KC

I've been in KC now since Thursday. It has rained the whole time I've been here! I've stayed with my sis in the hospital a few times, and will go again today. Even though this isn't the best circumstance, I do enjoy spending so much time with family. When I'm not at the hospital, I'm staying w/ another sis and bro - which has been nice. She's even making french toast for breakfast this morning. I told her this is an awesome hotel. :)

My sis in the hospital is showing improvement, so I'm very encouraged to see that. She's starting rehab today. I hope it goes well. I can't wait to see her back to her old self.

Yesterday, I also got to meet a friend from one of my fav. scrapbooking websites, HummiesWorld. It was so nice to have lunch w/ a friend, and to meet someone that I've only known online for a while. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. It was great! I've only eaten there one other time, but really like it. We don't have one in Springfield - which is probably a good thing. :) My diet would be shot!

Well, since I'm not home, I don't have any way to put any new pics on here. I'll probably go home in a few days, and I'll catch up on posting pics. Right now - I'm going to go have my french toast!

Going to see Julie

The last couple of days have been crazy. I've been trying to be ready to go at a moment's notice to go help with my sis in the hospital or my bro and his kids. Looks like today's the day. I went to have lunch w/ my kids at school and tell them goodbye because I'll be gone before they're home from school. I'm a little surprised that my Angel's not handling me leaving very well. She's usually super independent, but today was very clingy, and asking me not to leave. :( That makes me sad. I'm sure she'll be fine, though. I may be home as early as tomorrow, or I may stay w/ my family for a few days, depending on what everyone's needs are once I get there. Here is a scrapbooking layout I made of Julie. I entered it in the Layout Design Challenge at SAS. It's made from JulieO's kit, Feelin Welcome - the welcome kit when you sign up at SAS.
Here's another page I made for the Quote Challenge at Hummie's world.
Well, this is a short one, but I'm in a hurry. I'll try to post more in a day or two. Take care, and thanks for checking in on me and my family. :)

Surprise, Surprise!

There have been surprises galore around here! Frank and I like to randomly surprise the kids with short trips, or visiting friends, or going out for dinner or ice cream. Well, Angel's been working on a surprise for me for a couple days. I knew about it, but didn't let on. She's been working on making me a bracelet or anklet. It's taken so long because she's dropped the string several times and all the beads have fallen off, and she keeps having to start over. Yesterday, I fell asleep on the couch for a while, and I could feel her wrapping a string around my ankle - to measure for fit. When I woke up, she was picking up beads from the floor - another failed attempt. But because it was a surprise, she didn't complain or whine - just quietly picked everything up. So, this morning, I was sleeping in because I was up LATE working on a scrapbook page, and I feel little hands and string on my wrist. I kept my eyes closed, and even dozed back off for a min., and when I woke up, I had a beautiful bracelet tied on my wrist. :)
Another surprise I got yesterday was a new car!!!! Not a NEW car, but a 90-something Toyota Solara w/ sunroof. It's in good shape, and looks nice. I haven't driven it yet, though. Frank drove it today. I still love my other vehicle - so I'm not heartbroken not to drive the new one. Frank wants to clean it up a little more, too. It will get much better gas mileage, though, than my SUV. The surprise was pretty funny. Apparently the car was parked out there for 2 days before I realized it! I know that seems weird, or obvious, but to those who know Frank and I well, maybe you'll understand. There are always more vehicles around here than there are people to drive them. I should be more observant, but I'm just used to things coming and going. Here's the scenario. I don't even know which day he brought the car home, but I noticed it Sat. night. For the past week, or two, we've had my MIL's SUV here, and she had our 2-door dk. green car. She came for a visit this week, so we had the SUV and the green car here. Also, we have a friend's green car parked in our driveway so that Frank can work on it. Also, my MIL owns another dk. green car that is being worked on, but I knew was supposed to be picked up this weekend. All these cars are different makes and models, but all dark green. While my MIL and the SUV were here, I didn't pay attention to all the cars in the driveways - I just knew it was crowded, and I was driving MY SUV - not any of the other cars. Driving home Fri., I noticed that there was at least one extra car in the driveway, something wasn't quite right - the tail lights looked unfamiliar, but then I remembered we were having a couple over, and I recognized their car. I don't know why I didn't question the other car - maybe thought it was just our car, or the one being worked on...I don't know. So, it wasn't until we were driving home from being out last night, and as we pulled in the driveway next to the new car, I saw that it said Solara on the back. OK, I know we don't own a Solara! I asked Frank whose car it was, and he just started laughing. Then he told our son, D, "she finally noticed" - like it was an inside joke! He said our friends that came over Fri. were wondering how long it would take for me to notice, also. :) So, apparently, I need to be more observant! :)
Anyway, here's what I made last night. I used a kit by Julie.It.is - her blog is listed on the right side - and some wordart by Bethany, also listed on the right. These two ladies are very talented designers, and I love their products. Thanks Julie and Bethany! :)

