new posts

Hi family! I know most of us have stopped checking the All Hutchinson Blog because it never seemed to be updated, but I just checked it and there were some new things posted. Most importantly, Judy posted! I learned about things happening in her family (big things!) that I hadn't ever heard. Anyhow, thought you might like to know. The link is on the side of this blog.

We're back from Memphis

Dad and I got back from Memphis yesterday and we had a great time! On the way down we stopped in Indianapolis and went through the Bishop's Storehouse there. It's the regional storehouse, so it's a lot bigger than Detroit's. They have been providing cleaning kits and food to the flooded areas in the mid west, (just thought you'd like to know). We went through this really cool cemetery in Terre Haute, In that had really neat mausoleums. The next day we stopped in New Madrid, Mo and learned about the New Madrid earthquake in 1830 and the civil war battle that took place on the Mississippi River there. When we got to Memphis we had a cook out at the home of the Northgraves (the friends we knew here that had moved there. We also stayed with them at their house).

On Sunday we went to church and then to a musical program that evening that the stake put on. Jana sang in a group.

Monday we went to Graceland. It was a lot better than any of us expected. We bought an Elvis cd to listen to in the car. That afternoon we taught Jana and Jason how to play cribbage (they love it). Than night we went out to dinner at Corkey's for bar-bee-que. Northgrave's daughter, Christina, and her husband went with us.

Tuesday we went to the International Ornamental Metal Museum. The museum was kind of a let down, but they were cutting down this HUGE tree next to it, so we got to watch that, which was real interesting. Then we met Jason after he got off work and he took us on a tour of his school and gave Dad an eye exam.

Wednesday we went to see the ducks at the Peabody Hotel and then we went to Mud Island. It is an island out in the Mississippi River that you can get to by a monorail or walking. We took the monorail. There is a very good museum there about the river and area. There is also a half mile long scale model of the whole river that has water running through it. You can wade in it if you want to. Wednesday night we went to the temple with Cathy Northgrave and Jana and Jason.

Thursday morning Jana fixed us pancakes and then we said good bye. We drove to Franklin, Tn (south of Nashville) and toured 2 civil war sites there. That was very interesting. We spent the night in Bowling Green, Ky.

Yesterday we just drove home, and got here about 5 pm. Dad took lots of pictures, so I'm sure he'll post some on the blog. I hope I haven't bored you too much.

Two Milestones

Two major things have happened in the last week or so. First, Noah's two bottom front teeth cut while we were in Memphis-I was waiting to post a picture b/c I was hoping I would get a better one than this, but I can't, he's too squirmy. It's weird seeing him with teeth-he looks a lot different to me and it isn't nice when he wants to chew on your finger. But we are happy that they finally showed themselves. AND the other exciting thing happened today... HE ROLLED OVER!!! All morning he was trying so hard and almost doing it-I have like 50 videos of the attempts and at last I captured this video. Hurray!! Our little man is growing up so fast.

Troy Hill

My nephew, Troy Hill has died, he was 46. He was Dee's oldest son. He got into drugs years ago and never could get out of them, although he tried. He's been in jail a couple of times for stealing money to get the drugs and stuff. A while ago he had a stoke that left his left side paralyzed. It looks like he took his own life by drinking anti freeze. I don't think any of you ever met him, you met his brother, Tracey, once I think. Anyway, he was your cousin and I thought you would like to know.

Mafia

I might be up for playing...I don't do much anyway (we found out that rabbit ears don't work out here, so no TV at all for me). Eric doesn't want to play-he has things to do anyway and after the last time, he's not sure anyone would trust him :) So, count me in if you can get something started.

Funny pictures

We have this netted bag for laundry. Jaxson decided to try to fit himself in it tonight. We got a kick out of what he looked like and I thought you might too.

The 4th Down South

The sign was steal...the paint was on sale for $.50 and the wood was on sale for $1 each and there were only 4 left-wahoo! I traced the shapes and letters and Jana painted-don't they look awesome?

Behind the A are footballs...I'm going to paint lines on them later so they look more like footballs and not leaves.

I have more swimming pictures if anyone is interested-Jana, I have a more of Addie and Jason.



This is on the Fourth looking over the Mississippi at sunset-isn't it gorgeous? Happy Fourth of July!

