Hip Hip Hooray!

Would you believe after all those calls I finally found someone who would listen?!
I got several phone calls on Monday - the state PTA and UFAAN have come out in full support of our efforts to create a safer environment in the schools for kids with food allergies. Six other parents and myself met with our principal and the director for Upland Terrace Elementary and after an hour and a half we are finally getting many of the changes we need!
The teachers are going to be trained, we will have standard school-wide "practices" (not policy) for handling food allergies in the classroom and we have formed a committee of parents to help support the school in their efforts.
AND ... this coming Tuesday the Granite Board Meeting will be hearing from the State PTA president, UFAAN and Mr. Martin Bates as they will be considering removing nut products from their menus and creating a district-wide policies on handling food allergies like having ingredients lists of all products served for lunches available in the lunchroom, putting pictures on all Emergency Action Plans - which will be made available to all teachers, bus drivers and lunch room workers who work with kids with severe allergies and creating formal written guidelines for the entire district on how severe food allergies should be handled in the classroom, lunch room and on field trips!!
I am so excited and nervous - I will be praying for all those administrators this coming week and for those that will be presenting information to them. I am cautiously hopeful that this will be the begininng to the end of this long quest! What a relief it could be to not have to reinvent the wheel with each teacher every year!!
I just want to do a happy dance! (So does Spencer - he has carried a lot of anxiety over all this and hopefully, very soon he can rest easier!)

Thoughts

As the seasons begin to take their changing more seriously, the Swapp family also seems to be taking on a few more changes. With all the kids in school, at least part time, I seem to be finding much more to do with my time than I ever imagined.
We were invited to be a part of the MDA telethon over labor day weekend where we were interviewed by a sweet woman named Barb Smith from KTVX ch 4. She and I immediately connected and our conversations that began with the the struggles of creating accessibility in an old and rather stuck in it's ways elementary school, they quickly turned to the other challenges we face with children with food allergies. To her credit, Barb saw a story there and away we have gone.
She came to the kids elementary school and did a story on our Nut-free table. It has helped to bolster our stride as we are working to get a food allergy policy in place at the district. To our great disappointment (to say the least) the district has responded to our efforts of last year by serving pb&j sandwiches EVERYDAY as a hot lunch choice.
I have spent hours and hours on the phone working my way up the granite district ladder, to no avail. They all very calmly "pass the buck." Saying things like, well, we got permission (from who?) and "if there was a policy then we would definitely follow that policy, but for right now this is really cost effective for the district and lots of kids like it."
For all intents and purposes, the district is serving a loaded gun in our lunch rooms but no body cares because it's only deadly to 12-15 kids in the school. It's enough to make me run screaming from the room and home school my kids!
But instead, I have decided to continue my uphill climb to the top of the district and beyond. This week I am speaking with the health coordinator on the Utah State Board of Education. Congressman Cannon is also on my list. With a little tact and lots of tongue biting I have added person after person, Doctors, educators and other professionals to my arsenal of support.
Something has to change and I guess that is going to start with me.
since I can't figure out how to download this in such a way that I can embed it, here's the link. Spencer was so excited and sooo nervous. You know I am passionate about something when I agree to take a stab at art - I AM NOT AN ARTIST =)
http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=49D3C4D8-C09F-4615-A45F-84E2BC8B079C&gsa=true

Shazaaam

I can't believe its almost gone!
With only a week left of summer I find myself wanting to cry - I'm just not ready to send them all back.
Gratefully, Ben & Theo will only be half-day but it just seems like once school starts everything else comes to a screeching halt.
Oh well, we've had a nice summer and we are shoving as much as humanly possible into this final week. Since we didn't get much of a vacation this summer we are planning some get aways for the September and October school breaks.

We've had a different kind of summer, pretty laid back and lots of cousins (this is new for us). We've relished having Tom's cousins here from Texas, one is Spencer's age, one September's age and a 13 year old who plays really well with Ben & Theo =). They have been here cheering on the 9-year-old who has been battling cancer. The picture above is of our 3 boys after they shaved their heads in support of their cousin.
The lineup at the top is all the cousins on the Swapp family side at the 4th of July parade in Provo. G&G Wilkins (Tom's grandparents) live right on Center Street so we get front row seats to the Freedom Festival Parade every year.
The 2 healthy kids head out tomorrow and the 9-year-old and his mom will be here a few more weeks as he finally undergoes surgery to take the nasty tumor out and hopefully end his battle.
We are packing in a last round of swimming lessons, ice cream parties, swimming parties and adventures.
I never have enough time to do this right - and I gotta run again, more pics later.

