OUCH!

Last week we were outside enjoying the fantastic summer weather. I took the girls out to play in the water with some of our very cute neighbors. Rachel was going down a little slide into a wading poor, and somehow, turned her foot as she landed. She cried for a few minutes and then hobbled off to play for a few more minutes. Not too unusual. What was unusual was when she crawled back into my lap and said she was done playing because her foot hurt too badly. She wouldn't walk or even put any weight on it. I carried her in, gave her some Motrin and decided to watch it. The next morning she still wouldn't walk on it, so we took her into the doctor.
Several x-rays later, he concluded that he couldn't see a fracture. Yay! (I spent all the previous night with horrible visions of Rachel in a cast for the remainder of the summer.) The doc said it's a ligament injury and put her in a leg splint for a week. At the end of the week, we'll take her back for a follow-up. Doc mentioned they may take more x-rays to make sure nothing else shows up.
That day when we got home from the doctor, the spoiling started. Steve went and picked up a Happy Meal for the injured gal. That afternoon, he took Matt and Rachel to see Toy Story 3.



That night was a rough one. Rachel was pretty restless and uncomfortable. Baliey didn't sleep well at all, either, and we just assumed that Rach was keeping her roommate up. The next morning, however, it seemed like Bailey was getting a cold. Holy Cow! By that next night Bailey had a raging fever and was having an increasingly difficult time breathing. So, in the wee hours of the morning, we made a visit to the ER. They diagnosed her with croup (thank heavens the ugly RSV had not made a return), and gave her some breathing treatments. She responded well and I had some quiet, very grateful moments. I am so thankful for modern medicine and to live in a time and place where it can bless and heal my family.





So it's been a bit of a long and trying week. I have one little girl who feels great but can't get around very well and is supposed to be taking it easy. I have another little girl who has been feeling terrible and doesn't really know what she wants. Even though my house is a complete wreck, we've eaten breakfast for dinner several times, and I've had waaaay more than my share of being whined at, I am still grateful. I have some terrific kids and I'm so happy that both are healing so quickly and so well. I have to be completely honest, though, and say that I'm also grateful that we're almost through this.

Finally Summer

Summer has finally arrived in Logan. Just as we suspected, we had cool weather and rain one week, then the next the sun finally made it's debut and we were cooking. Hooray -- it feels like summer.

One of our favorite summer traditions is to attend Summerfest. The kids always love the children's art yard and we enjoy walking around appreciating the incredible and diverse talent of so many people.



Rachel and Bailey loved making all the little art projects. Steve and Matt had a little bit of trouble being patient while the girls had to do EVERY possible project, but they endured. :)



As we were getting ready to head home, we saw a guy making balloon creations. It never ceases to amaze me how kids become so mesmerized by balloon animals and hats. Okay, he was a very cute and carismatic kid and had the adults eating out of his hand, too.



Another perfect evening we spent at a very fun park that was built just last year. The very cool part about it was that Steve and Matt got to help build it. The picture below is of the part they helped build.






Bailey LOVED the slide. I loved that her baby-fine hair was sticking straight up.






It was a beautiful night and an awesome park. The best part was just hanging out together. Three cheers for summer!!

Confession

Remember this kid who wouldn't eat anything until she was 18 months old? Well, she's doing so much better now. There are still things that she's funny about and certain textures she still won't let through her little lips. Take one look at those sweet cheeks, though, and rest assured that she's not starving, albeit, still a little picky. She is trying more and more and constantly surprising us. We are very hopeful for summer and our garden as she is already eating vegetables out of the garden that she wouldn't eat before. She's on a great roll and it's SO nice not to be worrying that she's getting what she needs.
Now, with all that being said, here comes the confession. Look very closely at the little mug in the picture above. Do you see the orange goo around her mouth? This poor kid who wouldn't eat for months. The same kid who had our doctor stumped because her iron was so low and she wouldn't eat or take anything iron fortified without promptly vomiting. Well... her favorite thing in the whole, wide world is Cheetos! There, I've said it. She goes absolutely, postively goes CRAZY over the things. Seriously, the girl would eat them every day if I let her. I let her choose a treat at the store the other day and, yep, it was nasty, messy cheetos. Try as I did to persuade her to choose something else, she just clutched that crinkley bag to her little chest. She loves them. She chomps them so happily. She wears them afterward.
Move over, Chester Cheetah!

End of Year

This school year flew by like nobody's business!! Matthew finished 5th grade and next year will go to Middle School. I can't talk about that, though. Maybe after some therapy, I'll be able to post about the whole middle school thing. Anyway, back to this pre-therapy post. Matthew was one of 6 kids in the fifth grade who was awarded the "Hope of America" award in their end of year awards assembly. We were very proud -- of him for getting the award and of me for not making a bawling fool of myself.

We always take a photo of Matt on his last day of school.  This one just happens to be of him after we attacked him at the front door with silly string.

