Sunday, July 13, 2008
Visit to Kirtland
While we were in Cleveland, we had the opportunity to take Jose and her Yonker friend to tour Kirtland. It felt very special to be in so many rooms where revelations in the Doctrine & Covenants were received. With time in the School of the Prophets above the Newel K. Whitney store as the highlight of the tour.
Kids showing off their hats and camera skills
We got a couple of free hats from a Durham Bulls game we attended courtesy of the Kellers. The kids threw them on the next morning and had a ball running up and down the hall. And of course, Josh & Mikayla just "had" to try out their photography skills with a few snapshots as well.
Durham Life & Science Center
Cami and the kids hadn't been to the Life & Science Center here in Durham for a long time...mostly due to Mikayla being in school, piano lessons, the grueling demands of 3 kids ages 6 and under, etc., etc. Cami stole the opportunity to whisk them away for a good afternoon at the "old" stomping grounds.
Picking strawberries
We headed out to Lyon Farms to pick some strawberries. Of couse, "some," is a gross understatement. We hauled home thirty-something pounds of the red beauties. Not only that, but Cami went back for more a couple of weeks later. Let's just say that strawberries (or strawr-berries as 'Licious calls them) are very popular around our house.
A couple of days after the picking party, we made stawberry liquadas (shakes) for our home evening treat. The kids all loved chipping in.
A couple of days after the picking party, we made stawberry liquadas (shakes) for our home evening treat. The kids all loved chipping in.
Nano jumping off of stuff
As many of you know, one of Nano's favorite pastimes is climbing onto things and then jumping off. Here are a few shots of him either climbing up or taking the plunge. And we have another one of him sleeping in bed with Mikayla. Apparently he decided her bunkbed was more cushy than his bed.
Having fun around the house
Here are some pictures of the kids being kids around the house. We did slide in a couple pictures from another camping trip to Falls Lake.
A couple of great missionaries
Here are a couple of shots with Elder Nelson and Elder De Korte. They infused our ward with the much needed motivation and faith to get us up and going again.
The annual pilgrimage to Emerald Isle
We can't wait for May to come around every year so we have another great excuse to go to a beach house. What's the excuse?? I don't know, maybe that school's out or that we did it last May!
Sunday, May 04, 2008
BAAAAAD TORTEL
We went camping with Clark & Amy last weekend. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. On the way, we drove past this giant, ugly, snapping turtle on the side of the road. We pulled off and I went back to pick it up and bring it over for the kids to have a closer look. After being snapped at a couple of time--by the largest turtle I've come across in the wild--I managed to haul the creature back to the minivan. Once I was within steps of getting back to the kids, the turtle let loose and peed all over me! ICKKH! You have to look pretty hard to notice the darker spot down the right leg of my shorts, but I tell you it was there, and it smelled.
The next morning, the boys had a great time playing in the lake.
The next morning, the boys had a great time playing in the lake.
April around the Birdno house
We've got some really cute pictures of the kids playing around the house. All 3 of them LOVE caterpillars, which apparently are in season this time of year. They find about 200 (well...maybe around 10 or so anyway) of them every day out in the yard and play with every one of them. Each caterpillar get his/her own name and all.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
April around the Birdno house
We've got some really cute pictures of the kids playing around the house. All 3 of them LOVE caterpillars, which apparently are in season this time of year. They find about 200 (well...maybe around 10 or so anyway) of them every day out in the yard and play with every one of them. Each caterpillar get his/her own name and all.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
April around the Birdno house
We've got some really cute pictures of the kids playing around the house. All 3 of them LOVE caterpillars, which apparently are in season this time of year. They find about 200 (well...maybe around 10 or so anyway) of them every day out in the yard and play with every one of them. Each caterpillar get his/her own name and all.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
April around the Birdno house
We've got some really cute pictures of the kids playing around the house. All 3 of them LOVE caterpillars, which apparently are in season this time of year. They find about 200 (well...maybe around 10 or so anyway) of them every day out in the yard and play with every one of them. Each caterpillar get his/her own name and all.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
Oh, and the other cute little girl who Joshua is smooching on is the little girl (Eliana) of some friends who just moved into our ward.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tulip time at Duke Gardens
The tulips were out in full bloom at Duke Gardens and we took a hike over one evening a couple of weeks ago. It's impossible to capture the amazing size and beauty of the blossoms on the camera.
