Congratulations Dusty!!

This is a shout-out to my husband! He has finished his Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. Ten years ago he began college and in 2000 obtained his Associates Degree. It has taken 8 more years for him to finish. With having children, moving jobs and life in general it took this long. But, he did it!! I am so proud of you Dusty.

What's next, you ask? He is starting his Master's program next week. This degree will take him about another year and then we will see what's next.

Congratulations Dust! I love you.

What's Been Going on with me...

Well, to say the least, I have issues (I know this is going to spark a lot of comments from my family and I am just setting myself up, but here goes).

The issues I am referring to are health issues. I have been feeling terrible for quite some time now, and have had horrible pain on the right side of my pelvis and stomach. We have known that I have endometriosis, and I was able to deal with the pain for a while. But it got so bad that I couldn't walk sometimes and it would just hurt soooo much!

Many people don't really know what endometriosis is, so I thought I would share. Basically, the lining of the uterus is called "endometrium". Sometimes this lining tries to grow outside of the uterus on the ovaries, the outside of the uterus, or onto other body parts. When this occurs, it is the condition called endometreosis.

So last week I went in for surgery. I had my right ovary and tube removed and an appendectomy (my appendix removed). I stayed in the hospital for one night and have been home resting since then. I have three incisions- one on my belly button, one on the right side of my stomach and one down low on my pelvis.

Up until yesterday I was still feeling pretty horrible and having to take the narcotic drugs I had been prescribed. But, today I was able to take regular Ibuprofen and move around more. I go back to work on Monday and am hoping I can handle it. I don't know about sitting at a desk for 8 hours with my body tilted at a 90 degree angle. I do fine when I am laying down, so maybe I can set up a bed under my desk like George Costanza did and work from there...right?

All joking aside, I am very glad to be feeling better. The doctor is hoping, and so are Dusty and I, that this fixes my pain. There is always the possibility of the endometriosis transferring over to my left ovary, which would result in having it removed, which would lead to a hysterectomy. But if that happens then we will deal with it.

I think it is funny how things work out. We started out our married life backwards. We started having children very young. At that time we did not know that I would develop this and have these problems. So, I feel very blessed and lucky that we started our life together the way that we did. Though, it was hard being so young and having children, if we had waited we may have not been able to have any children. We have made it this far and have 3 beautiful children here on earth to cherish.

So on this Thanksgiving day on want to express my gratitude for my health. There must be good with bad, and I am grateful for being alive and well. I am also thankful for technology and the medical world and the advances they have made. I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has put up with me whining and crying while in pain. I am ever so grateful for the people in our ward who have been so thoughtful and giving. Not only was I home recovering from surgery, but Dusty and all 3 kids came down with the stomach flu (talk about a fun week!). I just want to thank those who brought us meals, folded my laundry, took my kids after they were better, and those who went to the store for me. I am grateful for the gospel and for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for me. Lastly, I am grateful for our family. We have so many family spread throughout the U.S. (New York, Ohio, Nebraska and Utah) and I am grateful for every one of them. This list could go on forever, so I am going to end this before it gets too sappy.

Bye for now,

Happy Thanksgiving.

The New Addition to our Wall

It was a crisp 14 degrees when I woke up to the alarm at 4:00 a.m. at deer camp. I rolled out of bed and put on all my camo clothing. As I was getting dressed I was listening to the beautiful sounds of the Coyotes singing to each other across the valley.

Once Dressed, I went out and started the truck to warm it up. Following the warm up I got in and embarked on the hour long drive to Crescent Lake National wildlife refuge. I pulled through the gate and headed to the hunting spot that I spent a day at last year and came eye to eye with a buck but did not get a shot off.

I sat in the truck for about 10 minutes until I felt as if it was okay to get out without disturbing the wildlife. I was the only vehicle out there that I could see or hear. It was dead silent other than the beautiful Nebraska wind. No coyotes were singing either.

I then began to walk, blindly, as the sun had yet to begin to make its appearance. I walked maybe a mile until I could start to see without the flashlight. I looked at my watch and it was quarter to 6 a.m., which shooting time was 6:08 a.m.

