Foreigner/Night Ranger

On Sunday (I know, I know) we went to the Foreigner/Night Ranger Concert. It was awesome. I didn't know any of the songs but it was easy to catch on and sing along with them. We rocked out and had a great time with Val and Teresa. Sometimes it's nice to just do adult things and leave the little ones at home. Layne and I have been to a few concerts now down at Cactus Pete's and would recommend them to anyone. We have made it a tradition to get a tshirt at every concert we go to and now we have a 38 special tshirt and a foreigner tshirt. I LOVE IT! I love to have those "special" things that Layne and I do together. Because he is my best friend and I wouldn't want to do it with anybody else. I LOVE YOU DARLIN!

Ellie and her dad in their "COOL" shades. She is really into doing everything her dad does right now and it's really cute. I love watching her grow up and really showing me what I'm up against with that little attitude of hers.

When I saw this guy walk up with that wig on I about died. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Not to mention I caught him picking his nose. Couldn't of turned out any better then it did!
Watching the concert. It was a beautiful day! Me and my Darlin!
When we finally got home this is how we found Ellie and her Uncle Kelly. They had fallen asleep watching the discovery channel! HOW CUTE! If you couldn't tell she is SOOO a Darrington!

Ellie's 2 Years Old

While we were in Boise I tool Ellie to Kiddie Kandids and got her 2 year old pictures done. In most of these pictures she posed all by her self. She would have a melt down if we tried to help her. She is something else!


This is her "CHEESE" face. If you tell her to say cheese this is what she does! I just thought it was funny she kept doing it while we were trying to get her to smile normal. We learned our lesson after the 4th time of her smiling like this not to ask her to say cheese!

Boise

This past week has been yet another long one for me. We only had one volleyball game this week. So that led to a lot of monotonous practicing. I know the girls play much better and are way more intense when they are playing in games at least twice a week. I know there is no excuses but I feel as though we are just experiencing a few set backs! I just wish that my girls knew the potential that they had. And know how much I admire every single one of them for the contributions they give to the team. I just cannot express that to them enough.

Anyways now that I have that off my chest! I though Ellie and I would head to boise to spend some time with my sister since we haven't seen her forever. So Ellie and I left friday and came home saturday. We really didn't do that much it was just nice visiting with her and spending time with her. I just miss my family. So when I get to see them I take advantage of it when ever I can. And plus I like to help my poor college student/sister out once in awhile. So we love you Jess and were so greatful for our day together.

Jessica taking the trolley back to the main office after hauling in all her groceries!
Just posing while trying to drive! LOL
Jessica decided to have a photo shoot with Ellie. She was really cranky and Jessica enjoyed making her madder by taking her picture. She couldn't decide if she was really angry or she thought jess was funny!

Ellie Loves her Babies!

Ellie was at her grandma's house and was playing with her baby and pushing her in the stroller. It was so cute I had to take pictures. She is going to be one of the best big sisters in the world. (Someday!)

Uncle Brads Surgery #6

I guess I should explain why Mr. Brad Darrington has red toe nails. Well, when ever he visits with Dr. Fryer he always gives him a hard time about hating Utah and how much he hates coming there all the time for surgery and on and on and on. Well, Dr. Fryer decided it would be fun to paint Brad's toe nails red just to show him up. Well, he did and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Especially because it's Brad. Not only did he get his toe nails painted but he also got pink tatoo's! Someone's gotta pay Brad back. RIGHT?!

On thursday Brad went into his sixth and hopefully last surgery. We're hoping that this is the last one and he'll be getting more of his movement back. Good luck with physical therapy. Be Brave BUDDY!

hOmEcOmInG

I think that this past week has been one of the longest weeks of my life. Along with everything else that is going on with Ellie I had three volleyball games, homecoming week, and my cousin's wedding. So needless to say I am exhausted. We only have one game this week so it'll be a great break to regain our composer.

All week the girls have been dressing up for homecoming and this first picture was one that I actually caught of some of my varsity girls on "crazy day". Wouldn't you say the are a little "crazy"!

Maylee and Braiden at the homecoming football game. They were just being so cute I had to snap a picture.
Erica cheering on the JV squad. She is pretty good!
Ellie was playing with Rachel and Rebecca being pretty serious!
A long week has officially come to an end and I have had plenty of ups and downs and am looking forward to a brand new week!

If ever....

I just thought these pictures were so cute. I was at the eye doctor and to entertain Ellie I put some kid glasses on her. So if she ever gets glasses we'll know what she'll look like.

Calvin & Kallissa Cotten

On saturday Ellie and I went to my cousins wedding in Twin Falls. It was so pretty. It was the first time I've been to the temple since the dedication and it was so beautiful. It was beautiful before but now with the spirit there it's so amazing. I loved it. To make a long story short I actually was really good friends with Kallissa in college and never thought in a million years that she would be my cousin. But a few months ago I found out that she was dating my cousin and now they are married. I'm so excited to have her in the family.

