Finally...."the story."

Well, it's taken me forever to finally get "The Story" on here. Sit back and relax if you want to read all of it because it could get preetttyyy long! Here's how it all goes..
The Phone Call: Friday the 26th I was at school when I got 'the phone call'. The one you always dread! My mentor teacher answered it and talked for a minute. I could tell something was going on so I was a little nervous to even pick up. It was Brennen's co-worker Shaun. He said I needed to come to the hospital that Brennen had been burned at work. I didn't ask where. How bad. Or if he was okay. I just left. When I got out to the hospital I was panicking, obviously, but initially didn't think it was that bad. I immediately said, "Oh thank goodness! You're blue eyes are still there and you're still hott." Trying to lighten the situation.
Brennen preceded to tell me what happened, and this is how it happened: Brennen was working on a 4-wheeler at the shed and had been cleaning a filter with some gas. He decided to throw the old gas on a fire they have there. Something they do everyday. When he went to throw it in, it hit the side of the bucket and splashed on his face. However, he initially started on fire on his leg. Not a big deal. So he bent down to pat it out and the vapors blew up and started him on fire. He was on fire from his waist up. The guys at the shed said it was just like the movies. A ball of fire running through the building. They couldn't see any part of his body from his waist up. Thank heavens he was a quick thinker and reacted the way he did. He immediately went to pat it out with his hands but realized he didn't want to burn his hands. So he took off for the door, immediately threw himself on the ground and was rubbing his face in the dirt and throwing snow on his face. Meanwhile, Shaun followed him out and patted out his side and back. He said he felt like someone put their hands over his eyes so he could see where he was going. And I believe it. He was burned right about his eye and his brows and eye lashed were singed.(sp?) I know. Chilling. He said the adrenaline was pumping so fast he hopped up and didn't really feel any pain. Then he started to feel hot so he had Shaun drive him out to the hospital. He said it was the scariest feeling in the whole world. He could see flames all around him on his face.
At the hospital- Like I said before, when I walked in I didn't think it was all that bad. Then I heard them talking about the burn center and started to kinda panic. I called Brennen's parents and they immediately headed to the hospital. Wade Hollingshead was the doc on and he came in and said the U wanted him up there and we would be going by life light. I panicked. I was trying to call my mom. No answer. The Chevron. Busy. I don't know what it is about those words, life light, that made me panic so bad but I did. I needed my mom!! Anyways, I finally got a hold of my brother and they all came right out. In the meantime, life light called and said they wouldn't be able to fly because the weather conditions were so sporadic up north. So they paged the ambulance and had them transport us up to the University of Utah. Brennen's dad Troy and my brother Troy gave Brennen a priestood blessing before we left the hospital. I'm so thankful for the priestood..a whole other post! My mom followed the ambulance to be with me. Jackie and Troy stayed behind because it was Rustin's Junior Prom and they kept Dav. They were going to get up and come first thing Saturday but we were discharged on Saturday so they didn't. The ambulance ride was good. We had fabulous EMT's and a soon-to-be EMT! It made the ride go by pretty quick. They kept Bren pretty drugged up so he wasn't in alot of pain.
The U:When we arrived there they quickly got him in and went to work! They explained what they were going to do, moved him into a bed and hooked him up to all the fun machines. They began by washing his face. Yeah-nasty! Then after they had it all cleaned up, they put shaving cream all over his face and shaved him! Ohh I wanted to pass out about now. I felt soooo bad for him. He had to keep stopping them to give him more drugs. Not to mention, it was a girl shaving him that acted as though she was shaving her worst enemy. Up and down, side to side, and quick! Right after that they put him on some oxygen and just let him rest. He looked really good then. I could hardly tell he had been burned he was just really red. Then we discussed the reason he was up there. First. He was burned up his nose so that created some concern. Second - It takes 18 hours to hit peak of swelling and there was a possibility he could swell so badly it could shut off his airway. Third - They wanted to make sure he didn't have bad scars. So we sat there. I stared at him. Watching to make sure he was still breathing. Thankful I got to watch him breath. Then came night time. He was swelling but not too bad. They told me I could sit in the room but I couldn't go to sleep. Yeah-I'll spare us the time and words on how I really felt about that. I was freaking out wondering if I dared leave or if I should sit in those not so comfortable chairs in the waiting room all night. My mom and I decided to leave and get a motel so I could try and sleep. Pointless. I was up all night checking my phone making sure I didn't miss a call. Praying thanking Heavenly Father for all the blessings. I knew it could have been soo much worse. The night went really well and when he hit his peak of swelling he was off of oxygen and they felt like everything was going really well. I got back to the hospital at 8:00a.m. and it was very evident the reason