California/Vegas Vacation part 1

Wow, I don't know where to begin, however I should start from the beginning with my trip to Vegas for Jazzercise event. Most of my pictures are on my phone so I have emailed them to myself but they seem to take forever to load so I will go with what I have on my camera. I didn't have my big camera and my little camera doesn't take the best pictures but I have a few good ones.

So we left for Vegas on Wednesday the 22nd of June, wow that seems like forever ago. There were 4 instructors, me, Julie, Judy and Shelly, who went and two of them brought there significant others.

 

 

 

Shelly and I roomed together and we had a blast. We got in late Wednesday night and by the time we got all checked into our room we were pooped and starving! On the shuttle to the hotel we saw a sign at one of the casino's, Bill's Casino, I think it was called, for Steak and Egg's for $8.99 after midnight. We were so hungry we could have ate a horse, and it was after midnight so off we went, it was only a block away or so and it was so good! We were all a little cautious but it was really good. After "supper" we went back to the hotel, it was now 2:30am DBQ time however the 2 hour time changed put us at 12:30am, and played a little craps, me and Mike, Judy's husband, but we didn't win. I lost $60 in about 20 minutes, ouch! We headed back to our rooms after that, I think Judy and Mike stayed and played but we were exhausted. When we got to our room, Shelly and I couldn't believe how loud it was, we were not warned about the noise but Julie and her now husband, Fred, were told that it was very loud, now we know why. Outside our room, we were on the 8th floor, but there was a big party tent outside playing very loud music. Shelly and I just laughed but it didn't seem to bother us too much, I think the music finally stopped around 4am!

Thursday we didn't have any plans, all our Jazzercise stuff was on Friday evening and all day on Saturday. So Thursday we got up, not in time for breakfast or a cheap bloody Mary, however Shelly's daughter was in Vegas doing some work, she works in LA and was doing a photo shoot or something in Vegas, she planned it around the time we were out there which worked out perfect. Shelly and I met up with her and her boyfriend at Planet Hollywood for lunch and to hang out in the pool there.

 

It was a perfect day, high about 100 degrees and the water was perfect. We each had to have a frozen cocktail, however it was, are you sitting down? $14 for about a 20oz glass. Wow, and we only had one! LOL So while we were at the pool I received a text from Julie, it was picture of a marriage license! Shelly thought for sure they did it while we were gone, but they just got the license. We were told to be at the chapel in our hotel by 5:30, we were going to be bridesmaids! It was the funnest thing and Julie and Fred finally tied the knot! They have been engaged for about 9 years so we all think it was about time.

 

More Pictures of the Bride and Groom to come...

After the wedding, I met up with my cousin, Doug. He picked me up after he got off work and took me to his house, he has a beautiful house. I got to meet his girlfriend, Kiana, she was a hoot! She made up some fresh spring rolls and something else, I don't know what it was called but it was spinach with a chunk of fresh Parmesan and a slice of tomato and her homemade balsamic vinegar. It was so good. Doug had planned on taking a shower since he was working outside and then taking me out for dinner but we just got talking and then Kiana came home and made her specialties so we just stayed there. It was great catching up with him, its been a long time since I've seen him. He took me back to the hotel about 11:30. I got back to the room and Shelly was sleeping, however the music was just as loud as the night before. Julie and Fred ended up changing rooms, just across the hall, we had that option too but we were fine in our room.

Friday morning we got up and headed over to Cesear's Palace for the shopping extravaganza.

 Again, more pics to come...

 
It was crazy. I got a few things and then waited in line for about an hour to check out. We then went to eat at an outdoor restaurant called Serendipity, it was not very good.

 

I had a chopped chicken salad but the chicken did not have any flavor or anything and I was starving, but it held me over until after the live routine taping that we all got to attend. That started at 4:30 and it was amazing seeing all the people. I have watched these tapes for the last 2 years to learn new routines and it was amazing to see the taping team doing there thing.

Not very good pictures, but you can see all the people waiting to get into to Jazzercise!

