Stormy Sunday

We had quite the storm come through our area today...nice and wet.  Of course, the kids couldn't resist the urge to get a "little" wet.  Tyson wouldn't go until he was in his undies, and then he was all for it.....ESPECIALLY when he found a bucket. 

 Taylor joined the fun (with a little help from dad).

 Wet brothers having some fun in the rain,

 Getting Annie...they had more fun chasing her than anything.

Brrrrr!  Consider it mission accomplished.  :)

 Four lovely, wet kidlets.  They sure had a lot of fun until Mother made them come in when the lightning started.   

LOVE this weather and so thankful for the rain.  :)

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

My sweetheart, eternal companion, and love of my life turned 46 this month.  His one consolation on being in the downhill slide to 50 is that I'm closer to 40 than he is to 50 (what a guy!).  :)  

We celebrated with Mexican food and Lemon Meringue Pie (chocolate for the wusses who don't do lemon).   Since there weren't enough candles, Troy decided to put lit matches on top to make up the difference.  The meringue was extra toasty, but still good.  

 Hey, he got them all!!!!   :)

 And his birthday shirt...he picked it, can you tell?

We love you sweetheart and Dad...hope your birthday was super awesome!  :)

Our First Set of Stitches (or stitch)!

So, we were on our way out to "Meet the Teacher" night at the kid's school and Taylor decided to ride his bike.  I told him to take off and I'd follow him since he was riding Troy's old bike and he wasn't comfortable with it yet.  We got halfway to the school and I had crossed a road and pulled over to wait for Taylor.  All of a sudden from the back Tyson yelled, "Taylor fell down!"  I fully expected him to hop back up and continue on so we waited for another minute.  When he didn't come I thought maybe it was a bad fall, so we turned around to go find him.  Just then, he came around the corner pushing the bike and crying.  We could see his pants were soaked with blood, blood was running down his leg, and his sock was soaked with blood also.  It was pretty gross.

Thankfully, Kevin had put our camping first aid kit in the car so we sat Taylor down in the van and cleaned him up.  The wound was pretty bad, but I thought we could butterfly it and be fine.  I used the water from our "puke repair kit" (yes, it is a necessity and well used) and cleaned the wound while trying not to puke or faint and while Annie consoled Tyson who was so upset at the amount of blood and by Taylor's crying.  

I got Annie to be brave enough to push the wound together while I applied butterfly bandages and then we covered it with gauze and tape.  I had him remove his bloody socks and we tried to clean up his pants as best we could, then we loaded his bike into the car and headed off to the school.  When we got there, Mr. Allee (the principal) noticed Taylor's red face, bloody pants, and limp and sent us to the nurse.  She took one look at it and told us it was best to go to the doctor, so we decided to meet teachers as quickly as possible and then go (yes, I dragged my sore, bloody child all over the school...mother of the year, remember?).  During that time, Taylor's bandages were getting soaked through...couldn't get the bleeding to stop.

As soon as we finished with teachers, we headed to the local Urgent Care.  They were so great about getting Taylor in as quickly as they could...we had to wait only about 5 minutes.  After they cleaned the wound more, they decided that he didn't need stitches, but a single stitch because the wound was uneven and still bleeding.  Here is before:

 During...Taylor is NOT happy, but he did perk up enough to watch the doctor do the suture.

And, after.  It is still swollen and still oozing, but Taylor is medicated and enjoying doctor's orders to rest, keep his leg up, and watch movies and play video games (what a life!)

Tyson thought the entire thing was one great adventure.  During the stitching process he was riveted, but kept saying, "dat is masty!"  Annie is definitely my daughter and got a little lightheaded from all the blood and excitement.  After the stitch was put in, she almost passed out and they gave her a sucker and a bottle of water to get some sugar and fluid into her.  I didn't know if I was going to have to carry her out or not.

As for me...I think there is a little too much excitement in my life, and I'm ready for some down time...which should be after I'm dead.  Oh well.    :)

Bear Canyon Lake/Smithson Reunion 2012

This year, our usual camp out expanded to include all of my Mom's family.  My sweet grandmother's birthday was the 12th, and we wanted to surprise her by getting all of her children together.  Kevin couldn't get off work, and Troy had too much going, so it was me and the three kidlets.  Taylor went up with my folks on Sunday and Annie, Tyson and I followed on Wednesday.  We were all so excited to get going.

Annie took it upon herself to document our trip there, so of course she started in the car.  :)

 Tyson didn't like sitting in the back seat by himself, but he did like having total control of the DVD player.

 Miss Annie, all excited and ready to go.

