California Knows How to Party

Last week, Max had most of the week off so we headed off to San Diego for some fun. We got there Wednesday afternoon and had time to play at the beach for a few hours. It was the boys first time to ever see they ocean and they loved it. The water was freezing but that didn't stop Jonah and Wyatt from getting wet. Max was the only one who went all the way in and he said that it made it his head hurt.

On Thursday we went to Legoland. We had originally considered going to Disneyland but some of my siblings suggested Legoland because it is great for younger kids. I'd have to agree. Jonah was able to ride on everything alone. Wyatt could ride everything with a parent, and Emmett could ride almost everything. It wasn't too crowded so we got to go on a lot of rides. We thought it was funny how we kept seeing the same people on each ride. We were on the same schedule as the guy with the green and black backpack and his son and a Japanese family with two kids.
I liked that a lot of the rides at Legoland involved the kids--pedaling or pulling themselves up a rope. I think it made it more fun for them to be the ones who made some of the rides go.
As you can tell from the kids' t-shirts, the Star Wars exhibit was a big hit.

On Friday we headed to Sea World. It was overcast and definitely colder than than the day before. It made it a bit harder to want to get wet on any of the rides, but Jonah and Wyatt LOVED the Journey to Atlantis ride and since it was fairly cool there was barely any line. We went on it 3 times in the morning and once in the afternoon.
We saw the Pet Show, the Dolphin Show and the Shamu Show. I don't know if the kids were just showed-out by the Shamu Show, but they didn't seem that impressed. It could also be that the dolphin show was quite a show--people riding on dolphins, people dressed up like birds flying around on trapezes and bungees. Since no one gets in with Shamu like they used to (and for good reason) the dolphin show is much more showy. Still, it is pretty amazing to see these huge animals jump so far out of the water.

Emmet and I made fish faces on the Elmo fish ride.

Wyatt was the only one brave enough to get very wet in the rapids with Max.
Saturday morning, we only had a few hours before we needed to head out of town so we went to the beach for a very cold and windy picnic breakfast. It soon started to warm up and we had a bit more fun writing in the sand, racing to the volleyball standards and dipping our toes in the cold ocean.

A Funny Story that Must Be Recorded

This is more of an embarrassing story for me, but it still needs to be recorded so it won't be forgotten.

When Max and I got back from Dallas on Sunday, I noticed a very strange mark at the base of Wyatt's neck, just over his left collarbone. It looked like raised, discolored skin. I asked my mom and mother-in-law if either of them had seen him get hurt while they watched our kids over the weekend. I though maybe he'd gotten some kind of rug burn or rope burn--perhaps he'd had a rope or something like it over his shoulder and it had pulled across his skin. No one could remember anything. When I touched it, Wyatt didn't say it hurt and it didn't look like a scab so I wasn't sure what to make of it. I looked at it all day Monday, it was still there Tuesday, and even on Wednesday. I decided that this was weird enough that I needed to get it checked. What if it was some crazy virus or cancerous growth or something that needed to be caught right away?

So I called and made an appointment with our doctor for Thursday. We really like our doctor, Dr. Tullis. He lived in my neighborhood growing up. Our kids have been on the same t-ball team, he's laid back, and just really nice. So we go in to see him and Wyatt shows him his neck. The doctor looks at it and says, "Yeah, that does look weird." So he got out his magnifying thing with a light on it to get a closer look. Then he said, "I'm going to see if it will move at all" and he got out a tongue depressor and prodded it a little bit. Part of it pulled up a bit and he tugged it off. Wyatt winced just a little so I thought maybe it was just some kind of really weird scab. Dr. Tullis said he wanted to run look at it under a microscope and he'd be right back.

When he came back in he said, "You know, there's only a couple human cells on it, so I want to try something..." He then went to the drawer, pulled out an alcohol wipe and proceeded to rub the strange growth off of Wyatt's neck, with me saying, "Are you serious? Is it just gum or something?...I am so embarrassed...I promise I bathe my children," and finally, "So how are you going to write this in your notes? Used alcohol wipe to clean neck of 5 yo brought in by crazy paranoid mother who doesn't seem to wash her children?" Luckily Dr. Tullis was very nice about it and didn't make me feel any stupider than I already did on my own.

