November 2010

Korben Gets Glasses

November started with a letter from the school saying that Korben had failed his eye exam. We were instructed to have an eye appointment done. I can't say that I was surprised since my eyesight is so horrible, but I was surprised at how bad his prescription actually was. I was very impressed with the eye doctor and it was neat to see how they conduct an eye exam for someone so young that can't answer the "that's better, that's worse" questions.

We were also impressed that it only took 2 days to get his glasses in even with his nearsightedness and astigmatism. His glasses are adorable on him as you can see:

A few things we have noticed since he got glasses: 1) Immediately after we picked the glasses up he looked at the ground and said, "Mommy the road is broken." I looked down and sure enough, the road had a lot of little cracks in it. I couldn't believe he had never seen things like that. 2) We can't remember a time when Korben has been able to see a plane in the sky. When we would point to one, he would just look around with really no idea of where the plane actually was. We have been attributing this to autism, but a few days after he got glasses we were laying on the trampoline and a plane flew by. He pointed directly at it and said, "Look Mommy, it's a plane!" It made us wonder what else we have been counting as an autistic trait that may not be. 3) We soon noticed another change: Korben has rarely been able to get something for us when we point to it from across the room, but since getting glasses he has been able to get anything we have pointed at. So, not an autistic trait, just a result of poor eyesight. Playing in the Leaves A November in Washington consists of LOTS of rain, and BEAUTIFUL greenery. Something it doesn't consist of are a lot of leaves on the ground (at least where we lived). So when all the trees around our house started losing their leaves, our boys thought it was about the best thing in the world. They would go out daily with the neighbor kids to gather the leaves in a pile and then swiftly destroy that pile. This lasted until I got worried about huge mounds of leaves being buried under snow and bagged it all. It was all sorts of fun while it lasted though. Mike's Job Mid-November, Mike & I were shocked when he was laid off from work. It was very unexpected, but we were given a good severance and are positive that new work will come our way. In a lot of ways it has been a blessing. Mike has gotten to spend some great quality time with the boys - so much that I think they will be devastated when he does find work. It is also nice that he isn't in the salesman atmosphere anymore. He doesn't miss that aspect of his work at all, and as a result is looking more toward the IT jobs rather than the management jobs. Thanksgiving Our holiday was wonderful. We spent the actual day with Mom & Dad Harrison and had a wonderful meal. Then we had a Fullmer family gathering at our house with Mom & Dad, Jake & Jess, Kara and Joe & Lucia. Jake brought his XBox Kinect and we all got quite the workout. We had another fantastic meal, played lots of games and laughed a lot. The kids got to play outside because the weather was great, which was wonderful since that night we got dumped on. Tidbits In November Korben started being very adamant that he hold the sacrament tray when it was passed to him. Even if we were on a side row, he would need to have his turn "passing" the tray back to either Mike or I. One Sunday I tried to just hold it for him while he got his bread and he exclaimed, "Mommy, I can do it myself!" Just the beginning of many "Do it myself comments".

October 2010

I know, I know...it's been forever. This year has been a terrible year for blogging. In an attempt to do some sort of catch up, I'm going to do some monthly posts of the latest Harrison life happenings.

October 2010

1) Moving

Yes, we moved again. We weren't fond of living on Traverse Mountain and decided to look for something closer to work. We finally found a house in Pleasant Grove that is perfect for us. It is smaller and more homey and the yard is AWESOME. The best part is the brand new trampoline that the owners got for us. The boys are in heaven, and I love having a fenced yard and trampoline to send them to.

From October 2010

From October 2010

2) New School

Because of the move, Korben was transferred to a new Elementary School. He now attends Lindon Elementary. He had a rough transition at first but seems to enjoy it quite well now. His bus ride was an hour each way however, so I now drive him in the mornings and the bus brings him home. His second Tuesday at school happened to be their field trip to Hee-Haw Farms. Aside from it being the ONLY day of snow we have had this year, it was really fun to have a kiddo old enough to go on a field trip with.