Tara, Burket, Me and Tana. A few of my very best friends from college. It was such a great day to spend with then.
This is my Grandma June. Isn't she so cute!
The whole college crew with the Bride!
This is a pretty good chunk of my side of the Cotten Family.

Surviving

Well, Ellie actually only got up once last night, so far so good. She went over to "DaAnns" to today to play with the kids. Hopefully she had a great nap and didn't cause any trouble. Last night was care free for the first time this week since there wasn't any hospital visits or a volleyball game. It was so nice. Hopefully my week is on the up hill from here! Thanks for all your prayers and phone calls!

I've Been Tagged

I've Been Tagged
I am: never home
I think: I need to take more time for myself
I know: that my family will be together forever!
I want: a better camera
I have: So much to be thankful for!
I dislike: having an obsession compolsive order of being on time!
I miss: My MOMMY!
I fear: MICE
I feel: exhausted, lack of SLEEP
I hear: Layne and Ellie playing in the other room
I smell: my scensy candle
I crave: Sweet Pork Burritos
I cry: all the time
I usually: call my mom or sisters every day
I search: the internet
I wonder: if Ellie will ever sleep through the night again!
I regret: not having a better relationship with my dad for my daughter's sake!
I Love: my main squeeze!
I care: to much about EVERYONE!
I always: am 10 minutes early
I worry: about my kids every second of the day!
I am not: prepared for the second coming
I remember: holding my daughter for the first time
I believe: in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
I dance: with Ellie all the time
I sing: as loud as I can.
I don't always: laugh at the appropriate times!
I argue: when I know I AM RIGHT!
I write: letters, but always for get to send them!
I win: playing monopoly with Layne!
I lose: to Layne on every bet we make and always have to "make" it up to him
I wish: That my mom lived closer to me!
I listen: to E I E I O 50 times a day
I don't understand: PEOPLE!
I can usually be found: in the gym coaching volleyball
I am scared: of getting a phone call that somebody I love has been hurt!
I need: To read the scriptures more often!
I forget: that Ellie is still a baby
I am happy: to sit at home and enjoy my family
I tag: Missy, Jocelyn, Rachel

Emergency Surgery #3

Can I just say again being a mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world.
After Ellie's last surgery I thought that everything was going to be okay. Not only was she doing amazingly well she took a normal nap and yelled at me when i woke her up. When I was headed to my Volleyball game I took her over to Teresa's and she played with her Aunts and Uncles and had a great time. Layne got Ellie home and she had coughed up a little bit of blood. He put her in the bath to see if that would calm her down and when she got out she coughed up a little bit more so he called the ER to see what he needed to do. While talking to the ER she threw up blood all over him and her self. So he rushed her into the ER waiting there was Uncle "Bad" waiting to give her a blessing. My poor husband about lost it so I was so glad that Uncle Brad was there to comfort him. Dr. Patterson was there about the same time Ellie got there and they took her straight into surgery.
In the meantime I was in Wendell at a Volleyball game. We were doing so awesome and lost our momentum when a few curve balls were thrown our way. We ended up losing but played so hard together under the circumstances that we were thrown. I'm so greatful for my volleyball girls they really keep me on my toes and I love that about them. When we got on the bus I was all ready really upset from other things then I got the call from Brad that Ellie was back in the ER and under going surgery. but he said it'll be okay Krissy I gave her a blessing. And I really was comforted by that cause she really hasn't had one amongst all our disasters. So thank you Brad for that. We love you so much!
Well the bus dropped me off at the ER and She was already in surgery and so we waited. When the doctor came back out he said she had 3 bleeders and one being in her adnoids and he said he has never seen that. But to make a long story short she lost a lot of blood and has to go in today to be checked. But she slept all night and woke up in the best mood this morning. So there is light at the end our our little dark tunnel.

BACK TO SURGERY!

Last night was one of the worse nights of my life. I woke up at 12:30 to Ellie crying. I was going to let her cry and see if she would fall back asleep but I just got the feeling I needed to check on her and as she was making her way out of her room I picked her up and saw something dark running down her face so I turned on the light and saw that it was blood. It scared me half to death. It was running down both sides of her mouth and was on her shirt. I knew that I had a chance of this happening but why 10 days after her original surgery?
Well, I yelled for Layne and he tried to calm us both down as he was loving on Ellie I called the emergency room and they hooked me up to Dr. Patterson and he told me to give her some ice water and see if that would help. Well, it did for a little bit and when she would start crying again it would started bleeding again. So we took her into the ER and she had surgery at 2:00 a.m. and we were home by 4:00a.m.
What a disaster. I have been up with a screaming child for the last 10 nights in a row and to finally wake up to this was devastating. I'm glad we found out what is wrong with her and hopefully it all works out for the best. I got some stronger antibiotics to hopefully kick the infection in her neck so she won't be in so much pain and will be able to sleep again.
I love being a mother but it is truly one of the hardest jobs in the world. There are so many ups and downs and tons of worrying that you wonder to yourself if it will ever stop. Thank goodness for the gospel of Jesus Christ to give us guidance and comfort in every situation that we encounter.

My Poor Baby Girl!

