At the Mayo

No pictures on this blog, just a quick update. Phillip, Bradach and I left for Salt Lake on Christmas day. We went to Temple square to enjoy the nativity and the lights. Bradach went nuts for the temple and Moroni. He also loved the lights and the fountains. I arrived in Rochester on Sunday, the day after Christmas.
This is my second day at the Mayo and its quite a different experience. This clinic works very well! I have appointments scheduled through the week and one on the 12th. But chances are the one on the 12th will get rescheduled this week. I have been doing the weirdest tests and yesterday I got to meet with my cardiologist. She is very smart, I spent 2 hours with her...wow that was a detailed apt. I have consults this week with a pulmonary specialist, and an electrophisiologist (heart electrical function). And another one with my cardiologist. At least she has some good ideas and I know if she runs into a dead end she has about 150 other specialists to ask.
I miss my family with a passion but know that this is the place where I need to be right now. I have great support at home for my husband and my son. Can't wait to get home!!

Holliday Season at the Melines

I should start with Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for in the Meline home. We have wonderful parents that care for us. We have a home that has food. Phillip has a great job, I have a great job. Most of all we have a wonderful son that brings so much happiness to our lives. Bradach Thanksgiving day, giving me a cheeser.

I think Bradach is thankful for his new friend Sadi.

Christmas, season has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. I feel so close to the spirit and the true meaning of Christmas. Its AWESOME to know that God loved us so much that he could send his only son to earth to die for our sins. I can only imagine, I have a hard enough time leaving my son one day a week while I work. Its been fun teaching Bradach about the baby Jesus. He doesn't quite get it but he will.
Its also fun to see him get so excited and say ooo's and aaaaw's when we drive down the roads and see lights. He loves the tree all the activities we have done lately to welcome Christmas.
This year I made up a whole bunch of activities wrote them down and put them in a tin for Bradach to draw out each day. We stated out with making a paper chain with the number of days until Christmas and he has enjoyed ripping a chain off each day. We made a book of the story of the baby Jesus and a few other activities. Here are some pics of activities we have been doing.

This is our mog pog tree of love, pieces given to us from friends and an ornament that we have picked out one a year since we got married. Phil made the topper, I painted it the first year we were married, its a snowboard and ski's and poles and yes it lights up. If you look close you can see the chain...and its almost gone! Also there is Bradach's riendeer hands, one from last year and one from this year. He sure has grown! This is the Christmas book we made as a family, I know its not in order...too hard to take a pic that way :) but you get the idea. I like Phil and Bradach's colored pages the best.
These sugar cookies gave me a sugar high just looking at them. Bradach is an excellent decorator.
Ginger bread house time!

Bradach piggin out on the candy.He did get a few candies on the house.

Well that's what we have been up to! This week will include a family tradition of the Christmas Eve party filled with great family and lots of food. Christmas day Phil and I are driving to SLC to see the lights at the Temple with Bradach. Then the next morning I fly out to Rochester, MN. I will be getting some extra special attention at the Mayo Clinic there. Hopefully I will come out with an understanding of what is wrong with my body and with some luck maybe a fix it plan. If you have any extra room in your prayers this next week please add my family. Its really hard for me to leave my husband and son home. Thank you and may you all have a wonderful holiday season!

More Randomness

I think with my busy life style this random blogging might become a normal thing.
First off is Mardianna's birthday party. Mardi my beautiful niece turned one on the 4th of October. Luckily the weather was nice and warm....however Bradach's birthday falls in June and its always freezing, go figure.Don't look twice you were right the first glance, these two boys are twins. Bradach and JJ.

Mardianna the birthday girl.

Bradach got to go to the fire station and enjoy an open house. Probably the only kind of open house a two year old would enjoy. While the fireman was explaining the truck you would hear Bradach very loudly say "WOW that's cool!" He enjoyed the whole experience.

All of the soldiers in our area were deployed to Iraq in September. We are blessed to know quite a few of them. They serve our country and help others around the world in need. Blackfoot held a parade, and hot dog feast to say good bye.

Can you tell this little girl has pride? Her daddy is marching, she doesn't know whats going on but she knows how much she loves her daddy. Bradach and Leah showing support during the parade.

You couldn't help but cry while they marched and did their chants.

This is Jesse, him and his family are some of our closest friends. Its hard to see him go, however duty calls.

We took a took a trip to Spokane to visit Phillips family and my brother's family. Here are some pics of our six day vacation.

This is a huge Radio Flyer wagon that the handle has been made into a slide.

Feeding the ducks with daddy at River Front Park. This park is so much fun, there are so many things to explore. Probably my favorite place in Spokane.

Grandma treated us all to a day at a rescue for big cats, we saw lions, tigers, panthers, bears and a snake. Here is Bradach and I playing on the monkey toys. I think I might have liked them a bit more than him.

This is Grandma and Papa's backyard. Bradach loved to swing, he loved it even more when Grandma or Papa would swing with him. He got to play with some cousins also, Ianna and Benny (there is no way I could spell his real name).

We have great news, we got a new addition to our family, her name is Sadi. Our last dog Nakeeta was too high strung to live in the cemetery. This dog however is a Great Dane and requires little exercise. She loves to lounge inside. She is so much fun we fell instantly in love with her. She loves to jump on the tramp with Bradach. She is very cautious and gentle with him. She is one year old and was the runt of her litter, along with getting prego at 6 months her growth is severely stunted. She still thinks she is the biggest of the big dogs though. she is very good on leash and Bradach walks her with no problem. She is perfect for our family and we love her dearly.

