Let's Get Out There and Play!

A week ago we celebrated one of our good friend's Birthday. How did he want to celebrate? Miniature Golf!
Here we are the life of the party, those of us three and under.

Look pictures of Mommy and Daddy. Check out their amazing athletic skill.
Well the younger tikes decided to get a true "taste" of golf. Why must my brother have to put everything in his mouth I will never know. I never had that problem.
The adults decided that we needed some lessons. They just didn't realize that we are naturally talented, we were just trying to be kind and keep it a close game. The group just hanging out and having fun. What is more fun than getting a chance to swing some clubs and smack some balls.
It was obviously too much excitement for Ryker, though. He passed out pretty early, and missed the best part, ICE CREAM!

It just isn't a Birthday Party without some ice cream. Oh it was sooooo yummy. And just to let you know how great it was, I offer you all a bite of this tasty treat.

So I Think I Have Gone Crazy!

Yep, I am pretty sure that I have gone completely insane. Let me start at the beginning. Michelle has been receiving therapy at home from multiple disciplines (physical, occupational, and speech) since she was just a wee babe. It is all through the wonderful state program here. It was established to ensure children with disabilities and special needs not be left behind. I have loved it 99.9% of the time. (Having people come into my home and seeing my dirty dishes and stained carpet is my only qualm, sigh.) We have loved these therapists so much and appreciated all the help they have given us. I have no idea where we would be without their assistance. But the part that has been the largest benefit to Michelle is that they could come to our home. We didn't have to take her some place outside our home since most of these therapies are once a week. She is unfortunately more susceptible to germs. So we have been a little protective on trying to prevent her from being in public settings where she would be exposed to the dreaded germ. We feel pretty successful since she has only had ONE ear infection, and ONE case of pneumonia (something unheard of with a child who has a trach and is on ventilator).

Well this is where the story gets to the part where I turn crazy. Now this fabulous state program only lasts the first three years. Then you have several choices, with the vast majority having to do with taking her somewhere outside our home for all these therapies. The one that is the most common and definitely an awesome choice is the developmental preschool. I have only one issue with this, other children and germs. Don't get me wrong, I know that children just get sick, and this just happens. But when you have a child who can have a minor cold turn into pneumonia and thus hospitalization with just a snap of a finger, well . . . you become a little overprotective/crazy. So I have been mulling over all these choices, and one thing keeps coming into my greatly sleep deprived mind, (yes, "I want more sleep" keeps popping up, but that is not it) home preschool. The thing that is crazy about this is . . . I have no idea where to start. I have no idea what materials or curriculums are appropriate, or where to even begin researching. And I will be honest that the only educational experience I have is teaching youth groups in our church, and tutoring college students in reading, microbiology, and nursing. Do you see the same problem I see? I have only ever taught young adults. What am I thinking? . . . I am thinking this will be the best choice for Michelle at this point. Health is number one in our home, but I will not set aside her overall development. So I guess that means I must step up to this challenge and figure out how I am supposed to do this.

I guess that is why I am posting this, please let me know what resources you have found and places I should start looking: websites, blogs, books, educational stores, anything. Lists of great ideas are always helpful, too. Help, please!

Oh, and if you are wondering what these pictures are here for . . . It just isn't a post without pictures of my kids.

Being the Trusty Sidekick

So I have tried to be nice and just sit back while "we" are supposedly keeping you all updated. But I don't know if any of you have realized this, but the "we" is 98% Michelle and here opinion on things. Yes, I realize that I am the the Sidekick. And that the Super Hero gets all the glory and praise. That is fine, but I do think that there might be a grandparent or two out there that might be somewhat curious as to what I am doing. No offense Michelle, but I am going to post about myself this time. (Disclaimer: I will not be posting any stats that tell what percentile I am in for Height, Weight, and Head Circumference. I must be taking after Mommy's sad genetic profile-enough said.)

I have been sitting up all by myself since about the beginning of April, and rolling all over the world since about the beginning of June. Then last week I starting CRAWLING! FREEDOM!!!

The not so pleasant part of last few weeks though is teething, ouchy. The first two popped up out of nowhere. But now, there are four little teeth that are coming in with a vengeance. I am too cute and innocent to have to experience such pain, sigh. But Daddy has been promising steak for my First Birthday. Meat, yummy.

Grandpa came to visit recently to pick up Tino's dead automobile (another very long story) and he went over some of the basic "man" skills I will need someday. Mommy only got a picture of the installation of the DVD player, manly . . . but not the best part. We worked on cars. And got grease on our hands. Nothing says MAN like laying under a car with some tool in your hand. (manly grunt)

Well, that is it for now. Just remember, I am might be the super handsome Sidekick, but I have lots of stories to tell too.

Flashback Friday: Close Encounter of the Wolfey Kind

Michelle, Ryker, and I have come to an agreement. I can post about once a week. My sister has been doing Flashback Fridays on her blog for a while. Reliving wonderful memories and showcasing pictures from the P.B. (pre blog) era. I have decided to follow in her amazing footsteps.

