Bathroom

I painted my bathroom yesterday. I think it looks so nice. It took me 8 hours. Brad started to help but only lasted about 30 minutes, before he started complaining.

Kyle's mission

Well Kyle is going to Santiago, Chile. He leaves for Utah on March 11th. He received a big packet of information telling him all the things he needs to do to get ready to go, like getting his Visa, shots, etc..... When we got to Kyle's place he invited us in. We finally met the family he lives with. They seem really nice. I just kept wondering if they think we are heathens. When he opened the envelope and started reading the letter, he seemed like he was going to cry. I am glad he is so emotional about it. He seemed really excited. I hope he stays on top of everything he needs to do. We took him to Chili's to celebrate.

Shopping

I spent yesterday with my mom and sister shopping. I am really not much of a shopper. I like to go into a store, survey, and if nothing pops out at me I leave. On the other hand, my sister, likes to browse around, touch, and look at everything. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time. It was fun. It reminded me of when we were little. My mom and sister looking at everything and me just kind of hanging around waiting on them. My niece was with us. I think she is turning into a shopper like her mom. We left the boys home with Brad. They all survived. A cold front blew in while we were gone. As we were driving up to the house this kid ran by in shorts and without shoes on. Guess who's kid it was? Mine. When I got in the house, I asked Brad why he was letting our kids run around at night half naked. He said, "They are just playing." They were playing hide and go seek. Which would of been okay if they had been dressed appropriately. I guess we are the official white trash of the neighborhood.

I just checked the mail and there is a big envelope addressed to Kyle from the Mormon church. We called him and he said it was his call about his mission. I asked him if he wanted us to open it. He said no and asked if Brad could bring it to him and be there when he opens it. Brad is getting dressed and is about to leave. I wonder where they are sending him. It is about time. Now Kyle can get his life off hold and get this done, so he can begin doing what he needs to do to get a career.

Images from Christmas

Making cookies

Merry Christmas

We survived anther Christmas. To be a kid again...... When you are a kid it is all about the gifts and fun. When you are an adult it is all about the buying, cooking, cleaning, planning, etc........
Maybe I should rephrase that, to be a man or a kid. Men don't have a lot to do around Christmas either, except enjoy the cooking and if we are lucky clean up after the meal. I sound like bah hum bug. I really do enjoy the holiday and it is worth all the work.

My favorite part is Christmas Eve service. I love the music and the candles. It is finally a time to take a deep breath and get a chance to think about the true meaning of Christmas. The kids are on their best behavior because they know when they get home they get to open gifts. What ever works, right?

Kyle actually spent the holiday with us. This was the first time he has been back since he left in October. He isn't a dummy. He knew when to come home. He brought us all a gift, which was very nice.

Tomorrow my mom, sister, and her kids are coming for Christmas. I will be cooking and cleaning again. I don't mind cooking for them, they actually like what I cook. Unlike my kids. I am sure we will be going shopping at one time or another tomorrow. The boys have gift cards that are burning a hole in their pockets. Hopefully it won't be too crazy.

We went to see the new movie with Tom Cruise today. This is the first time all 5 of us went to the movies together. It was a very interesting movie. Not really a light and fun movie for the holiday. When you live in a house with all males, you get overruled pretty easy.

shopping

Friday night was Brad's Christmas Party. There are only 5 employees, so it would be quite noticeable if we didn't show up. We all met for dinner at a restaurant. This was the first time in over a year Brad and I actually went out without kids. We had a nice time. The boys spent the night with a friend, so we even had the house to ourselves for one whole night. I don't think we have ever been home alone.

This our first weekend in a while were the boys didn't have any sports. So, what did we do? We went and watched the Katy Tigers win state. It was really exciting. When you looked around all you saw was a sea of red.

Sunday I spent the day shopping and cleaning. Nothing too exciting. Today I took the boys to the mall. I gave them money and told them they had to buy a gift for both their brothers. I was trying to teach them Christmas is about giving, not just getting. Of course they both asked if they didn't spend it all could they have the remaining money. You see why I am trying to teach them this. They are a little on the spoiled, give me, give me, side. I think they had fun buying for their brothers. I think Tanner did a little better job and really thought about his gifts. I enjoyed watching them look at things and budget the money and what they thought their brother's would like.

I finally took the boys to take their pictures for our Christmas card. It will be a little late, but oh well. Mason is really starting to care what he looks like. For the longest time he has wanted to brush his bangs straight down. I never really liked it. The past couple of days he has been spiking it up a little in the front. He is putting on deodorant and Axe body spray. He is really growing up and becoming so handsome.

Too much going on...

I haven't blogged in a long time. We have had a ton going on. Tanner finished up his baseball tournaments, but his football coach decided to select some kids from his team and several other teams in our league and play in two tournaments. Their first tournament is this weekend. This means he has been practicing 3 times a week. We originally decided not to do this and I wish we had stuck to that initial decision, but Tanner really wanted to. Basketball has started. He practices two times a week for that. They don't start games until January.

Mason started basketball too. His baseball team is playing in two tournaments this month. They played last weekend at Doss Park. This is not in a very good part of town. In fact they had a shooting at the basketball courts located between the baseball fields a couple of weeks ago. We played two games Friday night. A couple of parents and I decided not to bring our younger kids because it was cold and we didn't want to have to worry about them getting shot. We are just good parents like that. LOL. We hired a babysitter and left them all at one house. The boys did very well. We lost against one of the teams from that area. One of the kids hit a homerun over the center field fence. He was a cocky little guy. After he hit the homerun Mason yelled over to me. "Hey mom, did you notice the bat he was using." It is an exo bat. These bats run about $250. I haven't felt the need to spend that much on a bat yet.

This weekend Mason has a baseball tournament at Baseball USA. Tanner has a football tournament. Brad is working all weekend. It will be another crazy weekend.

39

Today is my birthday. I am 39 today. I joked around at work yesterday that I have finally had my last birthday. Isn't 39 the age everyone says they are when they reach 40+. I went to lunch with some friends. It was very nice. Then the boys and I went to see Twilight. I am ashamed to admit I haven't read the book, but I did enjoy the movie. Mason said it was the best movie he has seen in a while.

Tomorrow is turkey day. We are going to my mom's for lunch and then to my brother's to watch the horns beat the aggies. Friday we plan to go into San Antonio to the base and do some shopping. Nothing too exciting.