When we moved back to Logan (the summer before Matt started 2nd grade), we began a family tradition of having a big celebration dinner the last day of school.  We choose a country or region and build our dinner around it -- food, decorations, activities, etc. So far we've had a Hawaiin luau, a Mexican fiesta, and a Southern soul-food picnic. Matt knows we do this every year, but we don't tell him our theme until the dinner--so it's a surprise.

This year we chose a British theme with a fish fry.  Steve nor I had really made fish and chips for real before, so it was a little bit of an adventure.  It turned out pretty darn well, though.

 

The kids loved the British crackers even more than they did the meal. :) It was pretty funny watching them break them open. Rachel was laughing her head off.  I wish I'd been able to capture the look on their faces as they were really in the act of busting them open, but I was laughing too hard to remember to take photos. The only thing I can think of comparing it to is when you are opening one of those little cylindrical cans of Pillsbury rolls. Ya know, the ones where you tear the paper then push the seam until it pops. You find yourself pushing that dang seam with the dumbest look of anticipation and fear -- knowing it's going to pop, but then jumping and squealing a tiny bit when it does burst. (Please say that happens to other people too...)  They loved popping them open, and then playing with the little toys and hats inside.

We wore our lovely crowns while eating our pudding for dessert and watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" - which has nothing to do with English culture, but it's funny and we love it.

Matthew had a super year and we couldn't be more proud of him. He's a great student and a pretty darn good kid. :) I'm certain that next year will be as wonderful and that we have a lot to look forward to.  

Run!

We love the end of the school year. Yes, we love that it means that summer is just minutes away, but we also love the activities that come with the end of the year.

The end of May brought the Logan Fun Run. This is a mile run that involves all the fourth and fifth graders in the school district. It was great! Matt did a super job! We were a bit worried as he'd stayed home from school the day prior with a touch of a stomach bug. He was feeling fine the day of the run, but was concerned that his time wouldn't be as good because he was still lacking a little bit of energy. His goal became to just finish the race. He did it -- and did just fine with his time. I don't remember his exact time, but I guarantee that it was waaaaayy faster than I could have done!





Matt with a couple of his buddies.



...And with his biggest fans.





The 2nd of June brought the school's annual Wild Cat Run. Our principal (who rocks the world) started this tradition 5 years ago. It's also a mile run, but it's for the entire school. The kids have to train for 8 weeks or so before -- running so many miles so many days a week. They keep a log of their training time and have to turn it in before they can participate in the run. This year the school tried something different. They didn't do any fund raisers all year and used the run as the sole fund raiser. The kids asked family and friends to sort of sponsor them for the run. People donated money for the 30 miles of training and then the race. The so fantastic part of this all was the 100% of the money went straight to the school. The whole student body did amazingly well and they earned A LOT of money for the school. The day of the run was the best part, though.



Now, for real, we LOVE the WildCat Run. Steve asked for the day off a month before to be sure he'd be there. There is just something about kids setting a goal, working had, and accomplishing it. These kids run their hearts out -- and cheer each other on while doing it. ...I cry every dang year.

Below, the tall guy with the freaking leg muscles, he's the principal. He runs with each grade, so he runs over 5 miles; with the lead runner of each grade. Apparently he said he was worried about keeping up with the fastest runner by the time 5th grade ran. (The kid did like a 6 minute mile.) Yah, well, I am a witness that he not only kept up, but did it with gusto. One of Matt's best friends was the 5th grade winner -- and made a new school record. Nicely done!




There's our boy! I'm not joking, when my kid rounds that last corner, I'm choking up. I've done it every year since we've been in this school. This year was especially poignant as it was Matthew's last year.



Matt and his friend who didn't just break, but completely obliterated the school record. He's a great kid -- and lightnin' fast. Just a little sidenote: Bailey is completely obsessed with this friend. She adores him to say the least. He's so sweet to her when he comes to play, that she truly just loves him. She asks about him every time we go to the school. He and Matt were on the same soccer team and Bailey cheered just as loud and as much for him as she did for Matt. It's pretty cute.



Once again, Matt's biggest fans. (Rachel was actually pouting about something and wouldn't look at the camera for this photo. Nice.)




What a super way to bring the year to a close. We were so proud of our Wild Cats!!

Soccer

Once again, soccer season has come and gone. It really zipped by this year as the season was a little shorter than usual. Matthew had a fantastic time playing and we had a super time watching him. They were a great team!




One thing we can always count on during soccer season in Utah is crazy weather. The kids played some games in the freezing cold. Some games were played in pouring rain or even a little snow. A few games even required sunscreen. :)



The girls enjoyed watching and cheering for their big brother. They even scored some new Disney Princess chairs with the deal.



We're always a little sad to see the soccer season end. Matt's team had a great season and it's always fun watching the kids play hard. We've been really fortunate the last few years and Matt's been on good teams with great coaches and fun teammates -- with fun parents. It's been a good ride, and we'll look forward to next year!