From October 2010

3) Surgery

The week before we moved, I found out that I was pregnant (on and IUD). A doctor's visit showed that the IUD was missing, and multiple blood work showed that the pregnancy was non-viable (most likely ectopic). After finding the IUD on an xray, I went in for surgery (2 days after we moved) to have it and the tubal pregnancy removed. It took a bit more work than the doctor anticipated because of the amount of scar tissue from my previous surgeries. Instead of one incision, they had to make 4 and instead of an hour surgery, it took 3 1/2. They were able to remove the IUD as well as the pregnancy without hurting my tubes - a blessing I know was a result of a priesthood blessing I had had earlier that week. The pregnancy should have been too small to remove without destroying the tube, but when they got in there it was actually quite large-something that was "impossible" considering I wasn't far enough along for it to be that big. How lucky we are to have the priesthood!

Mom was a lifesaver and came to stay with us for 4 days. She didn't just see to the kids, but unpacked much of the house and got my garage in order so that we could park inside. She is a miracle woman and we were so blessed to be in Utah so that she could take care of us.

4) Sickness

After surgery, I was given a shot of a certain cancer medication to make sure that all traces of the pregnancy were removed. Unfortunately, like all cancer meds, the medication lowered my white blood count and made me more susceptible to illness. The past three weeks have been one constant sickness after another, the most notable a 4 day stint of puking that resulted in a fainting episode, a bowl dropping on my foot and a black toenail as a result. Funny after the fact, but not so fun to live through.

5) Birthdays

Mike turned 34 this year and we were able to celebrate with Mom & Dad Harrison and the Rasmussen family. We had a yummy steak and potato dinner and some good family fun. We also celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday early because of scheduling issues. He had a good time opening gifts - his favorite being his new bike. He is quickly learning how to ride and since we live on a cul-de-sac, it is a perfect place for him to learn as well as play with all the neighbor kids that are out riding nearly every day.

From October 2010

From October 2010

6) Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday and the one we usually go all out for. Because of the surgery I wasn't able to do as much as we had planned, but mom did help me put up all of our Halloween decorations before she left, and we did get to carve pumpkins and dress up. The boys loved picking their patterns for the pumpkins and Logan adored the guts. It was also Jared's (see caption under pic) first time carving pumpkins and he was like a little kid digging out the guts and carving his pattern. For the holiday, we attended a trunk or treat with Kara and James, and then went trick or treating the next day with the Rasmussens. Korben loved dressing up like Darth Vader and even made the sound effects with his mask on. Logan was about the cutest monkey you had ever seen - especially carrying an umbrella from door to door.

From October 2010 This is my baby brother Jared. He moved in with us after returning home from his mission. It was fun to teach my little brother the pumpkin carving ropes. :D

Phew! One month down. :D

From October 2010

The Lagoon Scamming

I've been scammed...I suppose this happens to everyone at some point, but believe me when I say that I would have expected this in Portland, but here in Utah I thought I was safe.

The Story:

A few weeks ago a group of my high-school pals decided to go to Lagoon for a fun reunion/gals day. Being the couponing, save-money types, we started looking for cheaper tickets. I found oodles of listings on ksl, and when I found 6 tickets for $20 a piece, I was stoked at the great deal we would be getting.

The Saturday before the big day, I happily went to the atm, met the guy and exchanged $120 for 6 tickets. I apologized for having a hard time finding parking, and explained I came all the way from Lehi (to downtown SLC) for this great deal. In response, he had the gall to act all apologetic for making me drive so far.

A week later, the moment of truth came as we went through the line to find that our tickets wouldn't scan. Upon further review at customer service, we found that the tickets (although legit) had been bought with a stolen credit card.

For future reference:

*If you buy tickets bought with a stolen card, the police can do nothing for you unless that stolen card happens to be yours.

