Merry Christmas

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas this year!  If you didn't get our Christmas card this year just consider this your Christmas card.  Merry Christmas!

Fall Break

Fall break was a lot of fun for our family.  Jared and I decided to get the kids out of the house for a special little trip.  It wasn't much, but we really had a lot of fun.  We went up to stay in Park City at a hotel with the kids.  We were able to go miniature golfing, swim in the pool, play some arcade games, and do the Alpine slide.  It really ended up being a lot of fun!  I think the kids really enjoyed the get away!  I know Jared and I both did!

Some recent fun things to note: Mac has a new thing he does to me all day long.  He says to me "Mom, do you know who loves you?" Then he points both thumbs at himself and smiles.  Next, he says, "Mom, do you know who loves you even more?" He then does two thumbs up toward the sky..."Jesus."  It's the sweetest thing.  He has managed to apply it in other situations too.  For example, we were at the grocery store and he said in a voice that all could hear, "Mom, do you know who just farted?"  Then pointing both thumbs to his chest he said: "This guy!"  I was trying not to be a bad mom and laugh hysterically so I just shook my head and push my cart quickly away from the other shoppers while telling him to excuse himself.

As for the girl, well she is doing so awesome in school!  She is really taking to Chinese!  I can't believe how much she is soaking up!  She is getting 100% on her spelling tests and reading really well!  I am just so proud of this little one!  She is really growing up to be a really beautiful, smart, and kind little girl!  I couldn't have asked for anything better in a little girl!!

June

June L. Park
1930 ~ 2014
Salt Lake City, UT-June L. Park, our beloved wife, mother and grandmother passed away peacefully September 29, 2014 surrounded by her children and loving husband due to complications from Frontotemporal Degeneration Dementia (FTD). She was born January 22, 1930 in St. Louis, Missouri to Lee S. Heberer and Julia Waddell. She married Gerald McCallum Park, May 17, 1950, later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple.
June was an avid writer and left behind priceless poems, stories and journals for her posterity. She was a champion Scrabble player and loved solving crossword puzzles, word searches and jigsaw puzzles. Her infectious laugh and wit were a joy to all. June loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many callings including Relief Society President where she loved those she served.
Survived by her husband and three of her four children, Kelly Park, Julia (Kory) Conrad, Kirby (Lynn) Park; 10 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Preceded in death by her son O'Brien.
A viewing will be held Friday, October 3, from 6-8 p.m. at the Top of the World Chapel, 8100 Top of the World Drive. Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 4, 2014, 12:30 p.m. at the same location, with a viewing prior from 11:00-12:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) www.theaftd.org - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/obituary.aspx?n=june-l-park&pid=172650745#sthash.nNqDrUXl.dpuf

Birthday Boy

It happened again, Mac got a year older!  He is now 4 years old!   I can't believe this kid used to be a little baby... how the time gets away from me!  Now he is a big boy who is all fun and very little drama!  Here are some of the things I love about my boy...

1.  His voice.  I know I have been talking about this a lot, but I was so worried that he was going to lose his voice.  There is something very... scruffy, for lack of better words, that makes it unique to him!

2.  He is and always better be a Mama's boy!  This is a good thing!  I love that he is sweet with me.  Although it gets old when he wants me to hold him ALL the time, I still wouldn't ever change it!

3. Mac is ALL BOY!  I never knew a boy who was more boy than this kid!  He has more weaponry than any one person should ever have!  He shoves frogs in his pockets and brings snails into my  house!  I can't say I love that all the time, but I sure love that he keeps busy and doesn't mind getting dirty.

4.  Mac only exists in the NOW!  By this I mean, he only thinks in the now.  There is no thought for the future or how things might play out later.  He only worries about now.  He never holds grudges or worries about what will happen later.  This is a good thing... unless he is making bad choices then I really wish he would think a little bit more about how things will play out in the future!  That we can teach him we hope!

5.  Can you say DETERMINED?!?  This kid will never quit when he wants something.  I can't tell you how long this kid will work at me to get a treat!  I could tell him no a million times but that is not going to stop him from trying.  It's annoying some days, but I think if we can fuel it in the right ways, he will be unstoppable!  I admire a wont quit attitude!

6.  He is a smart kid.  I wont say that Jared and I are stupid, but we are not like this kid.  It's like he can learn without even putting in much effort at all.  I think that he is going to be very good with things like math... probably be a great student!  I guess I'll have to reflect back on this in a few years to see how things turn out.  This kid is very quick to learn and does very well at almost everything he sets his mind to.

7.  Mac is a natural athlete.  His arm is a rocket and his coordination is impressive. I don't know if he will ever get tall, but that's not going to stop him from being a very good athlete!  Plus, he has the energy levels needed to go like the energizer bunny!

8.  Oh those eyes!  Have you seen this boys lashes.  They are unique because they are different colors, but they go on for miles too.  It's like this boy was just built more beautiful than most!   He doesn't like to smile much for the camera, but this boy has a face that no one can resist!