I turned around to see just where I was at in comparison to the truck and my heart went into my throat. I saw 5 deer not more than 150-200 yards from the truck. Due to my poor "twilight" vision I could not see if there was a buck in the group. I immediately got down on one knee and began to glass them to see what the situation was. As I looked through the binoculars I saw what was my buck, although I could not make out how many points it had.

So, I then began to crawl on my hands and knees what seemed like 700-800 yards towards the deers. When I was within 150-200 (my range with the 30/30 open sights) I glassed again to count the points. He was a 4x4 mule deer, so I decided to take him down. I quietly loaded the Winchester 94 and brought it up to aim. By now the deer were aware of my presence and I knew my time was short.

I got the buck in my sights and pulled the trigger. At the same time I heard the gun go off I heard a loud thud and noticed the deer fall to the ground, but I could not tell where I hit him. He staggered a few yards as his girlfriends ran off out of sight. I stayed on my knees and watched him. He didn't seem to want to fall down. So, I made the decision to put another bullet in him. So I shot and heard yet another distinctive thud and he was down. I waited another 10 minutes as he did not get back up.

After the second shot I looked at my watch and it said 6:44 a.m. After giving him time to die, I slowly walked over to him and when I came upon him he was gasping for air. I noticed that I hit him in the neck but the first shot was not visible. I was so excited I took 3 pictures and then backed off so he could die in peace. Within seconds he was a goner.

I then walked the 200 yards or so back to the truck to retrieve the tools necessary to field dress the deer. It took me what seemed like an hour to gut this deer. Being it was my second time doing it, and first time doing it alone, I took my time and made sure I did not cut any of the bowels or stomach.

After I got the deer dressed, dragged back to the truck, and loaded I decided to take a break and sit on the tail gate. I was looking around and noticed another group of deer, I counted them and there was at least 40. I got my binoculars out and saw at least 10 very large mule deer bucks, much bigger than mine. I was kicking myself for not being patient, but reminded myself that you have to take it when you can get it.

It was a great day and I was home by noon. I look forward to the back straps and ground venison for tacos, venison chili and jerky.

Happy Fall

As many of you know, Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love Halloween, pumpkins, the smells, and the feel in the air. So, we headed out to pick pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch. I thought it was awesome because every pumpkin was $1, no matter the size. They have a little mailbox set up and you go out in the field, pick your pumpkins, and leave your money in the mailbox. We had a great time and got LOTS of pumpkins!!

Click here to see the rest of our pumpkin picking pictures...

http://picasaweb.google.com/slburke7780/PickingPumpkins#

New calling for me

I have accepted a new calling in our ward. This change came as a huge shock to me! I thought that the Bishop wanted to talk to us about who he was calling as my den leader in scouts. Boy was I wrong. I was released as the the 1st Counselor in the Primary Presidency and called to be the Activity Days Leader AND the Youth Sunday School Teacher.

My new callings have proven to be very different than the world I was used to. I was in charge of the Cub Scouts (when the Bishop told me I was being released the first words out of my mouth were "What about my boys?"). Boys are easy going and tend to be on the tougher side. Now I have girls who are soooooo emotional, I finally told the Bishop that I thought he might have the wrong lady as I didn't know what to do with all of their emotions. The Bishop thought that I was funny and said "Now, Sister Burke....". I know, I know, I need to learn how to deal with all of those girls and their emotions as I have 2 girls of my own, one of which is in Activity Days.

My other calling is with the Youth; totally different from teaching Primary kids. This Sunday will be my first week teaching, so wish me luck! I have been told that there is one kid that is a scholar and is very knowledgeable about the scriptures. I am a little intimidated about being corrected by a teenager as I know that I do not know everything about the scriptures. I only know how they make me feel and that I know they are true.

So if any of you have been in these calling before, or are in them now I would love any ideas or advice you have to offer.

College Graduate

I have finally completed my Associates Degree in Accounting. I cannot believe it as it seemed like it would take forever. I started back in the fall of 2006 and have worked extremely hard on this. Obtaining a degree is something that was very important to me and still is. I am such an advocate for education and believe that everyone can benefit from increasing their knowledge. I have benefited in so many ways from going through this experience.


First off, I learned that I had to be disciplined taking online courses. I did not have a set time or place that I had to be in class, so I had to make sure that I set aside time for my classes.