* Having the dude's cell number is only usefull if the number HASN'T been disconnected.

* Never, EVER, pay cash for tickets...ask to write a check. If the seller has nothing to hide, this won't bother him. If he does, he won't want his name written on any document that can be traced to him.

I feel violated...and upset that rather than getting a great deal, we all ended up spending $20 extra to go to Lagoon. Mostly though, I keep looking back at all the signs I missed and wishing I had been smarter about the whole thing. I guess that's the thing about being trusting though - you don't think about worst case scenarios, or that everyone is a potential scam artist.

That's all I'll say on the matter, except that YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED -

learn from my mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In much, much happier news, the Lagoon trip was awesome. It was great to catch up with old friends, laugh and be silly as gals together, and get a few thrills along the way. Of course there were minor glitches in the day included repeatedly getting lost with my friend Dominee, 2 of the gals losing their licenses on Wicked, barely getting to a gas station before the car died, and getting schooled at DDR. All of those happenings, however, simply make for funny memories.

I admit to being a little apprehensive about this trip. However, I was so relieved to find that after years of not seeing each other, living our lives, having kids and ultimately just changing; when we got together it was just like old times. There wasn't anything awkward about it - it was simply a great day out with some good friends.

Thanks gals for such a wonderful day and for being so chill about the ticket debacle. :D

First Day of Kindergarten

When we decided to move to Utah, I was really worried about how Korben would transition from his school in Vancouver to the schools here. I was so pleased to find that he acclimated perfectly to his pre-school this spring and was actually receiving more speech therapy than he had been in Vancouver. I never did get a post of his pre-school days published, so I thought I'd share a cute picture from his preschool graduation:

Last week Korben was tested and blew the teachers away with his ability to read. They were also impressed with his speech abilities and his communication skills. Knowing all the hard work it has taken for Korben to improve so much in the last 2 years, I was about as proud (and a little teary) as a mom can get. When you have a child that has struggled with so much, hearing that he is a little smarty pants is a dream come true. They were very encouraging and are confident that he should be mainstreamed in the next year or so. YAY!!

Yesterday was Korben's first day of Kindergarten. He is attending Freedom Elementary in Highland, where he is able to be part of a "Small Classroom Kindergarten". He will follow the regular kindergarten curriculum but he will have much more one on one attention than he would get in a standard kindergarten class. Initially, I was a little apprehensive that at barely 5 he was going to have to start Kindergarten - but I guess when your child has been attending school since he was 3, the "holding him back till next year" doesn't get to apply. I often want to make life easier for Korben because I worry that pushing him too hard will frustrate him. Making the decisions to push Korben are always a little tough, but so worth it in the end. Yesterday was no exception as I got to capture Korben posing for his first day:

He was excited, I was excited, and there were no tears from either party. When he was three and I had to send him on a bus to school...there were tears. At five...I know he can handle it. :D

Korben Turns 5!

Just recently, we celebrated Korben's 5th birthday!

Here are some of my favorite birthday pics:

I love this picture because he is enthusiastically telling me how old he is - 5! This is a huge accomplishment for Korben since the past 3 years he has been saying he is two. For some reason his actual age clicked this year and he is excited to tell everyone his new age.

Korben was stoked with a new Scripture Scouts set from G&G Harrison. I love these cd's because they teach the scripture stories in easy to understand and fun ways. They are all I ever get to listen to in the car so I was excited for a new set as well. :D

This picture isn't that great, but I love the memory it gives. Korben was struggling to blow out all the candles and before he got a chance to finish, Logan came over and blew 3 of the candles out. I think this would have upset a lot of kids, but true to Korben's sweet nature he just said, "Good job Logan!" and moved on. Then when licking the candles he said. "Wow, those are yummy legos!" Cute kid.

This picture is a tribute to the horrible wisdom teeth ordeal I had the weeks prior to his BDay. I still couldn't eat with real utensils very well, so I am using a baby fork to eat my cake. I also got to sport an awesome bruise on my face for nearly 2 1/2 weeks (this was when it was looking good).

