Hailey&Blake

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was a bit different for me than last year! I'm over 100 lbs lighter and I couldnt fit as much turkey in me this time around. I didnt even miss the mashed potatoes, stuffing, or even the pie.. if you can imagine that. I was the biggest pie lover ever. No pie for me this year! This year I am greatful that I have been given a new outlook on life, everything is so much better when you have lost approximately the same amount that my older sister weighs! I've lost a Bethany! Just below is Bethany and myself from last Thanksgiving in 2008. I thought it would be fun to compare it to the photos taken of Thanksgiving of this year! I still have about 40 lbs left to go before I hit goal weight, but I can't complain!

Bethany and myself, Turkey Day last year.

Thanksgiving this year, at my in-laws. Over 100 lbs lighter. Hangin out with my sister-in-law Gina and my neice, Izabelle.

Utah State Fair Part Two

2009-10-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

My henna tat.. pretty sweet.

Turkey leg.. mmmm.. pretty sure three bites and I was full, no worries, it didnt go to waste.. Jacob gobbled it right up.

Todd tryin out Blake's new "Old Man" hat. Big Pimpin'.

Look at what my in-laws bought me. Ha ha.. and then I woke up ;)

Fall is Here! Utah State Fair Fun

2009-10-14T11:51:00.001-07:00

HUH? This is Dan. Haha.. my kind of brother-in-law. Shelly's BF. Put a face to our traumatic story told, before I started going picture posting crazy!

This is my life long friend, Shelly... Dan's better half ;)

Me and Blake.

Jacob and Char... and baby girl on the way! Yay!

Our Boyz. Love Em!

Vegas Trip, Part Two

2009-10-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Cassie Jane and Me at the Venetian, hooray for Sangrias!

Sick. Why does he always do that.

Headed to the Strip. Laurel was a Vegas Virgin!

3 Stooges again. 3 Amigos... you get it.

End of Summer-Vegas Trip

2009-10-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Aw look, Blake DOES love me after all haha :)

Laurel and Blake, why must brothers-in-law always pick on you?

Kelso and Cassie.. Dont worry he is only a quarter retard hee hee

Three Stooges. I Love Us.

Cute. Cept Kelso is too cool for school. He wears his sunglasses inside!

Summer Part Four (4th of July)

2009-10-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Blake, Laurel, Genevieve

Gramma and Grampa!

Thats the US that I know.. ha ha

Grampa gets birthday kisses!

Sisters and Grams and Gramps

Summer, Part Three (4th of July)

2009-10-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Family Photo Op

My sisters and me! All together! :)

Bubbles! Youngest niece, Marian.

Me and Momma!

My midget, Alessa and me, can't believe she is in second grade already!

Summer Update Part Two (4th of July)

2009-10-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July Family Fun :)

My Poppa at the BBQ

Me and Laurel, so happy she is back!

Me and Vieve, oldest sis visiting from Texas

My niece Riley and me. My mini me!

My big bro-in-law, about to give me a wet willy probably, Ew.

Summer Update Part One

2009-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our poor Ellie in her last days, not very much energy left :(

Just got some kisses and hugs from my precious Ellie.

Blake is a softy for my little ferret family.. a pic to prove it ;)

WOW. It has been a long, long, not so fun summer! It has been quite awhile since my last update. So I shall let you in on mine and Blake's summer. There have been some positive highlights. I have photo updates of the positives. You very rarely find photo ops for the negative.

Blake has had three surgeries just in this summer. He had kidney stones blasted, and they had to go in and open his foot up and cut bone off twice, cuz they didnt do it right the first time.

August 20th I had one to attempt to get rid of a life long problem of Endometriosis, it was unsuccessful, due to the Endometriosis I have is clamped around an artery and they didnt dare touch it, guess they wanted to keep me alive! My other three options were, get pregnant, have a hysterectomy, or go through medically induced menopause for awhile. Of course I wasnt ready for the first two options. Needless to say, I am now menopausal at the age of 27. Hot flashes and all! I'm hoping it kicks in and starts to shrink the Endo soon, cause the pain is starting to get irritating and very much in the way of having a normal life.

