Breaking Point

I think so many times when you have a bunch of kids people assume you are some sort of super mom. No such case here. Let me tell you, yesterday was a case of the "I feel like the worst parent ever" moments. Ellie, my gymnast, was walking out of Girl Scouts with her friend while we loaded up meeting stuff and her friend did a cartwheel and accidentally kicked Ellie in the hand. No big deal. Just thought she was being a little emotional and I basically told her she'd be alright and to suck it up. Oh geez. That was last Tuesday night. I put ice on it and wrapped it up. She felt bad Wednesday so I gave her some tylenol and wrapped it up again and then again on Thursday. She had a bit of a cough and a runny nose so I thought that was the main thing she was feeling bad about. Friday she said it felt sort of better so I didn't take her to the doctor. We thought we'd see how it felt over the weekend. It was bruising pretty bad so I thought she had just bruised it pretty good.

Monday (SIX days later). Went to the doctor. Her hand is broken. Broken!!! We go back to the surgeon next week to see if she will need surgery and screws. Whoops. Parent fail. I have to give her some credit though, because she really did suck it up. I felt so awful that I hadn't taken her right away and that I had told her to suck it up! She told me not to feel bad, that even she was surprised it was broken! What a doll. She was bummed she didn't get a pretty pink cast and that she is out of gymnastics for the next 6 weeks.

I hope that she can take away from this how strong she really is. I always knew she was, but this should have been her breaking point and it wasn't.

Apparently I wasn't holding it up correctly (the broken hand is her left and this makes it look like her right). Not bad for in the car with my phone!

Tough little cookie!

Oh you know I got her ice cream!!

A little adventure

Last fall we drove from Oklahoma to Oregon to pick up a 1978 Argosy Airstream from my dad. We traveled through Denver, Yellowstone, beautiful Pacific beaches, downtown San Fran at rush hour hauling the airstream and Disneyland. We pushed hard on the way back to just get back in time and stayed extra at Disney so we missed The Grand Canyon. We crammed a lot in, which simply made us hungry for staying in one place and really exploring on our next little adventure. 

We visited Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful while basking in the most beautiful smell of real pine trees. The kids saw the ocean for the first time. My ocean, with cool water on a wonderfully cloudy and foggy day (in true Northern California/Oregon style). My kids got to see part of the not so little town I grew up in just north of the Bay in San Fran. I really missed mom when I was there, something fierce.We went to Disneyland and managed to surprise the kids. It was magical and I can't wait to go back and really spend some time in each place. Now we are busy remodeling our little Airstream to get it ready for our next adventure. 

I will really introduce our Airstream in the next post. Since she really wasn't stay ready we used her as a giant portable bathroom for us in the middle of nowhere. I highly recommend keeping those training potties...it came in so handy! Take lots of snacks but in lots of varieties, have packs of wipes and plastic grocery sacks for trash. Take a cooler so that you can save money on drinks (crystal light and water bottles y'all). Plan out stops and expect to have an accident. Pack your kids extra clothes for the car, some gallon ziplock bags in case they have one. You'll be prepared so you won't get upset and it will be less stressful, oh and some extra towels.

I planned out our Disney trip knowing we only had 2 days at the park. I studied the maps until I knew it nearly by heart. I chose one must do ride for each kid and then we were free to explore the things that were neat and caught our eye. We did do a character lunch at Ariel's Grotto...worth every penny. We also got the photo pass and we will get it every time we go from now on. I have great pictures of ALL of us. The photographers are really great and really do know how to get the best shot wherever you are. It was truly two days of magic!

I could have stayed at Yellowstone for forever. Breathtakingly beautiful. I cannot wait to take our Airstream and have some awesome little adventures with the kids. We stayed at The Yellowstone Hotel. It has been beautifully restored in the lobby and dining areas, and they are working on the rooms. It was a little Shining-esque, but only for Dale and I :). I want to really camp next time. I spotted lots of animals and it was fun looking for them while we drove. 

It was fun and exhausting...worth every second!

Ellie's Brave Party

It's February and Ellie's birthday party was a few months ago.  I have found that October through March is some sort of time warp and everything seems to be moving so fast that I have a hard time keeping up with whats going on and an even harder time documenting it.  I think that I enjoy planning her parties the most...so far.  We usually have the same vision of where we want it to go.  We both knew that we wanted it to be simple and fun and most importantly special.  So here is her party in pictures...enjoy!

Bear claw cupcakes: chocolate frosting and almond slivers

Wisps: blue cellophane, balloons and a lightstick.  I had them through out the neighborhood leading people to our house!

Chocolate cake with almonds on the outside.  Green coconut grass. Marshmallow fondant stones.

I used an oval wood cutting base and got lucky that the number 8 was blue or wisp colored.

Bear paw cupcakes and a picture of the birthday girl with Merida from Disneyland!

Such a silly gal!

The girls wore their favorite dress up clothes- Ellie was Merida of course!