Lexi's Surprise

Lexi is almost 13, I can't believe it!!

With her upcoming birthday and the fact that Darrell and I were changing our cell phone plans, we decided to get Lexi an iPhone. She is a great kid- and rarely ever gets in trouble. Darrell had spoken to her briefly about getting her a smart phone. I told him he was way too nice, and that she needed to earn it. She hasn't been great at getting her weekly jobs done lately. In all honesty she's gone 3 nights a week to softball and then most weekends has softball tournaments so she doesn't have a lot of time. But, I told her she had till her birthday to prove to us she could keep her jobs done and be more responsible with them, and then we'd decide if she gets a new phone.

She was on top of her jobs- like all over them. Her room was clean, her closet was clean, her bathroom was clean, and even her assigned room stayed clean.

I have been in serious need of a new cell phone. I didn't care what it was- I just wanted one that worked correctly and would actually let me receive and send my texts, ring when someone called me, and alert me when I had voice mails when they were left- not days later.

If we got the new phones and new cellphone plans Lexi's phone would be shut off- so we had to do it carefully so she wouldn't suspect anything. The day was set- two weeks before her birthday- but it would be worth it.

I contacted my friend who makes YUMMY cupcakes and asked her for 2 dozen. She was so sweet to make them on such short notice for this big surprise.

I contacted Lexi's church leader to see if we could drop in on their service project that night with cupcakes and phone for her.

I contacted my friend who's house the service was being given to make sure she was okay with us going it there. (She has a 2 year old and 7 month old triplets who might be sleeping at the time of the surprise and I anticipated a little screaming.)

All was set, so we went to buy the phones. They had a glitch in the system at AT&T and the normal 45 minute process took 2 hours- but in the end all worked out.

I rushed home, but because I had gone to my car with Baylee in meltdown mode- I left Darrell with my new phone too, but had no way to call him and tell him where I was. He had to get back to work so he took the phones with him.

When Lexi got home I had a whole plan ready in case she told me her phone wasn't working. But she never said a word. (Come to find out her phone had been freezing up the day before so she thought it wasn't working because it was still frozen.)

She headed out to her church activity, and I ran my other two girls to their church activities- then ran home to grab these cupcakes and the phone.

I picked up two of Lexi's close friends, they've all been close since we moved here. I'm going to try and post the video I took of her opening her present- it was really funny!

We knocked at the door and started singing Happy Birthday- but none of the girls knew who we were singing to since it wasn't anyone's actual birthday. I finally pointed at Lexi while we were singing, and gave her the present. I can't get it to upload, so here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xq8IyYsYiE&feature=youtu.be

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The girls all enjoyed the surprise and the cupcakes. And best of all is that Lexi was completely surprised, and very happy with her gift. She is an easy to please kid- it's hard to get a really excited reaction out of her because she is happy with anything she gets- I loved that we got the really happy excited expression!





Happy Easter 2013

Easter crept up on us this year, we had a busy few weeks with kids activities, but finally figured out when the kids could color eggs. Baylee is at the fun fun age where she is really understanding holidays and gets into them. Lexi and Ashlee are on the opposite end where they will color eggs, and be excited for Carly and Baylee, but already knew what was in their baskets- so no big deal.

It makes me sad, they are growing up so stinking fast! I know I keep saying it, but every once in a while it's like a little slap in the face reminder that I need to appreciate and enjoy these crazy busy fun times.

The girls slept in until after 8:00, that's a record in this house for holiday mornings! They came down and hunted for their baskets, then hunted for the eggs the Easter Bunny hid through out the house.

While I made a big breakfast they all stuffed themselves with candy and junk, but still managed to eat a little breakfast.

 We are so thankful for our Savior and the HUGE sacrifices He made for each of us. We talk often of our family being eternal, since our Grandpa's are already in heaven. But we've also started talking more and more about the Atonement. My older girls are starting to gain their own testimonies, and I love to hear them share them. I love the Easter season! I always think about how we come out of a cold and drear gloomy winter, into warm, spring sunny days. The Savior is like that in our lives, in our dark gloomy times He is also the light that makes us feel warm and happy.

