Sonny's Ukraine Dental Trip

Here is a video of the dental mission trip that I went on with my good friend Devin from dental school to Kiev, Ukraine. Devin had served his LDS mission to Kiev and this was his first time back since. It was amazing how well he remembered both Ukrainian and Russian. We had a short layover in Amsterdam on the way over and back and in case you were wondering all of the rumors about Amsterdam are true - it even makes Las Vegas look tame. We stayed in a small village just outside of Kiev and worked at an orphanage about an hour away. You''ll notice in the slide presentation that the kids are always wearing jackets both inside and outside of the orphange. They do not turn on heat in the ENTIRE country until the 15th of October each year. It was already in the 50s during the day when we were there in late September.

We stayed with Richard and Vicki Nelson. A couple from the states that had a very successful dental practice outside of Seattle, Washington. They sold everything and decided to do dental work full time to help the orphans of Ukraine. Their story is very inspirational and this trip would not have been possible without them. They opened up their house to us and were excellent hosts - thanks for everything. It was an amazing experience to work in the orphanage. They miraculously even had a dental chair. However, it is cheaper to send the kids to the town dentist then have someone come to look at the kids at the orphanage. We were able to treat around 60-70 kids and to our surprise not a single kid had ever had a filling before. The only type of dental treatment that the kids get is when they get a toothache or a major tooth infection that causes swelling - emergency stuff. Since it costs extra to get your tooth numbed up with local anesthetic in Ukraine, the orphans do not even get any anesthetic when they get their teeth extracted. They only use a little topical gel which is that stuff they rub on your gums before they give you the shot at the dental office that usually tastes like lemon or cherry. Just in case you were wondering, the topical does not take away any of the pain from the extractions.

These kids were so excited to get their teeth worked on. Devin and I did some of the biggest fillings we had ever done before at the orphanage. Sometimes it felt like we were building them an entire new tooth. I have worked on kids at the dental school but none of them were as eager as these children to have their dental work done for them. The last day we were at the orphanage one of the girls, Nina 13yrs old, wanted to skip lunch so that we could pull one of her teeth that was very badly broken down. I was a little nervous taking out her tooth because it was broken down to the bone level and we did not have any of the supplies to do any major surgical extractions. So I said a prayer before I started the extraction that everything would go smoothly and that the tooth would come out quickly and painlessly for Nina. I think that Heavenly Father was watching over us because surprisingly the tooth came out very quickly and a lot easier that it should have. Even though Devin and I only spent a few days at the orphanage we grew very attached to the kids. The last day that I was there I called Emily and told her that I wanted to bring home 3 kids from the orphange - Nina, Sophia, and Ulia - all sisters whose parents had passed away some time ago. Right now it is very difficult to adopt from Ukraine. They do not let you pick the kids that you want to adopt and a lot of the time you have to pay a number of bribes to the orphanage directors and other adoption agencies that it ends up costing thousands of dollars. We ran into a family that just adopted a child and they said that it cost them over $45,000. I hope that you enjoy the slide show, I put it to music and included some statistics about orphanages in Ukraine on the pictures we took at the orphange.

Halloween Fun!

This last week we did a couple of fun Halloween activities with Taylor. It is his 2nd Halloween but really the first that he has enjoyed. This year he is going to be a Pirate- surprised? So me being the non-crafty non- sewer that I am, I decided to assemble my own costume, hunting different thrift stores for stuff. We'll see how it turns out. Anyways, so last Tuesday my mom, sister, and I took Taylor to a nearby pumpkin patch. It was nice to go on a weekday when all the kids were in school. Taylor got a kick out of the horses and the funny sounds that they made. He climbed the haystacks and lastly, picked out his first very own pumpkin. He had a really good time. Doesn't he just look like he belongs on a farm with the overalls?
This last weekend we also had the chance to spend a day at the Dental retreat. We went for a short hike up the mountain and looked around a bit. Taylor loved finding sticks and drawing with them in the dirt. Later we had a nice dinner and finished off the night watching the students compete on different events and put on skits. We stayed as long as possible just in case we won a raffle but no such luck. No free trip to Hawaii for us. Instead, a free t-shirt.
On Sunday, we carved Taylor's first pumpkin. We thought that he would love all the gooey stuff in the middle but it was quite the opposite. He just sort of stared at it and decided that he would rather eat a fudgesicle. When we lit it up, I think he was sort of scared. He repeated, "Ma" (his version of "No") a couple times. We put the pumpkin on our front porch with a really good smelling candle. I think he is showing more interest for it, or for the candle, because whenever we leave to go somewhere, he lifts the top off and puts it back on. He takes out the candle and smells it. I think he prefers the smelly candle to the pumpkin.