 

We got to see first hand the new set coming out. It was funny, because I know now that I'm not the only one who messes up. We had to start a couple songs over, I think 3 of them, one was because Rich, one the instructors on the taping team, tripped over the step and another one, Cheri, her hair was sticking up or something, not sure about that one but it was pretty funny. Those are the only 2 I can remember. After that it was about 8:30, we headed back to our room to shower and get ready for dinner. Everyone met us in our room and we come to find out that Julie and Fred and Judy and Mike bought tickets for The Blue Man Group. I guess one of the guys bought them and forgot about me and Shelly, so Shelly and I were kind of ticked off that they didn't even ask. Not sure if we would have gone but just the fact that they didn't ask. So we were all going to go out for dinner, it was between PF Changs or Toby Keith's restaurant that was just next door. We decided to go to Toby Keith's place. Shelly and I wanted to grab a drink for the walk over, not that it was far, but we had coupons to use, so the 4 of them went ahead since they were the ones in a hurry because there show stared within an hour. They got there and we got a phone call that there was a 45 minute wait and they couldn't wait, so off they went and her again Shelly and I are thinking "I can't believe they are doing this" we ended up eating at Toby Keith's restaurant but we waited for over an hour but then again we didn't have anything else to do, right? We couldn't really think of anything we really wanted to do and by this time its after 10:00, so we decided to go to the outdoor shows, such as The Bellagio's water show, we did see this during the day but wanted to see it at night with all the colors, The Mirage's volcano and Treasure Island's Pirate show. But first we had to go to Ceaser's palace because Mike gave us a few drink tickets that he won while playing Keno, we thought this was nice of him since they didn't think of us when buying the tickets for The Blue Man Group, so we left Cesear's with about 5 drinks in our hand. And the bad thing was, was we only got to see one show, The Mirage's volcano, we did walk to Treasure Island but the show was canceled because it was super windy and by the time we got back to The Mirage, it was midnight and that's the cut off for the last show including the Belagio. So the night was kind of a flop but we had fun! It was kind of an early night, except for the loud music that kept us up most of the night.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early, we wanted to be over at Cesear's by 8:30, the first class started at 9:30 and from there on we Jazzercised and Jazzercised. It was a blast. We got a break about 12:30 and guess who was in town?? My family! They made it to Vegas by 8:30 that morning, they drove straight through. They tried finding a room in Vegas but no luck, there was not one room in Vegas ANYWHERE! So after all my classes were done about 5:30 I came back to the hotel to shower. We decided to pack up and head to CA. Linda and Tom rested in our room while I was at Jazzercise and Tom and the kids went and walked around Vegas. We headed out about 8:30, not late enough for the kids to see Vegas at night but they drove up and down the strip for a couple hours so they got to see it all, just not at night. So Luke found us a hotel that was vacant was about an hour and a half away in a small, small town of Baker, CA. We stayed at Wills Fargo...More to come on that later.

Vacation time!

Today is finally the day! It seems like forever ago since I bought my ticket. Well, it was forever ago, I bought my Jazzercise ticket last year, I can't remember the exact time but I know it was over a year before the big event and it sold out within 24 hours. I remember debating whether I should go or not because Tom and I were trying to have a baby and hadn't had any luck so I caved in and said "what the heck, just do it Rachael" so I did. And here I am today all ready to go. Here are event details Jazzercise on the Strip Check it out to see what we'll all be doing!

We leave tonight out of Cedar Rapids at 8:10pm and arrive in Vegas at 9:25pm, just in time to see all the lights of Vegas. The last time I've been to Vegas was when New York, New York was being built and I think I was 21 or 22, I know I was of legal age. So that would have been 15 years ago! Holy cow, I bet lots of things have changed.

Once in Vegas, we don't have any plans other than Jazzercise on Friday and Saturday, so tomorrow, we will have all day to do what ever we want. Probably hang out at the pool since it's over 100 degrees out there. I'm hoping to get in touch with my cousin, Doug, and we can't go out for lunch or something. I haven't seen him in a few years so it will be good to see him.

While I'm in Vegas, Tom, Micayla and Brandon and Tom's parents are going to pack up the van and head out to Vegas to meet me. They are planning on being there on Saturday so they can hang out in Vegas and see all the lights then Sunday we'll get up and head out to Elk Grove, CA! It seems like forever since I've been out to see my brother and his family but really it's only been 7 months ago, but it does seem like forever. I just wish I could see them more often.

So while on vacation, I get to start my IVF shots! My first shot will be on the 29th and then from there on I will be giving myself shots for the next 10 weeks or so. I guess I won't be giving them, but Tom will. The first 6 shots are in my belly just below belly button, these I will be able to do myself, but the 2nd round of shots will be in my rear end, ouch! I know Tom's already looking forward to jabbing a needle in my ass. LOL When I come back from vacation, I have to go for an ultrasound on July 4th and again on July 6th, this ultrasound will tell me when I'm supposed to take the big shot, the HCG shot, I think that's what it's called. I have to take it at the exact time and day that the doctor tells me to. This will then prepare me for my egg retrieval day which will be on or around July 11th!