Second, my children have learned what doing homework is. They got so used to seeing me working on the computer that even now they will say "Are you doing homework tonight?". I have to keep reminding them that I am done with school (for now). I am glad that I was an example to my children and that they understand that homework must be done to excel in school.


Third, I am now better prepared to support my family if the need would ever arise. I wanted to make sure that if for some unseen reason Dusty was gone, that I would be able to support me and the children.


Fourth, obtaining my degree has allowed me to move up at work. I went to work temporarily with the purpose of using the money to pay off old debt so that we could buy a home. Since I have been able to move up at work the "drop dead" date for this goal has moved up. There are so many other benefits from obtaining my degree that I cannot list them all.

I just want to say THANK YOU to my husband for putting up with me while I have plunged through my studies. He helped me a ton in the beginning as I got used to the new environment and has been a huge support to me. I could not have done this without him.

What's next? you ask...well I am taking a much needed break doing things such as blogging and being with my kids. I am seriously considering continuing my education and obtaining my Bachelor Degree via online classes. Learning can be kind of addicting as I want to keep learning more and more. So when I make my final decision I will let you know. But for now, I am going to enjoy my favorite season of the year with my family!!

Ear Piercing

Our girls have taken the huge step of getting their ears pierced. One weekend we needed to get away, so we headed to Ft. Collins, Colorado for a little time away. I had been talking about taking the girls on a "girls trip" to go get their ears pierced and be pampered. So we decided this was the perfect time.

Anyone who knows Alexis knows that she has a hard time with pain of any kind. She is also very apprehensive and has a lot of anxiety about things like this. So we decided to have Emma go first. I held her on my lap and they pierced her ears at the same time. She seemed more shocked that anything and cried for about a minute. After cuddling with Dad and looking at her new flower earrings in the mirror she was good-to-go.

Lex went next, but I also had to hold her on my lap. She picked the October birthstone because she liked the color (light pink). She was pretty shaky as they got ready to do it, but once they were done she was fine too. I don't think it is something she wants to do ever again, but she is glad that she has her ears pierced. Now I just have to fight with her to clean them (you have to twist them and clean them for 6 weeks and every time I try she thinks I am going to hurt her).

Below are both girls posing with their new earrings...

Aren't they beautiful?? We think so.

FIRE!!

We have learned a very important lesson in our family...gas cans and lighters DO NOT make a good combination. I know, you are thinking, well duh!!! So let me tell you what happened.

We bought one of those neat fire pits from Cabela's that you burn your fire wood in. So one Sunday night we had decided to have tinfoil dinners and cook them over the fire. I was inside cutting up the veggies for our dinner and Dusty had gone out to start the fire. Well, we started a fire...a BIG one. Dusty had poured gasoline on the fire pit and had then lit the wood with a lighter to start it. He though it had not lit and started to pour more gasoline on the wood. What he couldn't see was that the fire had already begun and before he knew it the gas can and gasoline inside of it caught on fire. I had no idea until I casually looked out the back window and saw flames as high as the power lines shooting everywhere. Dusty was standing there with the hose trying to contain it. With the wind, the flames were getting near Emma, so I ran outside and grabbed Emma from off the trampoline where she was frozen.

I yelled for Lex and Jake to grab the hose from the front and Dusty and I sat there and tried to get the flames to die down. Since the wind was blowing so much, every time we thought we were getting it to go out, the wind would make it pick up again. Dusty was trying to keep the flames from the garage so that we didn't have a bonfire start and I was trying to keep the flames from the grass. I finally called the fire department and we continued to stand there feeling like idiots. While we were waiting for them to arrive, Dusty got some dirt from the garden and smothered the flames (why didn't we think of that sooner??).

When the fire department finally arrived the chief was furious with Dusty. I was mortified about the entire situation and the fact that my husband had actually pulled off something like this. In the end, we learned a very good lesson; our gas can is now only used for the lawn mower, we have had extensive conversations with our children about what to do in case of fire and we now make brownies for the volunteer fire department regularly.

