My Dad...

Just a quick update. Two days after Kaylie and I returned home (the 20th), my mother called to report that my dad had gone back into the hospital and had two more stints (he already has about four) put into a major artery to his heart because he was having trouble breathing and having cold sweats. After some testing, the doctors concluded it was a mild heart attack because there had been some muscle damage. They will also have to go back to the hospital in about 6-8 weeks to repair another artery that is mostly blocked and we're waiting to hear how that will happen, more stints or bypass surgery.

He is home again and feeling better again, and back on a better road to recovery. I told him he could have had that excitement when I was there, but he said, "then what fun would we have had?"

Sure love you Dad!!

A Fall visit to Utah

What a beautiful time of year in Utah. The trees on the mountains were beginning to change colors and the air was crisp. It was just lovely! Kaylie and I were there for a week to visit my dad. He had a hip replacement surgery on the 4th so I came to help where I could. I was mostly able to spend a lot of time visiting with both him and my mom, but we also were able to watch a few movies, play with Kaylie and Kaylie played with Buck. They became buddies because she took him for walks on the leash from one end of the driveway to the other side of the yard and back and forth and back and forth until they both were very tired. She also loved throwing the frisbee with him too. I saw my dad improve a lot while I was there and although it is a bit of a long road to hoe, he's doing very well. We had a great time being there.

While there, we were able to see the cousins too. This is Luke and he is now 3 months old. He has chubbed out since we last saw him in July, and what a cutie he is. It's so fun to squeeze him and tickle his double chin!

Kaylie spent the day with Ba Noi and Aunt Linh and Uncle Mark and Noah and Luke. They had a great time at the discovery museum. When Aunt Linh brought Kaylie home, she and Noah had blue tongues from a sucker. They were so cute!

Meet "the Creature"

This is Mo (a.k.a. the creature, as named by Kaylie). He is one of the latest members of our family - a little dwarf hamster. He was a gracious gift from our friends the Clarks when we visiting their house over Labor Day weekend. We brought him home and the kids (and Huy) thought he seemed lonely so Karmen promptly replied that she would meet us in Waco (that's halfway) to get us another one because "it's best they not be apart for too long. It will make it harder to put a second in the cage with him," said Karmen. How convienent right? So the following week, Mo was no longer alone. His brother, or sister (sadly we don't know what gender they are and hopefully we won't know by a litter of our own), joined him and we named it Meinie as in Einie, Meanie, Meinie, and Mo! (Meinie is all white.)

It's hard to know who likes the creatures the most... the kids or Huy!? We went out and picked out this spaceship of a cage and although they had a hard time climbing the tubes, they are fattening up and getting bigger and now can climb the tubes and run on the wheel. The kids are learning to clean the cage and are wondering if a dog wouldn't be better!

Kaylie's first day of preschool

First of all, I can't believe my baby is starting preschool, but it's true. Kaylie was somewhat excited for her first day of preschool. She would tell me "no" one minute about getting dressed, eating breakfast, but then she was happy to put on her new shoes and her backpack. She barely wanted to smile for the picture so it was a good thing her dad was there to make her smile so she at least looked like she was excited about pre-K. And when we did drop her off, she knew right where to go to her classroom and she sat right down to start a puzzle and then she gave us kisses and said goodbye. No real fuss, not super excited about it either. It was a good thing, but it was hard for Mom to leave her baby there all day. I was very lonely without her, but I also got a lot done! By-the-way, check out her fabulous rings!!

When I went to pick Kaylie up, she was zonked out on her mat, sweating and drooling all over it, but before school, she insisted on not putting her blankets or a stuffed animal in her backpack for nap time. If you look real close, you can see the start of her name on her forehead where she lied on the mat and the ink rubbed off. I guess preschool is a tough job because she was wiped out!