Kari and Eric visit Memphis

We had A LOT happening this last week, and I posted it all on our own blog, but I'll do a summary here as well. For more pictures, you'll want to hop over to our blog.

On Tuesday Jason and I drove to Missouri to meet up with his brother Will and his wife Caitlyn. They have an 8 month old daughter named Chaela. We spent the day in this little podunk town under a tree and played card games. It was fun to see them. I think Addie and Chaela look more like their dads so they look somewhat alike.

That day Kari and and Eric drove here and we ended up getting to our apartment at almost exactly the same time! On Wednesday we went to the Brooks Museum to see the Andy Warhol exhibit (fairly interesting) and that night we all went out for some delicious Corky's BBQ. Kari and Eric are hard to read, so I'm not sure how impressed they were, but we love it!

Thursday (Addie's B-day) was our EXTREMELY busy day. We picked up Jason from work and went to see the famous Peabody Ducks. Unfortunately we had a hard time finding parking so we didn't actually get to see them walk the red carpet. (Mom, we'll have to make sure to leave early enough.) We saw them swimming in the fountain, however, and then went upstairs to see the Duck Palace where they live. It also gives a nice view of Memphis. After that, we went home, had Addie's birthday party (lots of chocolate cake, presents, and tissue paper), went swimming, and then raced over to the 5K.

The 5K was an amazing experience. It just feels so good to have a goal, work hard at it, and accomplish it. I'm so proud of myself. The race was for St. Jude's Children's Hospital and my friend's little girl Emma was just diagnosed with cancer and is being treated there. So not only was it my first race, a lot of people from our ward came to support Emma and ran/walked it, too. My main goal was to finish the whole thing without walking and I DID IT! I didn't make it in quite the time I hoped for, but this gives me something to improve upon.

So, after that exhausting day we took it easy on the 4th. We did go to a barbecue at our friends' house and then went and watched the fireworks over the Mississippi River. We had a great view--of the fireworks, the river and the amazingly ridiculous people that live here. It was lots of fun. Noah slept the entire time and Addie did surprisingly well considering how late it was.

Kari and Eric stayed one extra day because Kari didn't feel well Saturday morning, but that was fine because it gave us time to make her a Noah sign (hopefully Kari will post some pictures of it) and Jason and Eric played lots of video games. They left Sunday morning. Whew! It was so nice to have them here, and you're all invited, too! Come anytime! I posted more than I intended, but there was so much to say. I'm glad that you all had such nice/relaxing weekends as well.

Our 4th

We had a quiet 4th of July. Lexi and Merrit were at the Hicks' and we had a huge yard to mow. It took Charlie and I about 4 and 1/2 hours to mow it all. But now it's to a point where we can manage it better so it shouldn't take so long next time. After that we were really tired and didn't feel like trying to watch fireworks so we stayed home, put the kids to bed early and watched Oceans Thirteen. It was a nice quiet evening.

The next day, Saturday, we went to the Hicks' for the Hicks' family reunion. There was a good turn out and it was fun to see everyone. We had family pictures taken. That was fun until Jaxson decided not to cooperate anymore. His pictures turned out just as well as the grandkids pictures we just took at Mom and Dad's. We haven't had Hicks family pictures in 6 years, so it was about time.

Then on Sunday we went to Westland for Les and Kristi's baby blessing; their little girl Audrey. The only bad part about that was that church started 8:30 am which meant we left Flint at 7:15. That wasn't a nice thing. But we made it on time and it was a nice experience. Then we went to Kristi's parents' house afterward for lunch. After that we took Lexi and Merrit back to the Hicks' and came home. It was a jam-packed weekend, but it was GREAT to spend so much time with family. Oh, and lastnight, Chelsea and Makayla both threw up. What a way to cap off the weekend. They are acting better this morning, but we will probably have a slow day of relaxing just to make sure.

The Fowlerville Fair starts this Saturday. The kids will be showing their crafts on Saturday to be judged. The goat show is Tuesday and then next Saturday will be the auction of the animals. We will probably be in Fowlerville for the whole week, next week. Their internet connection stinks so I probably won't be on a whole lot. The kids are looking forward to the fair and I'll try to take lots of pictures to post.

