November

November was BUSY!

We got invited to a BSU game with Codi, Austin, Mike, and Jourdan, it was a late and cold game but ended up being a REALLY good one so we couldn't leave early! I think we left the stadium about midnight? It was so fun but really wore us out to stay up that late! Ha!

First, Spencer turned 5! I was hoping to skip a birthday party this year but he begged and begged to have friends over for a dragon party so at the last minute we went for it. I made each kid an individual pinata "dragon egg" that I was actually pretty proud of! Inside we put some treats and a Toothless mask.

His actual birthday was on a Friday and he requested Costa Vida for dinner so we met Oma and Opa there and then came back to our house for cupcakes. He really wanted a stuffed orca and Oma came through big time!

he kept asking for an orca and Oma came through!

The minute his birthday party was over we hopped in the car and started our 17 hour drive to Tucson to spend Thanksgiving with Nate's family. This time we loaded the kids up on dramamine and thankfully it was a pretty good drive! It was a full house with all his siblings and kids there; 14 adults and 14 grandkids (and counting).

We kept busy while in Tucson, started with a trip to Build a Bear which was a highlight for Spencer and he keeps asking if we can go back.

We made it to the new Tucson temple with almost the whole clan! It was right after this that Kade went downhill and the rest of the trip was so stressful. Once we got back from the temple, Spencer stayed at grandmas to play with cousins and Nate and I were taking Kade to give him a nap after we filled up on gas. As we pulled into the gas station he puked everywhere. It smelled terrible and looked like pure chocolate (Ella later told us he ate A LOT of M&Ms). We got him cleaned up and he had a little fever so Nate stayed with him while Spencer and I went to the Desert Museum and checked out all sorts of animals and creatures. Spencer was in heaven there as well.

all Spencer wanted to do in Tucson was see a gila monster so the desert museum was a hit for this creature loving boy!

The next few days are still kind of a blur with Kade not sleeping, screaming in pain, having a crazy high  fever and just being all around uncomfortable. We ended up taking him to the ER the day before Thanksgiving because there was just definitely something wrong with him and neither Tylenol or Ibuprofen were really helping his fever or his pain.

this is how he arched his back and screamed when these painful episodes hit

We stayed with him in the ER for 8 hours and it was an incredibly frustrating experience. The resident doctor was not taking us seriously as of course Kade was in between painful spells when he observed him. He just said, its a fever just give him tylenol. But there was definitely something else going on. Finally as they were discharging us Kade had another fit of pain that the nurse saw and asked if he was ok. I said no this is why we came in! So she went and got the doctor who sent us for an ultrasound.

Of course that came back negative for whatever they were looking for and by that point we realized the hospital wasn't going to help so we just wanted out of there. We finally left about 11pm. Thankfully, Spencer got to stay at grandmas the whole time and play and have smores and we appreciate everyone for taking such good care of him!

The next day was Thanksgiving and Kade wasn't any better. We debated driving home then, flying home, I talked to the nurses at his doctors office multiple times, and eventually we decided to stay another day in hopes Kade would improve a little more so nothing terrible would happen on our drive.

That afternoon/evening Kade actually perked up a bit and ate a few bites of food and just let Nate snuggle him without screaming in pain so Nate finally got to enjoy a little time with his family. We decided we would leave the next day and spend that night in St. George.

Both boys did remarkably well driving in the car, Kade especially. He mostly just slept and we made it to St. George without incident which was great. We got ready for bed and for some reason I just could not get comfortable. Every time I'd lay down my back would ache and I just kept needing to go to the bathroom. I slept terribly so when Kade woke up crying at 5am we decided to just get up and get going.

this was actually a stop on our way into town before all the madness. 

That was the best brownie sundae I've ever had!

We left St. George about 6:30am and I was actually able to sleep in the car for a few uninterrupted and pain free hours which was great! Kade again did super awesome for how crappy he was feeling.

About the time we got to Provo I was having some pretty bad back pain that I'd never had before. It was off to one side and just so achy and almost tender to the touch I also just had the urge to go pee over and over. We stopped probably 6-8 times just between Provo and Ogden. And then it got way worse. Between Ogden and Burley we were stopping at almost every exit for I could go to the bathroom.