Happy Easter!



Houston and Memories

I feel like I need to give a brief history of the Wiser/Fontano friendship. Before Darrell and I met at the University Ward, I had a best friend named Tara. Looking back now I will say we were kind of really big brats sometimes, but mostly we were nice. In the couple years we were attending the University Ward we became very close friends. We both dated different guys and did lots of double and group dates.

 

There was a group of Mormon guys, they called themselves the Frojo's. At UNLV the sorority was the Rojo's, so of course the Mormon's had to make their own group who didn't drink- and who really really loved to watch UNLV basketball. These Frojo's were CRAZY! They all wore red wigs, and dressed awful, and they even had a Frojo t-shirt. Darrell and Pete were Frojo's.

Darrell hadn't been attending the University ward consistently because his Dad's cancer had returned and it was bad. His Dad passed away in July of 1998, and in February of 1999 he started attending the University Ward again.

Because I have a bad memory I can't remember exact dates, but somewhere in this time Pete told me he really would like to take Tara on a date. Of course, I set that right up. Pete and Tara dated for a while, then Pete moved to Cedar City and they broke up. Pete moved back to Las Vegas around February 1999, because he and Darrell were practicing a big half time show with the UNLV dance team. Yes, the Frojo's were well known, they had been on ESPN- and were loved by everyone except the Rojo's and Tara and I. We thought the Frojo's were embarrassing and weird. We both said we'd never be caught dead with one. I'm thinking we must have said that before Pete and Tara dated the first time.;)

Anyway, Pete moved back, and Tara and I went to watch the Frojo's practice. And while we were there a guy who I had seen a couple other times kept talking to us like he knew us. I thought Tara must have known him because I didn't. But Tara didn't know him either. That night Pete introduced Darrell to me. (yes, he was the guy who kept talking to us) 

There were a few other occasions that Darrell had been talking to Tara and I, but months later told me he was trying to get close enough to see just how tall I was because he thought I was cute but looked taller then him. (I used to wear platforms and shoes that had a heel- so I looked taller.)

 

Pete told me later that night that Darrell thought I was cute, and Tara and I had been planning on doing a themed double date, her taking Pete and me undecided on who to ask at that point. Then it was decided I'd ask Darrell.

The date was set for a Saturday night, and Darrell asked me to come watch him dance with the UNLV dance team- which meant staying and watching the basketball game, and also meaning sitting by some Frojo's. I reluctantly agreed (I already mentioned I was a brat) and was surprised to have a really fun time. I was really surprised to watch Darrell do a toe touch in the dance too!

Darrell asked me out for the next night which I think was Friday, and then Saturday night was our double date with Pete and Tara.

Those three dates in a row lead to Darrell and I seeing each other every single day except one- and March 15 he proposed to me, and May 22 we were married.

Pete and Tara also started dating again. Pete proposed to Tara in the Sunrise Hospital parking lot, after they came to visit me when my appendix had to be removed the week before our wedding. Pete and Tara got married August 7.

 

Fast forward 13 years and 4 kids later- and here we are today. The Fontano's and Wiser's haven't seen each other in almost 8 years, and have only emailed a few times. It's so hard to keep in touch when we are so far apart and all so busy with our everyday lives.

Pete and Tara have lived in Houston about 5 years (I think). We decided to see if they'd be up for a short notice visit. We were so happy to find with a little juggling of schedules we could do it!

While driving to Houston Darrell and I were reminiscing of those days- so many fun memories!

The day and a half we spent there, we all laughed so hard! My kids heard some great stories of their parents, and oh my goodness did we laugh!