For a while now I've been taking Ellie into the doctor every month for the last year it seems like with sinus infection, severe colds or even allergy's so the doctor finally sent me over to

Dr. Patterson. He thought that it would probably do Ellie some good if we took her in and got new tubes put in her ears, her tonsils out and take out her adnoid. So last friday we took her in for her surgery and it went really well. Athough this weekend was pretty long with her whinning and just being very sensitive, I know eventually we'll be much happier for a very long time. She'll actually be able to eat something and that is a miracle all in it's self. Infact the night we brought her home she had her first piece of chicken she chewed it up and swallowed it. Which is so amazing to me since that is the first time she's actually ate any kind of meat without spitting it out. So here it is monday and she is so much happier already! And last night she found out she can't make herself throw up anymore when she is mad and it did not make her very happy at all. She tried and tried and it just wouldn't come out. I WAS SO EXCITED! I'm sure she is thinking why the heck am I at the doctors office so early in the morning. And of course you can tell she brought her baby and she even went into surgery with her. Kinda cute!
Nurse Cindy trying to take Ellie's blood pressure. She did not know what to think she just kept looking at me like. SAVE ME MOM! She was so brave!
They are so good with the kids in there at same day surgery. They let Ellie take rides in the wagon and which is how they took her into surgery. But after waiting for awhile she got sick of being pulled around and decided it was time to pull her baby! Thanks nurses at Cassia, your great!

LaGoOn

08/31/08-09/01/08

Labor Day weekend has been a big weekend for my sweet little family. Saturday was the Nielson family reunion and then on sunday we left for lagoon/utah for an over night adventure. This summer has been insanely busy and we haven't had much opportunity to get out for a few days so we had to take advantage of this long weekend. Of couse we went to Lagoon with Val and Teresa and the kids plus Drew so there was a great group to go with.

Well, we left at 8:30 in the morning and got there around 11 we headed straight for the hotel, delievered our stuff and were in lagoon by 12. It was a great day to go to lagoon cause it wasn't to hot and hardly any lines. I don't ride rides so that is what I was told.

Ellie's first ride was the haunted house. She sat between Layne and I with her face burried in Layne's side. It was actually really funny and I got a good laugh our of it. Then we headed to the carousal I thought she would be really excited about the horses and the lions but Oh no she screamed for about the first round and then realized she loved it. After that her Aunt Amanda took her on quite a few rides and she got the hang of it. She even went on the boats all by her self. I was so proud. She just waved and really got into ringing that bell. So the rest of the day everyone rode rides and had a great time. At five o clock we saw some nasty clouds rolling in and wouldn't you know it we got poured on. We were thinking about waiting it out but there was no way if we did we would of been waiting all night and most of the next day.

So we went back to the hotel and swam and sat in the hot tub. IT WAS LOVELY! Then we went to dinner and everyone was asleep by 9:30. We were tired. The next day we got up and headed out with a few stops on the way. (Smith and Edwards, what a wonder!)

Were always talking about making memories. Well this weekend was a memory I will never forget. It's probably the first time I realized Ellie isn't a baby anymore and she is getting more independent every day. I'm so greatful for such a wonderful family and the most amazing husband. Ellie on the "RAR". As you can see she wasn't a fan at first. But eventually loved it.
She was obsessed with the stamp they put on her hand she had to compare her's with everyone else's. It was kinda funny. Just something new.
WIPED OUT! Trying to take a nap but she caught me taking this picture and it was all over! The nap at least!
Ellie and Daddy on the dragon!
In the boat all by her self. She was just loving it!
Riding in the Airplane with Aunt Amanda!
Feeding the ducks!
Uncle "Bad" and Ellie watching the log ride "SPASH".

Marshmellow Wars/Trap Shoot

08/30/08

When we got back from Harris Pond we headed over to Aunt Darla and Uncle Alan's for skeet shooting/marshmellow wars/racing the 50 motorcycles. Uncle Alan had cut up piping so that everyone could make a marshmellow gun. They were so fun. Once everyone figured out how to shoot the dang things it started to hurt pretty bad. There were chewed up sticky marshmellows, hard squished marshmellows and plain old soft ones. I dare say the plain old soft ones hurt the worst. But it was so much fun! After about an hour of shooting eachother the men got together and did the usual Skeet shooting contest. Usually the Darrington Boys win it every year (not to brag but Layne's name is on the plaque a heck of alot of times) but they didn't do so hot this year. Matthew won it for the Jr's and since he is leaving on his mission we were pretty excited for him and Uncle Alan won it for the old farts. So good job guys and better luck next year Darrington Boys! After skeet shooting we had a marvelous dutch oven dinner then the boys rode their 50 motorcycles and then we hit the marshmellow war pretty hard again at the end. All in all it was a great day. I love planned out family fun!

Layne shooting someone with his heavily powerful marshmellow gun!
Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Michel thinking they are so innocent but I'll garuntee they did their fair of shooting everyone to!
Ellie and her Cousin Trinity playing on the swing set!
Layne skeet shooting!
Isn't he just so cute!