Oreo, our new puppy

For our early Christmas present, we got a new puppy.  Preston has ALWAYS loved dogs and puppies.  He has had dozens of stuffed animal dogs, and used to pretend to be a puppy when he was younger. The only problem was his allergies - and my allergies.  We just assumed that we could never have a dogs because of that.  Even the so-called hypo-allergenic dogs were problematic sometimes. 

This is Oreo.  We LOVE him.  He is so sweet and very fun.

So, one night at a Mustang Club activity, Guy was explaining our predicament to a Vet, who is also a member of the club.  He told us to look into getting a Chinese Crested dog.  They are hypo-allergenic, but only grow hair on their paws, tail and face.  The rest of their boy is skin - just like humans.  These are pure-bred dogs and they can be very expensive.  So we just kept looking on KSL Classified until we found one that was affordable.  We got oreo one month ago, and now he is 4 months old.


This is the day we got his muzzle trimmed.  He wasn't very happy about it, but now I won't have water all over the kitchen floor after he drinks.

  The Chinese Crested dogs need to have their skin taken care of.  They need a shower or tub at least once a week and lotion twice a week.  They are little and need to wear sweaters/jumpers in the winter, and sunscreen in the summer.  They say that dogs reflect their owners, and Oreo is like a puppy version of Preston. Playful, fun, full of joy. Not only that, but, just like Preston, we have to take care of Oreo's skin, too.




Oreo is a special dog and fits in with our family great.

We are still trying to potty-train Oreo.  We have got him to sit, shake, come, and heel.  He loves to chew and race around chasing balls. He is a quiet dog and rarely barks or makes noises - another good quality in a dog.

Sister's Trip 2011

Top: Eating dinner at Joy Luck Restaurant
Left:  Resting at the Outlet Malls
Right:  The 3 gorgeous Cole girls (Becca thought she was supposed to make a funny face)



Top Left:  My new dog, Oreo
Top right:  Buying shoes at Dillards
Bottom Left:  Mom has to raise her arm in order for her cracked rib not to hurt
Bottom right:  The Brain-Trust



Top Left: Rachel and Melinda enjoying chocolate
Top right:  Melinda - she took all of these picutres
Bottom:  Liz, Sheri, Marcie, Christin, Jenna, Me, Becca, Megan, Laurie

Pictures of the last few months



Father's Day.  We all gave dad the same book.



Family togetherness

All dressed up for Lindsay Welch's wedding



Logan and Guy relaxing at his party



Preston, captain of the boat.  He couldn't get in the lake water, so he took all the pictures of the skiers.

At Brown family Bear Lake, holding Nora Noel



Taking Preston too and from the boat, so he didn't get infected by the lake water



Guy, the professional waterskier



Happy husband, doing what he likes the most.



Austin Brown



The last day of July - finally Preston was in the water.



Logan is flying a kite

The sibs after a week at the Lake



Logan




Logan finally enjoys being behind the boat




Preston's favorite part of camping was being Master of the fire. He's 10 years old, that's what they like.



Preston's Skin Update

The "skin bed." Preston goes to bed with clean sheets and wakes up with skin flakes all over them. I gathered them into a pile for a picture.

A bad morning. Preston is miserable because he cannot walk by himself and he hurts. He had just finished asking for some pain medication before I took this picture.

Some mornings he would have to walk with his mini cane because he couldn't straighten out his legs.

So, Friday was finally Preston's day to see the pediactric dermatologist at Primary Children's Hospital. Guy and I took Preston to see Dr. Vanderhooft. She is the only pediactric dermatologist in Northern Utah and we have been waiting for over 2 months for this appointment.

Preston has suffered terribly with his skin for several months now. As you all know we have used creams, lotions, salves, ointments, both perscription and non-perscription and we have seen several doctors and spent a lot of money trying to help him with his health.We always knew he had allergies and eczema (atopic dermatitis) but starting in Feb-March, his skin looked and behaved differently than ever before. Something triggered his skin to start producing tremendous amounts of skin cells. He became even more dry than before - he has cracked lips, nose, earlobes, eyelids, tops of toes, bottoms of toes, sides of his hands, behind his ears, heels, etc... He sheds a tremendous amount of skin each night ( like a snake - you have to see the pictures to believe it). His body is hypersensitive to the touch. He is a walking open wound. Some days he can barely walk and uses a cane to get around. Other days he wakes up crying in pain, cannot walk, and has to be carried to the living room. He gets terrible itchy attacks and cannot stop scratching the itch, no matter what you use to distract him. We have spent many hours of many days just rubbing his skin for him and helping the pain and itch to go away. Furthermore, Preston cannot regulate his body temperature. He is always too cold or too hot - rarely is he just fine for long. He cannot fall asleep by himself. We have to rub his arms, legs and other problem spots to help him calm down and finally sleep. Most nights it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to calm him down and get him to sleep. Then, he wakes up itchy, bleeding and crying at least once a night. And then he has to be calmed down and put back to sleep all over again. Needless to say, we are sleep deprived at this house. Preston is super-tired, or having an itchy attack, there is hardly any inbetween.
So, here is what happened at PCMC. The doctor and her assistant were great. Dr. Vanderhooft perscribed what she calls Preston's "Rescue Kit" to help stabilize him. This includes an oral steroid, a stronger oral antibiotic, and a stronger oral antihistimine for the next 2 weeks. They also took a biopsy and a culture of Preston's skin. She says she has seen severe skin conditions like this before and called his condition erythrodermic dermatisis / erythodermic psoriasis (auto-immune diseases). Once he is calmed down, she is looking to treat him systemically. She mentioned putting Preston on low doses of a a systemic drug they use to treat adult psoriasis and cancer called methotrexate (I have said for months that his looks like a weird form of psoriasis). Along with this, another drug called Cellcept which is an anti-rejection drug for people who get organ transplants (Guy has said for months that Preston was acting like he was allergic to his own skin - looks like the Dr. is thinking the same thing.)