So please pray for us that all goes well and that we have a safe vacation.

Drugs and more drugs!

I wanted to blog about this when I got all my medication but for some reason the email on my phone was taking forever. I took all these pictures with my phone and I when I went to send them to my computer I didn't get them, until now, 4 days later. Technology????

All my meds came Thursday afternoon and let me tell you, wow, there is a lot and I have to take it all with me on the 20th when we go to Davenport for my ultrasound and injection training. They want to make sure I have all the right meds and make sure the amounts are correct too.

Here is everything that came in one big box on Thursday, the bag with the 2 brown boxes came with a freezer pack in an insulated bag, these have to be refrigerated. I'm not sure if I will need this while on vacation but if I do, I have the freezer pack and the bag it all came in just in case. I know I have to take all this stuff with me on Monday!

This one here is the "big boy" I'm not 100% sure yet but I think this will be the one I use the last, it's supposed to hurt and just looking at it, my butts cringing. LOL

If you look to the left of this case that's the pen, not sure what everything else is.

Here are all my syringes, what a big bag huh? I sure hope I don't have to use them ALL! LOL

Here are all my meds, I have no idea when or how I'm supposed to take these but I'll figure it all out on Monday.

Thank God for insurance because I was told all these meds would cost up to $7000 and with my insurance we only have to pay $377.03 and I have $300 left in flex spending so I really only have to pay $77.03 amazing huh? Thank God for insurance, that's all I can say.

I'm getting really excited and I'm writing down a ton of questions so when I go in next Monday I won't forget to ask. My biggest question is, can I Jazzercise? I need to know so I can tell my peeps! LOL

IT'S HAPPENING

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but lately our laptop is occupied thanks to school being out and the kids home. Well, Micayla got her own laptop now, that was her graduation present from us!

So on to the good news! I am starting the IVF process..

My period came on Saturday the 4th, I was wishing for it to come on the 2nd because according to my chart I received from the doctor's office of when they do the retrieval and all that, I had to have my period on our before the 2nd, well, the 2nd came and went. Saturday my period came so I just went on with my day and said "I'll call the doctor's office on Monday" so when I got to work, I was looking at the schedule again and my cycle has been only 26/27 days and according to my calendar I wouldn't have been able to start all this until my NEXT cycle, so I was bummed, until I called to report my period!

Alley, she's the nurse, she cracks me up, she so funny and kind of ditzy but I love her! LOL I told her I got my period and that I was bummed but then she said well, this might be a good thing because they are using a new protocol with a different medication or something, so she was going to call Iowa City and see if they can get me in. So I was anxiously waiting for her call. She called me back about an hour later and asked me if I started my birth control pill (BCP) and I said no, because I thought I was going to have to wait, and I asked "is that a good thing or bad thing that I didn't start it" she said "it was a GOOD thing", not sure why but whatever. So she said she has to call back to IC and that she would get back to me. She called me while I was in the middle of getting my car washed but I didn't care, I just wanted to hear the news. She said "ITS A GO"! I can't believe it..

So that afternoon after work I was planning to go give blood to test my Thyroid, I've been a thyroid pill for about 6 weeks now and the doctor wanted me test on or after June 13th, for some reason I was thinking the 6th was the 13th, oops, I didn't realize this until I was in the office with my lab form and right on there it said June 13th or later. LOL I still had it done, however I haven't heard the results yet.

Alley said she will call me Wednesday to confirm everything and get my meds ordered. I was so excited to see Dr. Figge's office calling on my cell phone. She told me everything I needed to know and my meds are ordered! I got a call from Medco, our mail order pharmacy and she told me everything I was getting but I couldn't write fast enough nor spell the names of the drugs, but who cares about that. LOL She's going to call me back with how much we're going to have to pay, but she's running both insurances so hopefully it won't be too steep. She said they will be here next week! OMG

So here's everything I have to do from now until the day of the egg retrieval

Monday, the 6th - start BCP's take daily until the 26th of June.

Monday, the 20th - go to Davenport for an Ultrasound and injection training. I guess they will mark where the injections need to be injected. I'm supposed to take all my meds with me so they can make sure the dosage and everything is correct.

Sunday, June 26th - Last day to take my BCP

Wednesday, June 29th - my first injection! I will be in California at this time but that's OK! I think I will have to take daily shots up until July 4th.

