she said was fantastic! I absolutely LOVE my doctor, she's truly the best at making me feel wonderful! My bad cholesterol was a bit high too, but my good cholesterol was great so with weight loss she wasn't too concerned about it. She ordered more labs :( and an ultrasound of my liver to determine if I did indeed have "Fatty Liver Disease" and if so how severe it was. The blood draw went well, as she got it on the first poke!(miracle of miracles!!) I scheduled my fasting ultrasound for early the next morning. That night we took everything we could up to my parents garage, so when we brought the 5th wheel there we could just take everything from the garage to the trailer. Friday my ultrasound went well, and quickly. About 12:30 Tony's dad came up, and he Tony and I went to Sierra RV to pick up our 5th wheel home! The walk through took no time at all, but the financing had to be re-done. It worked out in our favor though as we got the RV show price, the quoted low interest rate(which is a couple percent lower than current rates) AND we got their grand opening deal of delayed first payment for 90 days! Lucky us!! Tony's dad pulled the 5th wheel to my parents' house in the rain, and we put the awning out and lots of rugs and towels down. My Aunt Ellen was there to see it, so we showed her around quickly(it doesn't really take long to show 430 square feet ;) ) Then despite the rain we moved all our stuff into the trailer. My mom, dad and I put stuff kinda away sorta at least close to where it was meant to be. We had a quick bit of pizza for dinner, then Richard took our trailer to his house where we were spending the night. Tony drove his work truck and I drove the van. The kids both wanted to go with grandpa, so we enjoyed a kidless drive! We had a couple hiccups at Tony's parents' house but all well that ends well I always say. Devin got to sleep on his bunk, and Lizzy spent the night on the dinette bed....which she reported not really liking. Tony got Lizzy's bunk(more like loft) bed in, my parents came down to help(and bring a bunch of stuff we forgot), I did A LOT of organizing and putting away! About lunch time Tony's parents were off with our 5th wheel. We were further behind than we would have liked because we encountered some kindle trouble and Devin was going nuclear! Eventually we appeased him and Tony and Lizzy were off in his work truck and Devin and I followed in the van. We got to the Douglas KOA at almost the exact same time as Tony's parents as it was starting to get dark. Backing the 5th wheel in was no easy feat especially in the dark, but Richard the amazing managed it! We settled in a bit, and the kids went to bed, once again WAY past their bedtime. The prior week of having no schedule or routine came out in them both with some difficult behaviors! Sunday we got our kitchen in order mostly. Tony's parents came and helped with some stabilizing/equalizing stuff. Oh and it was Mother's Day! Tony and the kids let me sleep in a bit and gave me new denim capris and a new t-shirt, along with some much too dark chocolate!(I'm only supposed to have 70%+ dark chocolate) It was so dark it was too bitter to eat, but it's the thought that counts! That afternoon I got the kids room organized and put together. I myself can't believe how perfectly great it turned out!! I just love it when everything works out even better than I have planned in my head! I also did some organizing in the living/dining area as well. Tony made us all a wonderful BBQ dinner, that was delicious! And thanks to Tony's parent's for picking up the food for it! ;) The next week consisted of getting back into a semblance of a routine for the kids and unpacking and settling in. The next week we started school back up, and really set into our usual routine again. The kids loved exploring the campground and getting to know everyone and anyone who would let them talk to them....ok this really only applies to Lizzy, but Devin was usually following behind.  