we were there. The swelling was alot worse than when I had left the night before. He wasn't in alot of pain and things were going really smooth. We then got fabulous news-we got to go home! I had to show them I could change the dressing and properly care for his face. I was quickly reminded why I changed my major. Never one day have I regretted that decision and I was soo reassured I did the right thing up there! Then he had to do physical therapy. A real treat for me to watch. It was pretty entertaining. Not him. Or the pain. The therapist that was telling him to say EWWWW - WEEEEE!! Funny. They were concerned about one area on his neck that was the deepest burn. They said we would have to come back and they would determine if it needed a graft or not. They unhooked all the IV's, we packed our bags and headed home! He has been doing good since we have been home.
Home: It is looking soo good and is healing quickly. He started cleaning his face himself, thank goodness, probably 2 days after we were home. He has to clean it 3 times a day with gauze pads and then apply an ointment. He has to shave every other day and I seriously can't watch. I know. Whimp. But I feel soo bad it looks so painful even though he reassures me it's not that bad. We went back up this last Saturday and they said everything looked pretty good but it was still to early to tell about the graft. He now has staff infection. I'm kinda freaking out. He started an antibiotic today and we're going to go to the clinic tomorrow to get it looked at. We go back up on Monday to find out what the future holds.
Extra stuff:
*I have been amazed at how well Brennen has handled all of this. He has seriously been a trooper. Not ornery. Not bossy. Not irritated. He thanks me all the time for taking good care of him and has really been awesome. He has held up better than me.
*Garments-Oh how I love them. You always hear neat stories about garments and now we have our own. Brennen was on fire from his waist up. It burned his sweater, to his t-shirt but didn't touch the garments. The burns on his neck are a definite line at the garment top. (you can see in pictures) His leg hairs were singed all the way up to his garments and then stopped. It is amazing! My testimony has been dramatically increased through this experience! I am sooo thankful for the gospel and the protection of the garments!
*I'm sooo thankful for my mom. She held me together. She'll never know how much I love and appreciate her - for everything!
*I think it's ridiculous the doctor had a dog right there in the unit. The burn floor has the nurses station in the middle then cubicles for the patients all around it, seperating them with a curtain. Yeah-she had her dog at her desk and totally talked to it like it was a kid. No offense dog lovers, I just found it weird.
*We have the BEST family and friends around! We have had dinner every night since we've been home. Some nights 2 dinners. Goodies, prayers, hugs, texts...the list goes on! THANK YOU!
*His left ear and his lips are the most painful. The ear is nasty. Gettin better but still nasty.
*It could have been sooo much worse. Being up in the burn unit is an extremely humbling experience. We were sooo blessed.
*Dav didn't know what to think about Brennen at first. He wouldn't go to him and kept looking at him, puckering his bottom lip to cry and saying, "daddy have owee". So sad. He was up all night with diarrhea. Poor little guy. Next day right back to normal. Being the biggest daddy's boy ever. He has been really good about not touching him. He often kisses it better.
*They told us Brennen has to wear a cowboy hat or a fishing hat this summer to shade his face. I died laughing-thinking she was kidding. Not at all. So, when you see him sportin some stying hat, control yourself - he is mine!
*To make the week a little better: I took Dav out on Monday(a week ago) because he had a horrible cough and I didn't want him to get Brennen sick. Double ear infection. Again. So he's on another antibiotic. You know what comes with ear infections-no sleeping, no eating, irritable, FUN! Wednesday I woke up with a sore throat and my ears hurt. So again, to be on the safe side I thought I better get checked to make sure it wasn't something Brennen could catch. Double ear infection. They gave me a shot of rossefin(no idea on spelling). Brennen was with me so we walked over to talk to Dr. Oakden. I started feeling really light headed and like I was going to throw up. We were talking to Dr. O and I kept thinking it was going to go away but it didn't. He looked at me and asked me if I was okay. I told him no. He said I was as white as a ghost and they needed to watch me for a minute because I was having a reaction to the shot. I came home that night with a horrible headache. Jackie took Dav because I was soo sick. Thank you-totally saved my life and possibly his too! I drank a Pepsi, took some Excedrin, went to sleep and woke up feeling much better! I feel great now. I'm not so convinced Dav is better yet. We have to take him back in in 3 weeks. But we're managing.
Today: I went back to school. Brennen went to work for about 3 hours. He has to do really light work and can't be in the sun. Now with the staph infection I don't know what the work situation will be like for him. I have 2 weeks left of school so I have to keep plugging along. Somehow.
There you have it. And..I left out lots of details! Sorry for such a loooonnnng story but I need this for documentation:) So teach your children: DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE AND GAS!! and if they do, remember to STOP DROP AND ROLL. There you have it - my shpill!