I of course was googling my symptoms the whole time because I'd never experienced anything like this. I was pretty sure I had a UTI at this point. I called my midwife about half hour outside Burley to ask her what to do, should I go to an urgent care? She told me to just keep driving and she'd have a prescription waiting for me. She agreed that based off my back pain (later determined it was kidney pain) and frequent urination, I indeed had a UTI.

We stopped for lunch in Burley and I was so uncomfortable I could not even sit down so we made another stop at Walmart to get some OTC relief. Thank. Goodness! It was miserable. Luckily the medicine kicked in pretty quick so we were able to make fewer bathroom stops, though it was still every 30 min to an hour. I think we determined it took us something like 8 hours to get from Provo to Boise.

Our first stop once getting to town was at the pharmacy! And in just a day or two I was feeling so much better! Nate and I decided we are never traveling again :)

The Monday after we got back Kade had a follow up appointment with his doctor to discuss the episodes he was having in Arizona (he had one once we got home too). And of course that day he broke out with hand foot and mouth disease. Poor guy just could not catch a break. The doctor wasn't super helpful since all his symptoms from Arizona were gone and it was just the HFM presenting.

After a few days of that he was finally back to his usual, happy self. For a little bit at least! November was a month we were glad to be done with!
 

October

Spencer lost his first tooth in October! I thought it was a fluke at first, that maybe he knocked it against something to make it loose but a few days later it fell out. He was pretty funny and wouldn't stick it under his pillow for the tooth fairy "until moms baby popped out" (which still hasn't happened as I write this in April...)

Nate and I celebrated 6 years of marriage! Hard to believe we've only been married 6 years and at the same time it feels like forever that we've had to put up with each other ;) I feel very lucky to have found someone as hard working and funny as Nate.

The day before our anniversary I was feeling off. I just didn't feel good. The boys and I met Nate for lunch at a Chinese restaurant by his work. When we were almost done I told him I needed to go home so I could lay down. My lower back was killing me and I was starting to feel sick. I drove home hunched forward with back pain. Once home I tried to relax in the bath but I just could not get comfortable. I got the chills and felt like I was going to throw up. I was texting Nate the whole time and he kept asking if he needed to come home. I kept saying no, it would pass (luckily for me he didn't listen and headed home without telling me). I finally called Kristi, my midwife, and told her I was feeling awful and had terrible side and back pain. She told me to head in and drink a bunch of water on the way. As soon as I hung up I finally threw up which helped a little bit. Then I told Nate to come home and take me to the doctor because there was no way I could drive, I could barely move. I was pretty convinced at this point that I was having a miscarriage (I was about 12 weeks). My good friend Jourdan was so sweet and took Spencer so he didn't have to come with us to the doctor.

I drank a TON of water and was actually starting to feel better by the time we got to the office, though I was still pretty miserable. Kristi had other patients so she did a quick ultrasound and said it looked like something was wrong with my ovary so she was going to have another doctor come look since she couldn't stay. The other doctor looked and was like "whoa, you're left ovary is huge! I need the OB to come look at this!" But of course he was busy as well so they told me to go wait in the waiting room. My mom just so happened to call at this point and since we were just sitting and waiting she told Nate to bring her Kade so he didn't have to hang out in the office all afternoon. Dr. Lovelace finally called me back and did his own exam and discovered it was my left kidney they were seeing, not my ovary, thank goodness. But it had a mass on it and he was almost positive based on my symptoms, where the back pain was, and the fact that I was slowly feeling better, that I had had my first experience with a kidney stone. He is such a great guy and did such an in depth look at what was going on, I think he did a 2 hour ultrasound! We were the 2 very last people in the whole office that day. He told me to take tylenol as long as the back pain lingered, which it likely would for a few days (and it did).

Long story short, he made an appointment for me to follow up with a renal doctor about the mass on my kidney, but I also had to follow up with him the morning before. Well when I went to my appointment with him the next week the mass was gone and everything looked great so he wasn't worried and cancelled my appointment. Thankfully, I haven't had anymore issues like that and the baby looked great the whole time!

