Summer Lovin'

We have had a busy summer already. Shane is now out of school for the next couple of weeks. He'll start his last session if didactic courses and then he'll be starting rotations.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures of our adventures thus far.

Shane insisted that we go camping at least once while he's on break (we compromised with one two nighter). We are going to a campsite that is next to a fishing lake--so he's teaching Cade early how to fish:) It'll be our first fishing attempt. We'll let you know how it goes.

We played hide and seek a few days ago, and this is how we found Brinly. It was SO cute, so innocent. I loved it!
Shane's attempt to put Cade to sleep while I was out-- I came home and found them like this--amazingly enough they both fit in the crib.

A blessed day! The day that my children fall asleep in the highchair is a day to remember! They finally can fall asleep with no problem where-ever AND whenever!! Great day, great day. Not to mention, he looks really adorable!



Happy Father's Day Daddy! Brinly and Cade made this card for Daddy:) We had just arrived home from our family reunion trip. We love you Daddy-o!

Brinly started a dance class for the summer. She needed a little motivation, so we found a cheep leotard and we made a tu-tu. It turned out pretty cute. She insisted that her good friend Zoe needed one as well. Pretty pink Princess:)

We attempted to go camping over Memorial Weekend, but it was WAY too cold at the altitude we attempted! We ended up leaving at midnight b/c the kids were too cold (me too:)).
I am aging--this is a TERRIBLE picture, but Shane chose the pictures for this post. He wants to show my glasses--my first pair EVER. My eyes just aren't keeping up with me these days.
Brinly drew this cute picture of our family. I thought it was pretty good:)

Day of the Menice...My Son

So, Cade has been a MENICE since we returned home. I don’t know if he is just bored or what, but yesterday was a record for our household. First, I found him upstairs in our bathroom, repeatedly flushing the toilet WITH all the contents of the garbage in the toilet—including the plastic Wal-Mart bag---thus water was everywhere. Then, I found him in the kitchen after he had emptied the dirty dishwasher into the garbage! THEN, when I was preparing dinner, I turn around to set the table and Cade is standing on the middle of the kitchen table. He also dumped his milk and water on the carpet, pulled every rag & hand towel across the house, there were a few other things, but I can’t remember them right now. He tried several times to repeat the toilet fiasco—fortunately, Shane and I were there to intercede! What a wild boy! It all came all of a sudden—hopefully it won’t continue!

Crazy Pace

Ok, I am totally due for an update, but the pace of life just hasn't allowed me to make a decent post. I will soon. We just got back from an adventurous road trip to and from a family reunion. Exciting events, I must say. I'll provide details later. We enjoyed fevers, messy messy diapers and carseats, fussy out-of-routine children, husbandless-for-a-week craziness, and many more not-so-fun-adventures...BUT we had a marvelous, memory-building vacation, full of highs! It really was a fun time with all of my sisters, their families, my parents, and both paternal and maternal extended families. We returned Sunday and are beginning to recreate a blessed routine!

Update

Brinly is doing MUCH better. She did have to endure a very traumatic test yesterday, the VCUG. Not fun, and she has been afraid to potty ever since, unfortunately...which means a few accidents. It is getting better though. And even better is all of her results came back normal--no abnormalities that are permanent!

They did find pseudomonas superficially, which could be the culprit of all her problems b/c it is a very difficult bacteria to get rid of! So, I'm hoping that this last round of antibiotics will cure it. We are praying for that anyway! Thanks for your prayers!

This photo was taken after the test yesterday and many tries to potty. She was worn out emotionally and physically, but finally zonked. Cute girl!

At a loss...

So, just don't know what to do for my little Brinly. She had her third UTI (urinary tract infection) a few weeks ago--and it was a whopper. Ucky bloody urine and everything--not something a mother wants to see her little child go through. The pediatrician ordered an ultrasound to check tha anatomy of her kidneys, etc. Supposedly it came back normal. She finished her last round of antibiotics about 4 days ago....then last night she was literally screaming while trying to go potty!! She eventually went after a few attempts later, but this is exactly what happens every UTI. I just don't know what to do. The Dr. said they might do a VCUG (dye test ) to check for reflux, but as of right now it has not been scheduled. I'm still waiting for the Dr. to call. And if she has reflux (urine into her kidneys and back) then the only treatment I was told is prophylaxis antibiotics--which I'm not thrilled about.

Anybody have any suggestions?? I know she needs to drink more and probably needs to be reminded to go potty often enough, but I just don't know what else to do.

Fun Photo

I thought this was a pretty cute picture. Cade loves his baths, though they have not been nearly as fun since Brinly cannot bathe with him anymore (due to her reoccurring UTI's). Nonetheless, he still enjoys it, as you can see.

Happy 1st Birthday (posted 2 months late)

Cade is a big 1 year old boy. Unbelievable! We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Ford here to enjoy the festivities. He was a little worried about getting his fingers dirty, but eventually tested the cupcake out. Maybe he's like his dad and won't like cake...crazy, I know.

Just needed a little help from sister, Brinly.

YUM!

Birthday present fun:)

My new addiction...don't laugh.

Well, I am totally into food storage lately! Seriously, I get EXCITED about stocking up my food! I bought 300 lbs. of rice and 250 lbs. of wheat last Monday, and felt SO satisfied. Honestly, I'm on a roll...we are NOT going to be hungry when famine strikes! If you have any good recipes to share using whole grains or any kind of "bulk" food storage item, I'd love for you to share:)