The latest...

Dav playing in the hut him and dad built

Brennen and Dav playing in the hut

We pulled the sleds behind the rhino and 4-wheeler. It was still kind of cold so Dav and I didn't last outside too long.

Dav n' Kayz

Dav n' dad

Sleeping pics never get old..He still has his chubby cheeks..

Going on a 4-wheeler ride with dad..he love the 4-wheeler and screams everytime he sees it..he calls it a "bour wheeler"

Update....
We have been pretty busy lately! I can't believe February is already over! As for me, I finished up my first placement of student teaching in second grade. It was fabulous!! I couldn't have asked for a better group of kids and an AMAZING mentor teacher. I taught with Mrs. Dalton and she is seriously amazing. I was soo lucky to learn so much from her. I was sad to leave 2nd grade but excited to move on to kindergarten!! This is my second week in kindergarten and I am loving it! It is alot different than second grade but I love it! I am also in 3 clubs. It's nice to have a night out, or three, a month to socialize with the girls! Brennen has been playing city league basketball and their team took 2nd place. They won 2 games, I think, all season then came back to play in the championship. I love to watch Brennen play sports, he's such a stud! It was also his birthday February 10th. I'm a horrible wife, I should've made a special post for that. I am so lucky to have such an awesome husband! I could go on and on but I will save you from the mushiness and just say a few of my favorite things about him:
*He is the BEST dad! I love watching him and Dav play. Dav loves his dad so much. He could care a less when I leave but when Brennen leaves, his world comes crashing down.
*He lets me know he loves me. He sends random texts and is always reminding me how much he loves me.
*He screams at the top of his lungs, randomly, to scare Dav and I jump like someone dropped a bomb in our house. He loves to do it and we both get quite the laugh out of it.
*Whenever I try to get mad at him he makes me laugh. I seriously could maybe count on one hand the times I have really been upset and held a straight face. He knows how to break the ice.
....anyways on to Dav. Oh Mr. Dav! I could go on and on about him too! He is talking like crazy! He is so funny! He is starting to put things together and is saying some cute phrases. He is so full of it and I've said it before but he is a boy through and through! So, here are some things about Dav.
*He likes to play rough. I've been in the nursery since June and I just got called to the Sunbeams. I was nervous because normally I'm getting mad at Dav several times for being mean in nursery. Sunday was his first day without me..we went to pick him and asked how he was. They said he did really good except for the chest bumping! He was trying to chest bump the kids and due to his size..he plowed them over!
*He has a thing with monsters right now. Anytime he goes in somewhere dark he says, "ohh monser mom monser" He is scared of them and is sure they are real. He won't go down the hall if he thinks there is a 'monser'. So we have pulled out the guns a few times and shot them so he could go to sleep...seriously he's 20 months!
*He has "go away" and "no" mastered. Probably not good but sometimes he says them at the perfect time and it is funny!
*He loves to shoot his guns. He uses his finger and shoots things all the time. He is definatly his father's child when it comes to hunting. He watches coyote calling or a hunting movie to go to sleep. Anytime he sees a horn he freaks out and has to hold it!
*He was trying to get Brennen's attention and Brennen wouldn't answer to "daddy" so he yelled "BRENNEN". It was so funny.
*My favorite thing he says, "where'd it/he go". He says it in the cutest voice holding his hands out.
*He is ambidextrous right now. He is pretty much a south paw but sometimes he throws the ball with his right hand.
*He says, "guess what", "no I not", and "I dunno" all the time.
*He is getting really good at telling me what he wants. He either says "want..." or grabs my hand and says "c'mon mom" and takes me to it.
*I have been trying to keep up with all the things he says but it is impossible. He has quite the vocabulary and is getting so fun! He loves to play catch, drive his trucks, shoot guns, and do the animal puzzles.
*He had double ear infection this month. I feel like we've been a frequent flyer at the doctor's office this month but he's had a hard time getting over it. He is on his third round of antibiotic and has to go in again to see if its cleared up..
Well, hows that for an update! We hope everyone is doing great and we're looking forward to the summer! Softball, camping, fishing, going to the park, warm weather...ohh how lovely it will be!