Tanner's football coach called and said they are entering two tournaments in December. That would mean we would have football, baseball, and basketball practice next week. I had to tell them we couldn't commit to playing football. I think I would lose my mind trying to juggle all of that.

Busy weekend

Tanner and I went to Austin for the weekend for the state baseball tournament. My mom drove in and stayed with us on Saturday night. It was nice to get to visit with her and for her to watch Tanner play ball. His team played twice on Saturday and they won both games. Tanner hit another in the park home run. Sunday we played and lost our game, which meant it was time to go home. We rushed back to Katy and got back just in time to watch Mason's second baseball game of the day. They won. All in all it was a great weekend for baseball.

Both Mason and Tanner's football teams played Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately both teams lost and they will not be going on to the second round. The good that comes out of this is we no longer have to juggle two sports, at least until basketball starts. Speaking of basketball we got a message on our recorder from the basketball league asking if Brad might want to coach Mason's team. I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. I told Mason and he said, "We would lose all our games if Dad was our coach."

It has been nice the last three days to come home from work, cook dinner, get a chance to sit down and enjoy it. Monday night Mason asked if we could sit in the dining room and use our china. We did eat in the dining room but I didn't pull out the china.

On Monday I took Mason to the nephrologist for a follow up to his hospital visit. He is doing really well. He never relapsed during the time he was sick. I asked the doctor what this might mean. He said it is a good sign. I asked him if we could start cutting back on some of the medicine and he said we needed to wait until January. If he has still not relapsed we might. He said about 60% of patients relapse when they start tapering down the Neoral, but that means 40% don't. Maybe Mason will be in the 40%. We won't know until we try.

We still haven't talked to Kyle, but I have found out a few things from a little birdie. He is living on his own somewhere. He is working somewhere. He got two tickets. One for speeding and one for an expired registration. The grand total of this bill is $310 dollars. Sucks to be Kyle. I am not sure who's car he was driving. I told Brad to call him and see what he is doing for Thanksgiving. We will see what happens with that. The whole Kyle thing is just weird. I knew he couldn't grow up normal living in such an unstable environment.

Go Curve!!

Tanner joined a select baseball team a couple of months ago. So far the kids played in a Sunday league in the fall. In the fall league his team came in second. This past weekend they played their first tournament. The first game they played they played a team that has played way more games than we have and have been together for a while. During this game our team was down a couple of runs. Tanner got up to bat with two outs and the bases loaded. I always say a little prayer when he gets up, because he can get nervous. That boy hit a line drive down the middle of the field. He hit it so hard it went through three players and stopped at the fence. He got a grand slam! When he got home he had to slide and just barely missed the tag. He was so excited. Everyone was screaming and hitting him on the head and back. We ended up winning 14-12. He got the game ball. His team ended up winning second in the tournament. It was so exciting.

Mason is a little jealous. He has been playing select ball for two years and they placed fourth in one tournament. The rest of the time they never placed. Mason has played 10 plus tournaments and has one trophy. Tanner has played two and has two trophies. Mason's team is doing much better and in the Sunday league they are doing really well. They don't really play too much in the fall, because of football.

Tanner's football team won their last game on Saturday. This puts his team in the playoffs which are this Saturday. His baseball team is traveling to Austin for a state tournament. He had to make a decision as to which one he wanted to do and he picked baseball. His football coach isn't too happy. I hope he doesn't take it out on him.

Mason's team is in the playoffs too. I won't get to see the game, because I'll be in Austin with Tanner. I hope they win, so I can see them play again.

R.I.P. Abigail

The boys have killed the hamster. Poor Abigail was left with no water. Yesterday Mason called me while I was at Tanner's game to let me know Abigail had died. I told Tanner on the way home. He got really quiet and asked if God thought they had killed her? We had a little discussion about responsibility. He then asked if Abigail was in heaven. When we got home Brad and I made them get her out of the cage. That was an ordeal. We put her in a baggy, dug a hole, and put her in. We said a prayer and asked God to forgive us for not taking better care of her. Mason cried. Then Brad covered her with dirt. It was a very interesting experience. Today is has been raining most of the day. Tanner said, "I sure am glad I am not Abigail." Don't we all!!!

Election

This past week was not near as crazy as the week before. Although some major things happened. I haven't said much about the election because it is really hard to say how I feel. I am really nervous about the next four years. I think it is funny that before the election things that should have been questioned about Obama were pushed under the rug. I know this happened because of the whole race thing. No one wanted to be called racist and looking a little deeper into the life of Obama and the questionable people he associated with was seen as picking on the black guy. If the shoe had been on the other foot and McCain had associated with a someone that was racist and anti-American he would have been thrown off the ticket faster than we could believe. So, was this election a race oriented one, yes. Just look at the post election reports. That is all we hear about. People can't even be disappointed in the results with out being seen as racist. I am not racist, but I am anti Obama. The only bright side in all of this is when Obama screws things up I get to be the one that says, "I thought things were going to be better with Obama." The other positive thing that has come out of this, is hopefully now that we have an African American president, race really will not be an issue again. The next time people will really look at the character of the two candidates and the issues. I just pray that our country can survive the next four years.

On Wednesday morning the boys woke up asking who won. When I told them Mason said, "Man this has been a horrible week. First I get sick, go to the hospital, UT loses, and Obama wins." It really was a bad few days.

We're Home

We got a little surprise this morning. When the doctor came in and saw us he was pleased with Mason's labs. Mason had to drink a certain amount of liquid yesterday and he did. The doctor was so pleased he said we could go home. We checked out about 1:00. When we got into the car Mason was very tired. He had me worried, he seemed worse than he did when we were in the hospital. I think it all just hit him at once. When we got home I took Tanner to his football game and Brad stayed home with Mason. I told Mason he had to take a nap or he couldn't watch the UT football game tonight. He has been sleeping a couple of hours now. He has no restrictions and might get to go back to school on Monday. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. It is reassuring to know we have such nice people in our lives.