Our situation could have been a whole lot worse. Fire is nothing to joke around with. Follow the safety rules that have been set in place for us all. I highly recommend taking a tour of your local fire department as they will educate you and can show you pictures of exactly what happens when you play with or are careless with materials that can start fires.

And now a few pictures of our eventful Sunday night...

This is the gas can smothered with dirt. Notice the black grass on the right.

Happy Birthday Emma!!!

Miss Emma has turned 4 years old. I am filled with mixed emotions as I think back to when she entered this world.

I can remember it like yesterday. I was not doing well. The doctor had put me on bed rest and had been running tests on me. I had sugar in my urine, I was swollen like an elephant (no joke...Dusty said I had "elephantitis"), I couldn't breathe, my blood pressure was extremely high and I had a 4 year old and a 2 year old at home. The doctor had told me that he wanted to get me as far along as I could but to be prepared he gave me steroid shots for the baby's lungs. He told me that the last symptom of my condition would be my liver failing. When your liver fails you are at risk of having seizures, and if that happens the baby gets no oxygen.

Basically, my body was shutting down as a result of the pregnancy. The technical term was pregnancy-induced hypertension. Well, let me tell you, you know when your liver starts failing. It was the MOST painful thing I have ever been through. So we rushed to Alta View Hospital in Sandy, Utah. As we entered the office around 9 PM the nurse who had been running my tests saw me and immediately rushed me in to a room.

After that it was a whirlwind. They were shoving tubes down me and i.v.'s in me. They immediately called for a helicopter to "life-flight" me to LDS hospital. I was only 30 weeks along and they could not support a baby born that premature. The helicopter would only hold me on the stretcher and the technician. So, my sweet husband sat in the parking lot and waited until we lifted off and followed us all the way to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. I was in a lot of pain and the technician finally offered me some pain medication. I was able to calm down a little and remember the helicopter circling the Salt Lake Temple over and over. There was another helicopter on the landing and we had to wait for them to move so that we could land, so since the hospital is very close to the temple they circled around in the air until we could land. Seeing that temple was one of the most comforting things to me.

After we landed I was rushed to a room to be monitored. My pain had increased significantly and I had started to vomit. I was begging for more medicine, but could have no more without hurting the baby. Finally, the decision was made to deliver the baby via emergency c-section. On September 3, 2004, Emma Beth Burke was born weighing 2 pounds, 3 ounces. I was so sick that I did not see her. I was taken back to a room where they discovered that I had pneumonia and fluid in my lungs (hence the reason I could not breathe). My blood pressure was through the roof so they put me on medicine which made me very loopy and tired. I also hemorrhaged and had to have blood transfusions.

Emma lived in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for 2 months. I visited her every day and in the end was visiting her 3 times a day to feed her. After this experience our doctors told us we should not have more children as what happened to us would only happen again but earlier in the pregnancy each time. We were told we were very lucky to have had Alexis and Jacob without any problems.

So I have mixed emotions because my 'baby' is not a baby anymore. But I am so happy to see her thriving and happy and alive. She has been called a "mini Sherrie" and has a personality of a princess. Emma is a spit-fire (I think she had to be from the very beginning of her existence on this earth). Her little feet still have the scars from being poked daily when she was born and are a constant reminder to me of how lucky I am to have her. Dusty and I are truly blessed to have been given the privilege to be her parents. She is the last addition to our family and we love her with all our hearts.

This picture is of Emma in her incubator. The 2 circular openings are what you would put your arm through to touch her.

This next picture is of me changing her diaper. Notice how big my hands look compared to her foot. Her head is a little bigger than the pacifier in the bottom right corner.

This is one of me and Emma cuddling. This is called "kangaroo care'. It is therapeutic for premature babies to be held against their mother's skin. The big cotton ball on her head is actually where her i.v. is. Premature babies veins go bad so quickly that they have to change them every day or so. Every time I came in she had a different spot on her where they had poked her. The i.v. was huge compared to her head and was probably one of the harder things for me to get used to.

And here she is in her blessing dress at about 6 months old.

A busy little 2 year old...

This is Emma at age 3...

And now it is 2008 and she is a big 4 year old that goes to preschool and runs around the house in her princess dresses.

We love you Emma!!!

Slacker...

