July 31, 2004

Four years ago today, Kyle and I were sealed in the temple. The years have gone by so quickly that it doesn't seem like it's been that long ago.

There isn't anything I would change. Nothing at all. Kyle has made marriage so much easier than I believe it should be. I remember that on this day, 4 years ago, Jill approached me and told me something to the effect that Kyle was already trained to be the perfect husband and it wasn't fair because she was already married and still had to train hers (no offense Kenny).

She was right (about Kyle). Kyle was a trained husband from the day I met him. I later found out that he was born to be a Dad as well. I'm so grateful to have married such a wonderful man who has made me happier than I could have hoped for.

He is my best friend, my eye candy...my lobster.



Love you Sweets, Happy Anniversary.

I love rollercoasters. Absolutely love them! I could ride rollercoasters all day, all night and anything in between. I have gone on family vacations where I did nothing but ride rollercoasters all day and all night and I have to tell you, they were some of the funnest vacations I remember. I love the feeling of the adrenaline rush as you go flying, twisting, rolling and spinning through the air. However, I found out last night how I don't like the whole flying, twisting, rolling and spinning.... it's when I'm in my car.

I was headed to work in a downpour. Huge drops of rain coming down so fast and so hard that the freeway was covered. I could totally see clear skies a couple of miles down the road and I was very excited that I wouldn't be driving in that horrid weather for too long.

Then the back end of my car started to hydroplane and it started whipping around. I let off my gas just a little and tried to turn the steering wheel the same direction as the back of my car was headed trying to correct myself. I've hydroplaned before and I was able to correct it before and I was hopeful that I would be able to do it again. I was wrong.

Very quickly my whole car started spinning and I was headed off the side of the road. I was headed south bound to work and when I hit the bushes at the side of the road I was facing north. I rolled, once maybe twice and landed facing south again. Judging by the look of the car I may have actually rolled once and spun on the passenger side landing right-side up after a while. (You know, it's hard to tell what's really going on in your vehicle when it slams into bushes and flies through the air at 70 mph.)

There were no other drivers around, so I didn't involve another vehicle. I didn't hit any of the metal poles at the side of the road. I only hit bushes and dirt. I was really, REALLY lucky. I actually had enough time to realize that I was going to roll that I was able to brace myself with my hands on the steering wheel. I walked away with a seatbelt mark across my left shoulder (which is already starting to fade away). Had I not have been wearing my seatbelt I may not have remained in the car. None of my stuff did, so I see no reason why I would have been spared. Even worse, I may have only come out of the car part-way.

No one was even around who saw the accident. But, two very nice men stopped when they saw my lights on and the car totalled, one was named Winston. Thank you for stopping, Winston. He helped find my shoes and all my other belongings that were thrown from the car. He called the police and an ambulance (which I refused to take, there was no reason to go in for a seatbelt burn) and he waited until Kyle and a UHP officer showed up. Nice guys and I wish I could thank them more for what they did.

All I can really say about it is that I'm supposed to be here. In one piece, mind you. Someone was watching out for me. I've seen people that have much more severe, debilitating injuries for much less of collision. As for me, my neck hurts a bit today, and my shoulder aches where the seatbelt was; but other than that, I'm fine. I don't even have big cuts, I didn't hit my head. I'm completely okay.

Want to see pictures?

Driver's side. I know that when I rolled it was the drivers side that rolled first. Doesn't look like much damage right? Other than the hood is eating some grass, not much damage. This is why Kyle thinks I rolled only once and slid on the passenger side. He also thinks that I flipped up onto that roll-bar rather than actually rolling up to it. Hardly a scratch on my door. Oh, but the side view mirror is missing.Smushed in windshield and yes, that is the roof that crunched in.See how flat that roof looks, and the flattened passenger side. Passenger side from the rear. It was pretty munched in and it ate most of the dirt.Driver's side from the rear on top. See how I rolled right onto the roll-bar.Rear view. Back windshield completely blown and see how the top looks all smooshed to the passenger side. Weird huh?And here's the part that I think is cool. See how the roof cave on the inside. Can you see how there is a nice little spot that was left uncaved for Chelle's head? Isn't that kind of cool?

Someone was watching me. I have no doubt about that. I came home last night and kissed Kyle and Porter to little bits. I have something to add to my list of what I did this year. I just wish I didn't have to go to the extremes to get something added to that list.

Porter's First Birthday!

Porter is now one year old! Can you believe it? I know that I can't. It seems like this past year has just flown by.

As of July 21st, this little guy turned one. He is getting so big, so quickly and I just can't believe it.

We spent the weekend of his birthday with my parents and enjoyed watching him open presents and have a go at his birthday cake. Tradition with my family is to let the child loose on their first birthday and let them dive into their cake. Most kids don't pay much attention to their cake on their first birthdays, so they haven't ever gotten too messy. However, Porter must have got the message on what he was supposed to do. I don't think their was a part of him that wasn't covered in chocolate frosting by the end of the ordeal. Here's the cake I made for him...

