Summertime Blues

Anybody who follows the blog on a regular basis is well aware my summer blogging activity is somewhat lax. Too much here, there and everywhere goes on and I often just plain don’t have the time to post anything. This summer has been particularly stagnant in the blog writing area as once the main weeks of summer business passed I ended up with appendicitis (woo-hoo *inset sarcasm*) and spent a good two weeks going stir crazy on the couch. But more about that later. A brief pictorial recap of what has been going down since school let out.

1) 4th of July – My side of the family came for a visit and we enjoyed several days of just chilling in the backyard and hanging out. Blowing up a watermelon using rubber bands was a highlight for the kids.

2) Swimming lessons – No sooner had the family departed, when we started swimming lessons. This year we tried lessons at the Filer City Pool. It was a fantastic experience and I’m sure we’ll be doing it again.

3) Ice Cream Social at Ritter Island – A fun day of watch horses and antique tractors plow and plant, exploring the old dairy and waterfalls, plus a wagon ride, impromptu game of ‘Red Rover’ with other visitors and, of course, ice cream.

4) Malad Gorge – We had several water days out at this state park taking advantage of the flood irrigating of the picnic area. Water Safety put on by the park was a favorite. It was a free event and the kids (and adults) got to test out canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards.

5) The Appendix Goes - I had felt fine at Water Safety Day pictured above, but the next day I woke up feeling terrible and thinking I had food poisoning. I couldn’t keep anything down. Around noon that part abated and I just felt uncomfortable and really bloated. Took some gas-x and ibuprofen and figured it would all work it’s way through. Monday there was still no relief and my lower abdomen felt like It’d been worked over with a baseball bat. Since nothing OTC was providing any relief I got an appointment to see my primary care physician. He looked me over and said, “Well,it could be a virus, but have you had your appendix out?” Since his clinic doesn’t have the equipment (CT machine) to diagnose appendicitis he told me to head over the the hospital ER and said he’d call ahead and talk to a Dr. friend who works the ER. I kid you not the guy’s name was Holliday….Doc Holliday, go figure. Anyhow, I got to the ER about 2:30. They had me back in a bed for observation and in live for a CT by 3pm. By 4:45 I was back for a CT scan and by 5:15 Doc Holliday informed me the appendix had to go. By 5:30 I met the surgeon, Dr. McKain (Who was AMAZING btw…if you need a surgeon I’d recommend him. Excellent beside manner. It’s obvious he really cares about his patients. I mean how many surgeons ask for a hug after your last follow-up appointment because they’re glad you’re okay??). By 6 I was in the OR and by 7pm all was said and done. I was in a room by 7:15 and up and walking by 9pm. They released me at Noon the following day. ‘

My appendix had ruptured, but it was only a “pinpoint perforation” so no major infection outside the appendix. Still got to take some heavy antibiotics for several days post-op. 4 weeks out I’m feeling about 90%. Two out of the 3 incisions are well healed and the third (the largest of the three…it was laparoscopic surgery) is looking really good. I’m moving well, there are just days where I have no energy still and I’m not allowed to lift more than 15lbs (which is harder than you think). Give me a few more weeks and I should be back to ‘normal.’ I was humbled by the support we got from friends and family. My mother in-law came a stayed for  a week which was enormously helpful, plus my parents and sister sent dinners even thought they live over 300 miles away. Plus some local friends stopped by with meals. It really did ease a burden and we are so grateful.

6) California Cousins Visit – For the first time since we moved to Idaho eight years ago Kevin’s brother and family came to visit us. Usually everyone just meets up at the folk’s in Washington and we see each other maybe once every year or so. Having them come to our place was a nice treat and we got a chance to show them some of the local “tourist attractions.”

This was pretty much just July – whew! Hopefully August is a bit more laid back, but knowing this family I doubt it.

Vacation Bible School

Today wraps up a fun week of songs, crafts, games, and friends. Yes VBS week was this week. Camp Perkins Lutheran Outdoor Ministries did our VBS for us again this year. The theme was "JOY." Between day camp, baseball, and my regular secretary stuff both myself and the kids are exhausted...though I'm the only one who will admit it. So instead of writing a lengthy post I'm just going to grab the slideshow I did for the family BBQ Thursday night and just leave that right here..enJOY!

Still Breathing!

I warned you about summer and my predictions were true. I haven’t updated in close to six weeks now. Sheesh!

We’ve been thoroughly enjoying our summer. The kids and I had a blast at Vacation Bible School. They are still singing all the songs they learned and counting down the days until next year.