The day after my surgery, on August 21st, Blake had his second foot surgery, afterward we noticed he developed a really nasty cough, we just figured the flu or a cold. The day after his surgery we had our good friends Shelly and Dan over for a kick back day of movies and some food. It was fate that they were there. We were so lucky! Blake had taken his medication and laid in his lazyboy to take a quick nap while the other three of us started a movie. Not ten minutes later we heard Blake make a sound, it was weird, so I opened the curtains to find his face a nice shade of purple.. the noise was his labored breathing and he was completely unconscious. I literally was panicking, and punching him in the face, screaming at him to wake up. Nothing I did worked. I didnt know what to do (I just had surgery too, and was on pain meds so I was at a loss). Dan and Shelly called 911 and they told us to get him to the floor, lift his neck and open his airway, I tried, Blake is a solid guy! I pulled a stitch from an incision, so it took all three of us to get him to the floor. Dead weight is heavy weight! It took the ambulance, cops and fireman all of two minutes to get there. They then told me that it was a good thing we called when we did because he was a couple minutes away from death.. thats not something a wife wants to hear! I dont know what I would have done without our dear friends. There is nothing I can do to repay them for acting quickly in saving my husband's life, and keeping me semi-sane during that time.

What caused all this you ask? We didnt know. Cops and EMTs and medical staff accused him of drug overdose of his pain killers and drinking. Yes, he took his meds as prescribed and hadnt even had a drink. After tests they found out he had caught the Pneumonia on the operating table. They kept him in ICU for 3 days, pumping him full of antibiotics... currently he is very healthy and has a new perspective on life, which is good.. cause I'm a menopausal beast that is in constant pain! One of us needs to stay sane! He has been very good to me. Very patient. Im a very lucky gal!

As you know I had gastric bypass surgery to cure many of my other ailments. I am currently down 90 pounds and over 14 inches just around my waist. I could be doing better, exercise hasnt sounded very appealing with the pain and menopause. Totally sucks. But I'm gonna kick myself in the butt and get that last 50 lbs by January as requested by my BP surgeon. Blake has a new hobby of tickling my ribs. Didnt know I had any! Haha ;) There are ups and downs to this surgery. I officially hate food. Unfortunately menopause hormones like food. Love-hate relationship.

Most of you know I have my litte family of ferrets. Sadly we went from four to three in June.

Our sweetest Ellie was diagnosed with juvenile lymphoma cancer. We were pretty devistated. These sweet animals hold a special place in our hearts, she was our baby, and we are still having a hard time with her gone, not quite the same when you are missing a member of your family. The last two weeks of her life were tough on us, and we got in as much time with her as we could. The day she died, I had gone to work, but when I got home Blake said he had held her but told me he thinks shes been waiting for me to get home. I spent a good 45 minutes laying on the floor next to her with her cuddled up to my face, giving me my last Ellie kisses, and her little paws holding onto my fingers. I tearfully picked her up to set her in her bed, but she then died in my hands as I was about to set her down. This scared us from having kids. If we felt this devistated over our little pet, I cant even imagine what it would be like to lose a child, sibling, parent...

Well now, that about sums up the negatives in a nutshell. Positives are I've got to see a lot of family! My little sis got home from her LDS mission in New York, I've seen both sets of grandparents, many cousins and aunts and uncles. I've got to see my awesome cousin (she's another sister to us), many times. She came here to Utah twice, and we went to Vegas to see her once. Its always a good time with her. We've gotten to know her fiance, Kelso, who we love as well. He is definitely a good egg. So we welcome him to our crazy family!

Happy Easter!!! (Part Three)

2009-04-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist this one, Turk sleeps with his tongue hanging out, I love it!

My cute momma and poppa! My mum is laughing cuz Blake tried scaring me just then.

Beautiful Easter table decor.

Baby duckies!! SO cute!! Funny face made by me, cuz it was about to escape!

Ryan, Blake, Poppa, Bethy

Happy Easter!!! (Part Two)

2009-04-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

Momma in the kitchen, makin the yummies!

My midget and I always have the sillies

Blake being difficult as always ;) What are husbands for, right?