Monday, July 4th - Ultrasound in Davenport, they will look to see how I am stimulating and if everything looks "good" then my retreival day will be, the earliest, July 6th. Otherwise, July 7th or 8th, then we will go back 3 to 5 days for the embryo implantation! We will be back from CA by then and we're already off work so it will work out great to have my ultrasound on that day. Sucks to be the tech, though, having to come in on a holiday but that's why they get the big bucks. LOL

Then the dreaded 2 week wait! No Jazzercising for me most of the month in July. I already talked to the owner and explained everything so she's aware of it. Getting subs shouldn't be a problem. If it is, too bad! LOL

And of course I had to on a website to see when my baby will be born and he/she will be born sometime in April. If the calculator is correct on the website I was just looking at. Maybe on our 3 year wedding anniversary we'll have a little one to care for!

OK, so I just heard back about my prescriptions and the cost. So first I'm going to say if I didn't have insurance the meds alone would be close to, are you ready, $7000 dollars. That's right, and I didn't add an extra zero, but that's what LaTasha told me, she was so nice. And she made the comment that my insurance is awesome! So I only have to pay, $377.03! Amazing, huh?? I had $300 left on my flex spending so that worked out great. The meds will be here tomorrow!

Please say some prayers that everything works out! I know we're so excited to get this process started. I hated waiting every month, now I only have to wait a little while longer.

Ride Your Bike to Work Week

That's right, I rode my bike to work today! I couldn't do it every day this week but I figured at least one day would be good. I'm going to try and ride it again on Friday, but it's supposed to rain, so we'll wait and see. I left my house about 6:40 and heading up Southern to Grandview to pick up a co-worker of mine. We headed over the overpass on Highway 20 and down the path to Bluff St. then over 3rd St. and boom, we were here by 7:15. It was a beautiful morning and I'm looking forward to the ride home. We are going to cheat a little going home, I think we're going to catch the 4th St. elevator then ride the rest of the way. Dodge St. is one long hill and I need a new bike to be able to climb that. My bike is way too small for me, so going up hills is a challenge but that's OK. I guess I'll have to start saving for next year's Ride Your Bike to Work Week!

I've been so busy lately I don't have time to blog. Tonight after I get home from work, I have to go to Boot Camp, then I'm teaching Jazzercise at 7:00, my legs are already screaming at me. But it's so worth it and I can definitely tell in my clothes and people saying, "wow, have you lost weight" I have lost some but not as much as I want and I'm working hard for it!

I have so many pictures to share, one of these nights I'm going to sit down and post them. I have pictures of our new camper and just some random stuff. We have some really cool birds in our back yard and Tom took some cool pictures so I'll have to share. We put up a couple of bird houses that we got from Christmas and we have birds flying in and out all day, it's amazing to sit and watch them.

So for now, that's all I got!

Out with the old in with the new

 I can't believe this is happening, I never thought I'd ever own a brand new camper, well it's come true! I'm giving up Grandpa Louie's camper :(

Here are a few pictures of his camper, last night when I had my final walk through, I had a few tears in my eyes, he was one that really inspired our family to start camping, him and Grandma, they always had the nice big campers. I remember there big 5th wheel they had in Monticello, it was huge! But now I know why the room is needed.

So this is the front of the camper where you come into it.

This is the back where the bedroom is.

And here is something I found interesting and had to take a picture, I think it was an old case or something, not sure what it was but it had the Hendricks name along with Grandma and Grandpa's phone number. I had to take a picture. If you look closely you can read there number! LOL

So now that it's all unpacked and everything is now in our new camper, this weekend will be our first weekend in our new one. I can't wait and I will have to take some pictures of it this weekend. Tom is going up with the people that we bought it from and they are going to set everything up. They are heading up around 11:00 so Tom went home and is taking a quick nap then loading up his truck along with Patches. I'm going to ride up with Micayla and Brandon, I'm so excited they are both coming, I think they're just as excited as we are.

Today is Micayla's 18th birthday! I just can't imagine it, she was just 14 when I came into their lives and she has grown into such a beautiful girl/woman and I'm proud to be a part of her life.

Long overdue

It feels like forever since I've blogged and I'm sure who ever reads this agrees with me. I really don't have a whole lot going on, at least I don't feel like I do, but I guess I kind of do..