Yikes

When we left for the hospital yesterday my brain was working over time trying to figure out everything we might need, who to call immediately that would be expecting me or Mason in the next couple of days, and what to do with Tanner. My friend Susie picked up Tanner before we left and Brad picked him up after work. On the drive to the hospital I called one of Tanner's friends and spoke to his mom about after school tomorrow. The plan was Tanner would get off the bus at the same stop and go home with Luke. Luke's parents would take the boys trick or treating if Brad had not made it home in time. About 5:00 I called to check on Tanner. Lisa said Tanner was at home. I thought she was kidding. She wasn't! My heart stopped. She said when he got off the bus he went to the garage and punched in the code. He saw my truck in the garage and told Briant I was home. Tanner went inside and did God knows what for an hour. Lisa said Luke went to our house 30 minutes earlier and rang the doorbell to see if Tanner wanted to play. Of course he didn't answer, that is our rule when he and Mason are ever home alone. I just wonder what was going on in that little boys mind when he got in the house and no one was home. Did he celebrate and have a little party or was he scared? In my mind I think of him being scared to death and crying for his mommy. But if I know Tanner it didn't faze him a bit. If that had been me as a child I would have been hysterical. One time my mom couldn't pick me up from swimming lessons on time. She called the place and told them she would be late. I remember the lady telling me this and offering me chips and coke, but I wouldn't stop crying until I saw my mom. I guess you see where Tanner gets his emotional side.

When I hung up with Lisa she sent Briant back over to the house and I told her I would call him. I had to call several times before he would pick up. The thoughts that were going through my head were not good. I was almost in tears. He finally picked up and said, "Luke is here to get me." No duh! I told him to go and open the door and he said he had to put on shorts first. I bet he was eating in the living room, in his boxers, and watching cartoons. Like I said he was in hog heaven.

Hospital

Last night Mason was admitted to the hospital. I went to the pediatrician again yesterday because Mason was still running a fever and he was complaining of his mouth hurting. The doctor said it was herpes. What the ......? I asked him how he got that and he said it was very common and kids pass it all the time. Who knew? When I got home I looked on the internet and it said you can take antiviral medication for this. I called his nephrologists and told them what was going on and they told me to take him to the ER so he could be admitted for IV antiviral meds. We got to the ER at 6:30 and didn't get up to a room until 10:30. They didn't start the IV until around 1:30 and it was so loud we couldn't sleep. Then they kept coming in at least every hour for one thing or another. The labs showed his BUN level was a little elevated, that is his kidney function. He is still not spilling protein. His blood showed some new bands (I have never heard of bands) He said that you are suppose to have 0 bands and he has 6. This means his body is fighting an infection. Really??!! The worst part is they have him in isolation so he feels like he is in jail. He is tired and very crabby. Nothing is good enough at this moment. He is very sad he is missing Halloween. He had plans for a friend to ride the bus home and they were going trick or treating by themselves. He has a very important football game tomorrow. He has two baseball games on Sunday. He is very disappointed to not be able to participate. The doctor said the earliest we can get out is this weekend, perhaps tomorrow.

Tanner Football

I just learned how to post videos. Here is one of Tanner getting a tackle. He is number 30 on the white team. Do you hear Brad in the background?

Still home

This is day four being home with Mason. I am a little bored. I should be using this time wisely. I have bathrooms that need to be cleaned and floors that need to be mopped. Instead I am surfing the Internet and finding funny videos to post on my blog. Watch the video I posted below.

I thought Mason was better this morning. His fever was only 100, but I can't get him to eat. He says his stomach hurts and he has a sore on the tip of his tongue. His doctor wanted me to bring him back in this morning if he wasn't any better. I didn't take him, but I just called them and they want me to bring him in at 2. Will this ever end??

I need to take Tanner to the allergy doctor for his shots today. His doctor is in the same building as our pediatrician. I think I might check him out of school a little early, so I only have to make one trip. Is that bad? The poor kid hasn't had a chance to carve his pumpkin yet and he has football practice tonight. If I pick him up and get the allergy doctor out of the way, he will have time to carve his pumpkin, do homework, eat dinner, go to practice , and still get to bed on time.

This is funny!

Still Sick

Mason ran a fever all day. It went down to 100 while he was on Tylenol, but as soon as it started wearing off the fever was high again. We went to the doctor this morning. He thinks it is just a virus. He checked his urine and the results were good. He is still not showing any protien in his urine. This is the sickest he as been in a while. If he can get through this with out spilling protien maybe he has outgrown the nephrotic syndrome. We go and see the nephrologist in November. Hopefully he will start weaning Mason off these medicines. I am probably being too hopeful. Our doctor wants me to call him tomorrow and update him. Tonight Mason't fever went back up to 103, so I gave him another tylenol. More than an hour later the fever was still at 102. Of course this caused me to to get on the computer and research what to do with a fever. Nothing really helped because Mason isn't a normal kid. All these medicines he takes weaken his immune system, so I don't know why I was wasting my time. I just worry about him so much. He is sleeping soundly right now, so I should just relax. Maybe he will wake up in the morning and be fever free.

Sick Kid

Yesterday Tanner had two baseball games. He did much better. He didn't throw any fits. He did cry when he struck out, but he recovered very quickly.

While Tanner and I were at his game, Mason was at home with Brad. He had baseball practice that afternoon. He kept calling me telling me he didn't feel good, could he miss practice. He said his jaw hurt and he thought it was broken. I thought he was faking it. I let him miss practice but told him he needed to lay in bed and not go out and play. When we got home from Tanner's game Mason had a fever of 99. I still didn't believe that he felt bad. He took a bath and then said he felt much better. Tanner had a birthday party to go to, so while he was at the party Mason and I went to see High School Musical. While we were at the movies Mason kept saying he was cold and started looking terrible. By the time we got home he had a fever of 103. (I am such a great mom. I thought he was faking it all day.) He asked to take another bath. When he was ready to get out he yelled for me and told me he couldn't get out by himself. I took his temp. again and it said 105. I almost had a heart attack. I took it again and it went down to 103 again and then it kept falling getting down to 100. I guess the medicine finally kicked in. I checked him out through out the night. It stayed around 101. Of course I worried all night wondering if this was going to make him relapse again. We have almost gone one year with out relapsing. I checked his urine first thing this morning and he is still negative. I am sure I will be taking him to the doctor today.

Kid update

Mason waiting his turn on the sideline.

Tanner has been doing better. Maybe because he hasn't had a baseball game. Last week he remembered he forgot his math homework at school. He said, "I am going to get a mark." I said, "Yes, you are." He thought for a minute and came up with a plan to ride his bike to a friends house and get his homework, bring it home so I could copy it, and then give it back to him. Great plan, only his friend had forgot his too. He needs to pick smarter friends. We tried to explain to him that getting the mark is the consequence for not following his teachers directions and putting the paper in his binder. He seemed to understand, but he wasn't happy. He worried about it all night. The next morning he mentioned it again, and I told him to try and not cry. When he got home the first thing he said to me was, "I got a mark and I didn't cry." I asked him what happened and he said he had to do the work at recess. He said, "It only took me a minute and then I got to go and play." I told him I wasn't going to punish him because his punishment was doing it during recess.