Over the 4th of July my entire family came to visit. We even surprised my parents by flying in my older sister and her three kids in for the event (they were moving cross-country at the time and my folks thought she was coming a few days later) This is the first time in over 5 years that everyone had been together.

It was exciting catching up. We enjoyed the 4th of July parade in Buhl and a pie eating contest for both the kids and adults. Grandpa and Jack were our winners.

Unbeknownst to my poor younger sister, her kids had all been exposed to the Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus prior to making the trek to Idaho. They all broke in blisters on their feet and hands while here. That was ‘fun.’ By the time we all realized what they had everyone had been potentially exposed so the most we could do was become hand washing and house cleaning  tyrants. My poor dryer just about gave up the ghost trying to keep up with drying all the bedding. The kids were everywhere touch and walking on everything so everything had to been washed. I’m not much of a laundry enthusiast so it pretty much sucked. Thankfully, our efforts paid off and neither my nor my older sister’s kids caught it. Still it caused us to have to adjust some plans so we wouldn’t expose other just in case which was discouraging.

My older sister stuck around Idaho for a few days after the rest of the family left and the next week we loaded up all the kids into the van, kissed Kevin goodbye and drove to Washington to get her settled into their new home. We met her husband and father-in-law midway. They were driving and truck and trailer with all their worldly possessions including the cat and Guniea pig from Virginia to Washington.

We helped them move in and stuck around a few days visiting more with my folks. Lots and lots and lots of playing with the cousins with some blueberry picking thrown in. By that time the previous three weeks were starting to catch up with me so the kids and I headed back home with a new addition in tow…a Guniea Pig. Peppa, as she is called, was a belated birthday gift from my little sister to Emilie. So far she has not yet been loved to death, but more on that in another post.

We made it home to Idaho with no major hiccups. We even managed to stop in at the SAGE center in Boardman, OR. I recommend this to anyone driving I-84 through Oregon. It is totally worth the $5 admission fee. It’s all about agriculture and very hands-on. The kids loved it. We probably would have stayed longer, but the pig was in the car and we didn’t want to roast her.

I think, after two weeks home, were finally settling back into our routine. It takes me three days, at least, to recover from any trip and this one seems to have taken longer. The kids are busy swimming in the little easy-set pool in the back yard and playing games in the dirt. The garden is starting to really put out. I’ve already put up peas (which need picked again) and zucchini (relish & bread). Jack’s ‘pickle plants’ aka cucumbers, are producing. There are raspberries starting to come on. Even the beans, that took a hard hit from a now deceased ground hog (thank you dogs!), have made a come back and have blossoms. We may get green beans yet!

We’re hoping to get in a camping trip before the fair at the end of August and after that it is back to school. I’ve already started to slowly gather supplies as the sales pop up. It is amazing how fast the summer goes! There is really never a dull moment.

Day Camp with Camp Perkin’s (aka Vacation Bible School)

Four weeks into summer vacation and there still has been no hint of boredom around here. In fact it feels like we’ve been busier than ever.

This week was our church’s Vacation Bible School. They call it Day Camp since it’s put on by camp counselors from Camp Perkins up near Stanley. Still I can’t help but think of it as VBS. It brought back a lot of good memories from my VBS days way back when.

I volunteered to help this year since I finally had a child old enough to attend. Well, somehow, one thing led to another and I found myself as our congregation coordinator. I felt like I was ‘flying bling’ at times, but the camp staff and our volunteers were so great that everything worked out really well.

Jack had a TON of fun. He started out a little quiet but by the end of the week he had blossomed into his usual chatty self. He was answering questions, requesting songs, and educating everyone about tractors (of course). It even got to the point they had to ask him to let other kids have a chance to respond. He didn’t seem to care for the group games too much unless it was “duck, duck, goose.” Not sure if all the tall kids were just to intimidating or he wasn’t quite sure of the instructions or what. There is always next year though.

Emilie was allowed to participate on a limited basis even though at 3 she’s technically to young. Since I was there to have her be my ‘helper’ if needed though she was allowed to do what she could handle. She was able to handle most of it though it just really wore her out. Today she fell asleep in my arms during closing. It’s a little too much for her just yet, but she’s a trooper. Two more years and she’ll be more than ready.

In between all my other responsibilities at camp, I did manage to wander about and take pictures of the kids, counselors, and volunteers for a video to show at a potluck we did for the kids and their parents Thursday night. The goal was to show what they were doing at camp every day.This year’s theme was ‘True Peace’ so, of course,  I couldn’t help but throw in a little ‘Peace Train’ by Cat Stevens… I mean how could I not.