New (to Us) SUV

Aaron had a co-worker who was trying to sell his Montero Sport.  This guy had 3 kids and their car seats don't all fit inside of this 5 seater so it was time to trade up to a mini van.

Aaron has been looking at different SUVs for awhile.  We needed one.  For all of the home improvements that we've done.  For transporting the dogs better on our trips down to Provo.  For a second car to encourage me to try driving again.

I told him that it was his choice to make and I would try to back him up on it.  I didn't think we were ready for a second car...but he is a big boy and I trust him to make important decisions.

So we got it.

I'm sure that we will get a lot of use out of it and that it will be worth having. And I'm glad that Aaron is happy with it.

Plus, when you fold down the backseats, there is enough room for a mattress...if you know what I mean....

CAMPING TRIPS!

September BBQ

We had a BBQ at my grandparents' house as a send off for Daniel.  Our family decided that since this could be the last time that we were all together for about 3 years, or who knows, we should get a family picture taken.  They decided that it would be easiest if I was the photographer.  Fair enough...good thing I had a remote control.

I was trying to set up this photo and I told everyone to scoot closer and my dad wasn't listening...so Markus is helping him.  And Daniel decided that by "scoot closer" I meant, "lean in like a creep".

I also took some pictures of everyone having fun with each other.

Aaron decided that he was going to get me back for all the times that I "photo bomb" him.  I love how demonic he looks here.

It was also Markus' birthday so we also took the time to sing to him and present him with fire on a confectionery...because we love him.

Happy Birthday Markus!!  And good riddance Daniel!

Quick Family Hike

On September 29th, my family was in Ogden (minus the Radleys) because Daniel was headed to the MTC on the 3rd of October. We decided to go on an easy family hike (not including my mother...probably because she had a headache or something) on the Birdsong Trail.

This is one of the easiest hiking trails that Aaron and I have found in our exploration in these mountains and foothills.  As we got up the first hill, I was telling my dad that this was usually where we would see deer.  Either in the lower valley or climbing up the side of the hill.

We look down and what do we see?

My brothers asked my dad a question about the dirt on the side of this hill and then they started posing because they saw me pull out my camera.

I love the mountains in the fall.  I'm so happy that Utah has 4 seasons for me to watch and enjoy.  This is the first place that I've lived where I get to witness that.

Look at those leaves....and that majestic woodland creature. 

I'm really lucky that I got to grow up with these guys.  We've laughed so much and I'm going to miss getting together with all of them.  But in a couple years, we will all be back together again.  I'm also glad that my dad made up enjoy nature so much.  I don't enjoy rocks...or find them interesting but I do love going on hikes and being out in the woods.

Random Announcement About Picture Quality

Announcement Announcement!!

For the past 3 years, I've been mostly using my DSLR for the photos on this blog!  It has been great because I've had a ton of great images to put on my blog for you guys to look at.

But....they are in RAW files and that means that I have to spend tons of time editing them instead of just posting them up here for you guys.

AND now that blogger is being a turd and not letting me have any picture storage/upload space, it means that I have to EDIT the pictures that I'm going to use and then UPLOAD them to flickr and individually ADD each HTML code to the blog to get images to you.

I've also had an increase in the amount of actual photography work that needs my editing attention.

So I'm getting a bit burnt out.

As a result, you are going to start getting more blog posts that you've gotten in the last couple months and lower quality images!  YEAH!!!

Bambi And the Dumbest Injury Saga EVER! (Updated)

Yeah, I've taken a crazy long blogging hiatus for no real reason except being really really busy and then too overwhelmed to get everything down and blogged.  BUT I'm coming back so that I can record this RIDICULOUS story.

I'm about to go and pick up Bambi from the vet after she had minor exploratory surgery today.

Do I have your attention?  Yeah, get ready for this gross roller coaster.

A couple of weeks ago, we got back from California (yeah....I should probably blog about that) and picked up our dogs from a friend's house.

Update: I give you this detail, not because I think that it happened while at this friend's house, but to point out that our lives were already a bit crazy and trying to get back to normal when this happened.  I DON'T THINK MY FRIENDS DID THIS TO HER!!  Because seriously, Bambi doesn't need help getting into drama....she can do it all by herself.

The next day she was licking her right front paw like crazy.  I couldn't see anything so I was scared she was getting Pippen's HORRIBLE habit of freaking out and licking one spot obsessively.  So I put a cone on her head.

That night, it still looked a little red so I thought maybe it needed some Neosporin. So I taped a sock to her paw so that she couldn't lick off the medicine.

The next morning came and....it wasn't looking so great for Bambi.  It was looking REALLY nasty for Bambi.

Look how crazy swollen her paw was!!  And the nastiest part was when I picked up her paw and applied a little pressure and pus oozed out of it.

I called the vet and she had an appointment on the 14th since it was Aaron's off Friday.  When I called the vet, I told the receptionist that it was for an infection and she said, "Has a doctor told you that it is infected or do you just think it is infected?"  And I said, "Is is swollen and oozing pus....So I KNOW that it is infected."  You don't have to be a vet to know that oozing pus isn't a good sign for an injury.