The next test was Saturday at his football game. They passed the ball to him in the end zone, but he didn't catch it. Brad thought it was pass interference, but it wasn't called. He did cry, but got over it pretty quick. Later in the game they passed it to him again and he ran about 20 yards before getting tackled. He was so proud of himself. I always tell him to say to himself when he strikes out or misses a ball, "next time I'll get it". This was a perfect example of that. He has such a sweet heart. I know that is why he is so sensitive. I don't want that to change about him. He just needs to know how to handle his emotions. Hopefully, we are on the right road.

Kyle moved out a couple of weeks ago. He decided he needed to live with a Mormon family. I guess us asking him to get a job was just too much for him. He hasn't called us to even let us know where he is. He didn't have a phone, because he had lost the one we gave him. He came back Saturday when we were at Tanner's game. He left us his new number. His mom reactivated his old phone. I think he is a lot like his mom. The grass is always greener. That is why she has moved so much. It must be horrible to be that unhappy.

Mason is doing well. He is starting quarterback for his football team. A new kid showed up right before the season started. The kids had already been practicing for a month. They had to try out for their positions. Rumor has it this kid came to the team because he wants to be quarterback and his old team wouldn't let him. His mom is on the board so I guess she gets what she wants. Mason and this kid have switched off. Mason runs a series and then the new kids runs a series. I haven't really been happy about this, but I have kept my mouth shut. The dad even tried to say Mason couldn't play two weeks ago, because Mason had on Tanner's jersey because Mason left his at home. The only thing different was the number, but Mason's team didn't have a 30 so his coach said it was okay. He made a big deal out of it. Then last week the mom said Mason couldn't play because he wasn't in full uniform. He didn't have on the long red socks. He wasn't the only one. There were at least 4 other kids that didn't have the socks on. Our coach said it wasn't an issue. They are trying to get rid of my baby. Don't mess with my baby or I can get ugly. Last week the other parents were saying things to me about why this kid is taking Mason's spot. One even yelled while that kid was out there, "Put in our real quarterback." He threw an interception and caused a safety. After that Mason quarterbacked the rest of the game. I guess things work out the way they are suppose to.

Tan Man

Tan Man

This is suppose to be a blog about how perfect my kids are and what a great mom I am right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but my kids aren't perfect. I don't know how since I am. LOL



My poor Tanner has been having some issues. Tanner is an emotional kid. I have always described him as the most loving kid one minute and the spawn of Satan the next. He has been that way since he was a baby. When he was two we called him Tanner the Terrible. We couldn't go out to eat with him, because he would be so loud and Brad couldn't handle it. He reacts by yelling, screaming, or crying when he gets upset. This is part of the reason I took him to the doctor when he was in first grade. He was having a little trouble academically. He has never really gotten into trouble in school. Well, not anymore than the average kid. He might get a mark, her or there, but nothing terrible. He always saves his bad behavior for me. Anyway, I took him to the doctor and we determined he has ADHD. He has been on medicine ever since. He has done really well. The first day he was on the medicine his teacher said it was the first time he raised his hand and sat still while they were on the carpet. Another issue he has had is crying when he is playing sports. In football it was when he couldn't do something correctly. In baseball it is if he strikes out or misses a ball. When he was younger I felt like he would out grow it. He did get better for a while, but the last two Sunday's at baseball he has had total breakdowns. His teacher said he sobs if he gets into any kind of trouble or is asked to redo something. Thankfully this has only happened a few times. He has break downs on Monday when we are studying his new words. He thinks he has to know them already and cries and yells if I tell him he spelled it wrong. Anyone that knows me knows I am a pretty laid back person. I really don't beat my kids for not being perfect. I took him to the doctor last week because I thought maybe it was the medicine causing him to react this way. He said he didn't think so. The medicine would not cause this behavior it might enhance what is already there. My sister took the pictures of him above. He was crying when he was playing chess with his uncle a couple of Thanksgivings ago because he was losing. This was before medicine, so the doctor is right. He thinks we should go and see a counselor. I have mixed feeling about this. I tried to call the person he suggested we see, but she isn't in our plan. I started thinking we would just forget it and see if we could work this out ourselves. Then yesterday during his baseball game, Tanner missed a ball. When the first baseman threw it back to him Tanner threw it down on the ground. The ball was still live and the runner kept running. He picked up the ball and the ump called time. Tanner was playing pitcher and he has to give the ball back to the coach so he can pitch the ball. Instead of throwing the ball back he hurled it at the coach as hard as he could. His coach made him go to the dugout. Tanner was bawling. I went over and had a few words with him and told him to stop crying in a not so nice voice. He did. I was so embarrassed. His coach handled it very well. He made him apologize to the coach and I am happy he sent him out of the game. I am hoping this will make a big impact on him. I grounded him from video games and TV for the rest of the day. This is like taking oxygen from him. I also told him if he does it again he will not be playing baseball again. I am really at a loss as to what to do.

Sprouting

Last weekend I told Kyle he needed to clean the upstairs bathroom. He is really the only one to use that restroom because the boys take baths and brush their teeth in our restroom. Kyle informed me he could not clean the sink really well, because Tanner cleaned the hamsters food dish out by dumping all the food into the sink. It had clogged it up. I tried to clean it out, but I couldn't. When Brad got home that night I told him he needed to unclog that sink. He said okay, but as of today, 6 days later, he hasn't done it. I haven't nagged him about it, because I am such a good wife, but I did remind him about Tuesday. It has been bugging me, but Brad is a grown man and should be able to take care of things on his own. This is probably why Brad and I are still married. I am delusional. Kyle moved out on Monday night, so the bathroom sink hasn't been used. Tonight as I was tucking the boys in I was turning out lights and saw something in the sink. The damn seeds in the sink have sprouted. I might have to decorate that restroom with a rain forest theme. I came downstairs and told Brad about the sink and he said he would look at it after his shower. Maybe he will remember, maybe not. You know he did have to work today. We wouldn't want him to over do it.

happenings

We have been very busy with the boys sports lately. Even though things are hectic with them both playing baseball and football right now, nothing gives me more joy than seeing them excel in their activities. I wish Brad would feel the same way. He looks at their activities as a burden. He complains that it takes up so much time. I look at it as a time in our lives that will be over before you know it and when it is over we will miss it. Just like the late nights when they were babies and having to get up with them over and over this to will end. They are growing up so fast.