 After a pit stop in Payson, we headed towards the Rim.  As we came around a corner in the Christopher Creek area, Annie yelled "TURTLE!" and gave enough of a warning that I was able to swerve and miss him.  It was so strange to see a tortoise crossing a mountain road, so of course we pulled over to take his picture. While we snapped away, a road crew stopped by to see him and remembered that someone in the Tonto Village area had reported a missing tortoise.  They were able to call in a wandering "turtle" and hopefully find the owner.  After that excitement, we were back in the car and headed up the mountain again.

We finally pulled into the family campsite and got everything set up....home away from home.

Annie and Tyson's beds.  Tyson insisted that he have his own bed and that he wasn't going to sleep with Mom.  Of the three nights we were there, he slept in my bed three times.  :)  The first and third nights he got cold, and the second night Annie's mattress went flat and she borrowed his.

Troy was nice enough to let Taylor borrow his cot....excuse the mess.  :)

Momma's bed....I WAS looking forward to having that large, comfy bed all to myself, but alas, that didn't happen.  In fact, the third night was so cold and rainy that Annie and Tyson piled into my bed and we put their extra blankets on Taylor so he could stay warm.

 On Thursday we decided to hike down to Bear Canyon Lake.  From our camp down it was a mile...not bad going down, a lot harder going up (especially when I'm pulling Tyson and pushing five other kids).  :)

Tyson LOVED the water and had so much fun throwing rocks and playing in the mud.

 Taylor also had a good time exploring the water at the dock.

 Miss Annie enjoying herself.  She was a little sad that she didn't get to ride the kayak...we planned to go back to ride boats, but it rained the entire day and we didn't make it.

 Sweet boy having a fun time.

 So, I know that this picture is a little unusual, but there is a story behind it.  Tyson loved camping for the main reason that he could pee whenever and wherever he felt like it.  I had my nieces with me at the lake so when Tyson said he had to go to the bathroom, I sent him away from the group to the rocks to do his thing.  Next thing I know, the girls are squealing and I look over and Tyson is walking all over the dock area doing his thing and scandalizing everyone.  As you can see, both Taylor and J.T. are befuddled (or jealous).  :)

 View of the lake with Mr. Taylor.

 Love this kid and his baby butt crack.  He played with a lot of mud.

 Annie Rose.....

 Taylor doing a little "rock climbing"...

 There was a butterfly fluttering around and it took a liking to Annie (her bandana maybe?).  It stayed on her glasses long enough for me to get this picture.

 Bear Canyon Lake.  I love the other end because it has a grassy meadow, but this view is awesome too.

 My crew...Annie, nieces Whitney and Hailey, nephew J.T., Taylor and Tyson.

 Me...before chugging up the hill and returning to camp all sweaty, scraggy and huffing/puffing. (P.S.  it was on the hike that we were finally able to change Annie's Indian name from can't-squat-and-pee-a to can-squat-and-pee-a.  She had to go so she climbed up the hill and went behind a tree.  She almost got her pants when I told her there was a hiker as a joke, but she did well.)

 On our hike Tyson fell and scraped his knee pretty good...he is so proud of his owie and showed it off all week.

 Mr. Tyson and Mr. Taylor ready for a ride with Mom.  We sure enjoyed the forest and the cool air.

 Taylor got a picture of the flag we had.  Every morning the family would gather, post the colors, and then recite the pledge.  What a great moment and way to start the day. 

 Taylor's turn to show off his owie.  He was helping me peel potatoes and the peeler slipped and took the skin off his knuckle.

 And, his shoes...why did he take this?

 Grandpa taking a rare break.

 Taylor making faces.

 Me and Aunt Penny slicing potatoes.

 Another silly face.

 Beauty shop time.  Annie and I decided to wash our hair one morning and Taylor and Tyson helped us.  It was so nice to get our hair clean and Tyson had a little too much fun dumping water on our heads.

 After Annie and I finished our hair, Tyson decided he needed to get beautiful too.  So, we got his hair wet...

 and then wrapped him in a "towel hat"...

 and made him beautiful.

 Me and the kidlets....love these guys!

 We didn't get a picture of Annie getting washed, but here is her sweet face after getting beautiful...

 and her beautiful hair.

 Next was Taylor's turn, and with Tyson's help got it taken care of.

 Of course, Tyson insisted that Taylor have a "towel hat" too.

 Combing Taylor's hair (what there is of it) while Tyson decides to play shotgun.  :)

Mom (grandma) teaching one of my grandpa's tricks to some of the greats (that is what my Grandma calls her great grand kids).

 And the main reason we were there....my sweet grandmother.  My kids love their grandma-great and it was a blessing for us to be there for her 84th birthday.

 It was a long and exciting three days and we were glad to get home.  So thankful for the chance to see family we haven't seen in a while and to visit with my cousins and play with my kids.  I heart my family.  :)