The kids all played, Baylee was a little shocked to find that she couldn't woo Ben with her cuteness. He doesn't really like to play with girls, and Baylee told me she "Just wanted Ben to be her handsome Prince." Ben wanted NO part of that! Pete and Tara's daughter Abbey is only a few months older then Carly- they played great. Lexi, Ashlee, and Jeremy played basketball and just hung out watching basketball and listening to funny stories.

I talk all the time about being thankful for so many great friends that I have been blessed with in my life- and Pete and Tara are some of them. I have many others also!

Here are a few pictures I took of the kids while we were there.

 Ben and Baylee

 Abbey Oliver and Carly

 Abbey, Carly, Ashlee, Ben, Jeremy, Oliver, Lexi, and Baylee

 Goofy kids!



Spring Break

Our friends the Patterson's were planning on going to San Antonio for their Spring Break and asked a few of us other families if we wanted to join them. The only time we were in San Antonio was when Darrell and I went to get his nephews to come home with us. That was not a fun trip at all, so we were excited to take a fun trip there.

Four families went, Bingham's, Hooper's, Patterson's, and Wiser's. Between our families we have a total of 16 kids and 8 adults- that's a lot of people!

We left early Wednesday morning, and stopped a few times for bathroom and lunch.
We got there about dinner time and took all the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings- YUMM-O! After we took them to the hotel pool.

That's a lot of kids- and oh my, was it noisy in there!

Thursday we spent the day at Sea World. Everyone had a great time, and the weather was perfect! We were worried it would be really hot, but it was cloudy and chilly most of the day- and the best part was there was hardly anyone else there!

 The older girls all had Chacos to wear- as much as I thought they were ugly, I am taking it back, I think they kinda grew on me.

Ashlee McKenna and Sammy

Front row and Splash zone for the Sea Lion show

Trying to touch the dolphins

Splash zone seemed like a good idea since no one got wet at the Sea Lion show, but Shamu gave some great splashes!

 Ashley and Lexi

Carly and Baylee make me laugh in these two pictures! They start with giving thumbs up, but on the first drop they look horrified! Carly is not a fan of the losing her stomach feeling, so she really doesn't like many rides. She ended up liking this ride, but really just enjoyed keeping her feet on the ground.

 All the kiddos

 Nicole Aubrey Alissa and Stefani

 Scott Aaron Darrell and Mike

Friday we went to the Alamo, it was much warmer- ok A LOT warmer, and the kids just weren't as into the historical sight like we thought they'd be. After a quick snow cone treat we headed over to the Riverwalk.

It is crazy to me that they have a mall on top of a river- so cool! We walked for quite a while and then at a Mexican restaurant by the Riverwalk.

We had to kind of rush to get to the NBA Jazz vs Spurs game. We planned on leaving at half time thinking Baylee would be a disaster- but the kids, all of them, were really into the game. It was a sad loss for the Jazz, but such a fun event to have gone to! (No pictures because it was dark and we couldn't take our cameras in)

Saturday we drove to the Temple, it was rainy so no pictures, but it was GORGEOUS! The Temple is set on a hill, and looks amazing. We then drove to Houston to visit our long lost friends the Fontano's. 

Awareness

This week my mom finished her radiation for her breast cancer. It's still strange to me to say my mom had cancer!

She went in for her annual exam and mammogram and they found an abnormality. She had to go back and have another mammogram, then it was a biopsy, and then the results came back. Ductal Carcinoma. But, her's was in the very very early stages, it hadn't even spread- it was still contained in her milk duct.

She made her appointment with the Oncologist, the same Oncologist my Dad had. He asked if he knew her, and she explained who she was. He vaguely remembered her- but remembered my Dad passing away. It just seems so wrong to have parents who both have a type of cancer!

The oncologist told her it was in it's really early stages, and that she would need surgery to remove the duct, and then radiation- no chemo.

What a relief for everyone!

