Grandma and Grandpa Cooper's house had so much to do and our kids were in heaven. They could run and play outside without us fearing that they'd run into the street or get kidnapped (not that we live in the sort of neighborhood but we never can forget that there are some crazies out there). There was a huge sandbox, tramp, horse, fire pit for smores, play house, swings, a mule, and lots of open space! Not to mention the huge house to play hide-n-seek, gun shooting (Dad's only), a dollar theater (girls went to Divergent and boys went to Captain America), and the DELICIOUS smokehouse restaurant we enjoyed (I always have mixed feelings on getting my meat cut off a slab while I wait in line to have it weighed). I even got a tutorial on how to make the most incredible bread I've ever tasted. EVER. All in all, it was a VERY fun weekend and just what we were looking for. We're just grateful for friends who are willing to put up with our shenanigans for three days straight. And don't mind Clark's brown sweater. He borrowed several of Grandma Coopers for the weekend because he thought he left his at the office. Turned out it was in the back of the van.
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Next up for the month was Easter weekend! We never really make a big deal out of Easter at our house. Just more stuff to do and worry about. I did do a couple spring crafts during the week and a reading schedule with the kids about Christ's life out of The Friend magazine, but other than that, nothing too crazy! There were some fun church and community events going on so we attended those. We started the weekend with a BIG WHEELS exhibit at the local library. Obviously the boys were in heaven and loved getting to touch the machines we always point at while driving down the road.
The next morning was the Egg Hunt and Breakfast at our church. Not much of a 'hunt' per say but still exciting for the kids to collect eggs full of candy. Zachary could hardly contain himself in the car and subsequently poured out every egg "accidentally." Most had jelly beans but there was an unfortunate M&M egg that got melted underneath him. Figures! We then headed to a little friend's birthday party, then to Michael and Marisol's for a couple of hours, then to Home Depot to buy new flowers and plants for our front yard, then planted the flowers, then ended our day with a pizza dinner on the front lawn. Whew! Everyone slept pretty good that night.
Of course Easter Sunday was enjoyable. We watched a lot of videos of Christ and read from the scriptures. Church was enjoyable and the kids had lots of interesting things to say after Sunbeam class. One of which was Leah being really concerned about getting blood on her hands and knees. :) Her comprehension of the holiday was sweet and I videotaped her testimony. We had German pancakes for dinner and thought maybe we'd rename them Easter pancakes and make it a tradition since Clark claims it's is FAVORITE food ever. I'm writing this down so I don't forget for next year!
I got one Easter photo for the day.
Caleb.
Our picture of Easter perfection. Straight posture, pressed shirt, cute smile, and a goofy look. His picture helps me remember that I'm here on earth living my imperfect life with a family I love so much because Heavenly Father's Son made that possible. And even though my kids, Caleb in particular right now, push me to my last nerve sometimes, I'm grateful I can ask for forgiveness and start over new everyday. That's the most wonderful thing about young kids. They are completely and utterly forgiving. No matter how I act or how I mess up with them, they put their arms around me at night and say they love me. That's how our Savior is. Completely and utterly forgiving. And when we come to Him at night in prayer, he envelopes us with His love and peace and says 'it's ok, I love you.' What a wonderful thing.
The following weekend we all headed up to a wildlife sanctuary. I bought season passes on Groupon and am excited to have a neat place to go occasionally to check out animals and go for nature walks. There is a little village in the sanctuary with miniature log cabins in which the kids have so much fun. They each pick a cabin and make it their own then proceed to invite one another over for tea parties and sitting on the porch. We've even had a little glimpse of Caleb's hoarding problem and wonder if he'll end up on the A&E show when he is older. He invited me into his cabin and had collected EVERY item from EVERY cabin and placed it on his floor. However he was so proud and excited about his belongings. Makes you wonder. Anyway, we had a good time and wore the kids out.
Something new that our family has started doing is visiting local bakeries for a sugar cookie fill. I have found, for me, that it is the smartest way to go. You pay for your sugar cookies and when you are done, you are done. No extra cookies are laying around on the counter or packed in a bag in the freezer. No extra frosting around either. I LOVE sugar cookies. Like more than any other dessert. I could pass up most anything until presented with a soft, gooey sugar cookie. So I like to go have them at the bakeries and then walk away empty handed with no further temptation. However, we've now encountered a problem. At a recent sugar cookie run after the wildlife sanctuary, we happened to find the most incredible sugar cookies I've ever tasted. Not only that, if you buy six, you get six for free. FURTHERMORE, the sugar cookies are gigantic!! So now I'm really in trouble because with a family of five, of course we're going to buy the extra one and get six free. But now we have cookies on our counter....really good cookies....and really BIG cookies....defeating the whole purpose of the bakery visit! Ugh. Back to square one.
