A Visit

Quinn had a doctor's appointment today, after which he, Reagan and I went to go see Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Carl, and cousin Chuck. I hate to admit, it's been awhile since we'd been over to visit, so thought I'd document the occasion this time with some pictures. The visit was so. much. calmer. with two rather than three kids. It's amazing how that works. Normally, Aunt Dorothy's walker turns into a racecar, the boys sneak into Uncle Carl's hidden stash of peppermints, and every last knick-knack turns into a projectile. This time, not so much. We left without a single item broken. Score one for the kids!

Slumber Party!

We had a slumber party this weekend! Six kids (all under the age of 5) laughed, giggled, guffawed, squealed, sang, jumped, climbed, ran, snickered, pounded, and squirmed for the duration. No major incidents, although one child ended up coloring herself green (thank you washable markers!!). A fun but crazy time. It takes THAT MUCH kid-dom to make our over-active threesome seem like a breeze ;)

Adventures in Canning

Guess what ya'll are getting for Christmas from the Aho's this year! Plum Jelly all around!

A Mine Tour and a Birthday Party

A Gorgeous Sunday in Autumn

The day was spent on the shores of Lake Superior, then hiking through an old growth forest. We couldn't ask for better fall weather - absolutely perfect!

The inside of an old, hollowed-out tree. Cool!

The leaves are just starting to change color.

Old Growth Pine. That's a BIIIIGGGG tree!

Quinn and his garbage bag... can't get the cast wet! I guarantee there'll be sand in there come October when the cast is removed, though :).

A Visit!

Aunt Laurel and Uncle Bob are visiting us from Spokane, Washington! We here in the Upper Peninsula are not "on the way" to anywhere, so when we get a visit, we know it's a special occasion! Aunt Laurel has spent the last eleven years hand quilting me this quilt (it was a wedding gift for Rob and I... thank goodness our marriage has lasted long enough to get the quilt ;) ). It's beautiful, and will truly be an heirloom to pass down for generations! Thanks so much Aunt Laurel.

Update from Orthopedics

Quinn had a follow up visit today with his orthopedic surgeon. I was there with the xray tech when she looked at the pictures, and thought "Oh No! His fracture looks TERRIBLE!" We came back into the doctor's room, where the xrays were up on the computer, and when I pointed them out to Rob, he said "Wow! His fracture looks TERRIBLE!" The doctor comes in, stares at the xrays for a long time without saying a word, takes Quinn back to radiology to get more pictures, comes back in to the office, stares some more at the xrays, and then says "Everything looks good!" What?? We're no experts, but shouldn't the bones kind of line up??? Quinn's radius is decidedly NOT lined up - it's offset about half the width of the bone. The ulna actually looked pretty good. That radius though.... ugly. Apparently, Rob and I are not orthopedic surgeons. If we WERE orthopedic surgeons, we would know that small children's bones remodel at an amazingly fast rate, and even if the forearm was bent 28 degrees, it would correct itself and return to straight over time. We would not have freaked out at the fact that our son will have a deformed arm for awhile ("there will be a lump", the doctor said), and that the natural growing process will take care of everything. Not that we don't trust this doctor - he's very good - but we doubled checked with the National Library of Medicine, just to be sure. He's right. It's okay. Meanwhile, Quinn will be in a cast for at least 6 weeks, and I was told that he needs to stay inside for recess for the time being, as we can't seem to trust him NOT to run, jump, and be a little boy when other kids are present. Great. That'll be fun news to break to his teacher ;).

Harvest Time!

I LOVE harvest time! Apples and plums GALORE this year. So much fun. I forsee applesauce, plum sauce, blueberry ice cream, and various fruit pies in our very near future!!

Identical Twins

I'm often asked how I tell my boys apart. Easy. Quinn's the one with the broken arm, and Colby's the one with five stitches in his chin. The cause? Both boys - monkey bars. Evil monkey bars. When I got the call from the school today to pick up my son and take him to the emergency room because he fell off the monkey bars and needed stitches, I thought "You have GOT to be kidding me." Seriously? Really? Again? The other one? Please. These children are NOT going to survive into adolescence, I swear. And I need a bigger medical savings account.

Our Overly Exciting Weekend

Rob and I took a little "getaway" weekend to Las Vegas. I was there for a continuing ed course, Rob was there for the heck of it. The trip started out a little bumpy - our flight out was cancelled due to "technical problems" with the plane. We caught the later flight, and arrived in our hotel room at 1:30 am PST (translate to EST, that's 4:30 am. UGH!) There was a silver lining, though.... we got a free upgrade on our rental car (to a MINIVAN! Like we never get to drive one of THOSE at home!) and took the very last room the Paris Hotel had to offer, which just happened to be the jacuzzi suite. Sweet is right. Awesome! It was over 100 degrees every day, and despite 4 hours by the pool, I did NOT get a tan. Pathetic. The Upper Peninsula is turning me permanently albino. Rob went to the Grand Canyon, which was a LOOONNG way away for a "look", but still... impressive. Back home, the kids were spread between Grandma and Grandpa Aho, and our friends the Sommervilles. Apparently, Quinn decided to fall from the monkey bars, and sustained an open fracture of his radius and ulna. His arm was said to look "like it had two elbows". Not good. Renata has not been to the emergency room with her own children - two hours with the Aho's, and she's experiencing emergency surgery and a 5 year old in the hospital overnight. Figures. Quinn was reportedly a trooper - no tears, asking lots of questions, and repeatedly saying "my bones won't twist anymore". A brave little boy who I think was secretly just a LITTLE thrilled at the thought of getting to spend the night in a hospital, despite repeated pokes and a throbbing arm. Thankfully, Grandma was able to stay with him overnight and Renata the next morning, since his parents were three time zones away. It was so hard not being able to be there for him!!! What a helpless feeling- talking to an orthopedic surgeon via cell phone while standing next to an Elvis impersonator on the Vegas Strip, trying to ignore the karoke music, blaring car horns, and hoardes of people, to find out about the surgery your 5 year old just endured. Surreal.
Next on the agenda - healing said arm without complications. The orthopod said that he will most likely have to undergo another procedure soon , as he wasn't sure the bones would stay in place. Let's hope that doesn't happen!!!