Family Time

Okay. I take it back. I do live somewhere pretty.

On Saturday we decided it was high time to put our family first, so we hopped into the car and drove up to a nearby trail for a little hike before a really huge rain storm was about to hit. The dark grey sky and the fall colors were beautiful. It felt so peaceful to be out there in nature. Until about the time we heard the roaring of the wind rushing towards us. Then we high tailed it about as quickly as we could back to our car and opened our doors just in time for the first few rain drops. We even saw the wind kick up a few dirt devils on our way back. It was pretty epic. And enchanting. And exciting. And fun =].

In an effort to put down our electronics more and connect with each other on a real level, we have decided to do more active family activities, to not use devices while the kids are awake or others are around (not even browsing through text messages or reading a political news source when other people are talking/around us) and I have designated all future Facebook use to Fridays. So, if I don't respond to some really amazing announcement...or I miss some terrible news, please don't be offended.

Our family needs to unplug a bit and focus on creating real memories together, especially with how much our schedules have exploded recently. Online school, church callings, work obligations, mommy and daddy obligations, and everyday cleaning/eating/sleeping etc obligations have made it necessary to ruthlessly prioritize more than ever before. We are kind of anti socialites now. Do forgive us. We hope someday we'll have more room to open up our time to all the people we love and care about. In the meantime, we buckle down and put what's first first. God, Spouses, Children, and Family. <3.

Here is to a future of thriving amidst all the busyness, instead of just surviving.



P.S. Isn't my family just the cutest? Love 'em.

Scooter Trauma

The day before the 4th of July, Emmie girl fell off her scooter and face planted (hard) into the cement. She ended up breaking her alveolar (the bone behind your teeth, part of the maxilla), losing her two top front teeth, and gashing the bottom of her chin wide open.

Poor, sweet girl.

I was in History class when it happened. I knew something was wrong when my phone vibrated in my backpack for the 5th time in a row. I never leave class to answer my phone. But this time I had to. My heart dropped when I saw my husbands phone number.

First thing he tells me is that Emmie had an accident, he borrowed our neighbors car and took her to the doctor in our town and they said that it looked like she broke her jaw, would need to see a facial specialist and would probably end up having surgery.

There are worse, so many more worse phone calls  that people can receive, but after hearing that my baby broke her jaw (or might have broken her jaw), I was having a hard time holding it together.

I had a test that was supposed to close that day for my history class, and my teacher was right in the middle of his lecture. I wasn't sure what to do, so I wrote him a note and passed it to him when I got the guts. It said something about my daughters injury, needing surgery, and asking if I could reschedule my test. He said "Absolutely! Go! Now!"

So I left as quickly as possible and joined my little crew. Lots of people came to our rescue. Our neighbors watched Kay and let Kevin borrow their car to get to the orthopedic surgeon. They also fed me lunch when I had to run home to get Emmie's insurance cards. My friend, Buffie, let us crash at her place until the surgery. The nurses in the out patient surgery unit fed us sandwiches and puddings. My parents drove 12 hours through the night to come help us out. Our friends in the area brought gifts to help Emmie feel better during her recovery. Many of my brothers called as soon as they found out to check up on her status.

 It was so good to know that our family was being watched over and cared for. We are still so thankful for the love and kindness everyone showed!

Emmie's accident occurred at 11 in the morning and she didn't get into surgery until 8 at night. She had no food, water, or medicine during that time. She did fairly well, except when moved. Otherwise, she watched shows on the T.V., colored in coloring books, and fell asleep twice.

We got out of the hospital at about 11pm, got home closer to midnight, and set up Em's bed in our room. I think we were both nervous about leaving her alone after her surgery. She slept fairly well and we began the medicine taking as soon as she started to get uncomfortable.

For the next two weeks, she wasn't able to eat any foods that required chewing. Thankfully, however, she has now healed completely and been given the 'OK' by her doctor to start eating real food again. She is happy. I think she was starting to get a little sick of pudding.

Or was she?

Anywho, happy in a million more ways than one that her injuries were not more serious. Thankful that she is healed and she is happy. Thankful for my sweet little girl and her sweet little smile. Thankful her daddy was there to take care of her. If it were me, I guarantee you I would have frozen in a severe panic attack. Not my best quality, but true. I totally freeze when my babies get hurt. I plan on taking a first aid or first-responder class soon to help me with that...and also to help me be prepared to help others, in case of any emergencies. The point is, I'm glad she had her daddy there, cause he knew just what to do!

So there you have it. Trauma from the scooter. I think we might have to retire that thing for a little while!  (Pardon the poor quality of photos. The last thing on our mind was grabbing the camera. But I did have my laptop...so we took these on our photobooth app.)

Game nights, camping, and more game nights...

Someday I'll learn how to make better decisions. In the meantime, I'll run myself ragged doing work and then having fun.Right now I have a major ear ache with a small headache to match and a slightly swollen throat. I think I overdid it this week. It was a fun one though.