Jana, how did your marathon go? I hope you did well. What did you guys do for Addie's birthday? Did Kari come to visit?

Harvey's First Fourth of July

We are up visiting my parents for the 4th. Harvey got to ride in the Boyne City parade in my parent's 1965 Mustang. My brother Adam drove and Kurt, Harvey, and I rode in back. We had a great time and Harvey waved to all the little girls he saw.

We had the last big family get together at my grandma's house, went to a craft fair, and just goofed around. On Saturday we went to the beach and then packed up stuff at my grandma's house for the auction.

The Fourth of July

Dad and I got up early on the fourth and went to Kensington and walked. We came home and showered and went out to Howell to the ward building to pick up Alexis. She's staying at the Hick's for a couple of weeks so she can work with her goat to get ready for the Fowlerville Fair. Their ward had a pancake breakfast on the fourth, so that's why we picked her up there. Dad and I took her to the Henry Ford to see the chocolate exhibit. We learned all about chocolate. After we had lunch at the Michigan Cafe, we took her back to the Hick's house. Friday night we went up to Erwin's and parked the car to watch the fireworks that were going on in Kensington. We had a great view and were able to get right out and go home afterwards. The next day we were talking to the Youngs and Castros who both went to the dump to watch them and it took them about an hour to get out of there. (Castros also got stuck in the mud there). Anyway, we had a very nice Fourth of July, I hope all of you did too.

Happy Belated Birthday, Adelyn

Hope your big 1st birthday was great, sweetheart.

Checking In

Well, we are getting settled. We are slowly unpacking and cleaning and organizing. I really don't like moving. We have power now and our phone. We don't quite have our stove yet. When we finally figured out where the shut off valve for the gas was and turned it on, we had a leak in the gas line to the stove. So we'll be going to Home Depot today for a replacement. The hook-up for the dryer in this house is electric, or course we have a gas dryer, so we're going to check out some refurbishing places to see if we can buy a cheap electric dryer to use while we're here.

The kids are adjusting pretty well. They really like the big yard that we have here. Our pets are not. Meg doesn't like being in the house. She runs out the door every chance she gets. She acts very uncomfortable while she is in too. I hope she'll get more used to it. Mosi still hates us for moving her. She hides most of the time. If we leave she will come out, but as soon as we walk in the door, she jets off to the nearest hiding place. Right now she is using the closets in the bedrooms as her favorite places.

Yesterday we cleaned out the crawlspace and the garage. Unfortunately, there was so much stuff that we will probably have to get a small dumpster to haul it all away. But the house is much cleaner now, and smelling much better. We have thought about maybe buying this house, but it doesn't quite fit us the way we would like. We could make it work, but we've decided to keep looking to see if we can find something we like better. With the housing market the way it is, we would like to be picky (and we can be) instead of just settling.

It was fun to see our friends at church on Sunday. In a way, it kind of felt like we hadn't left in the first place. So now we just have to have Charlie get a job and we should be set.

Happy 2 Year Anniversary to Us!

Check out the slide show and remember that WONDERFUL and very beautitful and hot day.

Vacation Videos

Here are the videos I promised. One is Addie dancing and the other of Addie and Harvey playing-kind of :) Enjoy!

P.S. Our new address is: 1211 E. Pierce St. Kirksville, MO 63501 and we are keeping our phones and not getting a landline-so the numbers will be the same for while.

Somewhat Late

I had this grand scheme to write a post about us moving and show all the pictures and video from the trip, but with everything going on plus taking care of a baby, I never seem to have as much time as I would like to think it all out. So I know I'm a little behind, but here is my contribution to the vacation pictures and the videos will come later when my baby isn't so upset.

100 MILES COMPLETE!

Today I went on my longest run, 5 miles, and finished my 100 mile goal. Yay! Starting Monday I'm going to go another 100 miles, but this time in just 6 weeks. Wahoo!

Surgery Update

Short version for the impatient: Harvey's surgery went fine.

Harvey went to bed later than usual last night, around 9:30pm. It kind of worked out, though, because it gave Mom and Dad time to come down and have Dad give him a blessing. Heather's parents got here just after 10. So we didn't get to sleep until 10:30. Then Harvey woke up around 4am for a while, because he had worked one of his arms out of its sleeve.