So last Wednesday was our consultation for IVF treatments, the whole process went pretty smooth and lasted about an hour and a half. We were supposed to meet with the financial adviser but she was sick, so the nurse gave us some information that she would have given us and the biggest thing they wanted us to know was how much "out of pocket" fees we might have to pay. Guess how much??? And she said they estimate on the rough side..$1000 is all! I just got a letter in the mail yesterday and what that $1000 is for is the following:

Self-injecting teaching & Nursing Time
Semen Cryo preservation
Cryo Preservation
Satellite charge - not sure what that is
and Cycle monitoring

The most expensive thing is the cryo preservation, so what they will do once they extract my eggs, they will save them so if we want or need to go through the procedure again, they don't have to get my eggs, they will already have them and I also think if I have good embroyo's that they will save them too, not 100% sure, there's just SO much stuff.

After meeting with her we met with the doctor, I'm not sure if he's the one who would do the procedure of not but he knew his stuff and explained step by step and answered any questions we had. The first thing he wanted me to do was go on a Thyroid pill, I guess my thyroid is slightly off and he put me on a small dose of medication that I have to take until the first of June. I will then take a test to see if the medication helped, I guess with IVF and the embroy implantation, my thyroid works overtime and if it's off, it could lessen my change for pregnancy. So whatever helps, I will do. The second prescription they put me on, but I haven't started is a birth control period, I know weird and I questioned it too, but this way they/I can control my periods, which makes sense and this is where I get confused because I know I'm supposed to start them on my first day of my period but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to start them on my next cycle which would be sometime next week, so I have to make a phone call here sometime this week. I know they want me on BCP for so many days/weeks, so I have to figure this out. The last prescription Tom and I both got is an antibiotic pill that would help with a sinus infection. From the way they made it sound, a lot of people have this virus in there body but they don't do anything about it, so Tom and I have to take it at the same time and on the same day, again, I'm not sure when we have to do this, so this is on my list of questions when I call. The last thing the doctor did was a "pretend" implantation, if that makes any sense, what they wanted to see is, is the difficulty they may encounter when inserting the embryo's, the doctor I think said "checking out the path" or something like that. Well, the doctor said it was a straight shot and he doesn't see any problems, so now onto the waiting game again!

If all works out as planned, according to the IVF schedule they gave me, I could do the procedure either in July or August, all depending on my cycle. So when I call down to ask the few questions I have I hope to have a few more answers. I know I shouldn't rush things, but I just want to get it all done and over with.

So on to some better news. I think we're getting our camper this week, we were supposed to get it last week but we didn't. Tom had to make a few threatening calls this week to make sure it came in this week and I think/hope he was successful. So keep your fingers crossed for us we hope to be camping this weekend.

Last Wednesday I started a boot camp along with a few friends and co-workers. Here's her link Train with Jessica our boot camp is up at the Mines of Spain overlooking the Mississippi it was a great workout and I'm looking forward to tonight!

I also am planning to do something kind of crazy, here at work they have what's Global Volunteer Day and today is the kick off to one of the events I've signed up for - Bike to work week - I know I'm crazy, but the week of May 16th - May 20th is the week I'm going to try and ride my bike to work. I don't think I'll be able to do everyday because of Jazzercise and all that, but I'm planning on one day at least, depending on the weather. I'm routing my path but there is not an easy way or quiet way to get here. This should be interesting.

A few other things that have been going on, I won a raffle here at work. They had a raffle for Relay for Life and I won a basket, here's a picture of it.

 

It's a kids basket and I'm not 100% sure why I put my ticket in it, but I'm guessing I figured I wouldn't win anyways, well I did! I think my niece will love a lot of things in here. There is sidewalk chalk, perfect for her "new patio" LOL sorry Steph! beach ball, spongey balls for the pool, squirt guns, bubble wands, pool floaty and a few other things, there is a flip camera phone, I think Brandon will love that as he loves to video tape him and his friends biking. I also got 4 free passes to the Riverboat Museum. It's always nice to win things especially when you don't ever win.

Here's a picture of the fire Tom and I had Saturday night. It was a beautiful night and it felt so good to finally be able to sit outside, we just wished we were outside at the campgrounds.

 

That night we made an awesome dinner, Shrimp in a foil package, from one of Steph's favorite blogs, Pioneer Woman, OMG it was too die for, we can't wait to make it again. We ate left overs last night and it was just as good as the first time. Tom and I both agreed it was better than Olive Garden or Vinney's and that's one of our favorite places to eat.

Can you believe it, Micayla turns 18 on Friday! Where has the time gone? I remember coming into her life and she was just in 8th grade and now she's a Senior and will be graduating. It's just amazing and how much she has grown and is so beautiful. We're hoping to have a little party for her in our new camper, but we just have to wait and see.