This is the collar Phil made for her, if you look closely you will see a purple flower with the rings. The center ring is yellow, and then there are green on the edges. Phil made one for Nakeeta but this tops all things he has made, the rings are very very light and the strongest material he could find. In all just the rings cost about $60, and with the time he put into making it it comes out to about $120. But she has a custom collar. The things you do for the ones you love.

Tornado of Randomness

Every day we make a shake, usually around lunch time. If Phil makes them they usually contain: banana, strawberry, mixed berry and milk. My shake is a little healthier usually consisting of: strawberry, blueberry, apple, orange, spinach and carrot. Or my new favorite peach, mango, banana, orange, strawberry. Here are a couple of photos of Bradach enjoying the fruits of our labor :o) Nope, not a milk mustache...much much better! Sportin' the fruity mustacheSign language anyone? If you guessed pig your right! He also threw in dirty to sum up the situation.Ready to go to the beach mom! I've got my tractor and my cool dudes (sun glasses)Bradach, daddy and oldest cousin Tyler at the St. Anthony sand dunes. Swimming at the sand dunes. I think he is sagging a little bit:o) I'm a mountain, rock, tree, river type girl but this is gorgeous! One of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.Bradach on Grandma Chris' four wheeler. He's a natural! Ever since Bradach was 2 months old he has been attending softball games and practices. I'm either coaching or playing. Here is a rare pic of me and Bradach just watching a game (Uncle Scoobs game). He is so good at games, he will sit and cheer talk about it. If he ever asks to do something it usually is softball, slides or sand dunes.

Fourth of July 2010

For the fourth of July we went camping again at Hebgen Lake. We left Friday and came home Monday. My parents came with us...or vise versa :o). We stayed at a camp site with my Uncle Daryl and Aunt Kandace. Most of the weekend was spent fishing, either tolling from a boat, or fly fishing from the lake or in the Madison River. Phil wanted to catch a fish so bad...and he did! they ended up catching 4 fish in all. Good job guys!
We went hiking up the Kirkwood trail head one day. It was only a few miles long, but was perfect for us since we had Bradach. Bradach was a great wildlife alerter. He let everything in the forest know we were there. And the occasional question "can I pet it?" came out of his mouth. During the hike Phil decided to take the high trail.....I told him it was a game trail, but he didn't believe me. Soon enough the trail just stopped. So we ended up bush whacking it and praying Bradach would warn anything like a skunk or badger to run off away from us. We saw some deer and lots of birds. I'm pretty glad we did not run into any grizzly bears, but my dad gave us his gun just in case. We have come upon black bears hiking in the Tetons and you just wait for those ones to pass....not sure what I would do running into the Griz though.
We also did some jet skiing. One of the days my mom and I took them out. We were across the lake and down a ways when it started to rain. It was sooooo cold!! We had to get across the lake to the marina. I couldn't see anything! We were going as fast as the pain would let us. Yes that's right, the pain. It felt like thousands of pins hitting your face at once. We didn't dare go slow and stay out, but 35 mph is pretty fast in the rain.
The night of the fire works Bradach wouldn't stay outside. He just screamed he was so scared. So he watched from the safety of the motor home. I roasted marsh mellows for him and Mamo made him s'mores. In his words "I like it!". The fire works were amazing sounding in the where we were they echoed off all the mountains and were so loud! I don't normally like loud noises but this was awesome!

The sign at the trail head. I love warnings like this!
This is the Bradach way to hike.
Hello! See the trail behind me, that was a real trail. Big diff from the game trail.Phil tending the fire he made.

Bradach and his first s'more

The reaction to the fire works.

3 posts in one

Since its summer I'm a bit behind. I'll do this in groups and chronological order.
I marked something off of my bucket list by trying out for a community play at the Nuart. And lucky me I got chosen for the part of Jane in the play Men are Dogs. I had so much fun doing this play, here are a few pics from the play and cast. It was extra fun because Steven my little bro had the part of Tony.

Steven (Tony) and I (Jane) hanging out backstage.

Jane, Allison, and Madeline at group therapy.

Bob and Jane role playing, Loretta in the back ground.

Second Bradach loves trains. We live next to the tracks and he loves watching them. So when Operation Life Saver came to town and offered free tickets we jumped on it. Unfortunately there weren't enough tickets for us. Fortunately a family that new we wanted to go had extra! So we got lucky and boarded the train. Bradach I think liked the outside more than the actual ride. But he did enjoy it. Here are some pics of this day.

On our way!!

This last weekend we went to the Panter/Daley family reunion. These happen every two years and I look forward to everyone. I actually can say I do love my relatives. They are a blessing to my life, and the time I spend with them is few but cherished. This year we went to Hebgen Lake near W. Yellowstone, MT. Near Hebgen was Quake Lake, witch was created in 1959 by a huge earthquake that killed 29 and injured many. There are reminders of that day all around the area, including cabins on shore lines, skeleton trees and not to mention the mountain that is half gone.
On our way home we stopped at Mesa Falls with some of the fam. We got to watch kayakers go down the lower falls. That was totally awesome. The falls are beautiful, last time I was there there were no nature walk ways, no up kept buildings. Now it is more developed so the land will stay in tact for more and more years to come.

Hebgen Lake. One night it stormed and lots of lightning stuck, lighting up the lake and these beautiful mountains every few minutes.

Bradach and Mommy doing a little fly fishing. He wanted a fish so bad.

We had a cowboy themed dinner, complete with line dancing. It was great.
Upper Mesa Falls, it explained on the far side of the falls is a different climate so different plants grow there that wouldn't if the falls didn't keep it so moist all the time. Its called a "micro climate"
Lower Mesa Falls of to the left is where the kayakers went down.
Bradach enjoying the falls....one of the quiet moments in a two year old's life.