Anyway, that's the long way to say that we were tired when we got up at 6am. We were supposed to be at the hospital at 7:30am to check-in. We got there right on time, but they were finishing a fire drill, so everything was a bit behind schedule. After a flurry of nurses and doctors talked to us about different aspects of the surgery, they took him back just after 8:30.

Then began the fun hour and a half of waiting. About 10:15am, they said Heather and I could go back and see him. He was awake and seemed to be pretty comfortable. We gave him some apple juice to make sure he could keep something down. After about 15 minutes, he started crying and then screaming. Later we realized that, even though they gave him some local anesthesia that was supposed to last 6 hours, it may not have worked. Both Heather and her mom do not really get numb from novacaine and similar drugs, which is what they had given him as the lasting numbing agent. So when the short-term anesthesia from the surgery wore off, he really started to feel it. We asked for something for him, and they gave him a low dose of morphine. After that kicked in, he was okay, but that sure was a long 20 minutes. Trying to calm your kid as he writhes in pain is not fun.

They wanted to observe him for a bit after giving the morphine, so we waited in the recovery room a while and Harvey slept. He was doing just fine, so just after 11am, we dressed him and headed out. One thing we were anxious to see was a smile, and although he wasn't in pain and he was looking around alertly, we hadn't seen one yet. On the ride home, he finally perked up and laughed and played with his stuffed Pooh for the whole trip. It was a great relief.

He's been somewhat uncomfortable today, which is understandable, but we've been able to keep him in a pretty good mood overall. The doctor says that kids are usually feeling much better by the next morning, which hopefully will be the case with Harvey.

All in all, things went well. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

P.S.: Heather's previous post was posted at 6:30am, not 4:30am. It looks like it got tagged with Mountain Time instead of Eastern Time. She wasn't up all night, although she didn't sleep great, either.

On The Road... Again

Well, today is the loading the van day. We won't actually start driving until tomorrow, but the computer will be taken off-line today so this will be my last post until Monday. I'm glad the day is finally here. I want it to just be overwith. I'm getting more excited about the move now that we are so close. It's been hard to say good-bye though. There are several women here that my friendship with has really blossomed over the last couple of months and I feel short changed a little bit because I didn't get to enjoy those friendships for very long. I've vowed to keep in contact with them though I plan on coming back to visit. This is such a great city and it will be fun to come in the summer and enjoy all the touristy-type things to do.

The plan is to pack up the van at 10 am. A woman in the ward (one of those friends I didn't get to enjoy long enough) has asked to watch our kids for us to get them out of the way while we work. She is such a blessing for us. It will be so much easier to get things done without them around. After the van is packed, then Charlie and I will finish cleaning the duplex. We've scheduled to check out with the landlord at 6 pm but we're hoping to get finished before that and do it earlier. Then some other friends have invited us for dinner. After that, the same woman who is watching the kids this morning has invited us to spend the night at her house. We accepted because we will have a much better trip after sleeping some and leaving in the morning. So we will leave for Michigan sometime tomorrow morning, hoping to arrive sometime in the late afternoon. The Flint ward went into the house we will be moving into and cleaned it from top to bottom on Tuesday. We are so grateful! They are great people! One of the ladies from Flint wants to make us dinner for Friday night. Then Saturday morning at 9 am we will unload the van and set up house. The power is suppose to be on sometime tomorrow and hopefully the water too. Cross your fingers about that. According to the water department the water is on to the house, but it isn't coming out of faucets. So we are hoping that we just have to turn it on from the street to the house. But that valve is in the crawl space which is flooded right now. As soon as the power is on, the sump pump should be able to pump out what's left of the flood and then we should be able to get to the water valve. Sounds a little complicated, but I'm just thankful to have some place to go.

No word yet on jobs for Charlie. We feel it's probably better that he hasn't gotten any calls yet so he could be here this week to help with the move. I wasn't very excited to do a move on my own again! It's been so much better having him here to help. We hope he'll have some interviews after we get there. His brother has accepted a job at Flat Rock. Isn't that funny? And will start the process of moving their stuff up from Texas. We are so happy for them and are excited to have them closer. They plan to live with Kristy's parents for at least a year.

Well, that's about it. Our phone is suppose to be turned on on Monday, so I'll check in then.
Love you all!