Summer is in full swing in sunny (sometimes smokey) Salt Lake City. This summer has been a bit different, but I suppose they all are. At the last minute we decided to let Ben and Theo play in a 4 week soccer league but after only a few minutes of play in the first game Ben fell and broke his collarbone.
With that came a host of changes - more wheelchair time, postponing a family vacation and limiting swimming lessons. It also came with more free time and some creative local family experiences. We spent a day biking in Park City, we were so proud of the kids - even Theo pedaled his way to the overpass we stopped at and all the way back - with a few stops to throw rocks in the river. We ended the afternoon by biking up Main Street (a bit steep) for a quick lunch. We've also hit the planetarium and the children's museum.
Spencer ended the baseball season by heading to the baseball playoffs where his team came in 3rd overall. It was very exciting and Spencer got off a few good hits!
Most of his summer has been spent playing outside, enjoying scout camps and hanging out with his cousin from Texas when he is well enough to play (otherwise the two of them chat on the phone like teenage girls for hours on end!). We are all grateful they are such good pals.
Tember started the summer with a week at a local horse camp which solidified her love of all things horses and equestrian. She is currently taking gymnastics with her cousin from Texas and a cousin from Cottonwood Heights. It is the highlight of her weeks.
With Ben down for the count in soccer, Theo had his chance to shine. He made his first goal (he was so cute!) You would have thought he was named president - hugs and high 5's all around. We are hoping to get some swim lessons in with one of their aunts and they have been busy climbing all over their Uncle visiting from Maryland. All of Tom's siblings and their significant others were in town for the 4th for the first time in a very long time. It was a great day of parades, fireworks, food and laughter. We got a family photo for the first time since Spencer was a baby!
Summer goes way too fast - looking at the calendar there isn't much time to pack in a few more camping trips but we sure are going to try!!

End of Soccer season

Yesterday was the last soccer practice for Ben & Theo's little soccer team. What a cute bunch! We have really enjoyed this soccer experience with the two of them. We are trying to decide if Ben can play again next season - he loves it so much. It is hard to even think about taking it away from him, but all that running is really starting to take its toll. Hopefully we can work something out.
As for Theo, he will probably have to be on a younger team, at least until he gets a little more experience under his belt. So next year will be a totally different experience, bummer - it has been so sweet to have them together.
Spencer has really fallen in love with baseball as both his soccer and baseball season are coming to a close! We have actually enjoyed the games too (at least the warmer ones) so we'll wait to see what we can handle next year.
Tember just finished dance class at Virginia Tanner, try outs for the Children's Dance Theater are on Monday evening and she is determined to go. I have no idea what we are getting into or even if we will get in! But, it's worth a try.
As school and sports are winding down we are turning our attention to a cousin who is heading this way from Texas with a nasty tumor in his hand. We are hoping and praying his recovery will be quick and simple and are grateful they have chosen to have his treatments here where we can all be together!

Super speedy Benj! Spencer and Theo ran the whole way, we actually lost Theo (found him at the finish line see picture above) and Tember ran most of it. Even Stryder boogied (poor guy was trying to find a potty the whole time!)

getting started

After visiting countless adorable blogs of friends and family I decided it was time to give it a whirl. Ben's Caringbridge site is still functional and I will continue to update it on his health. Our visits to caringbridge.org have been frequent as of late as we have checked on the health of others and the sadness that has come as a result of the loss of two sweet souls is a bit more than I can handle right now, and we all need a little happy place to celebrate life's journey.

This spring has been a busy one, with tax season for Tomer and dance for mommy things have gotten a little crazy. Spencer, Ben & Theo are all playing soccer. It is the highlight of our Saturday's. I will post video of Ben & Theo's game next week. It is the funnest hour of cheering and giggling as the little men power back and forth across a mini soccerfield.
Spencer's games are a bit more intense, as his field is bigger and they actually play positions. He plays sweeper and sometimes goally and does a great job.
Spencer is also playing baseball for the first time. I had no idea how all consuming it would be - games sometimes 3 nights a week. It's quite an event, fun for all the kids with a snack trailer to boot (I get lots of miles out of that, homework and chores get done in record time when a snack from the trailer is on the line!) Spencer plays outfield, he said they wanted him to play 2nd base or short stop but they kept wanting him to "catch the ball too much", so he is happy to hang out there and watch the game. =) Maybe this isn't his sport.
His team was undefeated until last Friday (playing the other undefeated team), unfortunately the pitcher nailed a few too many of the other team's batters and we walked them to victory. Fun game none -the- less. I am learning a lot more about sports than I ever imagined.
Last weekend we participated in the Salt Lake Marathon half marathon, bike tour and kids marathon.
What an event - with Tomer, my dad, Wendy, Steph, Dave & Brian in the bike tour, Les & I in the half marathon, the kids in the 1K and grandma Deb & Leah in an event all their own with 6 grandchildren beginning at "0 dark thirty" (before 5am) to cheer everyone on. It was a special day of fun and remembrance as we wore pink ribbons for a little friend who ended her battle with brain cancer just a month before and red ribbons for a friend of mine whose valiant battle ended this past weekend. We had some blue ribbons for grandma and grandpa Elggren who passed many years ago from the ravages of cancer. Hopefully one day we will run in remembrance of a disease that used to take so many lives - but until then . . .
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Now playing: Rascal Flatts - Life Is a Highway
via FoxyTunes