Happy Memorial Day!
Woo! We've had quite the day!
It started with us leaving the house at 9:00am (1/2 hour later than we intended to get out of here) and biking the 10.1 miles from our house to the far end of Dry Creek Cemetery to meet with my family and pay tribute to my paternal grandparents. Click HERE to see our route. We were all doing pretty well, except for Ethan who was complaining of being cold. I couldn't blame him, as it was 9:30am air with a bit of a head wind and he was wearing short sleeves. I had to bribe him with the fact (false, I later learned) there was going to be hot chocolate at our final destination. Katie was doing pretty well keeping up, but she had a mild asthma attack about 2 miles away from the cemetery which really slowed her down. More on that later.
When we pulled up to the cemetery, we were both pleased with ourselves that we had made it that far, and my family (siblings and parents) also seemed impressed we made the trip.
After paying our respects, taking a few photos, saying a prayer, eating some KrispyKremes, drinking some OJ and visiting a bit, we started the journey home. Unfortunately, Katie's asthma was still holding her back. She did not have her inhaler, as she needs it so rarely she never has it with her unless we are at home. She had heard that caffeine can help alleviate the symptoms of an attack when in a pinch. So, we detoured from Hill Rd and Pierce Park to State St and pulled into St. Vincent's Thrift Store where she went in with the kids and I went and bought a Red Bull at the corner store. She didn't like the stuff at all (neither of us had ever had one.) However, she choked it down and started to feel a little bit better.
In the meantime, my eyes were itching like mad. I wasn't sneezing nor did I really have any sinus issues, just horrifically itchy eyes. Katie told me they were VERY bloodshot. We took the kids over to pick out a game to take home, and I had to go find a bathroom to try to get my eyes to calm down. I found the bathroom key and when I looked into the mirror, my eyes were QUITE red. I don't remember ever seeing my eyes get that red before. I looked evil. I tried my best to rinse them with cold tap water, washed my hands a few times, and went back out in time to see the kids had picked out some over-sized Go Fish and Crazy 8's card decks to take home. We paid for them after receiving my 20% BSU student discount, and headed to find some lunch.
On our way we stopped by our favorite fruit stand on the south side of State near 36th (Veteran's Memorial Parkway) and picked up some fruit and veggies. While we were there, we munched on some fresh cantaloupe and watermelon slices they had put out.
After the stand we headed to the Viking Drive-Thru (really cheap food and not bad tasting) but they were closed for the holiday. Dangit! After some hemming and hawing, we decided to hit Fanci Freez. We took the side streets through some very lovely neighborhoods. The few houses we saw for sale were outrageously expensive! We learned that we have it good in our neighborhood! 1200 square feet for $400k!
We eventually made it to FanciFreez and ordered the will-kill-ya-but-feel-good-going-down meals. I waited in line for about 20 minutes while Katie and the kids played a rousing game of Go Fish. The kids play it like they play hide-and-seek. Cast your mind: Ethan and I are playing hide-and-seek, and I am counting. Ethan says, out loud, "I'm hiding in the bathroom!" Then I finish counting and know that he is in the bathroom not only because he announced it to the whole household, but because he is giggling loudly enough, from the bathroom, for the whole house to hear him. Each time I look in a room and say, "Nope, not in here!" his giggles only grow louder. Go Fish went similarly. Ethan would get his hand and show everyone, one by one.
We left FanciFreeze after about an hour and a half and went home. Ethan went to play at his friend's house, Katie took a cat nap, and Libby entertained herself for about 30 minutes. Then we invited Ethan's friend and his mom to go geocaching with us. We found the first one with relative ease - it was a log only. The next one required us to hike to the other side of the park and stop at a marsh. Seeing the cache was on the other side, we had to take the long way around. We found it in a hollowed-out tree stump. The kids traded out some toys (and we saw your business card Spencer!) and had to hide it from some geo-muggles before hiding it back in its spot.
Ann (Ethan's friend's mom) told her son about how she would take blown cattails and throw them to wind and dance in them like snow. So, that's what she, Micah (her son), Katie, Ethan and Libby did. I stayed upwind, just in case I was allergic. It makes my nose tickle just thinking about it.
We looked for a second cache which required quite a hike, and which we never found. We got caught in the rain and tried to wait it out. Then Libby had to go potty, and refused to go in the porta potty, which Katie reported was nearly full. So I walked her all the way back to the playground potty, at which point she decided she didn't have to go. I foolishly didn't press the issue. Shortly later, she wet herself and we had to go home. Libby was devastated. Shortly after we started home, Libby was sad and wet so I took off my shirt and we put it over her. Thankfully it was a thick shirt. We headed back home and by the time we reached Julia Davis park, Libby was asleep.
We pulled in to the driveway, shed our wet clothes, ate dinner, played around a bit, got the kids ready for bed, put them to bed, and I started on this blog post. Now, 24 hours later, I am ready to post it.
Woo! We've had quite the day!
