A Trip to the Dentist

So I've been kind of lazy with my blogging lately, haven't had much to blog about, I guess! Well, today I took the kids to the dentist. I was, of course, prepared for the worst, but to my pleasant surprise, they were WONDERFUL!!! They were very cooperative and happy. I always remember, as a child, being nervous and apprehensive at the dentist. My kids were excited to go. They love the new toothbrushes they get and the toy from the treasure chest! I was worried how they would act while I was getting my teeth cleaned. The wonderful ladies there, as well as the dentist, were great with them. They just let them kind of wander in the back where we were (it's kind of an open dental office with only partial walls between the different rooms) and turned on the TV for them. The ladies entertained them and they were great. They loved getting the pink stuff on their teeth to see where the sugarbugs are and watching it disappear with the cleaning. Anyway, nothing exciting going on here, just a trip to the dentist!!!!

TMJ...That Miserable Jaw

I have TMJ and have been going to the orthodontist for four months now to try and get it corrected. For the past4 months I have had to wear what they call a splint. It is a hard plastic mouthpiece that I wear on my upper teeth. This allows for my lower jaw to move to its more natural position. I don't quite understand how it works, but it does! My teeth no longer meet, except for in one spot. I went in to my orthodontic appointment today and was told that I would only have to wear it for two more weeks. Yippee!!! The splint is terrible. It's hard to talk with and even harder to eat with! The next step..... braces. That part I'm not to excited about. But, boy, will it be nice when we are all finished. No more jaw pain, and much better looking teeth!!! I must thank my husband for this. He talked me into going in for a consultation. I was so against getting braces. I didn't see the point now that I'm older and have kids that the money could be going to. He did all the checking into it and found that our insurance would pay for TMJ work - which me that they will help cover the splint as well as the braces!!! This was pretty exciting for us because our insurance doesn't pay for adult orthodontics. Anyway, thank you Guy for talking me in to going to the consultation and getting the work done!

We're Back!

Well, we are back from our trip to Kirkland (near Seattle). We had such a great time and I had a hard time leaving. The kids were so sad to leave Grandma and Grandpa and wished that they could stay. We had fabulous weather and were able to do some fun things. Our favorite thing was going to NorthWest Trek. It is a great place to go with families of all ages. The young kids enjoyed it as well as we did. When we first got there, the kids were able to do a fun "critter craft" for free. They made frogs with those funny noise makers for the tongue (even better - they really didn't make noise!) After that, we boarded a windowless tram and set off through the wildlife park and saw all kinds of animals that are from the Northwest area. There were Roosevelt elk, bison, mountain goats, beavers, deer of several types and others. After we were done with the tour we were able to see grizzly bears and cougars and such. It was a lot of fun. and we all really enjoyed it. I'll have to post some pictures of it later.

The 4th of July was also a lot of fun. My brothers were able to come up and have a little barbeque at my parents' house and, boy, did my boys have fun with those crazy brothers of mine. (I have three older brothers) They especially enjoyed watching their Uncle Kelly do his monkey routine! After the barbeque, Guy, the kids, and I went to Bellevue to watch the fireworks there. The park was jam-packed with people and it was a great place to be if you enjoy people-watching. The fireworks were fantastic and the kids - much to my surprise - were fascinated. I was worried that they, especially Kaylee, would be scared of them and the noise they make, but they all loved it. Kaylee sat on my lap and just kept saying "wow, wow" and trying to reach up and catch them. It was great.

We had such a great vacation. It is hard to come back home and get back in to the routine of our regular lives. But, here we are and we are happy to be home.