The 5th wheel a couple sites down from us has an 8 year old boy named Bruce, whose birthday is 363 days before Lizzy's(Sept. 14). He's a very nice boy and the kids have a good time playing together. Friday May 20th Tony worked a half day and we drove to my parent's house to spend the weekend, as Tony's work was having a work activity at Boondocks Saturday morning. The kids really enjoyed it! They especially loved driving the race cars! Lizzy is a natural and looked like she'd been doing it her whole life the first time around the track! Devin was a bit of a crazy driver at first, but quickly figured it out, and drove like a pro! We of course got tons of cool stuff from his work and other sponsors and such. They also got some fun prized with the tickets they earned playing games. They provided lunch, and even made Lizzy her own special personal gluten free pizza! I had salad and a little bit of pasta(I know I shouldn't but pasta is my weakness!!!) That evening Jen and Daniel came up to my parents' as well and we celebrated Daniel's 4th birthday! He's just growing up so dang fast!! I can't believe it!!! We gave him a fun "My Good Dinosaur" board game. We had dinner and gluten free cake, with a super cool flashing number 4 candle, that Daniel loved! The cousins had a great time playing together for a good long time, while us adults chatted. I got the results of my blood work and ultrasound in the mail and found out that I only have pre-diabetes and they didn't find any sign of Fatty Liver Disease! YAY!! I do however need to loose weight and eat healthier still. My diet just isn't quite as strict as it was. Sunday we finished up our free laundry and packed up the truck and drove back to Douglas. Last week was a typical school play and such week. We met more people(and in Lizzy's case lots of dogs) including a cute little girl named Amanda who is almost 7 and homeschooled as well so they both have someone to play with in the mornings now! I enjoy visiting with her mom as well. Last Friday the pool opened up, and the kids insisted on going swimming despite the fact that it barely got up to 72 degrees and the wind never stopped blowing. We ended up only staying for about an hour. My kids are part fish I swear! Then the KOA was hosting a smores get together, so we changed into our clothes and went to that. Amanda and her mom were there too, so the kids were really happy! They each roasted two marshmallows! It was a lot of fun!! Saturday was drive 45 mins into Casper to shop at Sams Club and Walmart day. The Safeway here is pretty good, but is definitely a bit pricier and they don't have as good of a selection. We had dinner at the Olive Garden in Casper then came back to Douglas and Lizzy spotted a wonderful little 'ole fashioned ice cream parlor where we stopped and had dessert! Sunday we went to the Douglas ward, which is a small ward, but not as small as I thought it would be. Lizzy made a friend named Elsa and her life is now complete! ;) They were having a good time getting suckers from the bishop when I found them. Devin says he had so much fun in primary and actually loved that they sang the "Hello, Hello" song to welcome him! I didn't even have to stay with him in primary!!! That has NEVER happened! So I actually got to go to and enjoyed very much Sunday School and Relief Society. Then we came home and enjoyed the wonderful weather outside. Tony BBQed pork loin and we had dinner outside on our picnic table. Monday was Memorial Day so Tony was off work. We again went into Casper as we promised Devin we would take him to see The Angry Birds movie. We ran some errands before it. The movie theater there is pretty nice. And the movie was better than I thought it would be, we actually enjoyed it! Then we went to lunch at Applebees. Came back to Douglas and drove around, we came across a pioneer museum that was actually open and spent an hour wandering through it seeing some history of Wyoming. Then we went back to the ice cream parlor for a delicious snack! It was a great long weekend!
I do have lots of fun pictures but I haven't gotten them off the camera yet as I'm not sure how it works with our external hard drive. But I'll work on figuring it out so I can post pictures of how the 5th wheel has become a nice little home, and the fun the kids have been up to!