When I got home from work Friday, Aaron told me that the vet shaved the area but could only find a tiny hole once all the pus was emptied out.  The vet figured that she got a splinter and it had gotten infected while her body tried to get rid of the foreign body.

She had 8 days of antibiotics and the vet said that if the swelling didn't go down or if it kept oozing pus when she was done with the antibiotics we should come back and they might have to see if the "splinter" or other foreign body was still in there.

As she took the antibiotics, the swelling started to go down in her paw and there was less and less pus.  All good signs.  The last day of the antibiotics was last Saturday and the pus had finally stopped oozing out and the original tiny cut closed over.

Two days later, I look at her paw and see that around where the cut used to be was growing like a tumor.  Slowly swelling up with what I assumed to be pus.  I told Aaron that if it didn't go down in a couple days, we would have to call the vet.

Well, Wednesday her wrist was swelling too.  Yeah....of all places, her wrist was swelling up to.  I decided that if that was any worse than I would have to call the vet.

Thursday morning, her wrist was so swollen that the skin had started changing colors and it felt like it was full of liquid.  I called the vet and scheduled an appointment for that day.

The vet looked at it and was pretty sure that the foreign body had traveled up to her wrist and was causing the swelling.  That was going to have to be an exploratory surgery for the next day.  The quoted price for the extraction of the foreign body?  $175.

IF YOU ARE QUEASY DO NOT LOOK AT THE NEXT PHOTO!!! Scroll down to the next time you see red writing!!!












Aaron and I had Pack Meeting for the Cub Scouts last night so we put the dogs in their kennels and left.  When we got home, what had been the swelling on her wrist was a gaping hole.  A gaping hole of straight into her wrist.

Oh BARFFF!!!!  Seriously, DISGUSTING!!  This picture doesn't do this hole justice.  We don't know whether it popped from the size that it got or whether she bit it opened but the swelling was gone now.
It wasn't bloody, thank goodness but it was leaking plasma and just disgust.  We put the tape and sock back on her.  But the cone on her and sent her to bed.

Aaron and I were a little irritated because, what would the vet say?  Would we have to wait another week to do the exploratory surgery?  Did she get the foreign body out?  Is it moving further up?

















IT IS SAFE TO LOOK NOW!!!!

We dropped Bambi off for surgery at 7:30am.  We had to tell them about the change in  her condition (aka The Hole In Her Wrist).  They decided that it was still worth looking to make sure that there wasn't anything left inside her wrist and they would call us to tell us when she could be picked up.

At 10:30 we got the call.  The found the foreign body!!  It was a Foxtail seed.

It had stabbed into her foot and worked its way up into her wrist!  Of all the weird things.  A seed.

Now we can go collect our poor beat up dog.  And hopefully once she gets the stitches out, that will be the end of her seed adventures for awhile.

Update:
We got her home!!  The vet kept the seed for us so that we could have a look at the size of it!  I can't believe that something so big has been traveling up her arm for the past two weeks!!

Also, since her wrist swelling popped, it was less work for the vets to look for the seed so it cost $15 for the extraction of the foreign body.  Which is a WHOLE LOT better than $175.  So....YAY? ...for....blowing up her wrist?

In 10 days she has to get her stitches out and hopefully that will be the end of this mess.

Evidence that I Had Fun With Baby {Z}

Some mornings when I watch this sweetheart, she has a tough time being away from her mother.  And wouldn't you hate to be dropped off at my house at 7am?

Most of the time though, we had fun together.  We would sit and make sounds back and forth or I would talk to her about colors in one of her little books.

Her mother thinks that she cried all the time and was horrible....NOT SO!  I have photographic evidence that we had fun together!

This morning we read a very enlightening book...called Baby Animals.  It was furry.

Fremont, California: Last Day

After the wedding, we went back to Aaron's parent's house and I BARFED.  There was a bad flu going around the preschool at the time...so...yeah, I got it.

I ended up missing church on Sunday which was a HUGE bummer because I have a lot of people in Aaron's home ward that I like visiting with and talking to.  And I was missing a very important baby blessing!!!  ARG!!  But it's okay, I get to see them at Christmas...so I can try and be patient.

Monday I was feeling a little bit better and it was our last day in town.  We were actually staying until Monday afternoon so we had some time to kill.

We decided that since I missed seeing a mission on Friday, we would go to another mission that was closer by.

Inside the main church building was...a church.  You know...with pews and a stage area and pictures and statues of Jesus.

Another building attached to it that used to be a type of school/extra church building was now a museum area that had artifacts from the Indians that used to live in the area and how the missions were used to teach them about Christ and help their communities.

Everywhere I go, there has to be wildlife.

And it is an Anderson (or rather...my mother's) tradition to go where the dead bodies are.

Because Aaron and I are hardcore tourists.  We couldn't be in California and not be tourists...even for a couple hours while we waited for our flight.