So I know I have been slacking off on keeing my blog updated. There is a good reason though...we have been extremely busy. So I am catching up on posts this weekend. Just a hint of posts to come:

Happy Birthday Emma!!

FIRE!!

Ear Piercing

College Graduate

New Calling for me...

So don't give up on me. I will work dilligently this weekend in between Conference Sessions to get the blog updated.

Camp Clark Raiders Rendezvous - September '08

We spent Labor Day at the Camp Clark Raiders Mountain Man Rendezvous. Our family attended the Rendezvous held over Memorial Day and we really enjoyed ourselves. So we packed up our stuff and headed up to Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock for some more camping.

Since the last rendezvous Dusty has been working faithfully on his "garb" for this event. He made himself leather buckskin pants and moccasins, I sewed him a shirt (thank you Jeremee for all of your help!), and we added a hat and a new "mountain man" was created. I think he looked really handsome!!

Dusty headed up early to camp, but I had to wait until Saturday to go up. So the kids and I arrived on Saturday morning and were immediately drawn in to the activities. I started off doing the 'Women's Shoot' and did horrible. I was so frustrated with myself. I get myself psyched out when all of those seasoned men are watching me shoot and I just lose it. So I got only one shot. I told Dusty that he and I need to go up and practice alone so that I can feel more comfortable next rendezvous.

Dusty and I also ran the kids shoot that day. We bought watermelon and cantaloupe and tied them up for the kids to shoot at. It was a little unnerving running our first shoot but I think everything turned out o.k. Emma was so tired that she ended up falling asleep on a stranger's lap. Though, when you are at rendezvous everyone looks out for everyone's children. I got really tired too and took a nap. The temperature got really hot while we were there and I think I may have had heat exhaustion, because I was pretty darn tuckered out.

That night we did the potluck meal; the club provides the meat and then everyone brings a dish to share. We had some really great bbq pork with lots of yummy salads and treats. After that, we headed back to the camp and lit a fire and took it easy.

The next day, Sunday, proved to be just as hot as Saturday. In fact, it was so hot that we ended up going for a drive. We headed East and drove to Crescent Lake, near Oshkosh, Nebraska. I took a shot at trying to take some photographs of the scenery.

After that we headed back to camp, ate dinner, and got ready for the raffle that night. When you come to the rendezvous they ask you to donate prizes for the raffle. When the raffle comes you can buy kids tickets, men's tickets, women's tickets, or grand prize tickets with all money going towards the club. We all ended up winning something; Jake and Emma got insulated lunch boxes, Lex got a camping chair/stool, I got some fall pot holders and towels, and Dusty got a new knife set. I also stopped at the 'Trader's Tent' and the lady was selling her daughter's old rendezvous/pioneer dresses and they just happened to be Alexis and Emma's sizes. I bought both dresses for $10 and the girls were so excited to put them on.

Sunday night turned out to be super hot! We stayed up pretty late waiting for it to cool down before we went in the tent. We had finally fallen asleep and woke up to a flat air mattress and rain. Needless to say, we didn't really sleep much so when Monday came we were ready to go home. We packed up everything and made it home about 11 AM. I think I had about 10 loads of laundry to do with all of the blankets, camp clothes, and other home laundry. We got everything unpacked, everyone showered (boy did we stink!), ate lunch, and then I told everyone that I was taking a nap. I love napping!!!

We became members of the Camp Clark Raiders Club just last month. Before we were able to become members we were required to help with 'work days' (cleaning the property), running shoots (they have monthly shoots), and to basically prove that we were willing to be active members of the group. Now that we are we are able to have access to the land and will be able to go up and practice our target shooting at the range.

I am so excited to start working on outfits for me and the girls. I am hoping to have them done for Christmas presents. When I say outfits I mean "period" clothing or as I call it "Pioneer" clothing. I also want to make me a leather dress too. We will only wear them at rendezvous, which are Memorial Day and Labor Day. I have a huge list of camping items I want to get before next year too. I have to say that we really enjoy going to these activities and have a lot of fun as a family. Our friend Jeff, invited us to these activities and we are so glad that he did. I would have never known that I would like something like this, but I do! We all do!!

Visit my 'Burke Family Pictures' link to see all the photos from Rendezvous.