We have found that Leapfrog toys/games are fantastic for Korben. He got 2 new tag books and a new Star Wars leapster game-I love his cute grins and his "serious concentration" face in these pics.

This is how I found Korben the morning after his BDay. He informed me that he was "shooting the bad boys"...it has been so great for his imaginative play. (As a side note: this castle set is normally $89.99 and after couponing I got it for a total price of $10. 26 - How's that for bargain shopping?)

Happy Birthday Korbenator - hopefully 5 is the best year yet!

4th of July 2010

Our 4th was actually celebrated on the 2nd, at the annual "Harrison 4th of July Party". It's a classic party with all the family, loads of food, a game or two of croquet, and lots of kids playing hard. Every year it's a blast, and this year was no exception.

The party is always topped off with everyone sitting on Doug and Susie's front lawn to watch the fireworks. Although we SEVERELY missed our WA fireworks (everything there is legal), it was still a fun show. It was Logan's first year of joining the celebrations, since the past 2 years he has fallen asleep. He was absolutely entranced with the whole fireworks party as you can see:

(I know, I know, he still uses his middle finger as his pointer...
there is simply nothing to be done about it - believe me, I have tried.)

Korben was as happy as he could be with some sparklers, snappers, and a few glow sticks - oh, and with getting to help Dad use the blowtorch:

I had wanted to get a family picture during the day since our last family picture was taken a year ago. I should have know it would never happen with all the festivities. However, as I was going through our pictures I found two that when put together kind of made a family picture...for now, it will have to do. :D

Thanks Harrison Family for a great 4th of July!

Summer 2010

2 Years Old

I took this picture of Logan to remind me of how early on he became proficient at using the computer. We have a computer connected to our tv that has all of our movies and tv shows on it. Logan could easily navigate the menus to find exactly what movie he wanted and use the mouse to skip to his favorite parts. He could also connect to my blog, scroll through to find the Mother's Day youtube video and use that to link to the gummy bear video that he loved. At two years old. Amazing.

John's Wedding In July, John & Audi were married in Denver at a beautiful marina. Mike, Kara, Kimber & I all flew together, and shared a hotel room and a rental car. Needless to say, by the end of the 2 days we had laughed ourselves silly. At one point we had Mike, me, Kara, Kells, & Mom all packed in one car. The polygamist jokes were abundant and the laughter was non-stop. We played games Fullmer style which meant all night and overly exuberant. The wedding was beautiful and it was cool to see just how the Marines do it. It was great to see how loved John was by everyone and we were more than happy to welcome Audi into our family.

Gateway Children's Museum

When we moved to Utah I purchased a 6 month pass for the SLC Children's Museum. We went at least once a week during the summer until school started. The boys looked forward all week to our visits. I learned to dress the boys identical after the first visit because it made it easier to spot them in a crowd. It was also great to have the pass because there wasn't any pressure to see it all in one trip - so if the boys wanted to spend the entire time in one area I didn't feel like I needed to get my money's worth.

Both the boys loved the food conveyor. For some reason they figured if it was good enough for food, it was good enough for people. By the time we got to our last trip, Korben was using it as a surfing tool. It was great to see the boys play so well together and also to see Korben interact with other kiddos.

Cami & Ben's Sealing

In August, Cami, Ben & George were sealed in the Twin Falls Temple. It was awesome to be there with family and see such a wonderful ordinance take place. The best part was when they brought George in to join his parents. He had the biggest blue eyes that were in awe of all that was around him. I was so grateful that we lived near the family and could be a part of such a wonderful life event.

The Little Gym

Korben's teachers recommended that he join a club or group for the summer in order to learn from other kids in a group setting. We decided to have him attend the little gym for the summer. He absolutely LOVED it. It was a great outlet for him during the break from school and something we will probably do each summer since it helps him socially and physically.