I am officially

a soccer mom! Damian had his first soccer game today, and it was awesome! His team won 6-1, and he made 4! of the goals!!! WOW! It was a really exciting game, and the kids did better than we ever would have expected with only one practice. Even more impressive to me is that Damian has never played on a soccer team before. We let him try it out when he was 4, and took him to a couple practices on a friend's team, but he showed very little interest. Then, this summer, he had the opportunity to attend a one week soccer camp, and he loved it. So with such limited experience with the game, it was amazing to see how well he did today. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next game.
These pics are small, and hard to see, sorry. D's team is the green. In this photo, he's the little green spec to the far left. He's got the ball, and about 4 of the other team's boys on his tail.
On these last two, D's the one in white socks kicking the ball into the goal. He successfully made both of these goals, and 2 more throughout the game. Yay D!!!!! :)

Am I crazy that I actually felt tears in my eyes when he made his first goal, and when he ran through the "tunnel" of parents? I guess I'm just a crazy, emotional, proud mom! :)

I'm sure you're all dying to know

what I've been up to for the past week. :) I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted on my blog. Since I don't even remember last Thurs. or Fri., we'll skip those days. Saturday, we headed to Arkansas. We were planning to pick up the pop-up camper we bought from my grandparents and go camping at Devil's Den .
We got there late enough that we just spent the night at the Grandparent's. Grandma's breakfast in the morning was definitely worth staying for, though! My sis and her hubby also came for a visit, and my uncle also showed up for the weekend! We sat and visited most of the day Sunday, too, before we realized we better get to the campsite to set up before dark. We got there with a little light left, but it was dark before we got all set up. The kids were very excited, and weren't quite ready to sleep yet, so they did some activities at the table - (aren't they so cute?) before bed.
Do these look like sleepy kids? Here they are, all snuggled up for bed. The bed really wasn't too bad. I slept much better than I expected to.

The next day, Monday, was really the fun day of camping. I decided not to cook on this first trip, so we had cold pop-tarts and fruit for breakfast. Then we set off to go hiking - which is my fav. part of camping. There are caves and crevices all through Devil's Den, so hiking and exploring is really fun. Here we are in the Devil's Ice Box. It is a little chilly. Feels good, though, after hiking for a while.
My fav. part of the hike is the waterfall. It's so beautiful, and also refreshing, but unfortunately, this is all there was this time.
Just a few drips. I don't know if you can even see in this pic. :( It's usually a big pretty waterfall. After the hike, we had a quick lunch, then took the kids swimming. We didn't have time to do the paddle-boats, but that's something we usually try to do when we're there. I remember my Dad taking my sis and I out on the paddle-boats as little girls, so it's a pleasant memory I'd like to create w/ my kids, too. After swimming, it was time to pack up and check out. While Frank put the camper back down and hooked it up, the kids and I made s'mores - another camping tradition that we just HAVE to do. :) We got home around midnight.
Tues. I was not feeling well, and Angel stayed home sick on Wed. Yesterday (Thurs), I went to the school to volunteer, and boy, did I get put to work! It appears I won't be bored this year w/ both kids in school. I volunteered again today, and had lunch w/ both kids. This afternoon was D's first soccer practice, and first game is tomorrow! AAAAHHHHHHHH!!! I hope they know what they're doing after only one practice. They seemed to be having fun, though, so I'm sure it will be fine. I'm pretty excited to watch his first game. :)
Tonight, we went to a comedy show that we like with some friends. It's like an improv talk show, with guests, and everything, but it's a comedy show - and it's hilarious! They do this talk show once/month, and we like to try to go each month. Thank you to another friend for babysitting!