Dusty

The culprit behind Dusty's mysterious cough has been identified, hopefully. Dusty currently takes a long list of medications for his health problems, one of which is 'enalapril'. Enalapril is used to treat high blood pressure and is commonly given to patients with diabetes because it can improve survival after a heart attack. This medicine also has a side effect of producing a persistent cough. Our Doctor here in Sidney took Dusty off of it "just to be safe" when we discovered he had the bronchitis again. Wouldn't you know that his cough went away a couple days before we went to the specialist. When we told the specialist this he said he was almost certain that this medicine was the cause as he has seen many patients that happens to. So we left the clinic with samples of a different blood pressure medicine; he said that the only side effect of this medicine is 'poverty'. We will be asking for samples of this one! The good news is that there is nothing seriously wrong and the Doctor said that if the cough develops again to call and get in to see him when he comes to Sidney. We just need to keep managing his diabetes and working on loosing weight. Our advice to everyone is to watch what you eat, exercise, and be aware of your current health situation. Diabetes is not fun. It is extremely dangerous and causes many other problems. So get on your treadmills, drink water, watch your portions, and take care of your bodies. We love you Dusty and are glad that you are o.k.

P.S. Since the doc said that Dusty was fine we headed up to the 'Mountain Man Rendezvous' for Labor Day. We had a great time and I will be posting the pictures of Dusty in his leather soon.

1st day of school

The Burke kids 2008 summer vacation has come to a close. Our children returned to school on Monday August 18, 2008. Jacob is in Mrs. Pilger's 1st grade class. Alexis is in Mrs. Clark's 3rd grade class and Emma started preschool with her new teacher Miss Jeneal. All 3 were extremely excited to be going back to school!

The week before I took the girls to get their school hair cuts. Alexis cut about 10 inches off of her hair into a cute bob. Emma got her hair trimmed with some wispy bangs. And I got mine cut into a bob too. We had a great time hanging out and getting pampered at the salon. Jake made it very clear that he did not need to go to the salon and get his hair cut (That's girly!!).

We didn't go school shopping this year other than to get the supplies they needed. We had planned to, but Dusty ended up getting sick. He has been having some health problems and we are going to see a Pulmonologist this week to see if we can figure it out. I don't want to worry our families so call us if you have any questions. As soon as we find out what the doctors say I will post to keep you informed.

We made it through the first week of school and are excited to see the kids learn and grow. We love you all. Bye.

'Dot'

So I am pretty sure that most of you back home will be quite surprised by this post. I, Sherrie Burke, rode a horse and loved it!!!

Our friends Jeff & Donna bought 2 horses for their girls for Christmas and we were finally able to ride one of them. We met Jeff up at the range and got to meet 'Dot'. I was a little nervous at first, but that didn't last very long. You will notice that I didn't wear the best shoes for riding (but in my defense I wasn't planning on riding the horse). My flip flops kept slipping which made it a little difficult to keep my feet in the stirrups (those of you who have ever rode a horse know that you have to kick the horse, with your legs in the stirrups, on her sides to get her to move). But I finally figured it out and got her to a trot. She was tired from doing a cattle drive that morning so we didn't ride long. I got to brush her down and pet her too. She was beautiful!

Below is a picture of me riding Dot.

Happy riding everyone...Giddy-Up Cowgirl!!!

It's All About Me!!!

Emma has learned a new favorite song. Dusty got a Toby Keith c.d. and on it is the song "I Wanna Talk About Me". She has been wandering the house in her princess dress and dressup shoes singing "It's all about me...I'm number one"... This seems to be a perfect song for her. She has this hip move down now where she puts her hand on her hip and and tilts her head to the side. It is really, really, really cute!! We are defenitely considering putting her in ballet this fall. She also has been calling Dusty her "King" and she is the "Princess". Every morning she wakes up and runs to Dusty and says "Good morning King, can I have a kiss?". What a sweetie! She has her Dad wrapped around her little finger. What can I say, we love her. I thought you would all enjoy reading about how funny Emma is. Love you all...

