Balch Family Blog

We got a new sectional sofa with chaise today! I love it!

I was looking back through my blog and for the past 4 years, February has represented a very sick month for all of us. I am happy to say that Feb. 2012 has been great! We had a little illness in January, but February was a healthy month for us! Now we did have a rough end of Oct. early Nov. with Camden, and we may have to fight off some colds in the coming months, but I am thrilled with Feb this year!

Last Saturday, Pack 522 had their annual Pinewood Derby Race. Camden and Carsten worked on cars to be raced. Camden designed a military type tank and Carsten wanted a Wii remote. They both worked with their dad to make the creations come to life.

On the day of the race the boys headed out and I met that at the school after they were registered. Unfortunately, right after I got there, Camden threw up and we came home. His car raced anyway and he placed 21st out of about 60 cars. Carsten raced in the Outlaw division and won a Blue Ribbon for Most Creative Car. Here are a few pictures from the day!

Camden before he left, he doesn't look like he feels 100%.

Camden's Tank

Carsten's Wii Remote

Carsten with his car and blue ribbon.

While dancing away in a Zumba class a couple of weeks ago I felt a pop in my calf of my left leg. I wondered what that was. I tried to rejoin the class only to find I couldn’t put any weight on it. Mark had to carry me out of the gym. Crazy! I saw my doctor who told me no weight on that leg until I could tolerate it. She also sent me to physical therapy! Luckily, I know an AMAZING PT!! I started therapy and I am now a believer. Not that I really didn’t believe, but WOW, Mark had done some incredible work with me! I have had aquatic therapy too and last night just started to walk without the walking boot and crutches. I still have some pain, but I can tell I am getting better everyday!

Here is a photo of me rockin’ the crutches before I got my walking boot!

This year the boys went to school up until Dec 23rd, so all of their days off happened after Christmas, which was nice in a way and stressful in another. It would have been nice to have a couple days off before Christmas to get stuff done, but having two weeks after feels a little like summer break. Here is a snap shot of the things we did over break, in no particular order.

1) PLAY!!!!! We played so much with friends, mostly in our own front yard with the neighbor boys, but also with some friends from school and cousin Nathan of course! We went to the park and played too!

2)MOVIES!!! We saw two movies this break in the theaters. The first one was We Bought a Zoo, super cute, but a little sad too. The second one was Chipwrecked. It was adorable and totally geared for kids! I was able to sneak off and see Breaking Dawn Part 1, again, with my cousin. I LOVE that movie!

3)PARTIES!!! We went to the Reed’s to celebrate New Years. The kids played downstairs. Then when they were bored we did some fireworks and s’mores. We had a great time and the boys, and yes even I made it to midnight to ring in the New Year. We also went bowling to celebrate a birthday for a friend of mine. We all had a great time.

4)GOLF!!! The boys and I joined Nathan, Andrew and Carrie for some mini-golf and a yummy lunch at Subway. Followed by what else…playing at the park! Mark also went to play golf with Brian and did well! He hasn’t played in quite some time and he was pleased with how he did.

5)READ!!! Camden got the Percy Jackson series for Christmas and he has finished the first 2 books in the series and just started the 3rd. I read a Lee Child book that is part of the Reacher novels. I liked it. I am thinking about re-reading the Percy Jackson books so Camden and I can discuss them.

We did a few other things like go to the gym several times, not sure it is the boys favorite thing to do, but they are used to it. We also got them in to see the dentist and get their teeth cleaned. For the first time, Carsten did it! I was so proud! I am looking forward to school starting again, not sure about work, but being back in our routine will be nice.

The other day, Camden and Carsten were helping to take the laundry out of the dryer. Carsten felt the need to label things as he pulled them out:
“Daddy’s shorts.”
“Camden undies”
“Socks”
“Mommy’s booby protector”

Love that little boy!

We had a really special Christmas this year! We were able to participate in The Advent Conspiracy, in which our church was asking for $40 to feed an orphan in Africa for an entire year. Our family worked hard (garage sales, Tastefully Simple parties, and sacrifice other wants) to purchase over 8 this year. We gave them as gifts to our family for Christmas. We enjoyed the service at Mission this year and we were happy to have my mom and Ken join us.

Mark’s family, including his sister came over for dinner in the evening. We all had fun. The boys opened matching PJs and so did mom and I!

On Christmas morning the boys let us sleep in until 7:00, which is rare! We opened presents and enjoyed cinnamon rolls for breakfast. All of us were spoiled rotten! Camden got a very cool Lego VW Van Camper, Carsten got a Playmobil School and Mark and I got a very nice set of luggage. We got lots of other fun stuff too, but that was our big stuff! 🙂

Later in the afternoon, we loaded up the van and went to Mark’s parents. Andrea and Mike are here this Christmas which is a special treat! We had another frenzy of gifts, all of us spoiled again and to top it off…we are going on a trip to Grenada, W.I. over spring break. We are really looking forward to this trip!

This Christmas has been difficult for my dad and stepmom and family. Betty went in for a quick thyroid removal surgery and has had some complications. They have been in our prayers and we hope that Betty is home soon to celebrate Christmas.

We have been having fun and here are a few photos to prove it!

Camden with one of his Lego creations.

Carsten playing in a giant tire.

The boys decorating some Christmas cookies.

We missed getting a photo of the leopard gecko the boys caught with some neighbor friends last Sunday. They put it in a box and were going to have it take turns at the 3 houses, but he didn’t make it very long. Poor gecko.

Our family has so much to be thankful for during this season of giving and thanks. First of all, we are so thankful for two healthy boys. Camden gave us a bit of a scare when he got sick over Halloween and spent five days at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. It turns out. or they think anyway, he had viral meningitis. It was a long recovery process but he is back to his old self. Our family had our own special Halloween on Veterans Day when about 10 of our friends allowed the boys to come and trick-or-treat.

We celebrated Mark’s 40th birthday, not quite on the cruise we planned, but in style at The Melting Pot.

Our families enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner in Tucson at my mom’s house this year. Mark’s parents drove down and Ken’s daughter Stacy and her son Dakota were all there too. It was very nice, but I forgot the camera, so you will have to take my word for it!

When we got home we put up our new tree and decorated the house. The boys really like putting the train up and the outside decorations.