A Hike and Some Hail

Every year, we have a local holiday celebrating our town. 

Ironically, we usually leave town that day on account of the crazy, drunken cowboyness of it all.

We had planned to go to the Rockies, but we didn't wake up early enough and ended up hiking in the foothills instead.

It started off with a bad omen, when Emily saw a rattlesnake about a mile in. 

(Note Jane's ER bear)

But we continued hiking on, until we got to Horsetooth Falls, which was barely a trickle.

And that's where we took a wrong turn. I think we accidentally hiked somewhere around 9 miles. We only meant to hike 4 on account of Jane's recent head injury. 

Words were said. Fingers of blame were pointed. We were running out of water, after all, and the clouds were looking very dark and foreboding. Luckily they stayed just to the North of us. Late that afternoon we arrived back at the trail head with a tiny bit of water and even less patience.

Luckily, we were in the vicinity of Nordy's. 

All was forgiven. All was well... kind of.

Those clouds... the ones off to the North?

They were over our house. 

That's not snow. It's July. 

But we're used to it. It's been years since we went a whole summer without making a hail claim on our insurance. Luckily no serious damage was done... in this storm at least. 

Blood from a Stone

I shouldn't hate little kids. And I am praying for grace. But I'm finding that whole "love thy neighbor" thing a little difficult at the moment.

It all started out a normal enough Saturday. Jane played outside and then had some lunch and headed back outside to play. 

She'd been over at the neighbor's for about half an hour when the dad of the family came bursting through our front door, screaming for Chris, Jane a bloody mess in his arms.

Blood was everywhere. 

There was so much blood I could smell it. 

I couldn't even see how much of Jane's scalp was still attached to her head. After all, pale blond hair takes on a frightening color when soaked with blood.

And then I started to shriek. "Chris! We need to get her to the hospital NOW!"

Those of you who are nurses or doctors are probably rolling your eyes because you know about head wounds and blood. I'm an engineer. I don't see blood at work.

Chris decided he wanted to shower her off. so he could see where the blood stopped and the kid began. 

I let him while I sobbed to next-door-dad... "What happened?"

"Gabriel (next-door-kid) threw a big rock at her"

At this point, Chris yelled for me to dial 911. This is probably for the best because it prevented me from telling Gabriel's dad what I thought of Gabriel. I dialed the phone and started sobbing to the 911 operator. After some helpful information from the operator and the successful completion of the cleaning of the kid, we determined we could get Jane to the hospital ourselves. The cut wasn't as big as originally feared.

Jane and I rode in the backseat. Me pressing a cloth to her wound and she asking if she was going to die. I tried to calm Jane until we got to the hospital where, shortly after check in, Jane exclaimed, "I can't see!" and immediately crumpled.

It turns out that was Jane's way of telling us she was losing consciousness. 

She was rushed to a pediatric trauma room, where she regained consciousness and was seen by a doctor. 

And given a bear.

And a popsicle. 

"Tell it to me straight doc, does she have a skull fracture?"

"No."

"Brain damage?"

"No."

"Excessive blood loss?"

"No."

"Then why did she pass out?"

"Probably because of all this." (Doc waves his hands in the direction of all the medical equipment, but also in my general direction. I guess I had been a little over dramatic. But there was so MUCH blood.)

So it seems that Jane inherited Chris' hair color but she inherited my tendency to have massive panic attacks resulting in loss of consciousness. You're welcome, Jane.

Once the bleeding slowed and Jane's heart rate and blood pressure were normal, the doctor super glued her cut, which was much smaller than anticipated. She had a minor concussion which resulted in a massive headache and a lot of sleeping for the next couple days. 

Jane is just fine. And she's quick to forgive. I'm working on it.

Day of Independence

Happy Birthday America!

This year we celebrated with a morning hike to Hidden Falls in Curt Gowdy State Park.

The falls really are hidden so well that you can't see them. They are somewhere behind us in this picture. 

Then we went out to my folks' house to shoot off some fireworks.

They live in the county so you can blast crap off to your heart's content. 

Hooray America!

Maiden Voyage to YW camp

Emily got to go to Girls' Camp this year. 