A little Kyle update........
Last night Brad and I talked to him and told him he needed to have a job by the end of the week. He turned 19 July 21st. When he came to live with us he said he would be leaving on his mission in August, after he turned 19. Well, it is October. Every week we ask him what is up and he tells us he will know in 2 weeks. We have been hearing this two week thing since July. He stopped working in August. He has visited some family, but has spent a lot of his time upstairs on the computer. Brad said to him last night that the Mormon church is putting his life on hold. He is in limbo waiting for them to tell him where he is going. He got upset by this because he thinks we are against his religion. We aren't against it, we just don't really understand it. He told us last night he was going to apply for a job this morning at 8. It is 8:45 and he is still sleeping. After I went to bed last night, Kyle told Brad he was going to move out and live with a Mormon family. He thinks we are being hard on him. I don't think we are expecting too much. All we want him to do is work. It isn't normal for a 19 year old to be doing nothing. Most 19 year olds are in school or working. I really don't think any family regardless of religion will think it is okay to not be doing anything. I am very tempted in calling someone at his church and finding out what is up with the mission.

Katy Curve

Here are some pics of Tanner. He started playing on a tournament team and they played their first game today. They lost 7-8, but they did so good. I think they looked the best and should have won for just being cute!

Life With Boys

While taking the boys to school this morning I smelled the strong smell of skunk. I said, "Eeewww that skunk stinks." The boys agreed and then Mason said, "I bet a skunk's poop really stinks." Tanner laughed and said, "Oh Yeah!" This began a discussion about poop. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and wonder why. Why do boys/men have a fascination with bodily functions.

Hurrication is over

Well, back to reality. I am not really sure what I did with my week off. Well I did get my haircut. It looks like Edward Scissor Hands cut my hair. I don't think I have ever hated my hair more. Hopefully it will grow back soon. My sister said I could call it my Ike hair. It was damaged by the hurricane.

I was thinking on the way home from work today about my hair and then I decided I need to be thankful it is just a haircut that can grow out. My bosses daughter, Amy, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She is a beautiful 25 year old with beautiful natural curly blond hair. I was reading her blog and she made a comment about her surgery tomorrow and how they are going to try and not mess with her hair too much. She said, "Whatever it is just hair." Here is a young lady that knows not to stress the small stuff. Keep her in your prayers. She is having her surgery tomorrow and will then find out if it is cancer or not. She is expected to lose her short term memory. They aren't sure if this will be permanent or not. Pray for her and her family.

I am off to football practice and plan on enjoying my hectic life and thank God for giving me the ability to be busy.

No School

We don't have school until Monday. It is just amazing how one thing can change your everyday life so much. We were so blessed not to have any real problems with Ike. But it did cause a glitch in our lives. I never really thought about everything it takes to run a school district. At this time not all the schools have power. I think it is just a couple that don't. The problems are with transportation for buses and employees. Is there enough gas for everyone? Food, do the cafeteria's have what they need to feed the kids breakfast and lunch? Are all the employees able to come to work? Many employees still don't have power. Hopefully all that will be fixed by Monday.

Mason has gotten up each morning and asks if we can go ice skating. I keep trying to explain to him that this is not a vacation. He doesn't get it. I think it would be good to take the boys somewhere were they can help out in some way. Maybe they would understand the impact this has had on many people. I am just not sure where we could go and help out.

Crazy Night

We got the kids set up in our closet. Mason brought his mattress down and Carli, Zach, and Tanner used blankets and sleeping bags. The kids went to sleep around 11:00. At that time there was some wind, but no rain. We still had electricity, although it had blinked on and off several times. I had friends that lost power at 7. Around midnight the winds picked up. We all went to bed and tried to sleep, but it was hard listening to the wind. Around 3 our electricity went out and the storm really picked up. I think the worst of it was between 4 -6. The house would shake at times. Kathy and I would text each other. She is so brave to stay alone in her house with her two kids. Here is what we saw when the sun came up. All in all not too bad. We have some leaks in our bedroom and living room. We were very blessed!

Before Ike

Doesn't the sky look cool?

The wind is picking up......

Before the storm

The calm before the storm.

Waiting for Ike

We got the day off today. The boys are excited and are hoping there school will float away. I am just hoping it isn't too bad. We are ready. My sister and her family are coming to stay with us today. The kids will have fun together. I went to the bookstore yesterday and bought several books. Now we just wait.

What to do?

Tonight was the first night in a while that we haven't had anything scheduled after school. Well that nothing else interrupted our evening. It was nice to not have to rush home after work. I usually have about an hour and a half to help with homework and cook dinner. Then we go to some one's practice. Brad usually stays home with the kid that doesn't have a practice so the kids aren't always having to run around every night of the week. He cleans he kitchen. I didn't really know what to do with myself. It was nice.

Today Tuesday folder's came home. I think it is a little strange Mason hasn't brought graded papers home except for spelling tests. He keeps saying 5th grade is easy. Does anyone else think there is something wrong with this picture? I guess we will see next Tuesday when progress reports come home. I wish the online grade book would hurry up and get up and running.

I'm wondering what Ike is going to do? I keep checking the weather, although I don't know why. The meteorologist aren't very accurate, so no matter what they say they will probably be wrong.

You win some, you lose some

Saturday was the opening day for the boys football. Both boys play on the Buccaneers. The youth football organization the boys are with keeps the teams together for their entire youth football career. Tanner is one of the original 4 players that started playing when they were 5 years old in flag football. His coach let them be the captains for this game. That means they got to go to the center of the field for the coin toss. Unfortuantly that was the highlight of his game. His team lost 25 - 0. I am not sure what happened they are a better team than that. Hopefully they will do better next week.

Mason's team won 39-6. They scored three touchdowns in the first quarter with only 3 offensive plays. It was exciting at first, but it gets a little boring when there isn't much competition. Next week should be another blowout. Enjoy the photos.