Whew! Finally caught up! Now I'm off to bed. :)

First Day(s) of school

Monday, 25th was the first day of school. We had gone to "meet the teacher day" on Friday, and both kids got the teachers they wanted. Yay!!! Angel, especially was very excited about starting kindergarten. Damian was excited to see his friends again, but not as excited about the academic part. :( So, Monday morning, I got up early to make a special pancake breakfast. Unfortunately, my happy faces came out looking a little scary. Oh, well - they tasted good! Damian was not eating much, then started complaining of his head hurting. Uh-oh...sure enough - he had a fever of 101. So, no school for Damian. Angel had the first day celebration to herself. I made the school bus cake that has become a tradition, and each child got a special present after school. Damian got his, too, even though his first day was a little different. Tomorrow will be his first day since today was the first day his temp. was less than 100. He called his best friend today to catch up. They are not in the same class this year for the first time. I'm curious to see how that goes. They'll only have recess to hang out together. Angel, on the other hand, already has a boyfriend! Just great!!!!

Fun Day in KC

One of our traditions is to have "Damian week" - now "Damian and Angel week" the week before school starts. We like to just fill every day with fun activities and give each kid some special attention before they start school. We knew we weren't going to be able to do a full week due to our vacation, and Frank had a race the weekend before school starts, but we had hoped to have a few special days with the kids anyway. Well, now that our plans had changed a little, we decided to find something fun to do in KC while we were there. We went to Crown Center where we ate lunch at Fritz's - a train restaurant, did crafts at Kaleidoscope and went to the Crayola store. We met up with some friends for dinner, which was so nice. Everyone in both families get along great. We really miss them. The kids were SOOO excited to see each other. :) It was great. We miss you guys!!! Don't worry, we're planning another visit soon.

Since we brought the cousins home with us, (and Frank went to TX to race), we weren't able to do a lot of the other fun stuff the kids wanted to do for their special week, but we did go to the zoo Saturday. It was the annual ice cream safari. We had fun! We told the kids we'd get to all the fun activities on their list, but it may be on the weekends or after school.

The Phone Call

So, Tues. the 19th is the day we were headed home. As we're on the plane, taxiing out to the runway, my mom calls. I could tell in her voice something was wrong. She informed me that my brother had crashed his motorcycle and was pretty banged up. He was in the hospital. That's bad enough - but then she continued. Two of my sisters were the first ones to the hospital to see him. One of my sisters passed out and hit the floor hard enough that she cracked her skull, and was bleeding. She was still in ICU. She had been since Saturday night when this all happened. My brother had been in ICU, but was in his own room now. Wow! What news to come home to, right? So, we did some quick deciding, and instead of going home, drove straight from the Tulsa airport to my in-laws, where our kids were. It was a loooooooong day!
Wed. morning, we got up early and headed to the KC hospital to visit the invalids. My sis was pretty out of it still. She did open her eyes and look at me, but was pretty tired, and mostly slept. The kids had made her a card, and I had bought one. I hung them up on her wall, and she did look at them, but I couldn't tell if she was actually able to read them or not. Mom was there with her, and had been most of the time. She would go back and forth to each kid's room, which thankfully, were pretty close to each other. When I saw my brother, he looked better than I expected. He was sitting up in bed, and had been out and about around his floor. Most of his injuries are fractured bones that aren't casted, or anything, so there's not much outside evidence of everything that was hurt. His back was really torn up, though, and he had other scratches and scrapes on his arms. He has to take it easy, though, and let everything heal. He can't put weight on one leg for 6 weeks, due to a fractured hip and he also has fractured ribs, which make using crutches painful. He was released on Thurs. the day after we visited. His bandages on his back have to be changed daily, and they want him to do rehab for his back when his hip is better. For now, he is staying with another sister who is trying to keep him from over-exerting. Good luck!

We went back later that night to visit again. My sis was more awake this time. She would talk to us, and try to take out IVs and disconnect sensors, etc. (which are actually all good signs). She would only eat grapes, so I had brought her some, and she really wanted her phone, which I also brought to her. She knew who all her visitors were, and we were all relieved to know that she had some memory, movement, coordination and speech. Each new thing she would do was a relief, because we really didn't know in what shape she'd be in once all the swelling went down.