Pools, parks, bugs, and bikes
These are a few of our favorite things...
We just had Jose and Licious start up swimming lessons so we can have them ready to go for the summer. We'll have to get pictures of Mikayla in her lessons next time.
We just had Jose and Licious start up swimming lessons so we can have them ready to go for the summer. We'll have to get pictures of Mikayla in her lessons next time.
Rain, rain, rain
We had some much needed rain a couple of weeks ago and we couldn't keep the kids away. Licious and Nano were particularly attached to a couple of puddles in the back yard.
DUKE vs. unc
I was able to get into the DUKE vs. unc basketball game in March. While we were waiting outside the doors to get in, who showed up but Dick Vitale himself. We had Brian, one of the guys we were with, take a couple of photos while we stood right behind Dicky-V. The game didn't turn out the right way, but Cameran indoor was hopping. We also got a picture of Eli and Peyton Manning (standing in the front with white button up shirts).
A weekend at the beach
We were able to get away for another quick weekend at the beach just before Merrill's birthday and had a great time.
Nano sleeping in his new big boy bed!
Nano wasn't doing so hot in his crib, so we got him a new bed on craigslist. He was so happy that he posed for us during his nap.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Mikayla's 6th Birthday and Valentine's Day
We smartened up from last year and had Mikayla's birthday party at the mall this time around.
Grandma Birdno came again in January
Merrill had a surgery at the end of December and Grandma Birdno came again to help out with his recovery and help out with the kids.
Christmas time
We spent a nice relaxing Christmas in Durham. It was post Merrill's recovery from his accident and pre his surgery in late December, and we loved having some time between to just be together as a family and enjoy each other.
More pictures from Thanksgiving
Here are some more photos from Thanksgiving. We got these from Merrill's parents. Oh and the guy beating up on the cops is our brother-in-law, Jeremy.
Happy Thanksgiving!
We had Merrill's parents; Curty, Crystal & Vance; and Amie and Jeremy come visit for Thanksgiving. We had a great time down in Myrtle Beach.
Grandpa & Grandma Hansen come to the rescue
Grandpa and Grandma Hansen came to visit right after Merrill's accident and helped a great deal during his recovery.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Biking into the truck...
By now, most of you reading this probably know that I ran my bicycle into the back of a parked truck on Halloween morning...although I still doesn't remember how I ended up doing so. Anyhow, I'm playing on an intramural football team and put myself on injured reserve just in time for playoffs. I sent out the linked file to my team to inspire their play during the playoffs.
If you didn't get the full story by email, here it is:
For those who may not know, I was in a bike accident on Wednesday.
Below are the details. Feel free to read them when you have time. I'm
usually not a long email writer or a long email reader, so you can
pick and choose how far you actually want to go through this thing.
Thank you all so much for your concern and prayers on my behalf. We
are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We have
received many phone calls and emails from all of you and are so
grateful that you are thinking of us. As might be expected, some of
the stories that some of you may have heard are...well....much better
than mine and I think I may adopt some of them instead. Here's my best
attempt to fill everyone in on what happened and on my current status.
You may have thought that only dogs are dumb enough to chase parked
cars, but...On Halloween morning at around 9 am, I was riding to
school on my bike and somehow I ran into the back of a parked
truck/SUV. The question that nobody can answer right now is exactly
how I ended up going full speed into a parked vehicle. I remember
riding up Broad St. passed the NC school of science & math. I got to
the stop light at Club and remember a series of cars turning right and
a series of cars going straight. I pulled up between these two lanes
to go through the light. And that's the last thing I remember before
waking up as EMTs were trying to get my clothes off to put on a neck
brace and get me on a stretcher and into the ambulance (about 200
yards passed Club). I'm guessing that I must have gone unconcious on
impact for 10-15 minutes--enough time for someone to report the
accident and get the EMTs over there and start working on me. I have
a vague recollection of looking up as I rode and seeing a maroon
truck/SUV about 5 feet in front of me and having no time to swerve or
brake. Nevertheless, I can't vouch for that story because we don't
even know if that's the color of the truck/SUV I woke up underneath.