Pick me up off the floor

I was just folding some laundry and Mason was getting his clothes to take upstairs. The TV was on in the background when a commercial for that herpes medicine came on. I wasn't really paying much attention when Mason said, "Mom, what's herpes?" I almost choked. I swallowed and answered, "Ummm, just sores people sometimes get," He then asked, "When people have sex?" Cough, cough.........."ummmmm yeah" (How did he know that? I almost asked, but I was scared of his reply. ) He then grabbed his clothes and ran upstairs. I am not looking forward to the questions when he asks about the feminine products, or erectile dysfunction commercials that come on.

Looking pretty bad

Today I was so excited. I was planning on going to get a desperately needed haircut and pedicure. This was the first day in a long time that we did not have any sort of baseball or football practice after school. I made a huge mistake by calling Brad as I was leaving work. Kyle has been at Mimi's all week and Brad was suppose to pick him up Friday after work. Well, Brad had been called out to some oil rig and wouldn't be able to get him. Guess what that meant. Goodbye haircut and pedicure!!!! BOO HOO Brad suggested I go tomorrow, but unless I can go at about 5 a.m. it isn't happening. Tomorrow is the boy's first football games. Tanner plays at 8:00. He has to be there at 7. Mason plays at 10. Go Bucs!! We should be finished with football around noon. Brad's dad is coming to see us tomorrow and will be here around 12:30. He is going to take Kyle back with him for a few days.

I just told Tanner that I will give him $5 for every touchdown and sack he makes tomorrow. He said, "Good that makes me pimped." Ladies watch out there's a new pimp in town.


Well, if you see me in the next few days and I look a little rough just remember I tried to get beautiful. Maybe my "pimp" can help me out.

Going Buggy

Tonight Tanner had baseball practice. When we were leaving he started yelling and crying. He screamed. "There's a bug in my ear." He was crying and screaming and slapping at his ear. I tried to pour water from my water bottle into his ear, but he kept screaming. We used a water hose and tried to flush it out. He looked relieved and said it was out. We gathered our things and went to the car. Right when we got there he started screaming again and hitting his ear. We drove straight to the ER and found out there were 15 people in front of us. The receptionist at the ER suggested we go to Katy Urgent Care, but it closed in 15 minutes. We ran to the car and drove as fast as we could. Tanner had calmed down a bit. When we got there we had 5 minutes to spare. We ran in and they had already closed. Brad kept calling during all this and telling me what he found out on the Internet. We decided to go to Walgreen's and pick up some hydrogen peroxide. While there I ran into another of my old students and her mom. She tried to help me find an irrigation syringe. Tanner started crying and screaming again while I was talking to her. I am making some great impressions on my old students lately. We paid for what we needed and started home. It was the worst drive of my live. Tanner started screaming and crying hysterically. He kept saying that this was the worst day of his life. He was screaming at the bug to get out of his ear. By the time we got home I was crying too. We ran in the house and put the peroxide in his ear and within a couple of minutes a little black bug came out. What an ordeal. That poor baby was being tortured. The bug would be still for a while and he would be fine and then it would start moving again and he would go hysterical. I am so glad what we tried worked or we would have been spending the night in the ER. What a crazy night!

Back to School

We all survived our first day of school. The boys came home with no big complaints. Tanner said, "It was good." He is a man of many words. As a mom I am just happy they came home and had no complaints. I do wish they would tell me more, but I guess they are normal boys. They both did their homework with no complaints. I am sure that won't last long. I'll enjoy their enthusiasm while I can.

Right before bed Mason told me he didn't like 5th grade. I asked him why and he said he was worried he would get a mark. I asked him why he would get a mark and he said he might forget his homework. He is such a worrier and I don't know why. He is such a good boy and doesn't get into trouble at school. Last year the only mark he got was the last week of school and he really got himself in trouble. One of his friends got into trouble for putting tape on Mason while in line. Mason went to the teacher and told her he had been doing the same thing, so she marked his card. He was devastated. I couldn't punish him because he had already punished himself. I can't imagine what was going through his mind when he went and told on himself.

Hopefully both boys will do well and have another great year. I can't believe Mason is in 5th grade. He seems so old to me. Tanner is in 3rd grade and still seems so much like a baby. I guess because he is my baby.

Funny Things

1. Tonight while driving home from baseball practice the boys started talking about puppies. Mason asked a question about how puppies can get around when they can't open their eyes. Then Tanner said, "Well, if Penny (our dog) got married she could have puppies,"


2. After practice tonight we went to get some ice cream. While there we ran into one of my students I had taught when he was in first grade. He is now going into 7th grade. His mom was my room mom. We had fun catching up and it was really nice to see he is doing well. After they left I looked down and noticed my zipper was unzipped. Now he is going to remember me as his dorky first grade teacher that doesn't know how to dress herself.

3. At Tanner's practice Mason ran off and played with a couple of boys. One of the boys he knew and the other one was a kid from South America. The boys played "home run derby". One kid fielded the ball, one pitched, and one hit. They rotated through. I noticed at one point Mason hitting and he hit the ball pretty far. Then when it was the South American boy's turn I noticed Mason showing him how to bat. I was proud of him for being helpful. When practice was over all three boys ran over to me and the South American asked Mason to sign his baseball and asked me if I had a pen. I asked him why he wanted his autograph and he said he was a great baseball player, he had just hit 6 home runs and showed him how to play. He was going to save it because one day Mason is going to be famous. He ran off, found a pen, and Mason signed his ball. Mason will be signing autographs on Saturday at noon if you are interested. LOL

A Right of Passage

I remember being a little girl and being so excited about school beginning. It meant new clothes and school supplies. I always looked forward to the class list being posted and the excitement that came with finding out who your teacher was and which of your friends were in your class.

So, today was the big day for my kids. Class Postings! Right before I left from work I called home and told the boys to be ready when I got home so we could go and see who their teacher was. First, I talked to Brad and he couldn't understand what I was talking about. He kept saying, "I thought that was tomorrow night." I tried to explain that meet the teacher was tomorrow night this was just to see who their teacher was. He said, "They don't want to do that, just go and see who it is for them." I thought surely he doesn't understand, of course the boys want to go up there with me. I asked to talk to the boys. They said the same thing as Brad. Are you kidding me? I hung up the phone, but then thought, surely they don't understand. I called them back and said, "Are you sure you don't want to go? Don't you want to see who is in your class?" Mason said for me to look and see if any of his friends are in his class. Tanner said he would just see who was in his class on the first day of school. I was so bummed. How could my kids not feel the same excitement I did as a child? It must be that they are boys. Guess what? Mason called me back and said for me to come and pick him up, he had changed his mind. I asked him if Tanner was going and he said no. By the time I got home both boys were outside waiting for me, with their new shoes on. I guess they aren't as strange as I thought.