Happy 4th of July

We had a great 4th of July! It began with watching fireworks on July 3rd. Our town has volunteer firefighters and they do the fireworks on the 3rd so that the firefighters can be with their families on the 4th. We headed over to the church because it has a great view of the fireworks and not a lot of people. We took Jacob's bike with us and I was determined to teach him how to ride without training wheels. I have to say it was the easiest job ever. After only a couple tries he was off and riding with no help at all. I tried to help and he would just say "I don't need help Mom". Thinking about his response I realize that we are passing milestones every day. Time is going by quickly and my children are growing way too fast!

The next day, July 4th, we participated in our Ward's first ever triathlon. Dusty was on a team where he did the swimming portion. I was on a different team where I did the running. The race was set up like so: the bikers raced from the church to the end of the walking/biking trail at the fairgrounds and then back to the pool. The biker would then tag their swimming teammate who would then swim 10 lengths of the pool. After this, the swimming partner would tag the running partner. This teammate would run from the pool to the soccer fields, one lap around the soccer fields and then back on the trail, past the pool, and all the way to the Sidney Pond. Dusty's team took Bronze. My team was pleased to just finish the race. Let me tell you, I don't think that my thighs have ever hurt that bad! I could not even move the next day after running that far (2.5 miles).

Our kids also participated in the kids race, which was to run around the pond 2 full times. Jacob and Alexis were fierce competitors with their friends and did awesome. Emma ran the race with Dusty. She was such a trooper and did the whole race. Just imagine her little, teeny legs running like crazy. All the other kids her age only went once around the pond, or got bored. But she was determined to finish. In the end, all the kids lined up and gave her high-fives as she ran by them. Everyone was cheering her on. She was so proud of herself, but I think Dusty and I might have been even more proud. This just proves how much fight she has in her (from the day she was born she had to fight to live). I believe that doing this race as a family has instilled some positive seeds in all of us. I came out of the race realizing that I need to run more often. The kids came away from the race knowing that they can do this type of thing and succeed. And Dusty came away planning on swimming laps at the community pool when they have adult swim time.

We went home for naps after the race and then went to the pool later that day. Emma and I relaxed by the kiddie pool and Alexis and Jacob swam with Dad in the big pool. This was when Alexis tackled the high-dive. She looked so big up there jumping into the water!

We did fireworks later that night as a family. We did lots of sparklers and then watched all of the fireworks going off in our neighborhood. Living in Utah we never saw fireworks like we have here. Many of our neighbors were doing huge fireworks and we just sat and watched the view from our driveway. In the end, Jacob ended up falling asleep in his chair.

The next day we tried to go fishing but had no luck finding a good spot at any of the local lakes (We tried Bridgeport Lake & Lake Minitaire). We decided to try fishing after church on Sunday and headed out to Chapell Lake. Our attempts to fish were laced with good intentions but our children and the lake had other plans. The lake was extremely mossy so we had a hard time finding a good spot. The kids brought stuff to play with and ended up in the water playing. They had fun but weren't really quiet. I think that Dusty had visions of sitting peacefully by the lake catching fish after fish while the children sat quietly playing in the sand giving each other hugs and kisses. Let's just say that the kids ended up wet and we didn't catch any fish. But I am not giving up. This is what I wanted to do for my birthday so I am going to see if we can try fishing the Sidney Pond tomorrow.

All in all we had a great weekend!! We had so much going on that it flew by and now here we are on Sunday night wishing we still had 3 more days of weekend.

Utah Trip

After Alexis' baptism Alexis and Jacob went back to Utah to visit with family for 2 weeks. Let me tell you it was the LONGEST 2 weeks of my life. I have never been away from my children for that long! I missed them so much. Dusty and I drove back with Emma to pick them up and stayed in Utah for 4 days doing vacation stuff.

First we went to the Hogle Zoo. My favorites were the monkeys. The kids loved seeing all of the animals. We rode the Merri-go-round and the Train and were quite ready to be done after wandering the zoo in 100 degree temperatures.

Next we went to Lagoon, an amusement park. Grandma and Grandpa Burke watched Emma while Dusty and I took Alexis and Jacob. Jacob was tall enough to go on most of the rides and might I add brave enough too; so all 4 us took advantage of it. One of our favorites was the new Octopus ride. It is a water ride and it was a blast trying to dodge the water squirting at us.