9.  Mac is so great to volunteer.  Everyone in the primary has been telling me that he is always volunteering to say the prayer or thought if they need one on the fly.  He is also very willing to share his thoughts and try to answer all the questions they ask too.  I admire his willingness to speak up and help.  Probably has something to do with getting to talk into the microphone... I'll take it though.

10.  McCallum is one of the greatest blessings we have had.  He is everything a mother could ever dream her kid would be.  He is not perfect, but he is to us.  I love this boy more and more every day and I am just so grateful that he is ours!  If I could change anything about this boy I don't think I would!  He is just the most wonderful, loving kid!  We are so lucky to have him in our family!

We love you Mac!

As for his party... or should I say parties, we had a blast.  He got to go shopping with his Nana one day.  We went to Toys R Us and he got to pick out his own gift.  I couldn't believe how many isles we had to walk up and down.  He didn't ever stop or pick anything up really.  But when it came time to choose, he didn't surprise any of us!  He left with two swords and a bow with arrows and a quiver!  Shocking that he would want more weapons--NOT!

Then we had some fun cupcakes at school.  Ninja Turtle ones!  He made it very clear that I needed to make them look like ninja turtles.  We even watched a few tutorials online and he found the ones he liked best for me to try to replicate.  They turned out pretty cute!

Then he had a party with our family where he got a croquet set, a ninja turtle shell, a soccer ball,  a floor puzzle, and some more balls for him to hit outside with a bat.

Next, my family spoiled him and we had cookies and ice cream.  Punching gloves and a punching bag--what were Papa and Grammie thinking?!?  He is going crazy on this punching bag and I am just praying that I never see him do this same thing to a person.  lol he wont!

Finally, another dinner and desert where Nana S went wild and outfitted him with enough clothes to last forever!

First Day

Mac just started back to school again!  He was so excited to finally be back to his own thing.  It's been hard having Ryan gone all day every day so this will be really good to have Mac back in school too!  He has a lot of friends and will also be able to take some birthday cupcakes in tomorrow!  Tomorrow is the big day!  It will be McCallum's 4th birthday!  Stay posted for more on that!

Also, I am happy to say that Mac has fully recovered from his surgery!  For those of you who know Mac you know what his voice is like.  He has a very unique voice that is just so... Mac.  I thought that it would be changed forever because the doctor said that it was a symptom of not getting any air up to the nasal passageways.  However, I am happy to say that his voice is still the same for the most part.  It is a little higher, but that Mac sound is still there!  I was so worried about that!  I know that sounds lame, but I associate that sound with who he is in such a big way!  I am just so relieved that it's not gone!

Handsome boy, we love you!

Back To School

Have you noticed that the older the kids get the shorter summer seems to get!?!  Well today was Ryan's first day back to school.  She is in the first grade and will be doing the Chinese immersion program at her school.  She was really excited to be able to learn Chinese.  I guess in a few years she can talk back to me without me knowing what she is saying... not that this perfect little girl ever talks back.  It'll be fun to see how she grows and learns this year!

 

No More Sawing Logs!!

Yesterday we had a trip to the hospital with Mac to get his tonsils and adenoids out.  Mac has been snoring for far too long and it was about time we did something to help him!  Now that the tonsils and adenoids are gone Mac should sleep better and grow better too.  The doctor said that his tonsils were HUGE and that now we should see a big change.  I do regret that it will also change his adorable voice.  His voice was always low and just so...Mac, but that was due to a lack of air flow to his nasal passageways.  So now his voice will probably be a bit higher and less labored.  Sad, but I am glad that it helped.

I have to say Mac is recovering so well.  I was really worried because it was a little bit of a nightmare at the hospital!  We decided to give him some medication to help him be a little less anxious about going into surgery.  They did say that the medication sometimes makes kids wake up a little grumpy, but normally it's not too big of a deal.  Most kids will sleep around 30 mins after the anesthesia so the medicine has time to wear off and they are not so mad.  However, Mac didn't sleep at all hardly.  When he woke up he was more than a little bit mad!!  He was possessed by a demon I think!  He was screaming and kicking, trying to force his hands down his throat and scratch his throat, he was trying to rip out the IV they had in his foot!  He was going nuts and screaming about how much pain he was in.  Of course they couldn't do anything for him.  We just had to calm him down and get some fluids into him so that he could have some Motrin to help with the pain.  Thank goodness for Jared!  He stayed to calm and was just so awesome!  I was a wreck!  I couldn't keep my emotions together!  I really think that I will forever be haunted with the screams of my son in agony and pain!  It was so upsetting to me!  However, we were able to get him back to sleep.  The nurses assured us that if Mac slept that he would wake up better the second time.  Sure enough, a little bit later his eyes opened and looked right at Jared and said, "Hi dad, I fell asleep.  It doesn't hurt now!"  I was so relieved.  Jared and I just looked at each other in shock and laughed!  From that point on he was so happy and in very little pain at all!  The best part is that Mac doesn't even remember any of the pain or anger of the first wake up!  TENDER MERCY!