It started with us leaving the house at 9:00am (1/2 hour later than we intended to get out of here) and biking the 10.1 miles from our house to the far end of Dry Creek Cemetery to meet with my family and pay tribute to my paternal grandparents. Click HERE to see our route. We were all doing pretty well, except for Ethan who was complaining of being cold. I couldn't blame him, as it was 9:30am air with a bit of a head wind and he was wearing short sleeves. I had to bribe him with the fact (false, I later learned) there was going to be hot chocolate at our final destination. Katie was doing pretty well keeping up, but she had a mild asthma attack about 2 miles away from the cemetery which really slowed her down. More on that later.
When we pulled up to the cemetery, we were both pleased with ourselves that we had made it that far, and my family (siblings and parents) also seemed impressed we made the trip.
After paying our respects, taking a few photos, saying a prayer, eating some KrispyKremes, drinking some OJ and visiting a bit, we started the journey home. Unfortunately, Katie's asthma was still holding her back. She did not have her inhaler, as she needs it so rarely she never has it with her unless we are at home. She had heard that caffeine can help alleviate the symptoms of an attack when in a pinch. So, we detoured from Hill Rd and Pierce Park to State St and pulled into St. Vincent's Thrift Store where she went in with the kids and I went and bought a Red Bull at the corner store. She didn't like the stuff at all (neither of us had ever had one.) However, she choked it down and started to feel a little bit better.
In the meantime, my eyes were itching like mad. I wasn't sneezing nor did I really have any sinus issues, just horrifically itchy eyes. Katie told me they were VERY bloodshot. We took the kids over to pick out a game to take home, and I had to go find a bathroom to try to get my eyes to calm down. I found the bathroom key and when I looked into the mirror, my eyes were QUITE red. I don't remember ever seeing my eyes get that red before. I looked evil. I tried my best to rinse them with cold tap water, washed my hands a few times, and went back out in time to see the kids had picked out some over-sized Go Fish and Crazy 8's card decks to take home. We paid for them after receiving my 20% BSU student discount, and headed to find some lunch.
On our way we stopped by our favorite fruit stand on the south side of State near 36th (Veteran's Memorial Parkway) and picked up some fruit and veggies. While we were there, we munched on some fresh cantaloupe and watermelon slices they had put out.
After the stand we headed to the Viking Drive-Thru (really cheap food and not bad tasting) but they were closed for the holiday. Dangit! After some hemming and hawing, we decided to hit Fanci Freez. We took the side streets through some very lovely neighborhoods. The few houses we saw for sale were outrageously expensive! We learned that we have it good in our neighborhood! 1200 square feet for $400k!
We eventually made it to FanciFreez and ordered the will-kill-ya-but-feel-good-going-down meals. I waited in line for about 20 minutes while Katie and the kids played a rousing game of Go Fish. The kids play it like they play hide-and-seek. Cast your mind: Ethan and I are playing hide-and-seek, and I am counting. Ethan says, out loud, "I'm hiding in the bathroom!" Then I finish counting and know that he is in the bathroom not only because he announced it to the whole household, but because he is giggling loudly enough, from the bathroom, for the whole house to hear him. Each time I look in a room and say, "Nope, not in here!" his giggles only grow louder. Go Fish went similarly. Ethan would get his hand and show everyone, one by one.
We left FanciFreeze after about an hour and a half and went home. Ethan went to play at his friend's house, Katie took a cat nap, and Libby entertained herself for about 30 minutes. Then we invited Ethan's friend and his mom to go geocaching with us. We found the first one with relative ease - it was a log only. The next one required us to hike to the other side of the park and stop at a marsh. Seeing the cache was on the other side, we had to take the long way around. We found it in a hollowed-out tree stump. The kids traded out some toys (and we saw your business card Spencer!) and had to hide it from some geo-muggles before hiding it back in its spot.
Ann (Ethan's friend's mom) told her son about how she would take blown cattails and throw them to wind and dance in them like snow. So, that's what she, Micah (her son), Katie, Ethan and Libby did. I stayed upwind, just in case I was allergic. It makes my nose tickle just thinking about it.
We looked for a second cache which required quite a hike, and which we never found. We got caught in the rain and tried to wait it out. Then Libby had to go potty, and refused to go in the porta potty, which Katie reported was nearly full. So I walked her all the way back to the playground potty, at which point she decided she didn't have to go. I foolishly didn't press the issue. Shortly later, she wet herself and we had to go home. Libby was devastated. Shortly after we started home, Libby was sad and wet so I took off my shirt and we put it over her. Thankfully it was a thick shirt. We headed back home and by the time we reached Julia Davis park, Libby was asleep.
We pulled in to the driveway, shed our wet clothes, ate dinner, played around a bit, got the kids ready for bed, put them to bed, and I started on this blog post. Now, 24 hours later, I am ready to post it.
and this is what Katie was riding (just add her and a water bottle and you get the picture: 
.