And here he is destroying it. He decided that it was best to go in foot first. That's the least intimidating way, right? Just testing the waters. Once he figured it was safe to attack it, attack it he did.

Yes, that is grass on his upper lip. He had a hard time not getting the grass involved too.

And of course, when we start out with our foot, why not finish with it? I stood him up so Kari could get a picture of him in all his glory and he plopped his foot right on the top of the cake.

This little guy has been so much fun to have around.

He is always happy and smiling. He says "Hi" to just about everyone we see, and he has taken up to pointing at you when he says it...just in case you weren't sure the "Hi" was for you.

When anyone laughs, he breaks into laughter too, but it's a little delayed. He's just laughing because everyone else is... or was.

He can totally walk on his own, as long as he doesn't think he's walking on his own. He will sit right down if he thinks you're going to let go of him.

He talks with stuffed animals in a different higher pitched voice when he's playing with them.

He loves his baths and he loves going swimming, but he absolutely adores being wrapped in a giant towel. Porter climbs out of the tub and into my lap when I have a towel out and ready for him.

He eats Cheerio's like their going out of style, and will shove 10 or more in his mouth at a time if you will let him.

He loves to cuddle when it's bedtime and loves to read books.

He's the most darling little redhead I've ever seen and I'm just so happy he's mine. Happy Birthday Porter!

(and thank you Kari for all the pics, there were too many to choose from)

Kyle's Birthday

For Kyle's birthday, we headed a little farther south to visit Jill, Kenny and Aiden. We went swimming at the new Washington Community Center and we had a blast! They have a huge play area and an enormous bucket that dumps out every few minutes. It actually holds more water than you would imagine. Watch...

If I didn't know any better, I would have to say that Porter was a fish in a previous life. This kiddo is all about the water! He takes off into it and doesn't care when it starts covering his mouth ... his nose ... his eyes ... he just wants to get in deeper.

He absolutely loved it! We got him some floties. (No, not floaties, floties. I was corrected. Apparently they are floties.) But, they do not allow children to have the floties in the deeper water. (Maybe they allow floaties, but floties are a no.) This seems to negate the point to me, but hey, what are you going to do? So, we took off the floties... (starting to irritate anyone else, floties just sounds dumb doesn't it?)

This is my brother-in-law Kenny. I think he likes kids... every shot I have of Kenny looks something like this...

Porter was a little nervous at first in the deep end, so we took him over to the play area.

He does pretty good standing on his own...

That is of course until he realizes he's standing on his own.

This is post-fall. The kid wasn't even phased by the face-plant. Loves getting his face wet. I wasn't able to get many pictures of Aiden, he just won't stop moving! He loved all the "fwimming". And pictures of Jill... well... she moved out of the way a lot. She also wouldn't look at the camera. So, the above is the best I could do.It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed spending the day with the Gordon's, we always do. Thanks for having us down! We wouldn't have spent Kyle's birthday any other way.

Like Father, Like Son

I have been told by Carri that when Kyle was a little boy he used to put everything in his pockets. He would collect anything and everything that he could find and stash it. Kyle says that when he was in high school and would do scavenger hunts in seminary, he would take off his hat and fill it (overflowing, by the way) with all of the stuff from his pockets.

This didn't end with high school, Kyle still keeps things in his pockets. On a daily basis you can always find chapstick, a knife or two, a pen, gum, pencils, erasers, you name it, stuffed in there. In fact, Kyle has a bowl for the things in his pockets. It sits near the front door where he can empty out everything at the end of the day.

Porter is already picking up the trend.

This is his shirt from yesterday. And those are three rocks, and one of my SD cards, which were found in his front pocket.

This little one is already so much like his daddy.

I guess I'll have to get a bowl for him too.

Redheads

This is my little cousin Shannon. How darling is she? I haven't seen her in a very long time, and I completely forgot how much of a redhead she was. Porter and Shannon have the exact same shade of hair. Isn't it just beautiful? I hope Porter's stays this color as he gets bigger.
I've noticed that having a child with red-hair is like when you buy a boat. You never really noticed that everyone else is tugging a boat behind their truck; until you yourself have one.
I've just started noticing all of the redheads around. I'm sure they were there before, but I'm just now noticing cause I've got my own.

Paintball at the Family Cabin

This past weekend we headed up for the annual Johnson Family reunion up Fairview Canyon. We had so much fun spending time with family. We always enjoy ourselves at the reunion and I have to say that I had a new first that I get to add to my list for next year!

I discovered that I love paintball.

There is a huge grove of Aspen trees up at the cabin, and it made for the perfect spot to play. There were some drawbacks, such as; I got eaten alive by mosquitoes (13 bites that still itch), I have welts from the paintballs all up my leg and a bruised knee (they really smart if the paintballs don't break) and I think I rolled and damaged my ankle yet again. However, there are some great points (and I think they make up for the drawbacks ten-fold) ; you can shoot people, good exercise (if you move around), and you can shoot, people.