Happy Birthday Daddy

My dad would be 70 today. That is hard to believe. I guess in my mind he will always be 51. I was 19 years old when he died and he has now been gone for 19 years. I still miss him terribly. Crazy fact about my dad's birthday and death. My dad's birthday is 8-16, this is the date Elvis died. Elvis' birthday is 1-8, the date my dad died. Crazy huh! Click on the picture below and it will make it larger. This is a picture of my mom and dad in 1959. He looks a little like Elvis, doesn't he?

OMG

Who do you think addressed the envelope above? Tanner, wrong, Mason, wrong, Kyle, correct!

You know he lost his license. We have been hounding him about getting another one. Brad went online with the Nevada DMV and told Kyle how to get the paperwork online to get another license sent to him. Yesterday we asked him if he mailed the paperwork in. He said yes and then threw his hat on the ground and said, "Snap!" I asked him if he forgot to put a stamp on it. He said yes, but he forgot to address the envelope too. Hmmmmmmm......... So, he had to redo the paperwork again. Last night he addressed the envelope. As you see above he needs a little tutoring in his letter writing skills.

I have always thought the news reports saying public education isn't preparing our children to go out into the work place was crazy. Being in public education I was always offended by these comments. But after seeing this, I am starting to think they may be right. For those of you that have teenage children, please test them on this and see how they do. Maybe it is just that Kyle went to 6 different high schools and I can't even count the number of elementary and Jr. high schools he went to. Perhaps he missed this skill when moving from school to school. Rest assured we had a little mini lesson on addressing an envelope. Man, what am I going to blog about when Kyle leaves. He keeps things interesting around here.

back to work

Well, it is that time again. For some reason we have to go back to work a week and half before the kids. We had our convocation today. It really is neat to see all the employees in the district in one place. The top dog does his best to motivate everyone and remind us of our district's directions and goals. I have always thought it would be better to do that not at the beginning of the year, but sometime during the high stress time. The beginning of the year everyone is refreshed and somewhat excited about starting a new year. It doesn't take a lot to motivate people who just came off of vacation. It is just a thought. On the other hand, putting all those stressed people together could be problamatic.

I can't believe I have taught for 16 years. My first set of students are 24 years old. Man that makes me feel really old. I haven't seen any of them on the news having done something criminal. I guess I didn't screw them up too bad.

It Happened......

Last night after I had just gone to sleep the phone rang. Brad answered the phone and Kyle asked to talk to me. I had answered at the same time as Brad, so we were both on the line. When someone starts out saying, "You aren't going to like this....." You know it can't be good. Bottom line is Kyle wrecked the car. He rear ended a girl. He was calling because he couldn't find the insurance. The girl's mom called me and I tried to give her all the information, but Kyle didn't have his drivers license either. They ended up calling the police. Of course Brad was freaking out about this time. So, I drove to where he was. He had told a little white lie about his location, because he knows he isn't suppose to leave Katy. He was about 5 or so miles outside of Katy. When I got there the deputy told me he was taking him to jail for suspicion of DWI. This made me laugh. I asked him if he did a field sobriety test and he said he did and it indicated he was impaired. I tried to assure him that he had not been drinking and the deputy said, "That's what they all say." He finally conceded and gave him the test again. He told him all the directions and then showed him how to walk heel to toe. Kyle did it wrong. He couldn't follow his directions. I explained the directions to Kyle again and he did it correctly. No wonder I always feel like I am hitting my head against the wall while talking to him. The deputy let him go and didn't even give him a ticket. Kyle told me on the way home he would have rather gone to jail then go home and face Brad. At this point Brad hasn't seen Kyle. He was in the bedroom when we got home and Kyle went to church this morning. I am not sure how he got there. I was so wound up when we got home at 2:30 a.m. that I couldn't go to sleep until around 4. Needless to say I missed church this morning. I think Kyle went to avoid Brad. I wonder if he will come home today?

Welcome Garrett Hunter

My friend Kelly had her baby yesterday. I went to see him today and he is just so precious. There is nothing better in the world than a newborn baby. It just makes you think, God is good. You can go see his pictures at my link The Garvey Gang.

Canoe

This weekend we had to go to my mom's house and pick up Brad's canoe. Mom and Cole came back from Colorado early. It was Brad's dad's birthday. We decided to drive to Llano and see him. Brad was very excited because his dad lives right on the Llano River, a perfect opportunity to use the canoe again. He talked his dad into going for quick trip down the river. They did one quick trip with Brad in front, Mason in the middle, and Charlie in the back. When they got back to shore Brad was complaining of the boat rocking a lot. I told him it was that way when I rode up front the last time. Tanner wanted to go for a ride, so they went out again. This time Brad was in the back and Charlie was in the front, with Tanner in the middle. Brad kept telling his dad that there was no way they would tip over. They got pretty far down the river and you can guess it, over they go! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Then watching them try to get back into the canoe was another sight. They finally gave up and Brad swam back, while Tanner and Charlie paddled back. If you look really close to the picture you can see Brad in the background.

Two Cute Pictures From the Week

Mason going out to secure the neighborhood.

Tanner helping make some brownies. (SSSHHH, he told me not to show anyone this picture.)

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!

I think most people would say I am a pretty calm and patient person. It really takes a lot to get to me. Well, I have finally reached my breaking point. Why, you may wonder.......Kyle. I have always given Kyle the benefit of the doubt and on many occasions calmed Brad down and been Kyle's advocate. For 14 years I have tried really hard. Mostly because I am a stepchild and I have had my issues with my step dad from time to time. I am done! He has finally pushed me over the edge. It is all just little things, but all the little things have added up. I am tired of having to hound him to get anything done. He lives like a pig. Since he has been here he has lost his drivers license, washed a paycheck, lost his wallet more than once, lost a paycheck, left the keys on the trunk of the car, etc........ He never washes his clothes and leaves them laying all over his room. Then he has some stupid excuse or lie as to why such and such happened, and it is never his fault. The bottom line is I told him he had to wash all his clothes and put them up today. Oh, the horror! He of course half ass did the job and then acts stupid when I call him on it. He has posted to all his friends that I am an evil stepmother, he hates his family, and not everyone can be saved. I guess he is implying I am going to hell. Well, my dear friends and family, I guess I will see all of you in hell. If the entry to heaven means being a liar, a slob, and a Mormon, then none of us will gain entry. I have prayed over and over for God to give me the patience I need to handle this, but it only seems to get worse. I guess in the grand scheme of things this is minor it is just really annoying.

