HAPPY "69th" BIRTHDAY GRANDPA ROBERT!

My Dad turned "69" on Saturday, March 14th. My mom planned a surprise dinner for him with all the adults at Fermosa Grill. He was surprised and quite the comedian when he saw us all waiting there for him.What a yummy restaurant. Mike and I had never eaten there before. It is a fun place where your group can sit in a room all by themselves with your shoes off.
(Mike, Me, Mom, Dad, Brett, Jed, Amy, Steve and Mandy)
Missing: Troy, Mel and Brad :(Amy brought him a cake. The restaurant gave him this fortune cookie. Have you ever seen one so BIG?

Grandpa with 12 of his 15 grandkids + (1 more due in May)

(Adam, Jake, Will, Lindsey, Ellsie, Sadie, Sage, Jaxon, Alex, James, Annie and Rachel)
Missing: Cylia, Morgan and Chloe :(
The kids all hung out at our house while we were at dinner.
Happy Birthday Grandpa!!! WE LOVE YOU :)

SPRING PIANO RECITAL

Rachel and Jake had their spring piano recital at my parents house on Monday, March 9th. They are so lucky to have grandma Ruthie as their piano teacher. She had never taught anyone how to play until her and my dad served their mission in Jamaica. She taught a few members there how to play the keyboard. I asked her if she would be willing to teach our kids after she got home. It has been really fun for the kids to spend time with her on Wednesdays for an hour or so. Rachel and Jake both really love to play. Rachel has taken for almost 5 years and Jake has taken just over 2 years. Will is excited to start taking in the fall. We sure love Grandma Ruthie and are so grateful for her talent of playing the piano.

JAKE'S PIECES:

You raise me up
Indiana Jones: Raiders March
Star Wars
Mount Vernon Bells

RACHEL'S PIECES:

Love One Another
The Waltz King
Sonatina in C Major
Beethoven's Symphony #5

There weren't many people at the recital. Just our little family, Grandpa Roger, Grandma Judy, Grandpa Robert and Grandma Ruthie. ( I think that was about all Jake could have handled :) )

CHURCH BALL

Our Thursday nights just won't be the same...Rachel's last Ward Basketball game was last night and boy is it sure great ENTERTAINMENT. They came so close to moving on to regions but I guess the "3" point loss last night made it their last game. I love watching the girls play because they just have such a great time and try their best and there isn't the competitiveness you sometimes get with organized community sports. Nothing better than a shocked look when the ball actually goes IN the BASKET. It sure brings back great memories of when I was in Young Women's playing church ball. I do have to admit my favorite was softball but I sure loved basketball too. It is so weird for Mike and I to think Rachel will be a true "teenager" in June. Time is flying but we are sure enjoying the ride. I couldn't imagine life without Rachel and her awesome friends. She is truly a "good girl" and such a great "spiritual person". I think she definately has her head on ALOT better than I did when I was 12 years old.

I LOVE YOU RACH :)

Winter Activities

It is hard to believe that March is just around the corner and with it comes nicer weather and the beginning of a very busy season...Baseball and Soccer... LOVE IT! It sure has been nice not having much of a schedule during the winter months. The kids haven't done too many extra activities. Below are some pictures of things that have helped keep the Dean's busy.

Rachel loves to dress up with as Mike likes to call them...

HUEY, DEWEY and LOUIE :)or otherwise known as:

Sydney, Zoe and Rachel
Will has had a great time playing Jr. Jazz Basketball. He is definately getting alot more confident when he gets the ball that he can actually make a basket.
It is fun to be part of such a great team. We are lucky to have so many boys in our neighborhood that play together. It is always fun to go to the games when you can sit by and visit with one of your friends.
Sadie has taken a few swim sessions at Fairmont Aquatics Center. I love to do lessons in the winter and spring because there are only 2 or 3 kids in each class. You can't beat the (8) 30 minute lessons for $24...and the (almost) private instructor. She is really doing well... almost all the way water safe.

Jake has been taking gymnastics up at the U of U for almost 1 year now. He loves being able to learn new things. He isn't much into group sports so this has been a great alternative for him, although he thinks he wants to try football in the fall...we'll see.He is getting really good at the bars. It is kind of hard to get a good picture because they don't want parents on the floor during their workouts.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Top "20" reasons I am glad YOU are MY Valentine:

20. You are a great listener.

19. You always let me be right...even though alot of times I'm not.

18. You are witty and always making me laugh.

17. You love to travel.

16. You don't yell.

15. You support our kids in all they do.

14. You will watch Friday Night Lights with me.

13. You love to play games with me and the kids.

12. You love our families.

11. You are honest.

10. You are a hard worker. You never complain about going to work and doing things around the house.

9. You are always doing favors for people (computers) and never complain.

8. You are a great DEEP cleaner. (Bathrooms)

7. You are a great dad. You love to play and wrestle with our kids and dog.

6. You take me on dates.

5. You have a testimony of the gospel and help teach our kids.
4. You are a great friend. Everyone that meets you likes you.

3. You love to exercise, even though you never gain a pound.

2. You are GOOD looking.
1. You are my BEST FRIEND.

I couldn't imagine life without you. I LOVE YOU Babe!!!

