Let there be Space!

Meredith began the journey to getting braces on Thursday when she got her spacers put in between her molars.  Ouch!  4 on top and 4 on bottom.  She has been in PAIN, but it is subsiding now.  The dentist says it is the worst part.  I'm hoping this is true. I thankfully never had to have them.  She gets her metal mouth next Monday.

Friday we went up to Kristin's house for a day of play and Owl Pellet Dissection.

This was a mouse skull that Max found in his pellet.

Thanks, Kristin, for the fun day!

 

Saturday Meredith was in a music recital for her summer singing class.  She participated in their bell choir, sang 4 songs with the group and played a piano solo.

For her piano piece she played a song called Sakura.  She forgot to bring her sheet music and only realized it right before she went on to play.  She pulled it off (a little cautiously).   Both she and her teacher didn't know she had it memorized.



Saturday evening we all had a chance to hit the pool for some fun.

Doug had fun throwing the kids into the air.

Sadly, Meredith was to big to get thrown.  I guess there is a limit to Doug's muscles.  Luke watched from the side and squirted water at everyone while they were in the air.
 

I also got a video of his swimming.

With only 2 weeks left until school starts, we are sad that summer is coming to a close.  We have really loved every minute of it.

Mid-week update!

We are blessed to find ourselves having a great summer even with Luke's broken leg.  We have gone swimming a couple of times since he got the cast on and he has shown us that he can even swim with a cast on.   He just uses his arms more, which is perfect practice for swimming anyway. This kid never ceases to amaze me.  I really need to get a video of him swimming

We have been watching Wild China on Netflix lately.  It is totally intriguing, and has us convinced that we need to get to China to see it in real life.  For family night on Monday Doug showed the kids some highlights.

For dessert we sampled some treats we found at the local Oriental Market.  I liked the butter coconut cookies the best.

Luke has been standing a bit over the last few days, and today he actually took a few steps by himself.  He generally just crawls all over the house and can stand up and climb up on things as well.

His "sock shoes" came in the mail and he wanted to venture outside for a walk on the sidewalk.  He can walk about 10-12 steps holding a hand before saying he's done.

We took him to a park yesterday and found out that he can swing so we did a bit more swinging tonight.  Have you noticed how he's not smiling in any of these shots?  He told me he doesn't want to smile for cameras, he just wants to do action poses.

He's a tough little kid and he is doing well.

And I'll leave you now with some action shots of everyone jumping on the trampoline tonight.

Good Night!

The Marathon Home

It is so good to be home, finally!  Today felt like a mental marathon for me, and I know you all want to see Luke's new cast so I'm blogging about our crazy day.

The Summary:  2 airplanes...3 states...Half a Birthday Party... the casting of Luke's broken leg... and a long drive home.

The Details:    We started our journey home at 3:45 am Colorado time.  Our flight last night was canceled on us and they rescheduled us for 6:20 this morning, expecting to land at 2:37 pm in Orlando.  We had scheduled a Dr.'s appt. with a pediatric orthopedist in Orlando at 4:25.   We were crossing our fingers that we would make it.   All the kids traveled famously, including Luke who we carted around the airport in a makeshift buggy.

Our second flight was delayed an hour, touching down at 3:30.  We hustled through the airport to meet Doug and got to Luke's appt. only 10 minutes late.  Phew!

 At the Doctor's office we heard good news.  Yes both Tibia and Fibula are broken, but he'll probably only be in a cast for 4 weeks instead of the 8 we were told by the Urgent Care doctor.  They were able to put on a waterproof cast with a Gore-tex lining.  Which means he can swim and take baths.   He is actually supposed to get it wet at least every other day.  He also will be able to walk on it as soon as he feels comfortable.  YES!

Here is what the Gore-tex lining looks like in case you are curious. Each little square is a cushiony little bubble, kind of like bubble wrap.

Here he is sporting his new "camo" cast at our next destination of the evening.  Chic-fil-a. 

We stopped for some much needed dinner and celebrated Max's birthday with the family.  His real birthday was yesterday and he had half a birthday celebration in Colorado before we drove to the airport and found out our flight was canceled.  The cow was in the store too and he joined us for the celebration. They even had trays of milkshake samples ready for us when we walked in the door.   It felt like it was a  party meant to be.

 ( not sure why the flash wasn't working)

Doug had brought all Max's gifts with him when he came to get us at the airport so we brought them inside and had Max open them up.

He said he got everything he wanted!

At last we drove home from Orlando and arrived around 8:30pm.  We will miss you Colorado with all your cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, but after a day like today it is sure nice to be home!

Reunion Fun!

Trip to Grandma's to be cont.

Summer pictures to remember...to be cont.