Me and my cuz, Heather

Me and Blake

Happy Easter!!! (Part One)

2009-04-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone! What a fabulous day that was! The weather was beeaauuutiful! Lots of family fun, yummy food (thanks to Momma, of course) We had roast Australian lamb! Delish! My cousin, Heather, from Alaska, was visiting on her spring break, its been fun to see her as well! She too, had the gastric bypass, so I actually had an "eating buddy" for once! She is a year out though, and has lost 100 lbs, she looks amazing! The kids (my nieces, Alessa and Marian, and my nephew, Jarom) had a fun egg hunt (wouldn't be Easter without it!) Well it was just a nice, relaxing, wonderful day. I've posted some pics of our fun day.
PS- I'm down 60 lbs now. Almost hit my half-way mark to my goal weight. So these are the most updated pics.. obviously :)

Me and Bethy enjoying the Spring-like weather :)

Alessa and Jarom

Jarom on his serious quest for eggs.

Marian's first egg hunt! She is a natural.

Marian, Bethy, Jarom, Me, and Alessa

Will Spring EVER Get Here?!

2009-04-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Blake looking excited as always!!

Again, with the excitement....

Look! Compared to the Holiday Photos, my face is a little smaller, YAY!

Seriously, where is Spring? Whats up with all the SNOW?! My poor bones can't handle the cold anymore. I've lost 55 lbs worth of built-in insulation in 10 short weeks, and I can definitely feel it in my bones. I mean really... its April. Well last weekend Blake, his brother Todd, his parents, and I went out to Wendover, just to get away for a bit. The snow followed us to Nevada too. BAH! Guess we should have gone more south. We took a few really random pictures of that weekend, so I posted a couple above from above. I still have yet to find my "Befores" they are somewhere around here.. I know it.

Not much new to report really. The Family is well! So we will keep this one short and sweet, kinda like me ;)

7 Weeks Post Op Update

2009-03-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a bit since my last update. Many many ups and downs. Luckily the ups outweigh the downs! I've been back to work somewhat sparatically depending on the day and how I feel. My body seems to be adjusting to a pattern of a loss of a few pounds, followed by a weight loss stall, so my skin can catch up to the loss. I'm down a total of 45 lbs, and I have lost 6 inches in my waist alone. We figure I've lost a little more than a Jarom! Have you seen that sturdy kid? Once you put that in perspective, 45 lbs is quite a bit!
I'm starting to feel bones I havent felt in a couple years, every little thing is exciting. I've had to re-learn how to shave around the shins and ankle bones, and Blake thinks its fun to tickle the ribs.. its pretty much his favorite activity now... me.. not so much.
I'm eating a grand total of about 300-400 calories per day. One day when I was hanging out at Beths, I was feeding Marian, and discovered that she can eat twice as much as me! It boggles my mind.
The other ups to this whole adventure is that my sleep apnea has been cured. Its basically gone.. non-exsistant! I've finally gotten some good sleep. For the first time for as long as I can remember in my entire life. With the slight help of tylenol PM of course, I have gotten uninterrupted nights sleep for an entire week. And if you know me... that is quite the accomplishment! My plantar faschitis is getting easier to handle with each loss. So my overall health is starting to improve. Yay!
Unfortunately, I've become sort of a half way vegitarian. Almost. With the exception of seafood of course. Chicken hates my guts. Literally. I will not be eating that for quite some time. I dont really eat red meat, due to its diffculty digesting. So that about sums it up to turkey. Not like actual turkey, but turkey substitutes, if you know what I mean. I eat a lot of eggs, beans, cheese, veggies, yogurt, soymilk, soyfoods... and seafood!
Okay enough about that.. Blake is doing well. We are really wanting to purchase a Harley motorcycle this summer. So we can join his parents and brother, Todd, on all the weekend trips they make. We had the priviledge of joining them for Labor Day weekend last year, and we had an absolute blast. We went to Lava Springs, Idaho and up to Bear World. I'm officially addicted and am itching to get out with them again for more adventures! Blake isn't fighting me much on this one. I dont ask for much ;)
Spring is coming, it has given us sneak peek teasers. Spring and Summer means its time for all the fun! Which means.. more pictures to be coming! I havent been very good at taking pictures of my weight loss progress, but hopefully that will be changing soon, so you all can see!!

One Week (8 days) Post-Op...