OH BROTHER!

Troy = Witty, Great Dad, Loves the Outdoors, Smart, Hard Worker, Loving, Great Photographer, Good Friend, Loner, Frugal, Loves his Nieces/Nephews, Funny, Free Spirit and A Great BIG Brother!!!

Mom, Dad, Amy and I went to visit my brother Troy this past weekend in Wellington, Colorado. Although it was a lot of driving and a very short trip...it was great to see Troy. He hasn't been home for 18 months. He has been living in a rehabilitation center in Colorado for an alcohol addiction. He is doing so great and it was fun to see where he is and what keeps him busy. This is where he lives.

One day a week Troy helps out on the farm to help pay for his stay there. He either helps with the animals or in Mom's Storehouse which is like a Deseret Industries. The other days he works as a Welder in town...he says he really loves his job.
This is the building where he lives. There are 16 guys that live there. Eight bedrooms with 2 guys in each room.Troy and my Dad
The "3" back seat amigos :)

We spent one night in Estes Park...it is about 50 miles from Wellington. It was absolutely gorgeous. It is really close to Rocky Mountain National Park. We spent a day driving through the park and doing a few hikes.

On one of our hikes.

We hiked a few miles to a water fall in the snow. The snow was packed so we could walk on it. When we got to the waterfall it was covered in snow. I hope to go back one of these springs or summers and take the kids there to explore the area more.
We are standing in front of "Bear Lake". It was frozen over with a few inches of snow covering the surface. We walked right across the lake. Kind of weird walking on a frozen lake.
This is how the ice looked.
Doing snow angels on top of the ice in the middle of the lake.
Troy, Dad, Me and Amy doing snow angels.

We sure had a great visit. WE LOVE YOU!!!

THE DEAN FAMILY MIRACLE

Yesterday was the "1" year anniversary to:
THE DAY WE GOT OUR MIRACLE

This is a very LONG post but I needed to write this story down so that my kids will always have it to remember how BLESSED we are and that PRAYER and FASTING really work!!!

On Friday, February 1, 2008 I was volunteering at Driggs when I got a phone call from Mike. He said "Em my dad has had a heart attack and he is at St. Mark's Hospital...you should probably get here as soon as you can." (Roger (who was 66 years old) was shoveling his neighbors driveway and when she went to go back in the house she heard him fall and she ran over and got Judy and said call 911 Roger has had a heart attack.) Judy quickly got dressed and called the ambulance. She went out and he was not breathing. Through her quick thinking she remembered what she had learned in a CPR class she took in case they had an accident at their pool she would be ready. Judy gave him CPR and was able to get a pulse while the ambulance was on its way. SHE SAVED HIS LIFE. I made arrangements for Sadie and the other kids were in school so I ran down to the hospital as fast as I could. We (Judy, John, Spence, Michelle, Mike, Kent Wright and I) waited there for about 5 hours for some news about Roger. When they came out of the ER room they told us he had, had a massive heart attack and because his heart quit beating they weren't sure if he was going to make it and if he did he may not be normal. We were devastated. I have never been so scared before. I couldn't imagine not having Rog in our lives. Mike and John gave Rog his first BLESSING right after they transferred him from the ER to ICU. They were very faithful and optimistic in their blessing that Roger would recover. We felt like he was stable enough that we could go home and get our children that were at my parent's home around 8:30 PM. We went home and got the kids all settled in bed about 10:00 and 10:30 we got a call from John that said you need to get over here they tell us Rog will most likely not make it through the night. I remember going into Rachel's room and just hugging her and telling her we had to go and that grandpa probably wasn't going to make it. She was sooooo sad as were all the kids. We went to the hospital and when we got there we were able to go in to the ICU room...uncle Lynn came and gave Rog a BLESSING that he would be able to recover and the medical staff would know what to do for him. We went to a room and had to wait for some news. (Me, Mike, Uncle Lynn, Aunt Ruthann, Judy, John, Tonya, Spence, Michelle and this cute grieving counselor were all there.) We waited there for a few hours and finally the nurse came in and said the doctor is going to put a pacemaker in Roger that will help his heart pump. That was a crucial decision because that got him through the first critical 24 hours. We didn't feel he was out of the woods until his Bishop came the next day and gave Roger the most inspiring BLESSING. I remember standing around his bed and all of us just crying. He said in the blessing through the FAITH of the people in this room we need a MIRACLE. I had the strongest feeling come over me that he was going to be OK. The nurse taking care of Roger said he had about a 15% chance of survival but I really felt the HOLY GHOST tell me that he was going to be OK. We went to a room where we stayed for quite a few hours and waited. Each day Roger got stronger and stronger and one day he woke up. They said now just because he has woken up doesn't mean he is going to be the same because his brain went without oxygen so he could be partially brain dead. He remembered us when he woke up but, he was a little bit loopy which was quite funny. He stayed in the hospital for one month and had open heart surgery. Now his heart is so strong and he is much healthier. We don't know why he was saved but he definately has a purpose left here on earth. I like to think it is to be the best grandpa that he is to our kids. We love you Rog.

We were so grateful for all our friends and family that fasted and prayed for Roger while he was in the hospital. Prayer REALLY does work!!!