Picture Update..

New Year Resolution #4 - keep the blog updated (since it is the only scrapbook I am currently keeping...) Humm....can you see how well I do with New Year Resolutions? Well, January has been crazy! Where did it go..seriously? I started student teaching this semester and it is great! I am super busy and lots of preperation goes into teaching. I am in second grade and with the a fabulous mentor teacher! I have 3 more weeks of second grade and then off to Kindergarten I go.. Brennen-staying busy as always.. Dav- super super busy. He is starting to talk like crazy and putting things together..love it! I have been trying to write down some funny things he is doing and saying but I'm having a hard time! He has quite the personality! I have so many things I want to write about but I need to do some lesson plans so I'll have to wait:) So I am doing a quick picture update..
Dav's first burn from our wood stove..he has been so careful to not get around it and he says 'hott owee' but his ball went under it and he tried to get it.

We finally converted Dav's bed to a toddler bed! He will actually crawl in it and go to sleep! MiRaClE! However, he can't be too miraculous so he doesn't stay there all night. About 3 hours then he comes in our room..one pillow over his shoulder and his blanket over the other.

Playing hide-n-seek. His dad helped him hide under the chair. I was yelling where's Davin and he replied, "I dunno". Quite funny!

Hide space #2- the horse box, left from Christmas. He likes it as much as some of the other toys..unfortunately it took up a little too much room and had to go.


Dav loves to get in the bath on one condition - leave the tap running! He seriously would freak out everytime I turned it off until....I invested in some bubble bath. Is that sad I just barely bought some, is he deprived??



It snowed here today, quite a bit if you can't tell. I decided to let Dav play in it so we bundled him up and gave him his shovel, that is supposed to be used for the beach, and away he went. He had a blast shoveling and eating the snow.

Christmas 2009

Christmas was great this year! We definately got spoiled...all of us! We started by having dinner at Mark and Robins. We have done it every year and we love it! Robin makes a great dinner and we just sit around and visit while the kids play. Christmas morning we went out to Brennen's parents. We left Santa a note and asked him to deliver Davin's presents out there so he could open them with his uncles:) So we went out there around 6:30a.m. At first, Dav was thinking 'This is way to early' but once he noticed his horse, he was ready to ride! Santa brought him a horse on springs that makes noise. I think if it wouldn't have been on springs, they would have went to Cedar and back that day! He was going crazy on it, he had it coming off the ground he was going so hard. Then he would push the ear and bounce to the beat of some of the songs it sings. It was great fun! He didn't really care to open his presents, which suprised me. He sat on his horse and had me hand them to him on his horse. He finally got off and dad helped him a little. He got a horse, a basketball hoop, clothes, books and puzzles from santa. Grandma and Grandpa Orton gave him a little tykes car and some clothes. (ThaNks) Brennen got a spotting scope this year! It's been on his list for 3 years but I kept telling him we just didn't have money for one, he would have to wait for a few years. I don't think he really expected it so it was fun. Brennen is just like a kid on Christmas, he loves it! His parents gave him a camera to take hunting and camo which was super nice. He is spoiled. I got a cricut expression and a maurices gift card from brennen. Then his parents gave me a nice indoor grill and photoshop! Not spoiled-well loved:) After we opened presents there, we went up to my parents. All of us kids went up there and had a FaBuLous breakfast! Thanks mom, it was great! Then all the grandkids opened their presents from my mom and dad. Dav got an outfit, a super cute pair of DC's, and a big horse to sit on and hang out! He thought it was pretty awesome! He got a stick horse and a see n' say from his cousin Lindsey and a tee ball set from my brother Cody and his kids. Then later Christmas day, Brennen's grandparents and aunt came over from Parowan so we went out to his parents and had dinner and visited with them.. We definately had a great Christmas. It was alot of fun with Dav and we're grateful we get to be around both families during the holidays!

O ChRisTmaS TrEe..O ChRiStMas TreE...

Here are our Christmas Trees this year...They aren't exactly what I want but they are good for now. I personally am not a big fan of real trees.. My husband on the other hand has to have them. It's a fun tradition to go out searching and then cut one..but the cons outway the pros. Ex. Sap, doesn't hold anything heavy, the mess, etc! So half of my decorations aren't on the tree because we had a fake one last year and it could hold them...the real one on the other hand, cannot. Whimp. I wanted to do one for Dav's play room. I didn't have time/money to get the decor I wanted, but I made some plastic balls and ribbon work. I made it look cute right when I got it done with the trucks but I know tomorrow, the balls will probably be off and he'll be hauling it away in his dump truck. Oh well, I had fun. We're getting excited for Christmas!!! I love this time of year!