We know these sound like extreme measures, however Preston is suffering and miserable. The doctor says she will use low doses on Preston as he is a child. We will do whatever we can to aid in his relief. His skin condition has been debilitating. Most of you have witnessed his pain. He couldn't make it through more than a few hours of school a day in May, and I think he would not be able to go back to school in the Fall and do well unless drastic measure are taken to get his condition under control.

Road Trip

Guy's new and improved Mustang with a Shaker Scoop and Hood

Our Mustangs at the Gateway Canyons car show in Gateway, CO



Each Mustang is completely different.  I love the rock formation in the background - it is called The Palisade



We enjoyed going to Grand Junction, CO the first weekend in May with a small group of people from the Mustang Club (Northern Utah Mustang Owners Association - NUMOA.)  Guy and I needed a break and we wanted to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary, so this seemed like a good choice. Below are a few of the people we went with, where we stayed and a few of our favorite cars.

Jay and Peggy Page, Roger and JoAnn Graham, Guy, Sharon and Pete Marron

Sharon and Peggy relax at the show

We stayed in a lovely hotel called the Wine Country Inn located in Palisade, CO

BSA 1969 Motorcycle.  I'm a 1969 edition also.

The History of Cars Museum at Gateway Canyons, CO

Love the color of this car.  It is lighter on top and darker at the fenders.

This car is all chrome.

This gold car is an F-88 Oldsmobile.  It was a concept car.  There is only one in the world.  It sold for 3.2 million dollars

I love this Camaro

We Won a Major Award

Bountiful High School Musical Theatre, who was nominated for 8 Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards, came away with the award for BEST CHOREOGRAPHY for their production of Gershwin’s CRAZY FOR YOU. BHS Director, Angela Brown, said, “Every dance was original to our production of CRAZY FOR YOU. We are honored to receive this award. It is a testament to, not only, how creative our choreographers are, but also, to how dedicated and talented the students of Bountiful High School are.” Besides singing, choreography and dance is the main component of musical theatre.


Choreography is the "meat and potatoes" of musical theatre.  If we weren't to win for overall best musical - this is the next best thing! Yea Team!!  Listed after the pictures are the 2011 Result of the UHMTA's.

The Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards for 2011Best Musical, West Jordan High School, West Side Story
Best Choreography, Bountiful High School, Crazy for You
Best Director, Highland High School, Footloose
Best Ensemble, Tuachan High School, All Shook Up
Best Technical, Hillcrest High School, Cinderella
Best Lighting, Box Elder High School, The Phantom of the Opera
Best Costumes, Lone Peak High School, Pride and Prejudice
Best Orchestra, Cottonwood High School, Annie
Best Scenic Design, St. Joseph Catholic High School, The Pajama Game

A Week Full of Shows!

     We spent the last week being involved with the theatre.  After Preston had such a good time in BHS's Cinderella, he decided he wanted to be in another show.  Luckily Grandma Sheri and Aunt Megan were in teaching and directing the Musical Theatre Classes at the Creative Arts Academy.  They let Preston come in to the rehearsal process late.  He did his best to learn the songs and dance moves.  Preston played a turtle in the Jungle of Nool.  His cousin Laila played JoJo, and his other cousin Hayden played Horton the Elephant. 

CAA's "Seussical the Musical, Jr." Cast Picture


     Preston had 3 dress rehearsals and 4 evening performances.  He had a great time!  He loved it.  The only thing his didn't like was his costume made him hot.  I was so proud of my boy!  On the stage doing the best he could. 


Preston as the Old Man in "The Emperor's New Hair"

      Preston also performed in his class plays at school.  He played the old man in the "Emperor's New Hair."  He used a cane and wore little glasses.  He was great as the old man.  He walked slowly and hunched over.  He played with his glasses and said his lines in character.  So funny. 

   

Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards

So, the Bountiful High School Fall Musical, Gershwin's CRAZY FOR YOU was nominated for 8 Utah High School Musical Theatre Awards. It was a great "pat on the back" to me, my production team (family), and the cast.

Best Musical, Best Director, Best Choreography,

Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design,

Best Ensemble, Best Actor, Best Actress

Best Musical!

Best Director

Best Choreography

 

Best Costumes

Best Ensemble

Best Lighting Design

Best Actress: Hanna Cutler, Best Actor: Hayden Call