Moab with Friends

We have some pretty awesome friends. Earlier this year, we got to go on a trip to Moab with the McQueens and the Livingstones to meet up with and see the Youngs. It was the first time we had seen Brody since he had been shot and nearly died the previous November while doing a routine car check. It was so fun to be all together. We all worked together as river guides (except for Nancy, but sometimes I almost forget that) so our friendships go way back. The best part is seeing our kids play together.

Of course we had to make a run on the river. The water was cold, but the sandy beach was perfect.



Eleven kids in all that weekend (and one in spirit--we will always miss River). How did that happen so fast?!? I swear we were just barely running the rivers with no one to worry about but ourselves...oh and the passengers. The kids played so well together, but I'm of the opinion that kids always play well when there are no TVs or toys around to fight over. We rented a big house in Moab so we didn't all bombard the Youngs, but next time we'll have to all go on a river trip or camping trip so the kids can play together even into the night.
On our way home, we stopped with the Livingstones at this crazy place outside Green River that Wendy told us about. It's called Crystal Geyser and there are really no signs telling you how to get there so if anyone ever wants to know, give me a call or send me an email and I'll give you the low down. The minerals from the geyser have made this amazing area right next to the Green River. It looks mostly pumpkin orange from afar, but as you get closer there are all kinds of colors--greens, reds, yellows, and even purple. It really was a cool place.

The geyser goes off every once in a while and videos online show it really exploding, but we only saw a low bubble. Guess we'll have to go back.

Time for Some Catching Up

First a photo from early spring. I know the boys are in Christmas jammies, but we wear those year-round around here. Max took the boys to Sportsman's Warehouse for something--fishing lures maybe--and the boys came home with these. What a good daddy!

Darth Jonah

Jonah is all about Star Wars right now. He worked very hard for several weeks to earn money towards this voice-changer helmet. He also spent quite a few hours learning both the Star Wars and Darth Vader themes. Since the arrival of the helmet we are visited by various Sith Lords ranging from a 2-foot diaper wearing variety who says, "Dun, dun, dun" (Darth Vader theme) to the 3 1/2-foot variety who warns that if you don't give him a treat he will be "forced to destroy you," to the 4-foot variety who wields a plastic light saber and shows no mercy.

March Winds

I'm always so excited for kite-flying in March. Yestderday (thats' right, I'm posting about something that happened yesterday) we went across the street to the big open field (that's right, just across the street, I love living in the country) to fly our cheap kites. I am a total convert to cheap kites. I used to think the fancy ones probably flew better, but no, the $1 kites are the best flyers for kids in my experience.

We bought the kites on Tuesday and each boy got to pick out the one he wanted. Wyatt chose the penguins from Madagascar (Max's tells a lot of attack penguin stories based on these fellas at bedtime). Jonah chose Star Wars (he plays the Imperial March on the piano probably 50 times a day--video coming soon). And Emmet chose Lightning McQueen (he says the word Cars and Speed probably 500 times a day).
I couldn't get a picture of Emmett with his kite because he wouldn't hold onto the string long enough for me to snap a photo. I even chased his kite through the field a few times trying.
Yesterday was a short surgery day for Max, much needed after two weekends of very busy call, and so he got to join us for a pretty perfect afternoon.

Puddle Jumping

The giant snow piles in front of our house are turning into giant puddles. Hooray for spring!! The first time we went out, when I took these photos, poor Emmett only had his snow boots and it turns out they were not puddle proof.Since then he and I got some rain boots so now we can all play in the water.
Max isn't doing too much jumping lately, so he hasn't been able to join us. He tore his ACL in December, had it repaired late-Febrary, and has had a pretty bad inflammatory reaction since. Whereas most people are walking without crutches after 10 days, he was almost 3 weeks. He's limping around now, but is pretty exhausted after work everyday. I don't think it helps that he has to stand up for work pretty much all day, but what can you do?

Somewhere under all that puffiness is his kneecap. We hope to see it again soon.