Anyhow, I went to the Duke emergency department and received several
CT scans to check for damage to my spine, neck, and/or skull, as well
as to check for abdominal bleeding. The doctors were very thorough in
analyzing the scans and discovered a rare fracture to my occipital
condyle--the bone in your skull that connects to the top of your
spine. The fractured bone was stable and in a good position for
healing, so the only treatment I need is to wear a neck collar for at
least a couple of weeks. Looking on PubMed, it appears that it is very
rare for someone with my fracture who receives the proper treatment
(neck collar) to have any permanent nerve damage. Oh yes, and here's
my plug for bike helmets...the $15 I spent on a bike helmet saved me
from really serious injury, it well could have saved my life. The
helmet had a crack all of the way through the protective foam. In
addition, all of my facial lacerations were below the portion of my
head covered by the helmet.
While the doctors were deciphering my CT scans, an ear, nose and
throat (ENT) resident worked on stiching up my scrapes on my cheek and
just behind my ear. It was a pretty big mess and he took about 3 hours
to stitch it all together. I think that most of the time was spent
trying to figure out where to place the next stitch.
After 2-3 hours, the initial shock of the accident started to give way
to the realization that my body hurt a fair amount. Upon mentioning
this to the ER staff, they gave me some meds in my IV and it wasn't 2
minutes before I was feeling all warm inside and 100% better. I've
been taking Perkiset on a regular schedule since then and hence I feel
much better than I look. Unfortunately, I'm set to run out of Perkiset
in the next 40 hours or so and we'll see how things go after that.
The doctors released me from the hospital at about 5 pm on the day of
my accident and my prognosis is excellent as long as I keep the collar
on. Cami can remove it twice/day to wash my face and neck wounds, but
someone has to hold my head still while she does so. Cami's parents
made plans a couple of months ago to fly in on Halloween evening and
stay for a couple of weeks. They are indeed a Godsend.
Anyhow, I attached a couple of photos. The first picture shows my face
issues with the brace off just after Cami cleaned me up yesterday. The
second is just a photo of my super-hot neck collar. If you are
squeamish, you may want to steer clear of the photos.
Please know that I am doing well and that I am so grateful for your
thoughts, faith, and prayers on my behalf. I feel so very blessed that
things did not turn out much worse. And I feel so blessed to have so
many wonderful family members and friends Thank you all so very much!
If you didn't get the full story by email, here it is:
For those who may not know, I was in a bike accident on Wednesday.
Below are the details. Feel free to read them when you have time. I'm
usually not a long email writer or a long email reader, so you can
pick and choose how far you actually want to go through this thing.
Thank you all so much for your concern and prayers on my behalf. We
are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We have
received many phone calls and emails from all of you and are so
grateful that you are thinking of us. As might be expected, some of
the stories that some of you may have heard are...well....much better
than mine and I think I may adopt some of them instead. Here's my best
attempt to fill everyone in on what happened and on my current status.
You may have thought that only dogs are dumb enough to chase parked
cars, but...On Halloween morning at around 9 am, I was riding to
school on my bike and somehow I ran into the back of a parked
truck/SUV. The question that nobody can answer right now is exactly
how I ended up going full speed into a parked vehicle. I remember
riding up Broad St. passed the NC school of science & math. I got to
the stop light at Club and remember a series of cars turning right and
a series of cars going straight. I pulled up between these two lanes
to go through the light. And that's the last thing I remember before
waking up as EMTs were trying to get my clothes off to put on a neck
brace and get me on a stretcher and into the ambulance (about 200
yards passed Club). I'm guessing that I must have gone unconcious on
impact for 10-15 minutes--enough time for someone to report the
accident and get the EMTs over there and start working on me. I have
a vague recollection of looking up as I rode and seeing a maroon
truck/SUV about 5 feet in front of me and having no time to swerve or
brake. Nevertheless, I can't vouch for that story because we don't
even know if that's the color of the truck/SUV I woke up underneath.
