Summer Vacation!

This summer, Billy and I had the opportunity to go back to Seattle. We visited a little over two years ago for my birthday. We had a great time and loved the city of Seattle. This time though, it was different...the sun was shinning! :) We could not have asked for a better weekend. It was nice to get away from 110 degree weather and relax in the perfect summer climate of Seattle. We were lucky that my parents were able to come with us. We had a great time seeing the sites and spending time with one another.

This was actually the picture on the way back from Bainbridge Island...Billy had to hold his shirt down because of the wind. There was a lady out there that was wearing a short skirt that I was afraid was going to blow up...Thankfully it didn't!


We took a walk along the water front on Bainbridge Island. It was a nice little path along the water that we practically had for ourselves.

While we were crossing a bridge on the waterfront walk, we saw this little raccoon. He was so close to us, it was amazing!

Honestly, the best part about going to Bainbridge Island was the ferry ride and the virgin strawberry daquiries that we had. From the ferry you get this amazing view of the city. The pictures don't do it justice!

Here are mom and dad battling the wind! :)

We went and saw Snoqualimy Falls one afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful! It was amazing how forceful the water is and how standing on the lookout point you could feel the mist from the water hitting the water below!

The waterfall and me!

We went on a lakes tour one afternoon and went around Lake Washington and Lake Union. It is amazing how many ridiculous houses are on the lake. Billy and I had a good time dreaming! This is part of Bill Gates Estate...We drove by it a couple days later on the road, and it was very, very secluded. I don't need a house that big, but it would be nice to have all the foliage to separate us from our neighbors

Those are some stairs from the lake up to someones house. Many of the houses have put in electric transportation up the hill. The tracks for that are on the right.

Billy and me in Pioneer's Square. This is a beautiful square in Seattle with lots of history.

Billy (being silly) and Mom and Dad in Pioneer Square before the Underground Tour

Billy and I love Seattle, but let's just say there are some interesting people there...I wonder how long she has been growing her mullet

Wouldn't that be nice, if that was how cheap lodging was? You could get a room there until the 1970's. Crazy how much inflation has increased in Seattle. I would say it is as expensive as California if not more expensive

Here is a picture of Billy and I in the Underground Tour...We are actually underground in an old bar. This is an old door that used to be used as an entrance until they built around the old city

They have sky lights in the side walk on ground level for the Underground "sidewalks". It was amazing how they didn't look like this from the top looking down. They looked dark and almost solid.

Billy loves this picture. It is the first krapper and sink that the city of Seattle had

The original water system used wooden pipes that carried water into the city and carried waste out of the city (yes it carried sewage from the toilets)...can you imagine how much these wooden pipes made the city smell. I couldn't imagine it! Thank goodness for plastic pipes and metal pipes now days.

Here is the entrance to an old business underground

We took a trip to the Seattle Temple. Someday, I would like to do a session in every temple in the United States...So I figured I should probably start now cause there are a lot!

Me and Mom

Me and Dad

Angel Moroni! :)

We went to the Space Needle for dinner one night. We had a great dinner and loved the view. Last time, it was cloudy, raining and windy. Since it was windy, the needle swayed back and forth. Billy was very excited that it was stable this time and we all were happy that we had a beautiful view!

The Space Needle

Billy and Me
Downtown Seattle
Mount Rainier...How beautiful

We had a great trip and have many wonderful memories with one another. If anyone needs a summer vacation idea...go to Seattle!

4th of July Fun!

This year for the 4th of July, my side of the family decided to get together with our extended Hill Family. We all spent the weekend at the "Ranch" in Ripon California. Anyone who is familiar with the area knows that it is a small farming/ranching community. My Grandpa decided to buy the "ranch" about 10 years ago so he could spend some time away from the city life. He has 5 acres and he used to have olive trees on it. There is not a market any more for the olives, so most of the land is currently vacant. However, he still has several fruit trees (apricot and plum trees) which provide him with plenty of work! They also have a swimming pool that we spent the afternoons it. We made long lasting memories with our cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. Here are some of the pictures from the weekend.

This is Billy and our niece Kathryn. She is such a doll and cuddle bug. She had a long day on the 4th of July and you can tell. She fell asleep on Billy. Billy may not agree, but he definitely has a way with kids. On our way home today, there was a six month old girl just screaming in the row in front of us. Thanks to Billy's cute faces, she stopped crying and finally fell asleep!

While we were at the ranch, I wanted to drive the tractor. I haven't ever driven one, and I thought it would be fun. The only person I could get to go out with me with good ole' Christi. I guess no one else thought it sounded fun to drive a tractor in the middle of a HOT afternoon and get all dusty. I thought otherwise! :)

Here's Grandpa backing out the tractor for us!

I am getting a little coaching and advise before I hop on...

Here is me driving...

I even got promoted after my first lap and Grandpa showed me how to lower the discs and drive and plow the ground...He was definitely impressed and told me I will have to come back and till the ground the next time around. I told him it's a deal.

I definitely have the best grandpa. The tractor wasn't really working before I asked him if I could drive it. But first thing on Saturday morning he fixed it and I got to drive the tractor.

Kathryn wanted to pose on the tractor. She thought it was fun to sit up there!

Kathryn couldn't believe how big the tires on the tractor were! They were a lot bigger than her!

Christi is checking out the tractor. She wasn't able to drive it, but...

She sure got a couple rides from Grandpa. I know she had such a great time. Her smile tells it all.