After we left the hospital we took Mac to get a treat and some popsicles.  The nurses said to watch him for the day because he would be a little wobbly on his feet.  So we put him in one of those car shopping carts so that he wouldn't have to walk.  He just was so busy though and kept getting out and being silly.  At one point I took him up the baby isle just to keep the cart moving in hopes of keeping him in the cart.  He of course saw something that caught his eye and climbed out as I was pushing him.

"Mom, what's that?"
"What does it look like silly, it's a plate, bowl, spoon, and fork."  Just then I turn to look at him for a reaction and he is leaning in to me with his eyes closed and his lips puckered up waiting for a kiss.  I gave him a kiss and then he whispers "I really love you mom."  I was laughing so hard!  What a ham!  I'll take it any way I get it though!  I don't care if it was the medicine talking!  It was great!

Lake Powell Take Two

It took too long for me to update about the rest of our summer travels!  I just got busy with serving in Young Women's I think.  Any how, we were able to go to Lake Powell again and we had a blast!  The kids both were able to swim, do the ski skimmer, and even cliff jump!  It was quite fun!  I still can't believe Ryan was cliff jumping.  She went from the girl who would freak out if her face got even a little bit wet, to cliff jumping!

Ryan did so well this year in the water.  Every year she swims all day long, but this year she was not so...dare I say...CHICKEN.  She did the slide, the tube, ski skimmer, and cliff jumping.  It was really a lot of fun to have her at the lake.  She has just grown up so much.  I told her, maybe now that you have lost so many baby teeth you are not such a baby.  Your big teeth must be helping you act so big!  She liked that reasoning.  I just adore this sweet girl!

Mac was a lot of fun at the lake too!  He would ride the ski skimmer all day long if we let him.  Although he didn't swim for nearly the length of time his sister did, he still swam hard.  This little boy was great!  He went on a hike and along the way the came across a ton of little frogs.  Needless to say, he came back with seven of them.  Aunt Lisa also made sure I checked his pockets too.  I guess he was stuffing hand fulls of little frogs into his pockets!  Oh this boy!!!  I just love him to bits!

As for Jared and I, well we just are enjoying watching the kids have fun!  We also managed some time on the wake board, air chair, tube, and cliff jumping, but the best part was just watching and enjoying the kids!  We just feel really blessed to have been so spoiled this year!

Lake Powell Scares

Powell was exciting this year... we almost died.  Okay, that might be a little dramatic but here is the story.  We decided to park the boat in complete shade this year... however, in order to get shade all day you have to park under an over hang.  It was really nice to have the shade on the boat!  That all changed on the third night when it started to rain in the middle of the night.  We all got up and hurried to cover ourselves with tarps so that we could stay dry.  Finally we all laid back down to sleep again.  As soon as we all started to settle back down the water hit the boat.  As it turns out, our overhang was a waterfall for flash floods.  We were stuck under a 300 ft waterfall trying to save everything.  When the boys got into the ski boat they were up to their knees in water.  It's a wonder the boat didn't end up at the bottom of the lake.  We were also able to get the house boat off the wall and over to a safe spot.  It's really scary to move like that with no light but we were able to do it.  The poor kids were so freaked out.  I think my nephew thought that he was going to die!  It was quite the trip!  The next day was spent trying to get the mud out of the boats.  It was crazy!  A trip for the books!

On a better note... we really enjoyed this trip!  I was able to teach all the kids to knee board.  Some liked it better than others... Ryan was really upset as soon as we got going and just kept signaling the boat to stop! You can see the worry in her eyes in the picture I posted. However, she was so brave and really got wet this year!  She was jumping in off the deck of the boat and house boat!  Normally she wont even get her face wet!  Nice!

Mac did well on the knee board too.  At first I had to drag with him, but after that he was up on his own board!  What a cool kid!  He loved swimming around and going on boat rides.

All in all, we had a really great trip and are excited to go back with the Park side of the family in just another few days!

Jared's Utra Trail Run

Let me take one second and brag for Jared--because you all know he wont do it himself!  This weekend Jared complete the Logan Peek Trail Run!  This counts as an Ultra Marathon because it was 28 Miles of horrible awfulness.  He basically power hiked up and around Logan Peek and then Ran back down.  Pretty terrible if you ask me.  He was able to do it quicker than he had hoped and finished in 6.31.00 roughly.  So good Job Jared!  You're one amazing athlete.  Unfortunately we were only able to be at the finish so we only go the finishing pictures, but he looked strong and happy at the end so that's really good.  Oh and as a perk they did a raffle and he won a really nice pair of trail running shoes!  So that made the entire trip worth it right there!

Another Graduation

Now that Ryan is done with school too we can officially start our summer!  This little girl made us really proud.  She did everything she needed to in order to finish Kindergarten!  She did really great in all areas and she is a very well behaved student!  It was fun to see her sing in the end of the year program!  Good job Ryan We are so proud of you!!

 Some of Ryan and her friend Kirtland on the left in purple and Lillith in the blue on the Right.

                                                                   Mrs. Howard