Halloween Lunch

Yesterday Jaxson and I had over his Erickson cousins, Aunts and Grandma for a Halloween lunch. I made the kids mini mummy pizza, they turned out so adorable. If you look at their plates you can see them. Jaxson and I had also made low protein pumpkin cookies for everyone. Grandma, Aunt Nicki, Aunt Roxanna and Aunt Heidi had also brought other delicious food. It was a fun lunch. We ate, let the kids play for a bit and then took everyone up to the cemetery to decorate MarShel grave with some Halloween things. We had a good laugh over a balloon getting away and Carolee chasing after it and then the three kids chasing it till they couldn't see it in the sky anymore. I'm sure MarShel got a kick of our visit as well. She's still making us laugh.

Lunch, Witches and Reagan

On Saturday we got to do something extra special and really fun. Feed Jaxson at an Italian restaurant, Buca di Beppo. We travel out to SLC and went to a PKU celebration meal. A company that sales PKU formula sponsored the event. They had low protein spaghetti, low pro rolls, salad, low protein cookies (3 kinds), fruit and low protein chocolate for fondue. They also served regular spaghetti, bread and dessert for us non PKUers. Jaxson ate 2 plates of spaghetti so I think he gave it 2 thumbs up. Words can't explain how wonderful it was to walk into a restaurant and give Jaxson an actual meal and not have to bring out any food I had packed in my purse nor did I have to figure out any protein values for the food he was eating because they were handed to me when we checked in. I don't know if we'll ever experience this kind of thing again but we soaked in the experience and enjoyed every moment. Had to have a picture of my son eating in an Italian restaurant and having a full plate of low protein food in front of him that I didn't cook or have to calculate.

We sat by the Reeder family. They were going to the U of U game after lunch so they were all decked out. Andrea, the mom was the first PKU mom that our dietitian introduced to me. She talked to Brett and I for over an hour and helped us gain faith and hope that Jaxson would live a "normal" life and started giving us knowledge on how we would provide that for him. So Brett and I have a really special place in our heart for her and her family. She has 3 boys two with PKU and one without. Isn't it wonderful that with me just telling you that info you really don't know who in this picture has PKU and who doesn't. Love that about PKU. In this picture there is actually 4 people with PKU and 4 without PKU.

Jaxson was very fascinated with Jonah. He loved his hat and liked to drink his water when Jonah was drinking his drink.

After the lunch we took Jaxson to Gardner Village to see the witches, so darn cute. I had never seen them myself and I couldn't get over how adorable it was.

Coming back to Vernal we stopped at the Park City Outlets. I was at our car when I heard this voice that sounded so familiar I looked over and there was Reagan Leadbetter from Good Things Utah getting out of her car and talking to her son as they headed towards the Nike store. I flipped out! I love GTU. I have watched it for 5 years Mon-Fri so so I was a little "Star Struck" when I saw her. She is my FAVORITE host of the show. So I dragged Brett and Jaxson back into Nike (we had already been there and spent a good 30-45 minutes--it's Brett's favorite outlet store) so that I could get another look and then I got the courage to walk over, talk to her and ask for a picture. She was so nice and super friendly. All the way home I couldn't get over that I met Reagan and had a picture with her.

Kylen

Happy 2nd Birthday Kylen!

Today our nephew and one of Jaxson best buddies turns 2. Kylen is such a sweetie and can give out the best hugs. He is talking so much right now I love hearing what he has to say. Kylen and Jaxson are starting to interact and play with each other and it's so fun to watch. I just know these two are going to have so much fun growing up together. Happy Birthday Kylen we love you so much!

Cancer Sucks

Heaven received a beautiful spirit on Wednesday, my amazing sister-law MarShel. She has battled her cancer like a super hero. What an example she has been to all who were blessed to know her. When I started dating Brett MarShel lived in SLC so it wasn't until Brett's brother Leif came home from his mission that I met her for the first time. It was plain to see that she was the star and life of the party and that being around her was a pure joyful time. To say she leaves a HUGE hole is an understatement. I feel so blessed that I got to know her in this life and claim her as my sister-in-law. She truly was a one of a kind and will be deeply missed until we are reunited again.

