Mos Def Maxers

So the results are in....Max has hearing loss. We have suspected and been looking into it for about a year. The ENT finally got serious and ordered a BAER test. This is where they put him under while the Audiologist runs a number of tests without noise. This was necessary because he failed traditional ear tests, but it was unclear if it was because he was stubborn/uninterested or he had hearing loss. For this test, they emit sound into the ear and watch how the brain reacts.

You can see from the results above that with 2 ears without background noise Max can hear at a 35 decible level at best (O with an X in the middle). With one ear his hearing is a 60 at worst (individual O's and X's). So if you talk to him in a normal voice, he may not pick it up unless he's looking at you and there is little background noise. This qualifies as a mild to moderate hearing defficiency and will require hearing aids in both ears. This should help with the language/speach delays that he is experiencing. He's been in speach therapy for a year, but results will hopefully improve dramatically with hearing aids.


Since they had to put him under he came home in a drunken stupor. It was pretty funny as he was laughing at everything and couldn't walk more than a few feet.


What's better when you're a drunk 4 year old than a milk shake.

State Fair + Food = CRAZY DELICIOUS!!

Maxers could give Kobaiashi a run for his money. His mouth has 2 modes, stuffed or empty.


Corn Fritters are Jamie's favorite.


Milk, Milk, Lemonade. At the fair fudge is made.


Jackson has more fake teeth made out of fries than real teeth.

We took Nate and Darcy to taste a little bit of Minnesota Flavor at the State Fair. The gluttony was non-stop. Cookies, Milk, Corn Fritters, Fried Cheese Curds, Fries, Brautwurst mit Kraut, Pronto Pups, Kabobs, Burgers and Lemonade. Corn Fritters, Cookies and Curds were the best. Burgers and Kabobs the worst. We like the State Fair, but our digestive system and patience can only handle it once a year!

Way to Go Jack!!!

When summer rolled around we decided to set some goals for Jackson so he wouldn't turn into a couch potato! Jack decided he wanted to learn to swim, ride a two wheel bike, and read 100 books. We told him when he reached his goal, we would buy Lego Indiana Jones. He's been biking and swimming for a while, so he's just been working on the books. Today he decided to crank out eight books so he could get the video game!!! I'm so proud of you Jack. :0)

This post has nothing to do with that old man with grey hair who is still trying to be a quarterback

Apparently I'm not blogger savvy, because I can not figure out how to put these pics in any kind order! I'm just feeling good to get in a post these days, so here you go. Whala....pics of the new homestead. Above is my bathroom. I'm so happy to have some extra room!

This is right when you walk down to the basement. Its about double this size, I just couldn't fit it in the picture. I'm pretty sure it is the one and only time I will consider it clean, so I'm glad it is documented!!


Here is John's absolute favorite part of the house. (it was actually what sealed the deal) It's the theatre room. You have to see and hear it in person to understand its full wonder and glory!!



Pretty self expanitory but I guess I'm in the mood to elaborate. Yes you guessed it, it's the front of the house. The landscaping is going in next week hopefully. And in case you were wondering, no that is not my van, it's John's.



This is the entry way. I love how it is vaulted and open to the back of the house. Super rad some might say.

Next we will move onto the living room adjacent to our kitchen. This pic just doesn't do it justice. It is vaulted pretty much into outer space.



MMMM. My pretty kitchen. Jackson asked me the other day why I spend so much time in there. He didn't get it when I told him because I think it is so pretty.


Here's the masterbedroom. Yep, we are still unpacking!!

The boys are asleep, so I'll have to post pics of their rooms another day. Or better yet, come over and see for yourself! Anyone up for Thanksgiving at my house??

So Long Grandma.....it's been fun!