First off, I will take absolutely no credit for for the wolf picture above, it is the result of googling wolf images. This is the best picture to describe this "incident." This story has been on my mind a lot since our camping endeavor this year and especially after our last road trip.

My mother's extended family was having a reunion in Yellowstone National Park. Tory and I were young, carefree, and childless so we just picked up and went to join them. We packed up our fabulous tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, and other camping paraphernalia and went on a little excursion. The only thing I was semi-concerned with was bears. A ranger had told us there was a rogue bear that had learned it was particularly enjoyable to belly flop on "blue" tents. Our's was blue, and I really didn't want to be body slammed by a bear in the middle of the night.

The first night was perfect, clear sky and smores galore. The second night we heard howling, but it seemed quite a distance away, and there were plenty of people saying that there were no cases of wolf attacks on human in the Park. (I now know that is because the wolves are smart and properly dispose of any such evidence making it look the mafia had done the dirty deed.) The Third night was different story. I woke up to what I assumed were the howls of wolves on the outskirts of the campground. At first I assumed I was overreacting due to my dislike of the dark and unknown, only to realize that my tall brawny husband was breathing at the same nervous pace as myself. We whispered to each other on what we should do, feeling like just laying there in our tent we were just a nice little ziploc treat for the wolves. Needless to say, we decided to try and go back to sleep and hope that they would kill us quicker and less painfully that way. But I didn't sleep. The next morning we felt much better with the howling gone, the light to aid our vision, and my father and uncle discussing the firearms they had brought with them. We all decided to take a little walk a couple hundred yards to Yellowstone Lake. What did we find? Very large wolf tracks that had obiviously been following a deer. The scary part was, when we had first heard the wolves howling, it was from the opposite side of the campground. Needless to say, the tent will now be used for backyard camping, and reinforced trailers will be used for Yellowstone.

A North Dakota Adventure

As many people were doing we went on a road trip for the Fourth of July Weekend. Daddy and Mommy had been hoping and planning on a vacation to North Dakota for months, but at the very last minute we almost didn't go. Why, you maybe asking? I had been acting tired for several days before and my parents broke down two days before we supposed to leave and called my doctor. Of course, being me, they had to do a plethora of tests and guess what they found out. I had an early stage pneumonia and that meant trouble. Trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stand for pneumonia. Anyway, we had many a long discussions. Including one with my pediatrician on whether we should go. Daddy finally said it one way that made the decision a whole lot easier. "Let's make a decision we won't regret." That said, we ran home and did laundry and packed like crazy so that we could go.

Well, as you can see in the pictures we were trying to figure out a way of maximizing packing space. Ryker and I volunteered to go in the luggage, it seem comfortable enough. But Mommy and Daddy insisted we ride in our seats. Ryker would have preferred the luggage.

The morning of the Fourth of July we went to the most fantastic parade ever. It lasted maybe a whole whopping 10 minutes and my cousins got tons of candy. What can be better than that. We got a little confused with Santa for a second, but I guess he really is watching us all the time and this proved it. Then right after we went to the park across the street and got a free lunch. It was sooooo cool.

We of course were our normal crazy selves. I found this fabulous pink fluffy hat at my Great-Grandparents house. Doesn't it just scream Fancy. And while mommy was trying to get Ryker's food ready, he stole Daddy's cookie . . . and then devoured it.

Hanging out with my Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Heller. More Grandmas and Grandpas to have wild adventures with.

The Fireworks! This year I actually liked the sparklers and fireworks. Maybe it is because they are so sparkly and as you all may know by now, this girl loves anything sparkly.

Waking up one of the mornings in a hotel! It was so amazing. A little sidenote to remind you all how I am the princess. Ryker had to sleep in a dinky pack and play and Daddy and Mommy had to share a bed. But me . . . I got a whole "queen" size bed to myself! I love being the princess of our little family.

On the road again. This was just one of the legs of the trip. We drove through a whole bunch of rain. But with Daddy at the helm, Ryker and I could just sit back and relax.

On the way back home we drove a little bit through Yellowstone National Park. It was so beautiful. We saw Elk (top picture), a Black Bear (Middle Right Picture) I know it is small but it is the that black smudge in the middle of the picture, and a Bald Eagle (Bottom Picture). That is totally awesome!

Now it wouldn't be a road trip without a bit of road construction. At least I was asleep and didn't have to deal with it, hehehe.

Just some pictures of my Grandma and Grandpa McCracken's greenhouse. I just can't wait to eat some tomatoes and make some salsa this fall. I love salsa.

Hanging out in the best backyard ever. They had it all: slide, swing, trampoline. What more can a Grandchild ask for.

This was definitely a great trip. We got to see all our grandparents and all our living great-grandparents. It was definitely a lot of time on the road. (One day we drove for 10 hours and that does not include the hour worth of stops. That was a long, long, long, long day.) Another adventure that fills our minds full of great memories.