Billy had a lot of fans in the pool. Caleb and Billy had a good time rough housing with each other. Billy is so popular that he even has Fenton in his hands while trying to take care of Caleb.
Kati and Billy

Christi and Billy love tickling each other.

Ladies and Gentlemen...look at her go!


Billy also got a hair cut from my mom. She did it so she could teach me how to cut his hair...we'll see if I'll make it next time.
I'm taking notes


Kathryn and baby Emma have matching swim suits

We had a great 4th of July...I think I have the best family and am grateful for them. We were able to be with the whole Hill family which does not happen too often. We are definitely blessed to have each other!

Busy Week!

You might wonder why my blogging has slowed down a little this year...I think about posting all the cool things we do, but never seem to have the time. This past week is a good example. I threw a bridal shower for my good friend Andrea, had our quarterly Enrichment meeting, am teaching the lesson on Sunday in Relief Society and had to prepare for those three large events all this week. Andrea is a friend of mine from BYU. We lived on the same floor our freshman year, but we really didn't become too close that first year. That following year, she ended up living with Monica, Kerry, Laura and I as well as Katie Bowman. We all had a great sophomore year. During our Junior year, Andrea moved out and moved in with some other girls in our ward. She moved a flight of stairs away from us, so she was within 20 ft of our front door. During my Senior year, I moved to another apartment complex. Andrea also moved into the same complex, but lived in a different ward. I graduated that year, and Andrea stayed another year to finish up her program. I got a job teaching in Phoenix, moved down here and a year later Andrea got a job teaching music, band and strings in the same school district that I taught in. It was always fun to have Andrea so close. She has such a great personality and can really just make you laugh. She lived with me for a while in Phoenix after I bought my house and before I got married. We have had many times over the years and I was honored to throw Andrea a Bridal Shower. She is getting married in August and is moving to Virginia with her man. I do not plan on moving there, so I think this will end our 8 years of living so close to one another. We had fun at her bridal shower! Here are some pictures from it:

Andrea and I

Watch out Ken...She is ready!

Good luck Andrea on the new chapter in your life. Being married is the best...I am proud of you for taking the plung and tying the knot.

In addition to all the happenings going on, there has been a fire burring for the past 3-4 days way too close to my house! It is burning on the mountains behind our house about 1-2 miles away. I took some pictures after Andrea's bridal shower and you can see how red the sky way. I think it was a reflection of the flames on the smoke. It is still very smokey..and still burning!

Insulin Pump!

About three weeks ago I had a doctor's appointment with my Endocrinologist (my diabetic Dr.). I have a check up once every three months or so. During this visit, we talked about how I get frustrated when some mornings I wake up and my blood sugar is high. I told her that I usually test myself before I go to bed, and my blood sugar is fine, then when I wake up, it has gone up by 100-200 points. This frustrates me more than anything because I am obsessed with having good numbers.
My doctor told me something that no one has ever told me before, after having been diabetic for over 13 years. She said that sometimes your liver stores extra glucose and then releases it during the middle of the night (usually around 2 or 3 AM). She said that the pump can help with this because you can program it to give you extra insulin around that time. We started talking about the pump, and let's be honest, the only reason that I haven't ever gotten one, was because I didn't want to wear it and be labeled by people as being diabetic and I thought it would get in the way and it just looks ugly!
The doctor pulled out this sample pump and showed me it wasn't that big (let's be honest, I knew how big they were before, but I still thought it was too big to wear all the time) but the best thing she showed me, is that they have a continuous glucose monitor that you can wear in conjunction with the pump, that transmits your blood sugar to the pump every 5 minutes. I got really excited about this. The worst part of being diabetic is NOT the shots, it is testing your blood sugar 6-8 times a day, pricking your fingers and carrying around that big tester in your purse. I had to upgrade to a bigger purse in March because my last one wasn't big enough to carry my tester and ended up getting holes. The doctor said that the continuous glucose monitor is not covered by almost any insurances. I asked how much it would cost to pay cash for the system thinking that maybe we could pull enough money together and make the sacrifice to get it, and she said it would cost about $12,000/year. That was sad, because that is WAY too much money! She said she would have the pump lady, Angela, check to see if I qualified for any kind of coverage from my insurance and we'd go from there.
I talked with Angela a couple days later and she said that I am 100% covered for the pump (which costs $6,000) and that my insurance was the only insurance that will cover the continuous glucose system completely!!! I was so excited!!! The only thing I have to pay for is a $12 fee every 3 months, plus the cost of insulin (which I have to pay for anyway) .
This last Tuesday, I had an appointment to learn how to use the pump and to get it all hooked up! It has been 4 days and I have loved having the pump already. It is nice to know that I just push a few buttons and have insulin. It hasn't been too hard adjusting to wearing it...although I am still not too crazy about the way it looks, but I guess you have to sacrifice sometimes. I am really excited about how much control I will have. One of the coolest things is that when you exercise, you can program the pump to give you less insulin. With all other insulin, you have to eat extra and make sure your blood sugar is high enough before you exercise. That almost cancels out the exercising if you have to eat before you do it. I don't have the continuous glucose monitoring system yet, but should be getting that within the next couple of weeks...and I can't wait!

Here is what the continuous glucose monitor and pump look like in action. D is the continuous glucose monitor and then your glucose shows up on the pump every 5 minutes which is obviously A.

I am just really grateful for the advancements in medical technology. I know we are all blessed today because of the great medical technology we have. I will give you an update once I get the continuous glucose monitor!