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6/25/07- Day #6: Poor Caleb. He woke up in the middle of the night sick, but he did so good of coming and telling us he wasn't feeling good, and then he made it to the bathroom in time. He got sick again after he went back to bed, just 15 minutes later, but he made to the bathroom again. We made a palate in our room so he would be near us and closer to the bathroom and he slept until about 6am, and then got sick again. But, then that was it. He took a long nap, since he was exhausted from being up through the night, and when he woke up, he felt so much better and was actually wanting to eat and play! We had him take it easy, but he kept food down the rest of the day and he actually played outside after his afternoon nap.
Since Caleb was feeling better, we decided to do the horse and buggy ride that Mr. Tery had offered to take us on with the wagon he built. We went after dinner, so it was a beautiful time in the evening. The boys just loved it! I was wondering how they would feel about it, and they just got right in and were ready to go! We all rode in the seats in the wagon at first, but then Aaron climbed up next to Mr. Terry and Daniel wanted to go up there with him! He was so funny; everytime Terry would slap the reins on the horse to go, Daniel would pretend to do it! It was adorable! He just loved the "trot trot, trot trot," of the horse. The scenery was gorgeous around Midvale, all the mountains around. We saw several horses on the farms around town and it was a very special ride. Before we got back, Caleb wanted to ride up front with Daddy and Terry, so both boys had a chance to do that. It was really neat and we appreciate Terry doing this for our family!
6/24/07- Day #5: CHURCH SERVICES IN MIDVALE AND THEN A PICNIC POTLUCK AT THE PARK IN TOWN! It was so great to see everybody at church. The preacher and his wife who have been there for the last 2 years (Kevin and Elise Hooper) have 3 kids- 2 boys, 8 and 5, and a little girl 2 weeks younger than Daniel. We got there early and they all started playing together right away; they were both excited to have kids their age to see and play with. Caleb introduced himself to several people and Daniel shook hands with EVERYONE- it was adorable! But, when Claudia's son, Greg walked in, Daniel went right to him! It was precious. He just loved Greg.
We had a good bible class and worship service. They had asked Aaron to preach, so he was excited for the opportunity to speak there in Midvale again. Some people from the Baptist church in town came, who knew us when we lived there, so that was really neat. It was just great to be there again with all of those people and worship with them again.
After church, we ran home to change clothes and met everyone over at the park for a picnic. This was a great chance for us to visit with everyone and we all had a great time.
Tyrell, Greg's son, was going to stay the week with Claudia (his grandmother), so the boys all enjoyed each other. Tyrell picked up some of the sign language that Caleb and Daniel were doing, so during services this evening, they were sharing colored pencils. Tyrell would do the sign for "thank you," and Caleb wasn't sure what the sign for "your welcome" was, so he looked at Tyrell, and then did this sqiggly pattern in the air and pointed at him! It was so funny! But, it was also very nice that they didn't make one sound- they only signed "thank you," and "your welcome"...kind of...:)
After evening services, we popped popcorn and put the movie Cars on for the boys to watch. They all enjoyed that and it was cute to see them all on the couch together eating popcorn and watching the movie.
6/23/07- Day #4: FISH, PANCAKES, AND EGGS FOR BREAKFAST! YUMMY! Mrs. Claudia cooked up the fish for breakfast that Aaron and Caleb caught last night, along with some pancakes. I can remember going over to their house for breakfast quite often when Aaron and I lived in Midvale. Special times that I'm glad we're able to share with the boys- we just miss Mr. Tom...
Mrs. Claudia packed a great lunch for us and we headed up to spend the day at Mr. Tom's cabin at Pine Creek. Aaron took the boys up the nature trail behind the cabin while Mrs. Claudia and I got lunch ready. We had a great lunch and Aaron and Caleb were ready to go fishing. Daniel and I went up the nature trail while they fished for a while. The view up there is so beautiful and peaceful. We had a good hike up there and we sat on the bench once we got to the top.
We went back to the cabin and Aaron and Caleb were back from fishing, because they had to use the restroom. Now, Mr. Tom did put indoor plumbing in this wonderful cabin he built, however, a water pipe broke out at the spring, so the boys went out to the "2 seater outhouse!" outside. That's the reason for the picture! Of course, Daniel wanted to tag along and see what this was all about. They just looked so cute standing there, so when everyone was "finished," I took the picture!
Aaron went back out fishing and the rest of us found a bed or couch to sleep on and took naps. It was great! You could hear Pine Creek outside and it was so peaceful. I can't remember the last time I just laid down and took a nap! When Aaron got back to the cabin, Mrs. Claudia and he and I visited while the boys finished napping. Then we got everything packed up and headed back to Midvale. It was a great day.
