Sunday, June 20, 2010

A trip to the ZOO...

I know, I know...your thinking why do I need a trip to the zoo when I live in one!
However, yesterday I decided to take the boys to the North Carolina Zoo.
We left Evan at home to enjoy his day, with special instructions..."absolutely no studying." Relax, play video games, whatever you want, just don't pick up your books.
(a special fathers day gift, a day for him and him alone).

The boys and I completely enjoyed ourselves.
We used to spend a lot of time at the Salt Lake City Zoo when we lived in Utah and we all agree we miss having a zoo so close that we could walk there.


Braxton loved seeing everything, but toward the end of our day he was having a hard time and didn't feel well. (He had been feeling so well, I thought he would be okay,
but I guess it was too much walking).


Ethan was set on seeing the chimps.
As soon as we set a foot in the zoo he was saying "Mom lets go see the chimps first."
We missed them the first time through, but caught them on our way back.


Kaden said he loves seeing ALL the animals and playing on the playground.


Landon loved the turtles (I don't know where he gets that from, lol)!
He hated the sea lions, every time they swam toward him he started to cry.


As you can tell he doesn't like sitting on the animals either, they terrify him.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A Trip to the ER...

Our week started off with a trip to the Emergency Room.
Monday morning Braxton woke up with a pain in his stomach. I told him to lay down in my bed and let me know if it gets worse. Meanwhile, I am in the front room with Landon and his physical therapist working with him. Just as we were finishing up, Braxton came in the room saying "Mom, it has gotten a lot worse." (I could tell by the look in his eyes it wasn't good). So I helped the therapist clean up and sent her on her way.
In a manner of a few minutes I came to check on Braxton and he was in extreme pain and tears. For those of you who know Braxton, he is one tough kid and hardly ever cries, so I knew something must be wrong. I called Evan at work and told him what was going on. He had me do a few tests, when I was finished he said it sounds like he has appendicitis. Bring him to the emergency room, I will meet you down there.
I packed up the car and started on my way. By this time Braxton was to the point of pain that he couldn't stand to sit up. We arrived at the ER and were called back within a manner of minutes. Evan stayed in the waiting room with the boys while the nurses did there assessment. At this point, they rushed us back into a room when they realized Braxton was at a point of pain that I had to carry him to a wheel chair. The doctors came in and did there assessments and said the same thing Evan did..."sound like it could be appendicitis, he has a lot of the same symptoms, but we need to do a few tests." The nurses put in an IV, took his blood, and finally gave him morphine for the pain.

(after, the morphine had kicked in)

Evan gave him a blessing, then he was good enough to take the boys out for lunch while Braxton and I waited for the results.

Just as the morphine was starting to kick in, they took Braxton to get an ultrasound, this was a very painful exam. By the time we got back into our room the ultrasound results were in. The doctors said that the tech couldn't get a picture of all of his appendix, but it looked like it was fine, she did find a little bit if fluid in the stomach, but it could be nothing. Shortly after this the blood tests came back. Braxton's white blood count wasn't elevated real high like it does in most cases.
The doctors said he could be in the early stages of appendicitis, so they would be admitting him. The pain continued, but didn't get worse.

(exhausted)

In the morning, they re-examined him and weren't ready to send him home yet, because he was still in some pain and really tender. Braxton was starting to get better and the pain had diminished a lot by the time the doctors did there second rounds at 4:00. They decided they would send us home, with orders to keep Braxton down for the next couple of days and keep a close eye on him.

They never really figured out what exactly was going on. Braxton is feeling a lot better now. He has some tenderness still and gets dizzy from time to time.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Dinner with Friends...

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to have a few of our friends over for dinner. We all contributed to the dinner of ribs, rolls, chinese food, and desserts....mmmm it was DELICIOUS!
We had a great time visiting and watching the kids play together.

a picnic on the floor for the kids...

Landon & Delainey cooling off their feet...

saying goodbye...
Thanks to The Gilreath's & The Keenan's for the wonderful visit & yummy food!
We look forward to doing it again, soon!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Beach Vacation...

What is it about the beach that makes a vacation perfect?
I don't know if it is the feel of the sand between your toes, the relaxing sound of the waves crashing, or just the warmth of the sun.


For us, the beach is a perfect place for a vacation.
We were able to spend last weekend at Wilmington and Carolina Beach.
We had a great time being together. It was a much needed family vacation.

splashing in the ocean+
playing in the sand+
walking along the beach+
football=
a perfect vacation!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Botox...Round 2

Today, Landon had to go through the painful process of botox injections again. This is not something either of us look forward to. As I am laying on him to hold him down, tears running down his cheeks and the screeching sound of screaming, I feel tears forming in my eyes. As he looks at me and pleads, "Mom, hold me", I just want to grab him and take his pain away. If he only knew that I would give anything for him not to have to go through this pain. If the benefits weren't so significant we wouldn't put you through it, so sorry.

You are stronger than I could ever be, you are amazing, I love you!

(before)
(after)
(sorry for the run of emotions, but I want to remember my thoughts as we go through it.)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Kindergarten Graduation...

Today, our buddy Ethan graduated from Kindergarten. Moments like these are bittersweet. It is such a great feeling to see your son accomplishing so many things that you hope for, but at the same time it hits me that our little boy is growing up. I can't tell you how proud we are of our little graduate. He is a very smart, talkative (much to our surprise, at home he is our quiet one), and loving boy. Ethan loves to learn and is already excited to start 1st grade (he is not sure he wants to wait all summer).

The Cutest 2010 Graduate...

Can't resist that face & those dimples!

Belting out in song...

Receiving his diploma...

Ethan's graduation ceremony was such a well organized function, I was very impressed. They sang the cutest songs ever, they even had hand gestures to go along with them.

HAPPY GRADUATION DAY, ETHAN!
WE LOVE YOU!