Anyhow, I went to the Duke emergency department and received several
CT scans to check for damage to my spine, neck, and/or skull, as well
as to check for abdominal bleeding. The doctors were very thorough in
analyzing the scans and discovered a rare fracture to my occipital
condyle--the bone in your skull that connects to the top of your
spine. The fractured bone was stable and in a good position for
healing, so the only treatment I need is to wear a neck collar for at
least a couple of weeks. Looking on PubMed, it appears that it is very
rare for someone with my fracture who receives the proper treatment
(neck collar) to have any permanent nerve damage. Oh yes, and here's
my plug for bike helmets...the $15 I spent on a bike helmet saved me
from really serious injury, it well could have saved my life. The
helmet had a crack all of the way through the protective foam. In
addition, all of my facial lacerations were below the portion of my
head covered by the helmet.
While the doctors were deciphering my CT scans, an ear, nose and
throat (ENT) resident worked on stiching up my scrapes on my cheek and
just behind my ear. It was a pretty big mess and he took about 3 hours
to stitch it all together. I think that most of the time was spent
trying to figure out where to place the next stitch.
After 2-3 hours, the initial shock of the accident started to give way
to the realization that my body hurt a fair amount. Upon mentioning
this to the ER staff, they gave me some meds in my IV and it wasn't 2
minutes before I was feeling all warm inside and 100% better. I've
been taking Perkiset on a regular schedule since then and hence I feel
much better than I look. Unfortunately, I'm set to run out of Perkiset
in the next 40 hours or so and we'll see how things go after that.
The doctors released me from the hospital at about 5 pm on the day of
my accident and my prognosis is excellent as long as I keep the collar
on. Cami can remove it twice/day to wash my face and neck wounds, but
someone has to hold my head still while she does so. Cami's parents
made plans a couple of months ago to fly in on Halloween evening and
stay for a couple of weeks. They are indeed a Godsend.
Anyhow, I attached a couple of photos. The first picture shows my face
issues with the brace off just after Cami cleaned me up yesterday. The
second is just a photo of my super-hot neck collar. If you are
squeamish, you may want to steer clear of the photos.
Please know that I am doing well and that I am so grateful for your
thoughts, faith, and prayers on my behalf. I feel so very blessed that
things did not turn out much worse. And I feel so blessed to have so
many wonderful family members and friends Thank you all so very much!
Happy Halloween!
Here are the kids in their 'oh so cute' Halloween costumes. They had a great time at the ward Fall festival/trunk-or-treat, and made out with a lot of candy. Cami & I decided they needed some help eating it all, so we've all got stomach aches from candy overload.
Triathlon at Emerald Isle
We went with several other couples to race in a triathlon at Emerald Isle, NC. We had a great time, but they canceled the swim due to 6-7 foot swells in the ocean. Cami got 4th place in her age division!
Field trips
Jose and Sonlicious both went on field trips in October--Jose to Brown Farm and Sonlicious to the Durham Fire Department. Nano was fortunate enough to tag along with his brother to the fire station.
Photos from September
We've been lazy about updating our blog lately, so we just threw together a few pages with all of our pictures from September.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Happy Birthday Nano
We had a great time together for Nano's birthday today. Mikayla and Joshua were very helpful in demonstrating how to dig into the cake.
Tag team haircuts
We cut the boys' hair at the same time. Cami worked on Nano's hair with the scissors, while Merrill worked on Licious' hair with the clippers. They were both watching Brother Bear to keep them occupied.
Playing the Wii
Some friends brought over a Wii one night after home evening. The kids were enthralled, and so were we.
Mikayla's first day of school
We can't believe that our little girl started Kindergarten already. She's in a year-round school, so she started in July. She loves school, but it took the boys a while to get used to not having her around as the ring leader. Josh has since picked up the slack and has become quite the talker. He considers himself a real "gentleman."
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Beach trip to Emerald Isle
We enjoyed an entire week at a beautiful house on the beach in Emerald Isle, NC. We were there with five other families from our ward, and everyone loved being there. It was hard to leave.
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