Back on the Grid

Hooray! We are back. It's been a tad alarming to realize how dependent I've become on the computer and the internet. We've still had some internet access, but it was somewhat limited because our old computer was somewhat limited. :)

So much has happened in the last few months, I don't even know where to begin to catch up. I'm kind of a stinky-ish blogger anyhow, but now I feel totally overwhelmed. Baby steps, right?

Today I have sick kids. Boo. This means it will be a long day and I won't likely get a lot done. If it weren't for sad kids who feel terrible, I guess sick days wouldn't be so bad. Lots of down-time and snuggling -that part I can take.

For now, we're off to the doctor's office. Then we'll take this day one thing at a time. Then, hopefully, in the near future, I can post some pictures and catch up a little bit.

Technical Difficulties

This has been such a fun and busy month, but I haven't updated my blog due to technical difficulties. We have two computers, a laptop and a desktop. Our laptop is having some problems - we think that for the first time in our married career, Steve and I are experiencing a virus on our computer. We can't use the durn thing to connect to the internet. It just won't work. It is the computer we use most often - to upload pictures, burn cd's, blog, print coupons, etc. The desktop is usually just the standby. Now, it's not because we don't love our computer (we LOVE you, Little Computer!); it's because this computer is older than 2 of my three children. No kidding. We bought this little darlin' when Matt was just over a year old. He's eleven now, folks. This computer is a gen-u-ine, bonafide, dinosaur. The tower is enormous and the fan can blow away small animals. In it's day, it was a fine specimen. Really. It's just gotten so old that they stopped making updates for it ages ago. It's been such a fantastic computer, though! It's seen hundreds of projects, a kajillion word documents, and years of internet hours. Amazing. We just can't do anything too fancy or new-fangled. So, for now, we'll just have to plug along with Windows 98 and keep taking pictures and stock-piling stories to post later.

4th of July

Our 4th of July has been a little different this year. Several of us have been a bit under the weather and Steve has had to work, so we really limited our activities. Nevertheless, it has been a nice weekend.





On Friday night we watched Logan's fireworks. We staked out our spot that afternoon, then went back and had a picnic while waiting for the show. Waiting is always the pits, but I was able to snap a few photos while the kids were still happy, excited,and not running all over the place over-tired and impatient. Yah, it happened. We did the totally geeky, and all wore semi-matching T shirts. (We tie dyed them earlier in the week. That night definitely goes under the "what was I thinking?" category. It did end up being pretty fun, though, and the shirts were cool. I didn't really know what I was doing and faded them, but oh well - live and learn).



The fireworks were great and it was a fun night. Saturday was a fairly mellow day. We missed out on several family activities, which was a bummer, but we took it easy. We still had a nice day and ended it with making a birthday dinner for Steve. (His b-day was the day before.)




Even though we were disappointed to miss out on some of the 4th of July fun, it has been good to celebrate and appreciate our country. I am so thankful to live where I do and enjoy the freedoms that I do. I am forever grateful to those who have sacrificed so very much to ensure this freedom. Happy Independence Day!

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.