My dad rented out a hot spring pool in Emmett near the end of October for the grandkids to splash around for a bit. It was pretty fun to watch and of course it wouldn't be a Moeller trip without some puking. Kade lost his dinner about 2 minutes before we got to our destination so I spent most of the time cleaning out the car, clothes, and car seat.

The same evening as swimming was our ward Trunk or Treat. We were the Incredibles this year and at least got one picture before leaving the hot springs for the fun. What do you know, we got almost home and Kade puked again all over his costume so Spencer and I were the only ones that made it, though Nate did bring Kade over after he got them all cleaned up.

Another October favorite is Oma's work trick or treating. It is always a huge crowd and tons of candy. They really go all out there and every department decorates around whatever theme they chose.The kids love it and it's a bit of a workout for the parents but they usually grill hot dogs and its a fun time!

This year Spencer did some real trick or treating around the neighborhood with his buddy Tate and his parents reaped the benefits of his labor. :)

And just some pictures of Kade doing what he does best.

September

Things really slowed down this month after a very fun and busy summer!

Spencer started preschool! He waited and waited for this day and while it took a bit for him to warm up to it, once he got in the routine he loved it and is learning so much! He cannot wait to start kindergarten! His favorite color is teal and he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up.

 

Nate and I ran the FitOne 10k. Nate did great, I being 7 weeks pregnant didn't do as great and threw up after crossing the finish line. It was a fun run though that I did mostly with some friends from the ward.

 

September was an exciting month for Spencer. He competed in his first duathlon with his cousins! It was adorable.

And some random September pictures!

 

Spencer got smacked with a whiffle ball. I think 3/6 grandkids got hit that day?

 

when the baby takes a selfie.

August

The highlight of August was that my best friends from Pennsylvania stopped by for a way too quick visit!! Paige and Matt were like family to me when I was newlywed, pregnant, and Nate worked nights, in PA. They often had me over for dinner, or took me on outings with them. I just love them both! Matt is from Twin Falls and they hadn't been to visit in almost 6 years! One of his friends from high school was getting married in Boise so they decided to make the trip out! They stopped by for a few hours before the wedding and it was NOT long enough so when they had a free day in Twin I happily drove me and the boys down to hang out with them! Spencer of course loved that Henry was into dinosaurs too.

The middle of August was the big race for Nate. We stopped and had lunch with Heaton in Pocatello and then made our way to Rexburg to meet up with Nate's family was coming. We also had some time to kill so I got to see one of my old roommates, Megan from my BYU-I days! We met at a cute little park and let all the kids play while we waited for Nate's family. We drove the course so Nate had an idea what we was in for and then had a spaghetti dinner at the elementary school. We ended up sitting next to the race director and it was so cool to talk to him. He works so hard and puts so much time and energy into the race and he doesn't take any profit! He was such a down to earth, just kind man. Plus the race (marathon at least) was one of the best put together and organized races I've seen and Nate agreed.

 

 

the dinner was at the elementary school so of course we had to play on the cool equipment first! 

 

 

Race morning Alyssa and I did the 10k which I think had a total of 22 people? I came in 8th and was really hoping to be under an hour but it wasn't me best running and I was 1:02. After we finished and met up with the kids and grandma and grandpa we went to find Nate on the marathon course and Jake on the half marathon course.

We found them both at the top of a pretty intense hill climb (about mile 18 for Nate). It was pretty awesome to cheer on all the runners, while a beautiful course, it has got to be one of the harder ones!
We then headed back to the park/finish line to wait for them to finish! Nate's time was 4:22 and he got 3rd in his age group! I thought that was fantastic! If I ever do one I'll just be happy to finish :)

 

so proud of him, love him!  

 

Spencer helping dad cross the finish line! 

After the race everyone went back to the airbnb and laid down so I took Spencer over to St. Anthony sand dunes where we played around until it got too windy and then headed to a park along the river. We stayed in St. Anthony one more night so we could attend the baby blessing of Hudson the following day!

 

when in Rexburg you have to visit the boat house

 

August ended with more swimming in the pool, watching the night glow of the hot air balloons at the Spirit of Boise balloon classic, and this fun little surprise...

And it just wouldn't be August without some swimming in the pool!