This last Thursday we had our friends the G's and the E's over for a BBQ and game night. Originally, we were supposed to go Frisbee golfing as well...but with a test that day and some homework due that next morning, it wasn't in the cards.

Instead, everyone met up at our place where we ate yummy food outside on the patio and then went in later for games and dessert. I didn't get a picture of it, but Erin brought over a cake that said, "Game On!"

Did I ever mention I love the people around here?

(Emmie thought dinner was delicious.)

Friday, I still had school and a bit of homework to do...which I still haven't completely finished to date.  But a few of my classes were cancelled so I headed home early to help my husband and kids get ready to go camping.

Everything was packed and waiting by the door when I got home at 11:30, but it still took till about 12:30 or 1:00 to get everything and everyone in the car... and then we had errands. Those lasted us till about 3:00. Doesn't ask me hoooow or whyyyyy.... but they did.

So about 3:00, with our new fishing poles, bait, and day only license in hand... we headed North to meet some friends we haven't hung out with in such a long time...and who I miss incredibly! Such cool people and great friends! =]

The camping site our friends found was fantastic. And free. Which might have been why I thought it was fantastic. Not to mention the beautiful low shallow creek nearby. That was fun to walk down to with the kids so we could play.

There were ants. And the pollen on the trees exploded like little powder bombs every time someone touched a branch. And there was no bathroom. But it seriously was still one of my favorite camping trips of all time.
I feel like I'm finally starting to settle into the adult role of camping now...and I like it. Cooking, cleaning, watching the kids run a muck. It was nice.

(I think we might need to teach Kay to be more careful about finger selection...)

We did a few hikes, one to some beautiful falls and another to a log cabin that a man had built, himself, by hand back in the 1920's or 30's. It sat on the side of a mountain at the head of a very large crystal clear stream. I told Kevin I wish we could find some prime real estate like that. I happily imagined myself sleeping in late, with a cool quiet breeze coming in, eating relaxed meals on the deck, and reading lots and lots of books.

Which is nothing what it would really look like. It would look like... kids waking up too early, not liking what we prepared for meals...and running a muck around the mountainside and in the stream while I frantically tried to keep up with them to make sure nobody fell or drowned.

 But I still kinda like the sound of that crazy hectic cabin life too. ;]

I wish my kids had more land and freedom to run a muck in every once in a while. I was lucky to grow up in a house surrounded by lots of acreage. I want my kids to experience more freedom!

 I guess that just means we need to camp more. Nobody needs to pull my teeth.

After the hikes, we headed back to camp to make lunch and let the kids play in the stream. It stayed hot and sunny for them for about 15 minutes...and then it got cold and windy. So we got them all dried up and dressed... and the sun came back out. Curse you, volatile weather! Oh well. The kids still had fun!

After lunch our friends packed up and headed home. And since we bought fishing gear and a day fishing license we unsuccessfully tried to find a place to fish around 5:00 that night. Next time, we really just need to choose a place beforehand and make a day of it.

(Bahaha. He's gonna hate me when he sees this. Don't worry babe. I still think you're cute, even when you're stuffing your face.)

Anyways, we stopped by a dock on the side of a large river and the boys got out to try and catch me some fish, ;], but it started pouring the minute they got out of the car. My boys, being troopers, they went fishing anyways and Kay sang "Rain, rain, go away..." in utter defiance. Which it did proceed to go away... just as soon as they got back in the car, fish-less and with one tangled up mess of a pole, ready to go home.

Honestly, it was fun though =]. We are excited that we just finally went FISHING. As not ideal as it was, it was very important that we did it. Kay was out of his mind excited all weekend that we were going to go... so it would have been a heartbreaking blow if we did not. So, we did! And we learned! And next time we hope to spend much more time...and be much more successful.

So after fishing, we rushed home, threw the kids and ourselves in the shower, got dressed really quickly, put the kids in jammies, and headed over to the D's home to play games and eat delicious pie and ice cream. It is fun to find friends that enjoy playing games as much as you do! And as usual, I had a blast playing the game, thinking I was doing great...until the end, when I realized everyone had totally trashed my can ;P. But that is okay. I kinda like games that I don't realize how badly I'm doing until the end. I'm able to maintain my blissful state of ignorance that way and really enjoy myself!

The kids had fun too and watched Megamind and Duck Tales (awesome. I haven't that show in forever! I went to check on Emmie for a second and all the kids were glued and giggling. Proof my generations' cartoons were the best.) and they also ate pie and ice cream. And oh yah. We brought soda. So they and we also all drank soda. =D.

Can you tell it's been a busy week yet? And we are just gearing up for another. I have to get a new license this week, not to mention soccer games, school presentations, a lesson to plan for my kindergartners on Wednesday, Kevin's calling obligations and more.

This is why I took a really huge stinking long nap today. Here's to our ability to learn how to prioritize better and also somehow meet our obligations, as well as our basic human needs for fun and socialization. Hopefully will get it all figured out. Sooner or later.