It's started......

Football is back. Tanner had his first practice last night, they both have practice tonight, Thursday, and Saturday (same time different location). We begin our juggling act. Mason has always had a really good football experience, all sports for that matter. The coaches are there for what is best for the team. They don't play a lot of "dad ball". Tanner, bless his heart, hasn't had the most positive experiences. I already have a bad taste in my mouth after one practice. He has the same coach he had last year. This coach said at the end of the season he wanted to play Tanner as quarterback this year. Tanner was very excited about this. Then last night at practice he stated he is letting the kids try out for new positions, which is a good thing. He then named three kids and their positions. His son and one other coaches son were two of the three kids named. I just hope he really means what he says and gives everyone a chance. I just want Tanner to have a good time and feel successful. I was hoping he wanted to play baseball this fall instead of football. It is less stressful.

My Little Helpers

Yesterday my friend Kathy called and said she needed me and the boys to go on a mission for her. Her husband has been out of town and while he was away she discovered a 3 foot water moccasin in her yard. This freaked her out just a tad and was deep in her memory. Anyway, her kids wanted to go swimming and when they went outside their little pool was gone. I guess with the storms on Thursday it blew away. She just knew the pool was behind her fence in the field by the bayou. Perfect snake territory. Being a little freaked out by the friend she found in the yard, she called the Holmberg's because we are so brave! I asked the boys if they would go and look for her pool. They asked me what they would get. Which made me go into the spill of.....you don't always get something, you should just help out because it is the right thing to do and we help out our neighbors blah, blah, blah.......... They both took off (notice I am such a brave mother and sent my kids into harms way without me) and about 15 minutes later Kathy called and the boys had completed their mission successfully. I walked outside and saw them coming home and I was so proud of them. They were all smiles. Then the sweetest thing happened. Tanner pulled these squished purple flowers out of his pocket for me. I could have just eaten him up in that moment. Maybe there is hope for my boys after all. The flowers were in such bad shape I had to cut them off at the stems and let them float in water.

Later that evening we were sitting at supper and I told the boys to tell Brad about their adventure that day. Mason proceeded in telling Brad they rescued the pool out of a snake pit and it took them at least an hour, and guess what, Mrs. Kathy was bringing them a little something for helping them out. Which again made me go on and on....... you need to be grateful for whatever she gives you, whether it be a penny, a nickel, or whatever it may be blah, blah, blah, blah.... Can you believe that woman gave them $3 each? They were thrilled!! Thanks Kathy!

Bummer

I bought some beef cutlets on sale this past weekend and decided I would make chicken fried steak. Feeding my children is a real challenge. They are really picky. I am sure they are what I have created, but I have deep feelings about forcing kids to eat things they don't like. That comes from my step dad, childhood scars. Anyway, they actually like steak fingers. I made the steak, rice, green beans, ( Pioneer Woman style) and the cream gravy. I have only made this meal a handful of times, because I can't ever get the gravy right. Guess what, it didn't turn out good tonight either. It was eaten up, but it didn't taste anything like my moms. Don't you just hate working so hard on something and it not coming out right?

Be Very Careful

America has a new soldier. He will kill you with cuteness. Brad bought the boys these BDU's the other day. One of the kids favorite things to do is run around the neighborhood with their friends and play war. They make teams, build forts, and run terrorizing, I mean playing all over the neighbors yards. It reminds me of the good old days when kids could run around and play without all the worrying. Doesn't that make me sound old? I do still worry about them, but they can't live in a bubble and I figure if someone decided to take them, they would return them really quickly. I mean who else could afford them?

We are so proud!!

Today Mason's baseball team played for 3rd place against a team that is rated way higher than our boys. We started out slow and were down 7-0 at the beginning of the third inning. The boys came alive and we scored 9 runs against them. One of the boys hit a triple with the bases loaded. The boys were so excited. The final score was 11-10, we didn't win, but the boys proved they are a force to be dealt with. You should have seen the parents. I think we were even happier than the boys. It was such an exciting game. We have sat through some really long and painful games. They earned their first tournament trophy for fourth place.

Busy weekend

This week is we have been driving to League City for the World Series. Mason's team is playing. League City has a complex called Big League Dreams. The fields are designed to look like major league parks. They have Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Finway Park, and a few others. Mason has been dreaming of playing here for a long time. The fields have turf throughout the entire infield. We had the opening ceremonies Wednesday, played a game Thursday morning at 9, Friday morning at 9, Saturday morning at 9 and 1, and we play tomorrow morning for third place at 9. It has been a long few days.

On another note, Kyle is having a party here tonight. I put Brad in charge of this and I am going to dinner with my friend Kathy. I don't know how much trouble a bunch of mormon kids can get into, but I will let Brad hold down the fort. I figured if I stay I will just get nervous they are going to get something on the carpet. I'll let you know how it goes.

Nephrologist

I took Mason to his nephrologist today for a check-up. He is doing great! We have been in remission since December. This is the longest we have ever gone. He used to relapse at least at least every two months or so. I count my blessings daily that he is staying so healthy. I am almost scared to type this, because I don't want to jinx it. The doctor decided to keep him on all the medications he has been taking. I have mixed feelings about this. Is the medicine just a band-aide keeping him in remission? When we go off the medicines, or start weening him off will he relapse? We can't keep him on them forever. The medicines taken over a long period of time can cause lots of damage to his kidneys of all things along with other long term complications. What is considered a long period of time? We have already been taking all this crap for three years. For now I am just going to be thankful that Mason is beginning to look like himself again. He has almost lost all the weight the prednisone made him gain. He is on such a low dose of that, you can hardly tell. It is crazy having such an active athletic boy that seems perfectly normal, but I always have that nagging little reminder that it can change in an instant. The doctor told me today they have a camp for kidney kids this summer and wants Mason to go. I wonder if he would like it? They will have a range of kids with different kidney conditions. I don't know how he would react to that. I am letting him decide what he wants to do. He is concerned he will miss football practice or a baseball tournament. Something tells me he won't be going.