The Rest of April in a Hotel

We drove home Friday the 15th and spent the weekend packing up our stuff and getting ready to move into the 5th wheel that we hoped was coming the following weekend(we had no such luck though :( ) We drove back up to Casper on Sunday and we continued our routine. The kids became SUPER comfortable in the pool, and in turn had tons of fun, diving for toys and jumping in and swimming all over.  When we learned that the 5th wheel wasn't going to be here that weekend we decided to just stay over the weekend instead of doing another 14 hours of driving(both ways). We ended up staying until Friday then coming home. This factory order from Heartland has been so much more of a terrible ordeal than I ever imagined it would be! We will definitely never be doing it again!! They guaranteed us it would be here by sometime this morning....so far at 10:15 it's not here. Our patience is completely spent and our frustration is approaching the atmosphere! I'm really REALLY hoping my next post is about the 5th wheel, FROM the 5th wheel. But we shall see.

 Pictures!

 Swimming on her back!

 He went under water!

 Man I love this girl!!

 Lounging at the pool!

 Diving for Zuma(from Paw Patrol)

 He got it!!

 Lizzy learning to use her kick board.

 Almost got it

 That's better!

 Watching something on Lizzy's kindle

 First snow

 Silly sleepers!

 She preferred to sit and try to stand on it ;)

 Playing in the hotel room

 Second snow storm

 More playing

 It snowed ALL day!

 Playing on the ipad

More swimming videos!

April First Couple Weeks, Tony's Birthday and Casper!

Let's start with Thursday May 31st, I got a call from my doctor's office about my lab results. It was not good news. Ever since Eric passed away from liver disease complications they've been keeping a close eye on my liver enzymes which were moderate the first time they checked them. With this time the enzymes in my liver were high, indicating liver disease. She told me to immediatly start a strict diet of 1200-1500 mgs of sodium, few proccessed foods, no red meat and I even have to limit the amount of fruits and egg yokes I eat. I can however have as many veggies as I want...and am encouraged to eat lots. I was also just at the border for type 2 diabetes so she suggested I add that diet in while I'm at it, so low sugar and carbs, plenty of fiber and protein. My bad cholesterol could come down too, but she said if I followed those diets and kept my daily caloric consumption between 1000-1200 it was bound to come down. She emailed me some reading matierial and websites that would help. It was really overwhelming actually! Tony and I went shopping that evening for my new way of eating....it's pretty tricky and has taken A LOT of getting used to. I was really hungry the first few days, but it's getting better.  Tuesday the 5th was a non-stop day for the kids and I! It started with Lizzy's eye exam in the morning which was fine. then in the afternoon we went to her medication follow up and decided to increase her anxiety medication just a bit. They were running behind so the kids(especially Devin) was getting worried were going to be late to the movie. You see my dad's work reserved a theater showing Zootopia and of course my kids were ok with seeing it again! Luckily we made it there in time just fine. We met up with my parents and Jen and Daniel, and got popcorn for the kids and Tony. I brought lightly salted peanuts, and a Kashi cherry and dark chocolate granola bar, for my sweet and salty. The kids loved the movie just as much the 2nd time! And always enjoy seeing their cousin Daniel and Aunt Jen! Wednesday was Tony's birthday so I took the kids shopping for his presents. I guided both kids towards great gifts for him. Lizzy made him a birthday card, and when he got home the kids couldn't wait to give him his gifts! After opening his gifts and cards we went to Cantina Southwest Grill for his birthday dinner! That night we decided that instead of just Tony going up to Casper the next week, we'd get a suit for a little more(he had a company discount which helped greatly!) and we'd stay up there with him, until the 5th wheel came in(little did we know!) So the next few days consisted of getting ready for that! Sunday Tony drove his work truck loaded up with work stuff with Lizzy and I followed in the van with Devin. The weather wasn't great and the wind made havoc with the tarp on his truck so we had to keep stopping to adjust it. So we got in a little later than we planned, but it was fine. We settled into the hotel and got dinner before it was time for bed. The next week consisted of waking up getting dressed and ready, going down to the hot complimentary breakfast, going back to the room, playing for a bit then doing school. After that we'd head to the pool for a couple hours, then we'd go back to the room for lunch, then some quiet time, then screen time, then more playtime, after Tony got home we'd have dinner and sometime go back down to the pool with Tony, sometimes we'd just chill until bedtime. Almost every night I'd go down and soak in the hot tub....it was sooooo nice! It was a good week!

Tony's birthday!

 This was from Devin

 This was from Lizzy

 From his parents

 Card from my grandparents

We found great prices on bikes at Walmart and since Lizzy was too big for hers we got her a new one. Then Devin found one and HAD to have it even though he absolutely cannot peddle, but we gave in.

 The first thing we did with his bike is take the pedals off! ;)

 Lizzy loves her new bike!

 First week at the hotel!

 Lizzy checkin' it out

 Sleepin' kiddos

 Doing school

 Lunch

 Pool time!

 Tony seems to think it's cold ;)

 Run away from the daddy shark!

 Lizzy jumping in

 She can back float!

 Riding on daddy

 Lizzy jumped in

Get daddy!

 Look who's in the pool WITHOUT his floaty!!

 He decided he LOVED it! :)

 Sleeping in the big bed together.....this did not work out well.

 Playing

Swimming videos!