2009-01-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

Well hellooooo!
This week has been full of ups and downs! Still in the recovery process of course, so it has been a week of sleepless nights, until last night, I got sleep finally!! It was glorious! And when I woke up this morning, I weighed myself to find that I have lost 28 lbs! I thought my scale broke, so I weighed myself six different times, just to make sure. Yup, 28 lbs. I know, I can't believe it myself. That, and people telling me I'm melting.. are the positive moments like this, that makes this whole painful and tiring process worth it! Another thing that comes along with getting smaller. I'm always freezing my bummy off!! I'm losing my perma-coat. Winter is not kind to me! I am looking forward to summer, when I can get away with shorts and cute summer dresses... weeeee!!

SURGERY

2009-01-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends...
Well as most of you know I had surgery on Tuesday, January 20th. All went well, I spent two days and one night in the hospital and have spent my first day at home. Bethy was so nice and came over to visit me and entertain me. She read me part of a story and we watched a chick flick. I get to watch those when I have the miseries ;) Blake has been taking very good care of me. Its hard for me to move around, being so sore and all.. so all the little things add up. He is very good to me, I am so lucky!
I am two days out (three without food), and have already lost 10.6 pounds. I couldn't believe it, I think I re-weighed myself half a dozen times.
I think of food so entirely different now. I'm not even hungry.. so far I have to even force the jello and chicken broth down. Which is good, however my sense of smell has changed quite a bit. My fruity smelling hand soaps are so sickening sweet to me now, it makes me nausiated! Its going to be a rollercoaster adventure, but it will be worth it.
Oh yeah and my surgeon found a tumor on my liver, thinking it could be cancer, but he says it looks "benine" meaning it didnt look like it was cancerous, so he cut it off and had it sent out to be tested just in case. I will know more about that next week. I'm sure it will be fine though.
Anyways, thats the update! I hope to keep you updated often on this journey. Its gonna be a fun ride! Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. They were much appreciated. I love you all!

New Years Eve 2008 (Kamas, Ut)

2009-01-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

I dont get a New Years kiss. I get a New Years lick on the face! Ssssiiiick!

Me, one of my besties, Char, and my sister-in-law, Gina.

Guitar Hero was the game of the night! ROCK ON!

Jack is a little tipsy, and dancin crazy like to some random song on Guitar Hero hahaha!

Me and Char, she is one of my best friends, she is also married to Blake's cousin, Jacob. She is my other wittle sissy.

Christmas Eve continued...

2009-01-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

"Deck the Hars with bars of horry, Fa ra ra ra ra..."

Leon (Mine and Blake's neighbor) and Blake in his old man hat.

Adam and Miss Danikah

Vieve providing music for our lovely singing.

HA! I actually got a sort of picture of our Australian neighbor, Leon. He tried to hide and failed this time!

Me and my handsome Poppa!

Christmas Eve 2008

2009-01-16T11:31:00.001-08:00

Singing Christmas Carols!

Mmmm! Yummy food. Gotta love the candid chow downs!

Blake in his new Christmas onsie PJs. Shhh, he is trying to stay incognito.

Vieve, me, and Bethy

Gotta love the eggnog. Chug it, King Onsie!

More Thanksgiving...

2009-01-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

Momma, after she has outdone herself once again, as always!

All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth! My midget, Alessa, is getting so big!

Binkie Buddies! Marian and Poppa. He was afraid this might make it onto the world wide web. He was right! Hehehe

JJ (friend and neighbor of Beth and Ryan) and Blake

Me and Jarom have the sillies!

Thanksgiving Fun 2008 (Alpine, Ut)

2009-01-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

Me and Bethy

Marian, Ryan, and Bethy

Part of Blake's family: Todd his youngest brother, Kathy his mom, and his dad, Jack.

The Ladies!

Sooo full! Blake, Me, and Todd.

My "children" (Pets)

2008-12-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

This is Bella, at one day old. It was love at first sight! It was that moment that Blake knew he was doomed. She is so little.. they grow up so fast! Hahaha :) She has grown up pretty wild and free. She is now pretty fast. Meaning.. hard to catch! She has quite the spirit.

This is Blake with Turk. The third, yet our largest "Ferret Child". He is the size of a small cat. He is the one that looks most like one of his ancestors, the raccoon. We sometimes call him "Tubby" or "Fatty" or "Behemoth"... you get the idea. He is pretty mellow, not sure if its because of his size, but he does aim to please. He does not like it when we get upset with him, so because of his nature, it rarely happens.