She has been a trooper through this! I am not one to show a lot of emotion, I call myself a

 "closet cry-er." I don't know why I am this way, my mom certainly isn't- she can't say a prayer with out crying.:) But when we found out she had breast cancer I had emotions all over the place. I cried for days, I hated the thought of her having to deal with this on top of everything else she has to worry about. My fear was that she wouldn't want to treat it. If you know my Mom and Dad, you know they LOVED each other. They were each others best friends. They met, dated, and were married in a few short months, and then 11 children later were still in love.

When Dad passed away I cried because I missed him, but I cried more for my Mom. I knew how much she would miss him, I knew how much she loved him. She has said on many occasions she wishes he would come down from heaven and take her back with him. I know it sounds suicidal- but it's not, she's not- she just really misses her best friend!

She did at one point tell me that she always said if she had cancer she wouldn't fight it, so when the results came back as cancer I was sad for my mom again. I wanted her to fight it, I want my mom- I need my mom. But if it was an aggressive breast cancer then I didn't want her to suffer and prolong the inevitable.

When Mom found out about the cancer she did indeed want to fight it, and especially when she found out how early it was caught. Through the surgery and radiation she has been through some painful things, but she's kept a positive attitude and been such an example to me.

Not only do I struggle showing emotion, I struggle showing affection- but seeing my mom, seeing she really was doing ok, seeing that even though she was in pain- she was still doing well. Those feelings of peace that I had been longing for after finding out about the cancer, they finally came. I slept so well that night at my mom's house!

 

Fast forward a bit and here we are today. I'm so thankful that my mom is doing well, that so far all is well, and as far as we know the surgery, and radiation, along with some medications- my mom is now cancer free!

Look at all these people who love her!!

 



This has brought many new awareness-es to me. It's made me aware that I need to appreciate more. I need to not be afraid to show emotion or affection. I need to tell people how much I love them. I need to not take so many things for granted. Good health is a blessing- a HUGE blessing! And it's made me more aware of all that I've been blessed with. The Gospel, it's my foundation. It gives me purpose and strength to handle all the many obstacles that life brings. 

A New Blog

I decided to start a new blog. I was trying to pay what ever fee it was telling me to pay so I could add more pictures to my other blog but it won't give me the option to pay, so I've started a new blog and here it is. Hopefully I can get all the kinks figured out on my header and all that fun stuff.

I have really not liked being able to blog. We've had so many fun things going on, but I feel like I need to back track- so many of these will be from the end of 2012.

Beginning 2013

We celebrated our New Year with Darrell's mom, brother and his family- the other Wiser's. The kids had fun playing hard, they were exhausted! There were some melt downs, two hour time difference and a strong willed 3 year old are not usually the best combination.

We taught the older kids how to play Phase 10, one of my favorite games- even though I generally lose at it.

 

We loved spending the evening with Grandma Wiser, it's so hard to live across the country from the Grandma's!

 

We took a few pictures, the kids banged pots and pans and did a really LOUD celebration outside for a few minutes.

 

The day before we left Las Vegas we were able to spend the evening with the Scow's. We LOVE the Scow's- and if I'm being honest, we miss them just as much as we miss our family!:)

Ashlee and Megan were inseparable from 2-6 (when we moved to AR) and Jenny (Megan's mom) and I were just as inseparable!

Our kids are now old enough to leave them, so Rich Jenny Darrell and I went to Cheesecake Factory.

 Ashlee, Megan, and Lexi

 Emily and Carly (Carly is six months OLDER then Emily, Em is a little taller then her though.)

 Sweet friends!

 Baylee and Anna. We didn't realize how sick Baylee was when we went over- she basically slept for 18 hours. I loved Anna's make shift potty!:)

Ben wouldn't let me get pictures with him, but I snuck this one. We didn't get one with Will and baby Nate.

 

When it was time to come back home, we were ready to get back to routine, but we sure miss all our family and friends. We've been blessed to come from great families, and blessed to have lived in some amazing Wards to make so many great friends!