The next day we went to the Bee's Game with family. My sister Julie and her kids (Skyler, Kaylee, Mariah & Cayden) went and Dusty's mom went. It was fun to take part in seeing a professional game and to let the kids bond with their cousins. Snowcones were one highlight of the game as all the kids loved adding their own flavor to their snowcones. Another highlight of the game was meeting the team mascot "Bumble". Alexis had him sign her arm, the other kids had him sign their tickets and Jacob had him sign his new Bee's hat and bat.

A Visit to Raging Waters topped off our trip. We took my sister's kids with us and boy did we have fun!! Dusty and all of the kids (except Emma) immediately were drawn to the tube rides. So me and Emma hung out at the kid pools and played. She wouldn't go down the slides unless I took her. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a grown woman standing up from a kiddie slide with a "melvin". Those slides hurt your butt (I am not sugar-coating this at all). The wave pool also turned out to be a huge hit. I think Alexis and Mariah spent over an hour playing in there. In the end I had to be the bad guy and hauled us out of there around 5 PM.

We thouroughly enjoyed our vacation in Utah (visit our Burke Family Photo Gallery link to see all of our fun trip pictures). Thanks to all of our family for lettings us stay with them, helping with the kids, and hanging out with us.

Alexis' Baptism

This past weekend was a special weekend for our family. Alexis was baptised! We had both sides of the family make the trip from Utah.

On Friday I planned a surprise party for Alexis. Dusty told Alexis that he and she were going for a drive and then brought her to the hotel where our families were staying. Her cousins (14 of them), Aunts and Uncles, and Grandmas and Grandpas were all waiting at the pool and yelled "SURPRISE". She was so surprised and happy to see our families. We had a great time swimming and eating pizza with everyone.

The next day was the baptism. Alexis was nervous and I could tell. So Dusty and I took her in the chapel at church and chatted with her. She was making such an important decision and we wanted her to know how much we loved and supported her. She is such a sweetie and all I could think about was that I could not believe how old she was. Here is a picture of Alexis with her Dad.




Alexis asked her Grandma Brown and her Grandpa Burke to give talks. They both spoke from their hearts and were able to share part of their testimonies with Lex. Thank you so much Grandma Brown (she was really nervous!) and Grandpa Burke.


One funny thing that happened that we will never forget is that there was a black cricket in the font when Alexis and Dusty walked in. They were trying to scoop it out and when they finally got it out it flopped on the floor on the little kids that were kneeling by the font. A couple of the little ones squeeled but to my surprise most of them remained calm. Another funny thing that happened was that Alexis' cousin (we won't say who) asked her as she walked in the font "How's the water Alexis?". It was so funny.

After the baptism, confirmation and lunch we headed up to the Webb's property. The Webb's live in our ward and own some property that they let ward members come up and shoot guns on. We loaded up our families, the guns and the coolers and made the drive. We shot clay pigeons and most everyone tried to shoot (except the really little ones). Our niece MacKenzie turned out to be the best shot. Who knew she had a "dead eye" just like her Uncle Dusty? She is now known as "Annie Oakley". Dusty and I were glad that our families were able to experience some of the lifestyle that we have been enjoying while living in Nebraska.

We had a great weekend and were so blessed to have our families come to support Alexis. Alexis we are truely blessed to have you in our family. We love you!!

Welcome To Our Busy Lives

Alright, I have finally decided to create a blog for our family. With our children changing so much and with us living so far from family we wanted to make sure that our family and friends could still be tuned in to our lives. And we defenitely have BUSY lives. Dusty and I both work full time. We are extremely happy with our jobs and continue to strive and do well. We are also both college students. Dusty will be finishing his Bachelor's Degree in November and I am just finishing up my Associates degree in Accounting. I am also continuing my education and will be beginning my Bachelor's program in about 3 weeks. I know, you probably think that we are crazy, but we know that all of this hard work will pay off. Education is something that we know we will always have and it is extremely important to both of us. We hope that our children will see how hard we have worked and follow our example one day. Anyhow, I am very excited to have set up this blog. I will begin posting pictures soon (probably after this weekend because Alexis is getting baptised and we have 35 family members in town). Bye for now!!