As of now (Wed, 8/27), she has been moved to a rehab center. They will be working with her to try and get her back to normal. I think the main concern is short term memory. She's still on meds, so we're not sure how much the injury may have affected her behavior and personality. I'm just glad she's made such great improvements since I saw her a week ago. She likes to get up and walk around the hospital and is at least getting some excersize now.

Between the morning and evening visits, we took the kids out for a "fun day" in KC, which I'll post next. We headed home the next day, Thursday, and brought these two munchkins with us. They're my brother's kids. With my bro not able to walk or lift anything, he would have a hard time caring for them. (He has full custody). My mom was spending all her time at the hospital w/ my sis, and everyone else had work or school. (My sis that's in the hospital was also their child care) So, we took them for a while.

... continued

So, our visit w/ our high school friend and her family went great. I wish we'd had time to stay longer, but Grandad was expecting us for dinner. He wanted to take us to an Italian place that he used to take Grandmother to. It was very good. The next day was Monday, and we had a busy day planned. We went out to breakfast, then out to the "island" of Coronado. We saw the Hotel del Coronado, where my dad used to play piano. It's a beautiful building. We didn't go in, but Dad says we should have - the lobby is amazing. We drove around a little bit - it's a beautiful community, then went to the beach. I walked along the shore, found a few seashells, and got my feet wet (ok, and my legs and pants and a couple splashes on my shirt. I was a mess!) I loved it. :) I didn't find as many shells as I'd hoped to, but I got a few. This is the first summer that my kids have not been to any beach. I feel bad about that, but I'm so glad I got to go, even though I didn't get in the water (too much). I just love the beach! :) Later, we drove around some more, went to see where my Great-Grandad used to live, then met 2 of my aunts and an uncle for dinner. It was very nice seeing them all again, and I wished I had more time to spend together. I also would have liked to see more of the family. I have some cousins in the area that I'd like to see next time. We left the next morning. It was a long trip and full of fun, but I left wishing I had more time to visit. I'd like our next visit to be even longer, and full of more fun and visiting. :)

The wedding - continued...

Ok - finally getting back to the telling of my trip to CA for my friend's wedding. The morning of the wedding, the hair and make-up lady showed up to get started at 6 a.m. Thank goodness I wasn't first in line! I got to the room we were using around 7:30. Our hair was done in an elegant up-do with jeweled pins in it. My favorite part of having my make-up done for me was the facial massage she gave first. Aaaaaahhhhhh!!! The fake eyelashes, however, were not so great. They made it most of the night before took them off. :) The club provided a buffet breakfast and lunch while we were getting done up which took until about 1:30. Then we had pictures done - then touch-ups - then ready for the wedding at 5 p.m. By that time, we all decided we liked out stylist so much that we talked her into staying. She was just going to stay for the ceremony, but ended up staying for the whole reception and everything. She also ended up sitting at the head table with all of us. She was a little uncomfortable - not being dressed up, or part of the wedding party, but we were glad to have her. :) I was very impressed w/ the servers at the club when we requested an extra table setting - then a vegetarian meal. Everything was set up and her meal served within minutes! Amazing!

The ceremony itself was short, sweet, and beautiful. I was the first one down the aisle, and I will say that it felt weird to be walking down the aisle toward a groom that's not my husband. :) After the ceremony was the cocktail hour. Frank ordered me my fav. - a virgin pina colada. :) The appetizers were awesome, too. Then we moved into the dining room for the reception. Once again, the food was amazing. The reception was a lot of fun - I even danced and did the limbo.

The next day was spent walking around downtown LA - then we took a drive to Hollywood w/ some of our new friends from the wedding party. After we checked out of our room, we headed back toward San Diego, but stopped along the way to visit another high school friend. It was so nice to see so many friends, and to get along with everyone like we'd seen them yesterday. I am also so happy to have new friends from this trip. The other bridesmaids (and our stylist) are all great, and I'm so happy to have had the chance to meet and hang out with all of them. :)
to be continued - back in San Diego next post. Also - check prev. post for pics. :)