Finally they are here!!!

Okay so they aren't freshly hatched. They are now 5 weeks old but this is how long it has taken me to get them blogged. We welcomed Max and Camri into our crazy world on June 30th. Max weighing in at 7lbs 60z. and Camri weighing in at 7lbs. Both 18inches long. If your thinking wow those are not tiny twins, imagine what my sister Becky was feeling. Our hearts broke for her every day. When she came out from the c-section the first question I asked her was how are you feeling? She said oh I feel GREAT!!!! So sometimes I guess major surgery is a walk in the park compared to the pain you were feeling before.

They are blessing them on Sunday because Max already can't fit into his shoes.... Healthy little turkeys. Love them so much!!!

If you see me walking around like a zombie. This would be ONE of the reasons. I could pull out a whole other book for my other reasons but that would have to be another blog... And so far I have way out done myself with 2 blogs already in a month. Kee Kee kee....

Johns forehead surgery!!

Okay Okay I know I am so far behind in posting that I don't even know if I can catch up. We are going to give it a try and start up again. So sorry for making every one wait for so long but it has been a very very busy month. I know, along with everyone else. Sleep deprivation and lack of time to wait for my computer to upload pictures put a delay in the enthusiasm of posting. So here goes.

John had forehead surgery a month ago and so I went into their surgical room with him and took pictures of everything. Zach was with us because it was supposed to be a quick surgery which ended up taking longer because the doctor cut a vein and had a hard time getting it to stop bleeding. ENJOY!!!!

Zach kept asking through the whole procedure "Is Daddy Dead?" They draped his head with a cloth and Zach couldn't see his face or anything so after they took the shield off John thought it would be funny to act as if he really was dead. Zach DID NOT appreciate this. We laughed though!!

John Loves that he has another battle scar wound to name. I will work hard to keep my posts forthcoming from here on out....

Mini vacation #1 - Carnival of Terror!

Since my conception 37 years (+9 months) ago I cannot remeber a year when I have not gone to San Diego, Oregon, Hawaii, Yellowstone - SOMEWHERE - for a summer vacation.  Well, thanks to OPEC and one terrific president, this summer will be a first!  That's right, no grand vacation plans for the Raddatz's this year.  We sat down with the kids about a month back (when gas was, gasp, $3.00/gallon) and let them know we just could not afford to take a big vacation anywhere it required us to drive.  So we decided to take several mini vacations instead.  Camping, fishing, carnivals, water parks - things close by that we could do in a day or two.  Fit enough of these activities in the next few months and I think the kids will have something to write about in their "What I did this Summer" essays at the beginning of school.

Today was the first of our mini vacations - the Orem City Summerfest.  Miriam is at Youth Conference and it was my job to keep the kids entertained so I decided this would be fun for all of us.  There was a carnival, helicopter, firetruck and ambulance we could get into, and of course all the over price food and garbage booths we could hope for.  I bought  $30.00 worth of tickets and set out for a good time.  As you can see from the attached pictures everyone was having a good time.

Well, things were going so smooth until the ferris wheel.  I will let the following pictures tell the story.

ugh! I don't know if you can tell, it's pretty subtle, but one of these kids was not having a good time.  The last picture was not color enhanced, Zach really was turning green!  His knuckles were white in a grip of death, and his little heart was racing. The party was over!  I guess I can count myself lucky that Zach won't be required to write one of those school essays.  I think it would become evidence against me of child abuse if he did. Our next mini vacation will be a bit easier on the stomach, I hope.  And I think I can scratch Lagoon off my to-do list.  Megan and I seem to be the only members of the family interested in anything that goes faster or higher than the Merry-go-round.  Pity...

Josh's encounter

For a fun family night, we decided to hit the wilderness and see what we could find. The picture shows the wolf that Josh encountered. It's a good thing I always carry my camera with me or I wouldn't have been able to capture the picture. Let's just say the night ended up with many tears....

Okay, so it's a good thing that Cabelas had already stuffed the poor animal. If I would have let Josh he would've been over the railing and riding the thing. As soon as we got home his older brother thought it would be a hoot to see how high he could jump the two little ones together on the tramp. They gingerly collided and Josh got the brunt of the whole chaos. Nothin like ending the night with ziplock bags of ice and a good ole trusty bottle of Motrin. Now that's quality family time. Thanks Grandpa Raddatz for coming along.

Anyone for a barbeque?

So are neighbors, Stephanie and Mark got this new barbeque grill at the end of last summer and she went out there and heard russling sounds coming out of it. She thought it was a mouse, so she wouldn't dare go near it, until she saw twigs hanging out of it. And then started to wonder.

I guess their barbeque days will be held off until they hatch. I suggested they warm their nesting area up just a couple of degrees so they would hatch faster. I don't think they appreciated that idea. Hey I wasn't trying to cook them, just speed up the incubation period. She opened it up to see THIS!!!



If anything made me spring happy this did!!! And then the rains, and the winds came. Blasting weather can't make up it's mind. NO wonder why they can't hatch. Inconsistant temperatures. Can't wait to see the final product....

Dinner with American Fork Police!

John and I allowed our son Aaron and his friend, Nathanial (change of name to protect the innocent.) to walk home from school. It is about 7-8 miles from our home, but Nathanial had already done it once and we could see no harm in a lot of exercise and great conversations. John and I proceeded to go out to enjoy a dinner on the town when my cell phone rang. I answered it trying to figure out the number that was ringing through. When a younger voice said. "Hello this is the American Fork Police Dept and we are here with your son Aaron and his friend Nathanial.

My heart STOPPED for a second I have to say. John went from smiling to trying to figure out who the heck I was talking too. I just kept saying "yes, okay, uhum, and thank you." I don't think I was thinking to clearly as I was talking to this officer, Sariah(again, change of name to protect the innocent) was trying to ring through. I actually smiled at that point because the officer had just told me that he just got off the phone with Nathanials mother, explaining the situation so all I wanted to do was get off the phone with the officer so I could talk to Sariah.

Come to find out some lady, (Unknown person to this point) saw Aaron and Nathanial leaning over the overpass with something in their hands and she thought they were going to chuck it onto the freeway. I could go on and on with this story but Aaron and Nathanial were found innocent and finally released.

When John and I got done with dinner we drove to find them. Aarons face was PRICELESS when he saw us. John's first question was did you pee your pants? Aaron said NOOOO. John's response, "Not even a little trickle?" (Aaron not smiling) NO! Nathanial was standing right next to him. What else was he going to say.

Nathanial was just ticked off that he couldn't beat his first time record. All in all it was an eventful encounter they will always remember.

Good experiences this young keep them on their toes and away from the wrong side of the world RIGHT? We'll see!!!