Now, I'm not so excited about shooting people normally, but the stress of past shifts all went out the window when we started playing. Although I wasn't frustrated with anyone that I played with, it was just the concept that helped break some of the tension I've been feeling over the past several weeks. Before you start to think that I just unleashed on my family the wrathe of Chelle, I have to defend myself by telling you all that I inflicted no unnecessary pain on anyone. For that matter, I didn't inflict any pain on anyone. I may enjoy paintball, but I'm not what some would call...well...good. I didn't hit anybody. Not once.

We played regular paintball for the first game which was pretty boring and I didn't think I would play again. Then, Kyle thought we should play capture-the-flag paintball style, and I have to say that I don't think I've had so much fun in a while!

Shooting matches with your brothers-in-law, how often can you do that...legally?

I don't know what it is about shooting a paintball gun that is so fun, but I didn't want to stop. I had a riot. If you get the chance to do it, I highly recommend trying.

Porter's goggles.

Porter loves Kyle's Chem lab goggles.
Great fashion statement, don't you think?

Ha Ha, Just Kidding!

Did you really think Porter was allergic to wheat? I sure did! I totally had myself and everyone who has come in contact with this little guy for the past 10 days pretty convinced!
Are you surprised at the depth of the conspiracy? I know that I am. It runs deep I tell you. Deep.
So, we went to a specialist today. He told us that it doesn't seem like Porter's really allergic to wheat. If he was it would cause Porter more stomach upset and normally doesn't present itself in the way of hives, welts and his throat closing off. (I had wondered about that, but when they run a blood test, I seem to think that it's pretty set in stone. We'll talk about how that SO isn't true here in a minute.)
So good news/bad news. Good news, not really allergic to wheat (at least not in a way that we have to worry about it too much). Bad news: still don't know what caused the bad reactions.
They want us to see an allergist and have a scratch test done for different foods. The doctor we saw today thinks Porter will outgrow the wheat allergy, and that the test that was performed isn't really all that accurate.
Here's my question, why run a test if it's really not that accurate. They said that the negative results are more conclusive than the positive results. The positive results mean that he may or may not be allergic to that specific allergen. The negative results mean that he most likely isn't allergic to that allergen, but that he may possibly be allergic to it.

So, for those who are confused, let me sum it all up.

He may be allergic to the things that he was tested against that came back saying he was not allergic to them, but most likely he isn't allergic to those. He is allergic to the things that he was tested against that came back positive, unless he's not.
Do you see where I'm a tad-bit confused as to why this test was taken in the first place? Yeah, me too.

Anyway- here's the low-down.
Porter can have wheat. He isn't on any food restrictions other than formula (which is fine cause he drinks milk) until he sees an allergist or he has a reaction to something new that we give him.
It all comes down to being very good news. Confusing news, but good news all the same!

And the Winner is?

So, the doctor called this morning.

He started into how Porter has a low milk allergy, and since he tolerates milk so well already, he will most likely outgrow that.

(He was prepping me for something worse. I could tell.)

The past several days I have been wondering what it would be like if he was allergic to nuts or eggs. I've tried to imagine how that would change our way of life. Not much. I could totally handle a nut allergy. Eggs, done. No problem. Let me have it Mister Physician.

However, the discussion took a turn I wasn't quite ready for, and hadn't really thought of.


"Your son is allergic to something that is in almost every household. It exists in almost all processed foods. It tastes wonderful. This is not only going to turn Porter's life around, but yours as well. You won't even know what happened to you. He will most likely come in contact with it daily. In fact, I bet you probably have it sitting out right at this moment on your kitchen counter and if it fell off and Porter grabbed some you would have to rush him to the ER immediately. In fact, you've heard of the "bubble boy" right? Well, that's your son. Go out and buy him a large plastic bubble this instant, put him in it and never look back!"

Well, maybe it's not exactly what was said, but it's amazing how one sentence of "Porter's allergic to wheat." can sound like so much more.

I never would have guessed that Porter was allergic to wheat. But, wheat it is.

As of today, Porter is on a gluten free diet. It is possible for Porter to outgrow this allergy (that's what we're hoping for). We know that he's had several wheat products with no reactions. In fact he was eating wheat products today before I got the call. But, until further tests are done and we find out the extent of his allergy, no wheat for Porter.

But, I've decided it's a good thing. It's good to know what it is that causes these trips to the ER at 11:00 at night. I know now how to prevent it. Sure, it will be a big change, but Porter's young enough right now that he won't even know the difference. And, there's a 50% chance that he will grow out of it. All good things.

In the meantime, my boy is happy, healthy and not swollen! And his momma's happy. And his daddy's happy.