Halloween Chips

I was so happy by these I had to post about them and also wanted to share with my fellow PKU mommies out there that check in on us through our blog. Look what I made today for Jaxson...

Homemade Low Protein Halloween Tortilla Chips

There our pumpkins, bats, skeletons, moons, cats and ghosts for Jaxson to munch on this month. So how do you make a homemade low protein Hallowen tortiilla chip, first I had to make low protein tortillas, press and bake them on our tortilla press, cut them out with Halloween cookie cutters, fry them in our fryer and then salt. I love how they turned out and all the work has sure been worth it since Jaxson has enjoyed quit a few of them today.

I'm so thankful I have the knowledge, special ingredients and products (much thanks to my parents for their love, support and generosity towards PKU) to make things like this for my little guy it makes my heart so warm and fuzzy. So if you are in the neighborhood stop on by for a yummy low protein Halloween tortilla chip we'd love to share with you.

FHE

Monday night we were lucky and got to have my niece Halle and my nephew Carston spend a few hours with us. Jaxson squealed with delight when they showed up. He loves these two they always play so cute with him. We had family home evening while they where here and Halle was in charge of the activity for the night. She picked playdough and a Halloween glow in the dark puzzle. Carston lead us in some fun songs, Brett keep us on track, I did a lesson about following our prophet's recent advice to serve one another using a toy fishing pole and fish and Jaxson passed out a very yummy low protein pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. I love family home evening!

Everyone was having such a great time playing with plydough I had to get the camera.

Halle created a Jack o Latern and a witches nose
Brett created a golf club

I created Jaxson's name and a spider

Jaxson just loved touching the playdough and putting it back in the container and getting it out

Carston created a golf ball and a bunny

Gingerbread Men and A Hurt Brett

Every Fall my mom tries to get all the grandkids together to make gingerbread men and decorate them to take home to their families. She lets them help her cut out the cookies and then they get to decorate them anyway they want. This year the kids decided on blue and pink frosting and they used mini M&M's. My mom put her great cookie expertize to work and created a yummy low protein gingerbread cookie for Jaxson. He ate 1 1/2 gingerbread boys before it was dinner time he was loving them. Jaxson enjoyed spending the day with his cousins you could see it made him feel big and he loved being around them and doing what they were doing.

Getting the Gingerbread men cut out
Lexie and Jaxson

Helping Jaxson cut out his gingerbread boys

Braden and Abbie

Getting started

Halle and Gracie--all business

Brianna and Lexie hard at work

Jaxson decorated 2 and then decided he needed a taste Jaxson's gingerbread cookies and also some of Halle's and Gracie's

Getting a little sidetracked

Enjoying Life

This year I've given out Flirty Aprons as gifts to all the girls in my life and today these girls had their aprons on so I wanted a picture. Aren't we so stylish!

Annual Fall shot with Grandma!

We had just finished decorating the gingerbread men and were getting lunch ready when I got a call from Brett that he had just left the Urgent Care and was going to the hospital to see if he needed a skin graph. He sliced his thumb at work on a saw. Thankfully he didn't cut it off or cut the tendons. BIG BLESSING. But from 2pm till 8 we were in the hosptial getting his thumb fixed, it was a long day. They had to take a peice of skin from his arm and graph it on his thumb to close up the wound. He also got a red cast. The funny thing is his brother Leif has a cast too on his left arm right now. So when Leif and his family came over to check on Brett I had to get a picture. Now how many brothers can say that they both had a cast at the same time it's so odd it's funny. Brett doing well. It's one of those things that you wish wouldn't have happened to your loved one but at the same time it could have been so much worse so you count your blessing that it is what it is.