Green River Rock Slide On I-80

On October 14th Aiden and I were coming home from Rock Springs and came to a pretty immediate stop on I-80. We could see that traffic was backed up for miles and knew we were in for a long wait. Rob called us and let us know there had been a rock slide that had caused some major accidents. A portion of a rock face near Green River had triggered a dust cloud that caused white out conditions, which was the cause of the accidents. Four vehicles were involved and started off with a Ford Focus rear ending a tractor trailer. A van pulling a trailer with an airplane body on it was also hit from behind by an additional tractor trailer. The impact flipped the body of the plane off of the trailer, over the van, and through the front window of the tractor trailer that the Ford Focus had hit. Injuries were sustained but there were miraculously no fatalities. It took Aiden and I about two hours to get home that day. And after looking at these photos that were posted in the paper we were just grateful that no one lost their lives that day.

Hogle Zoo

On October 19th we headed back to Salt Lake for a follow up appointment with Rob's surgeon. Everything looked great and they wanted to see him back on November 9th. The appointment didn't take long at all so we decided to take Aiden to the zoo. I hadn't been to the Hogle Zoo since my oldest niece's were really little. It doesn't even come close to the Denver Zoo, but we still had lots of fun. The weather was perfect and we didn't have to fight any crowds. And on the way home we stopped at the Evanston rest stop and got to see all the buffalo. It was a full day of animal fun!

Green River Swim Lessons

Aiden had previously been taking swim lessons at the college in Rock Springs. The scheduling wasn't really working out for us since we moved to Green River. You wouldn't think that 15 minutes each way would make a huge difference, but it does. So Aiden started lessons at the Rec Center in Green River and I have to say we are very impressed with them. Their program has more to offer and is way more child oriented. All of his instructors are really fun. He loves the water and we hope he continues to!

Lil Artist

You never know, his work could end up in a museum hallway someday. The sky is the limit!

Past Due Surgery

On October 15th Rob finally had the sinus surgery that he has needed for a very long time. His surgeon has been in practice for over 30 years and has seen very few cases as severe as Rob's. He was actually excited to show Rob's CT scans to his colleagues. Rob had the following six procedures done: nasal/septal reconstruction, submucosal resection, maxillary polypectomy, frontal polypectomy, sphenoid polypectomy, and a nasal polypectomy. He was a trooper and pretty hilarious coming out of anesthesia. He was home for five days and then back to work. The morning he started back Aiden asked me, "Where's Daddy?" I told him that his dad was at work and he said, "Daddy doesn't work anymore he just lays on the couch." Rob was not impressed by the statement, but he did laugh.

Discipline Aiden Style

Aiden continues to make Rob and I laugh and we are bound to receive anything that we dish out to him. There is nothing like being disciplined by your child. Aiden was pestering me about something, I don't even recall the topic. I do recall however that he had asked me 20 plus times, to which I continued to say NO! I eventually very firmly explained what the consequence would be if he continued to ask me. Which was followed by, "Mom, you need to come sit on the couch because we need to have a chat."(which I have said to him a thousand times) Next came, "I really don't appreciate how you are acting right now and I am very disappointed about the choices you are making." (also a phrase that he is familiar with) Last came, "I still like you but I'm not sure how long I'm going to be sad at you. I will let you know."(this one is entirely his own) I also got in trouble and was reprimanded on the way to work one morning. There is some major construction in this one intersection that we go through everyday. Some guy in a huge truck didn't feel the need to wait his turn like the rest of us and cut through some barriers cutting us off. It was a pretty close call and I had to slam on my breaks. Without thinking I started yelling "You stupid," but caught myself there and muttered the rest of the sentence under my breath. I was caught up in being angry and then a little voice came from the back seat. "Mom, we do not say stupid. Do we need to talk about some words that would have been nicer that you can use next time?" I said yes and he proceeded to list them for me. I apologized and laughed at the same time to which Aiden replied, "Mom, using not nice words is really not very funny."

Christy's Baby Shower

On October 9th my girlfriend Christy had a baby shower. She is also a Speech Pathologist in the district and has been greatly anticipating the arrival of her first baby. I did the usual; a gift basket and a candy card. Rob keeps telling me I should make a side business out of it. I love it because it's fun, but it's way too time consuming and I'd rather spend my evenings and weekends with my boys.

Weekend In Colorado

The end of September we headed back to Colorado. Rob is going to try to get tattooed once a month to get ready for nationals. We met up with my good friend Trevor for lunch when we pulled in town. We also hung out with the Woolhethers, the Underwoods, and the Corley's. We are grateful to have such great friends in our lives. We miss them all tons.

Littlest Learner's Preschool

The last week of September Aiden started preschool at the Littlest Learner Preschool with MerLee McCort. She is amazing and has been providing private preschool services in Rock Springs for decades. He absolutely loves her, and going to "school". Everyday he tells me what I told him the first week of preschool, "Mom, I will go get my backpack because it's my susponsibility." And I say "responsibility", and he says that's what I said. He goes two days a week this year and will go three days a week next year. We are waiting to send him to Kindergarten until he is six. Some little boys just need that extra year to mature and Aiden is one of them. The fact that I work with Kindergarten teachers and students on a daily basis only solidifies our decision. You can pretty much hand pick the little boys that are barely five and they seem to struggle the whole way through. We want to give him the opportunity to be successful from the very beginning.

The Dreaded Flu

The last week of September Aiden got a lovely case of the flu. I'm surprised that he made it that far into the school year before he got it. Last year he was sick the first week. Throwing up is the worst and we know he's really sick when he stays motionless for days. I never wish sickness on him because it breaks my heart, but holding him all day long is nice sometimes.

Literacy

Some might say that I push Aiden a little too hard at only four years of age. Literacy is such a big part of my career that I can't help myself. I work with little ones all day every day that have never even seen a book prior to coming to Kindergarten. They have never been read to nor do they have any experience with letters or print. The gap that creates for them is huge and it only widens as the years go on, even with the best efforts of special educators. Literacy is one of the highest predictors of whether or not a child will finish high school and obtain a college degree. Our government actually looks at 3rd grade reading levels to determine what future prison populations will look like. I will never be responsible for putting my child in that position. I am so grateful for his eagerness to learn and for my ability to provide the foundation that I know will greatly impact his future.