One night after dinner, two days into Leah's sickness, the kids were playing in the living room and I was cleaning up the kitchen. Apparently Leah and Zachary were sitting on their big balls on top of the coffee table (this activity could never end well). Leah's ball rolled one way and she rolled another. She started crying, which happens a LOT during the day, so I checked her out to make sure she was ok. I felt both her arms because she said they hurt and moved the joints (which I feel bad about now) to see if she would cringe or indicate pain. But she didn't so I gave her a rice bag to put on her arm.
But she wouldn't stop crying.
And when I asked her to lift her arm, she wouldn't. She had to use her other arm to lift the injured one. At the point I knew it was broken. So we shuffled off to urgent care, Michael and Marisol picked up the boys, and she got an x-ray. Surprisingly she fell asleep in Clark's arms while we waited for the results. This ended up being a blessing because they were able to listen to her lungs, give her an Albuterol treatment right away, and check her oxygen levels. She would've screamed and screamed through all of that if she was awake. They diagnosed her with bronchiolitis which is worse than bronchitis. Poor girl. Double whammy all in one night.
Maybe I'm new to this whole broken bone thing but they wrapped her arm in an ace bandage and said to make an appointment with an orthopedic specialist within the next few days. That seemed so weird to me that she would have an unprotected broken arm at home while I casually set up a future appointment. Wasn't this an emergency? I was so confused. Then I called the Children's hospital the next day and they couldn't get her in for a week!! Not only that, they said that she would be fine waiting that long. I felt totally uncomfortable with that timeline. It just seemed too long for her to be in so much pain. So I called and called and called and found a place up north who saw children and could get her in the next morning. I was so grateful. I actually got the referral from my pediatrician who gave it to me when I picked the nebulizer up for Leah's bronchiolitis! So in a way I was grateful for her sickness which led me to a solution!
She's all casted up and on her way to healing now. She's still in pain most of the time and again, often forgets to be careful, but she'll only have the cast on for three weeks. Clark watched the boys while we went to get the cast on and creatively thought to give the boys some pink casts so Leah wouldn't feel bad. So sweet.
It's been a pretty eventful month. We've been to some fun parks and on some fun bike rides. Unfortunately on one bike ride I lost our garage door opener so when we got back home I had to crawl in a window. The kids were so excited about the whole situation and are still talking about it. They've also really gotten into Peter Pan this month. I like Peter Pan for several reasons. One is that it's short. But the main reason that I like it is because it fosters a lot of creative play that sometimes the newer Disney movies don't. I like that it encourages imagination and fantastical situations...moreso than a plane flying in the air or a car driving on a track. Those things are good too but I've really enjoyed seeing their imaginations go as they take on the Peter Pan characters and play it out in a new way.
A few more April items I'd like to include are Caleb and Zachary having many debates on Spiderman and his villains, getting new swimsuits for summer (picture taken before broken arm), and the boys taking a bath in the sink so we could show them that we did indeed bathe them in there when they were babies. They always think we are joking. But they had a great time and made a great mess.
I'll leave you with this gem from Zachary. So my parents have wanted Clark to get rid of his green D.I. Bidwell Dragon shirt for years. They think he needs to frame it and move on. What's funny is that it always seems like he wears it when they come or when I take pictures but he really doesn't wear it that much at all! When they were here last September, they were going to try and kidnap and frame the shirt themselves but didn't go through with the act. So with all the bronchitis going on, I hadn't done laundry and Zachary didn't have clean pajamas. So Clark offered him the comfiest, coolest shirt to sleep in and Zachary was SOOO excited to wear and sleep in it!
Sorry Mom and Dad, looks like the Bidwell Dragon shirt has found a new owner for many years to come! :)
I thought the same thing when my daughter broke her arm (She was about the same age as Leah) and we were just sent home with a splint and ace bandages. The ER doctor told me they like to wait to cast it until the swelling goes down. It still made me nervous, though. I hope Leah's arm heals quickly!
ReplyDeleteAnd I think Peter Pan has been my favorite read aloud I've done with my kids. They didn't care much for the movie, but loved the book!