This is Carlie, the youngest. She is only two months old. She is so small, she fits in Blake's palm. She may be little, but she is the loudest, and most definitely can hold her own! She screams and chirps pretty loudly, and because of her size I can only imagine she's getting picked on, I've come to realize that she provokes the boys, and when things dont go her way, she screams for help! Isn't that how most youngest siblings are? :)

This is JD (left) the oldest, and Ellie (right) the 2nd oldest. JD is our "ferret child" that is "special" and requires the most attention. We sometimes think he may have A.D.D. He LOVES going on walks, and when he is excited his tail puffs out like a pipe cleaner. He is our "rebel" and even has a mohawk! Ellie is a sweetheart. She cuddles, as you can see, and she is the kisser. She will lick your face, your hands, anywhere she can reach. She just likes to love :)

This was Christmas Eve of 2007. Right before Laurel went off on her mission that most of us have been hearing about weekly. I just threw it in there because when she is home, she eats all my food.. much like my "children". Haha! No.. I just miss her. And will miss her greatly this Christmas!

Beginning of the blogs!

2008-12-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Family and Friends!

It would seem that I am behind the times, everyone has a blog. I finally decided to join the "in" crowd. Also, I thought it would be a great way for family and friends far away to keep tabs on whats new in our lives (mine and Blake's, that is). So far our page seems somewhat bland, but hopefully as time goes and events happen, it gets more exciting. So, let me update you on our lives...

Blake has been at Kwal Paint, in Park City, for seven years now, much to his dismay. He has been the store manager for two years. He's one of the most intelligent people I've ever met and is quite bored at the store, there isnt much more to learn. He's hoping to go back to school in the new year coming so he may expand his horizons, and brain :) He is also the best husband EVER. He is very sweet and always puts my needs ahead of his own. We are going on 2 and a 1/2 years of marriage, and still feels like the honeymoon phase. For the most part! These days he enjoys working on his hobby truck, which can now run at freeway speeds. Much to MY dismay, all the small parts and pieces are always scattered all over the living room floor, and it runs louder than a screaming banchee! Whatever makes him happy right?!

I am in my third year at Stuart Fraser Salon in downtown Provo. I'm currently working part time, due to my health, as many of you already know.. it sucks, and that pretty much sums it up! I recently had surgery on my feet due to Plantar Fascitis. For those of you who don't know what that is, basically in a nutshell, my plantar fascia tendons were tearing away from my heal bones. I needed to get that fixed. As it turns out, I'm a slow healer, but I'm hoping for the best! I'll be all better just in time for my next surgery, the gastric bypass. Which should cure a whole bunch of ailments, such as sleep apnea.. amongst other things. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited to have it done. Hopefully mid January will be the beginning of the rest of my life!
As for my hobbies, I have many pets. I now have four ferrets, and NO they are not rodants! They are actually considered exotic pets, the vet bills prove that! Many do not know much about them, so they dont understand. They each have their very different individual personalities, and are a lot of work. They are incredibly intelligent, yet have the attention span of a 2 yr. old. They are highly entertaining. My "ferret children" are very spoiled and well loved. They call me the "ferret lady" at Petco. I'm not sure how I feel about that exactly, haha! Their names are JD, Ellie, Turk, and Carlie. If any of you watch the show "Scrubs" you will understand the thought behind their names.
I also have a baby horse, Bella, she was born April 16th. Which would make her 8 months old now. She is getting tall and her coloring is turning out to be unique, but beautiful. She is part Palomino, part Bay (she's a quarter horse). Her coat is turning a very rich reddish brown color of the bay in her, and her mane and tail are starting to lighten up, like a palomino.. she has three white socks and a white blaze on her face. I guess I still can't believe I actually have a horse of my own. For those of you who knew me growing up, know that its a dream come true :)

As a couple, Blake and I love to go camping, fishing, four-wheeling, motorcycling, movie-watching, taking trips, going on little adventures... my new year resolution is to take lots of pictures, and keep this thing updated! For now I will post some glimpses of this past year (2008) to catch you all up!

That's it for now. We love you all, and miss all of you who are far away. We think of you often!

~Hailey~