DaV's MoVes

I was watching Good Things Utah yesterday and I just about fast forwarded through the 'RubberBand Band'(I think that was their name) when Dav busted out his moves. So I let it play and he danced nonstop the whole song. As soon as it was over, he yelled 'gain - danc' 'gain-danc'! It was so cute I couldn't resist it! Needless to say, we listened to this song over and over and over. He wouldn't dance to any other song I put on, he wanted that one! It was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I think he liked the guitars and banjo. He kept looking over at uncle Ry to make sure he was watching him instead of texting and if Ry was looking at his phone he would yell 'RY'. He always needs all the attention! Towards the end he starts shaking it instead of just bouncing..EnJoY! (Sorry it's so dark..It's from Brennen's phone)

Dear Santa.....

We took Dav to see Santa on Saturday for the first time this year. Let's just say he loved looking at him when his dad was holding but he wasn't a fan of Santa holding him! Pictures say it all! I have a picture of Brennen and one of me at this age and our faces are very similiar to his.



Dav is 18 months now...that just makes me siCk/sAd/HaPpY/STRESSED!! JK I definitely love all the cute stuff he does at this age. It's a good thing the good out weighs the bad because there is quite a bit of that too! So here are some memorable moments and some things he is doing at 18 months:
*He is talking tons and I loVe It! Here are some of his and my favorites:gosh, nite-nite, family names: Ry, Sky, Bos, Kenz, Jerz, Tockton(Stockton) pop(grandpa), bite (when he wants food), he pats your cheek and says 'nice', he points and tells you 'no no', quit,or don't, hott (when he sees the fire)...I hate how my mind goes blank when I'm sitting down to write all the stuff he says! He says so much stuff I'll have to start writting it down daily.
*The other night he was holding on to the bars of the treadmill and he stepped off the treadmill so he was swinging back and forth. Then he thought it was funny and was telling everyone to 'watch'.
*He has please and thanks figured out pretty well. He knows when to say please and is starting to get the hang of thanks.
*He is a horrible eater. He drinks from a sippee(spelling?). He really likes: cereal, chips, fruit, tater-tot casserole, chicken noodle soup. Weird, but he still loves baby food. I switched him to table and he wasn't eating alot so I gave him some baby food and he loved it. So he has some baby food here and there too.
*I had to spank him -softly- something I said I would NeveR Do! ha ha ha...Anyways, I spanked him and he turned and wrinkled his nose and said, "Owww, GoSh!" I seriously about died laughing!
*He still sleeps in our bed. It's true. However, we've come to the conclusion it's easier and whatever. We're going to get him a toddler bed soon. The other night I decided to let him cry, an approach I've tried several times, well about 5 minutes later, I hear a thump and here he comes walking into our room. Yea, he crawled over the bed, fell flat on his butt, and got up and came in our room. The bed is lowered way down, he pulled himself up. It's something I said I would NEVER do, but whatever. I don't care too much at this point and Brennen actually likes it, he says 'he knows he's safe'.
*The other night he woke up at 2:30a.m. and wanted to get in the BATH! He wouldn't quit crying for like 15 minutes and wanted the bath...so around 2:45 a.m. he is soaking in the bath and I'm trying not to doze off and let him drown! Needless to say, after he got out he went right to sleep.
*He loves to watch hunting movies. To heck with Baby Einstein - that's for babies.
*Still obsessed with horses - can't wait till Christmas:) He'll only look at the books on his bookshelf that has horses in them. He takes all the horse books off and sits on the floor and looks at them.
*He's still mean. It's making me crazy. I wanted him tuff and I created a bully.
*He had my toilet stuffed full of wash cloths trying to flush them. We are really good about keeping the bathroom door shut but that one time, he noticed the opportunity and got right on it.
*Every time he goes to day care I ask him if he wants to go play with the kids and he says 'BOS?' He loves to play with my nephew Boston at daycare. Bos has saved the day at daycare more than once!
*He lets the water out of the tub so I have to turn it back on because he likes to put his feet under the water when it's coming out of the tap.
*He is a little boy through and through and I loVe It! Him and his dad are best buds and it makes me happy:) Brenn and I laugh nonstop at the cute things he does. We love him to death and can't imagine what a boring life we would have without him.