It's amazing that she is actually old enough to partake in such a thing.

Part of me feels guilty that she's never been, but I hate camping so much. So very much. I would rather have a stomach bug for three days straight than camp for one night. 

But Emily loved it.

Apparently it involved tents and trees.

Also there were girls.

Emily loved the opportunity to bond with the other girls and I am grateful to her leaders that made it such a wonderful experience for her. She is already talking about next year. I hope to minimize my participation in this future outing because I've just been called as a Young Women counselor. We all have our crosses to bear. 

Spring Recital 2018

Emily and Jane have been dancing for a long time. 

The annual spring recital is as much a part of our lives as Christmas or Easter. Except it lasts longer.

Jane did modern, which she loved.

And Emily did Irish step, which she loved.

I think this will be Emily's last recital since she's planning on doing cross country in the fall. It's kind of bittersweet. It has been fun to watch her dance, but at the same time... those recitals. Those interminable recitals. 

A dozen years

Emily is 12!

And that means some pretty big things....

In our family, the answer to a lot of questions that start with "When can I...?" are answered with "When you're 12".

She was champing at the bit to get her ears pierced, until she was actually in the chair and things started to get real. That's when she requested the comfort teddy bear they keep in the corner.

She survived and is loving wearing earrings.

She also got an adult sized bike. She's loved having the freedom of using her wheels to go on the greenway and to the convenience store. When you're 12, being able to go to the store and buy your own m&ms is the equivalent of an adult taking a trip to Europe. 

Last but not least, Emily is not in Young Women's. She is a beehive and was welcomed with some pretty amazing driveway art. 

Happy Birthday Emily!

Clearwater Beach (Not Denver)

We don't usually go on big trips for Spring Break. That's why the kids believed us when we said we were going to Denver. Because we are boring people like that. For months, I held my tongue while they said stuff like "I'm so excited to swim in the hotel pool!" and "Can we visit the aquarium?". 

When we got to Denver, we pulled up to the airport. We were well past the demon horse and headed into the parking lot by the time Emily asked, "Why are we at the airport?".

They freaked out when we told them we were headed to Clearwater, Florida where Emily could fulfill her dream of visiting the beach and Jane could fulfill her dream of meeting Winter the Dolphin. 

They were so excited they even sat together on the plane without fighting. For the first (and maybe only) time on a family trip, Chris and I were able to sit together on a plane ride. 

Here is Jane with Winter and Hope. If you don't know what that means, don't worry, you must not have small children in the house. 

Clearwater Marine Aquarium was amazing. Not only did they give Jane the gift of  meeting the dolphins,

she got to feed and "train" Hope. 

we got a behind the scenes tour, which included an office set from Dolphin Tale. 

Chris is sitting where Harry Connick, Jr. sat. The resemblance is uncanny.

And then there was the beach.

I thought the kids would be a little nervous of the ocean. It turns out I was wrong.

We rented a cabana for us and an umbrella for the kids. It turned out we could have saved the money, because I'm not sure the kids ever sat in their chairs. 

There is no such thing as boredom at the beach. we showed up early and stayed until they started pulling up the rentals. 

Clearwater Beach is perfect for families. The water is shallow and warm and calm. 

And the sand is beautiful and white and fine. 

But eventually those European genes take their toll and there is no amount of sunscreen in the world that can sunburn proof my poor little family as they ran in and out of the ocean. 

So we had to find some other activities to give our ghostly pale/fire engine red skin a rest. 

It's funny what this great wide world holds. I never imagined there would be a place that is a pirate mini golf establishment/alligator feeding pond, but there is. 

So we fed the gators and played mini golf. It was very unique. 

Here is Emily paddle boarding. I am super proud of her that she was able to do it even though she was scared at times. 

I wish I had a picture of Jane riding on Chris' board, but I was too busy trying not to fall in. Once we got used to it, it was a good time and a good workout, which was necessary on account of all the ice cream. 

It was a pretty sick vacation, but it's been a little difficult coming home. Rumor has it that it's going to snow tomorrow. 

I'm really starting to see why so many people retire to Florida. It's not such a bad joint. Especially when it's 80° in April.