Ringo and the Slide

I have always loved dogs and have always planned that my kids would love them too. So, I decided that I would start Taylor out super young. When Taylor was only a few months old, I introduced him to my parent's cute beagle, Ringo. I guess you could say that I have been "socializing" them ever since. I think it's really important to have pets in a child's life. I had a dog growing up and I remember how much fun it was. Taylor has really grown to love Ringo a lot. He's the first thing he wants to see when he gets to my parent's house. We are planning to get Taylor a little puppy next year when we move and we are all looking forward to it. It's funny, Taylor gets a kick out of it when Ringo chokes on his water!













All of a sudden, Taylor loves playgrounds. I guess every child does at some point. I think it happened when he learned to go down the slide by himself. He can now climb the stairs and go down without any help. It's so neat! He could do it for hours and hours and hours and sometimes we do. And of course, we can't forget the swing. I've been trying to show him that he needs to sit back in the swing and hold onto the chains but he insists on leaning forward and having his arms dangle out in front... how cute!

Seeing Pirates Everywhere!

So, as some of you know, Taylor is completely and utterly obsessed with anything Pirates. It's probably our fault though... getting those annual passes to Disneyland started it all. Now everything he does revolves around Pirates. It's crazy, when family, friends, or strangers ask me what Taylor likes, I say, "Oh, anything with a skull and crossbones on it." Anyways, so, funny story... I was staying at my parents house about 2 weeks ago and Taylor found this picture that is familiar to all of us... I should tell you too, whenever he sees a skeleton, a pirate, or a ship, it is always followed by a "Arrgh" (the expression that pirates often say). Well, when he saw this picture, guess what followed... you'll never guess. Yep, "Arrgh." For some reason, Taylor believed this to be a pirate ship! Well, I guess the spires sort of do look like sails... what do you think?

Santa Rosa, California... a beautiful place

While Sonny was on his mission trip to Ukraine, which he will blog about hopefully soon, my mom, Taylor, and I went to visit my Grandma Rosa and her husband Gene. Her name isn't actually Rosa, it's Bonnie, but we call her that because she lives in Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa is a small town up in the Bay Area, about an hour out of San Francisco. We drove a bit through the city on the way up there. It is such an exciting city, very classy and clean... no pollution at all. I captured a few pictures of the awesome and iconic Golden Gate Bridge. I have always loved it in Santa Rosa. It's totally country-ish up there, like you are out in England or something. It rains a lot up there so it is really green. Growing up we visited up there often and still to this day, believe that in some way, it is haunted. We just believe that my Grandpa, uncle Craig, and aunt Cheen, all who lived in that house and have sadly passed away, still kind of hang out there. Not to scare us but just to be around us. Anyways, we had a wonderful time. My grandma Rosa hadn't seen Taylor since he was about 2 months old. Taylor loved her huge front and back yard and most of all, following her cat. She is a really old cat who is very gentle and sweet. Taylor wanted to constantly be out with her and it seems that the cat also enjoyed Taylor's company. She would let him pet her and stuff. Whenever we visit my Grandma Rosa we always make time to visit Bodega Bay. Those of you who are Alfred Hitchcock fans will know that this is where he filmed his thriller "The Birds." I'm a huge fan and of course, had to get a picture of Taylor and I in front of the old schoolhouse. They have turned it into a gift shop now, selling "The Birds" memorabilia. The town of Bodega Bay is quaint and charming with lots of little shops and places to get clam chowder etc. It is always super windy down there, as you can tell in the pictures, but it was so cool to walk the path that ran along the cliff. We went down to the water too and Taylor had a blast chasing all the Seagulls. Attack of the killer birds! At one point, I felt like I was in the movie. They tend to sort of follow you. The beaches in Northern California are not like those in Southern California. The water is a a lot more dangerous and chilly with huge cliffs and strong waves. We had a great time visiting Santa Rosa and loved to see my Grandma Rosa and Gene. She is such a unique grandma, very hip and fun to be around while Gene has a great sense of humor. We hope to visit them again soon.

Hi Caryl, Jim, Jayme and Brett!

About 2 weeks ago we had some of our family come down from Utah. They are my aunt and uncle, cousin, and her husband. We always love visiting with the Haerings, they are all so laid back and fun to be around. Taylor hadn't seen them since the beginning of the year (not like he really remembered them from way been then but who knows). He tends to be really clingy to me lately, especially around people that he doesn't see very often. But he did really well with them; he even let Caryl hold him. We just all hung out in Glendora at my parent's house and had some good food, I think it was ribs. I just remember the yummy green jello thing. But it was really nice to visit with them and we hope to see them again soon!