I've been thinking lately that if I didn't publicly stand up and say thank you to Grandma, then I would be ungrateful. Grandma was generous enough to let us camp out at her house for most of the summer and everything has been awesome. Humor me for a moment while I reflect on a few of my favorite things at Grandmas... Shiny silver bathroom wallpaper, 12 different colors of carpet, helpful "instructions" taped all over the walls, a broken air conditioner, the stocked liquor cabinet, and last but certainly not least, the MAUVE bathroom!! I'm going to miss living here, but am looking forward to moving tommorow. :0)

On our way to Utah, we decided to make a pit stop at Mt. Rushmore. To my surprise, Jackson had the best time. As we were walking up to the monument, Jackson looks up and sees Teddy Roosevelt. He gets this big grin and says, "look Mom, it's the guy on Night at the Museum!". He then figures out that George Washigton is up there too and decides to sing a song he learned at school called "George Washington Can" about 53 times, give or take a few. To get him to stop, we had him count every stair we climbed on the hike. Don't you love the art of distraction?

All in all, it wasn't a bad stop to have the boys get their wiggles out. We did, however, end up driving around in circles for a couple hours afterwords. It turned out to be worth it because we got to see some huge buffalos sitting on the side of the road. That was a site! Thanks Google maps!

Fun times in Jackson Hole

Camping in Jackson Hole, WY was my favorite part of our summer vacation. We had too much fun for me to mention everything, but here are the top ten:

10- Wading in the coldest, but prettiest stream ever

9 - Driving slow to see wild animals ("Mom, remember to be Bear Aware")

8 - Shopping in town

7 - Yummy Smores

6 - Buying Larger than life lolipops

5 - The Gondola ride up the mountain - there was still snow!!

4 - Seeing Jackson, Max and Brody jump on the Bungee Trampoline

3 - A beautiful 3 mile hike around String Lake - Jackson was champ...Max, not so much!

2 - Seeing Jackson become a pyro by building a mini fire with Brody

1 - Always being on the lookout for Harrison Ford

Three times the Normal Athlete

It is official, I will not have to sell my newly purchased Coach purse on EBay! Yesterday John and I participated in the Minneman Triathlon. This all began with a friend nagging, and ended with an incentive too hard to pass up! John has been wanting me to get into tri's for years and until now I have totally not been interested. When my friend Lynds told me about the Minneman and John said he would buy me a Coach purse if I did it, I was in! (I'm still not sure if it was worth it though!!) Ok, so here are the details: Swim - .3 miles, bike - 13 miles, and run - 3 miles. The last is what kicked my butt and made me puke 1/2 way through. John finished strong (not according to him, only in my opinion) with a total time of 1 hour 20 minutes and some change. I finished quite a few minutes behind his with a time of 1 hour and 38 minutes. A big shout out to Emily Litt, who let me borrow her sweet road bike for the race - you are the best Em! Lynds was also a rockstar and depsite giving birth to the beautiful Ella just two short months ago, finished only a few minutes behind me. I'm glad it is over and that I can now call myself a TRIATHLETE!!!

Look at me mom....

So I went to a Dr's appointment today and came home to three boys sitting on the lawn for me....one with one big smile on his face. Jackson proceeded to tell me he had a surprise for me. In the same time it took my Dr. to tell me I need surgery on my hand for a cyst, Jackson learned how to ride his bike!! He is officially a big boy. :0) And just in case you were wondering, no I did not dress him this morning.

The latest baby in the family.....

This is John's favorite, the Theatre Room!













"Look Mom, X for Max!" This is the living room
off of the kitchen.

So we have been going without a camera since Nate wedding, and we finally bought one at Costco yesterday! Knowing that we haven't taken pictures since the begining of March you would think we would snap a few shots of our boys right? Wrong! The first thing we did was drive to the house we are building! (my baby) It is fun and exciting to see how things change every time we swing by. The walls and ceiling have been textured and so I'm guessing the next step will be painting. The siding is going up outside as well. There are boxes in the living room with our kitchen cabinets. Wood planks for the flooring and the trim are sitting in the dining room just waiting to be installed. I bet it is going to go up fast! 48 days until we close!!!