6/22/07- Day #3: WE MADE IT TO MIDVALE, IDAHO!!! YAY! Oh, it was so great to drive up the mountain to Midvale, and then drive down into that beautiful valley where Midvale lies. Mrs. Claudia was so excited to see us. We arrived around 7:30am and the boys fell in love with "Grandma Holmes" instantly. Caleb took her hand after he got out of the van and she led him in the house. We were all hungry, so we ate breakfast and visited. After breakfast, Daniel and Aaron were ready to lay down, so they slept while Grandma Holmes and Caleb and I played outside. She took us through a trail of pine trees behind her house, where there were a bunch of pinecones, over to her son's barn, to see the horses. We went through the big area where they practice for rodeos and Caleb called it a "big sandbox." Then, he wanted to play in the big sandbox! He was nervous around the horses, so we didn't ride one, but he at least got to see some.
We went back and Caleb wanted to collect some pinecones and Grandma found him a bucket to put them in, along with some other toys. She had an old antique bathtub in the backyard, so we cleaned that up and filled it with water. Daniel woke up and the boys enjoyed playing with water toys in there.
After lunch, Aaron wanted to head up to Mr. Tom's cabin and fish. The boys were excited and Caleb caught a fish almost right away! He pulled the pole out of the water and then just dropped it on the bridge! He didn't know what to think about the that fish jumping all over the place. Daniel wanted to fish just like his daddy and brother. He kept dipping the pole in the creek- so cute!
We got back in time for dinner and then before we knew it, it was time to get the boys a bath and get them in bed! It's hard to think of bedtime when it's not dard AT ALL outside! The sun was still up and shining at 8:30pm. It doesn't go behind the mountain until 9:15pm, and then it's still light outside until 10pm. It's just beautiful.
6/21/07- Day #2: We made it to Colorado and by 6:30am, the boys were awake and starving. We stopped at a Denny's and had a great breakfast. We got down the road a little farther and stopped at a rest area so the boys could get out and run around and play. We even got the football out!
Shortly after we got back on the road, about 50 miles from Denver, we started seeing the snowy Rocky Mountains. When Caleb saw them, he said, "Are those the Rocky Top Mountains?" He was excited to see the snow on them.
North of Denver, we stopped at a State Park in Loveland, CO, and Aaron rested there while the boys and I went out. There was a mall close to the interstate where I saw a Barnes and Noble. I thought I'd just take them there to play with the Thomas train stuff and look at books, but I decided to drive down to the other side of this outdoor mall to see what all they had. Well, I'm glad I did, because on the other end, they had this place called, "Bounce," and inside they had all of those BIG blow-up bouncing, jumping things. I decided to stop and see how much it was and it was discount day, Caleb was only $5.00 and Daniel was $3.00. We spent about an hour and a half there, bouncing and jumping on all of these big bouncing things! It was so neat! They had so much fun and it was the perfect thing to do after being in the van for so long.
We went back and picked up Aaron just before the rain came. Then we headed north toward Cheyenne, WY, so we could get on I-80 West. Midvale, Idaho, here we come! The drive through Wyoming was beautiful. There is just so much open land with mountains all around. The terrain is so different from the East. We ate dinner in Rawlins, WY and then got back on the road. Aaron was getting tired, so I drove some. But, as the night went on, I got tired. The boys had a harder time sleeping this night in the van, but I think they're just tired of being in the van. If we can just make it into Idaho!
6/20/07- First stop, Ft. Scott, Kansas! We made it to Jennifar's parents by 10am, and the boys did great through the night. Jen's parents were just getting breakfast ready, so we were all able to sit down, eat and visit together, which was nice.
After breakfast, Jennifar and I made plans for the rest of the day with the kids. Sam, her son, had a swimming lesson, so we all went to that and the boys and Savannah played and colored while the lesson was going on, and Jennifar and I were able to "catch up," which was great. After the swim lesson, we ran to Wendy's to grab lunch, and brought it to this great park where the kids could play and feed the ducks. They all had a great time doing this. After that, it was time to head home to get baths and take naps, because it was WEDNESDAY night- church services! The whole time we were gone, Aaron was able to relax and sleep, which worked out great.
We enjoyed attending their congregation where Jennifar's dad is an elder. They are great people and we appreciated them opening their home to us. After church, we got "on the road again," and headed NORTHWEST across on I-70, toward Colorado. Night #2!!
6/19/07- I spent the morning packing up our things and getting them ready to put in the van. I had the van pretty well cleaned out. I decided to take out one seat in the back and leave the other one in there. I had a bunch of errands to run before lunch, so we took care of those.
As I stopped to get gas, Aaron called me and said that his Mom and Bob had just been involved in a bad wreck, but they were okay. He wanted me to let Nanny know and call their realtor. They were on their way to put an offer on a house, and it was pouring down rain on the interstate. A truck in front of them lost control and rolled into the ditch on the left side of the interstate. They pulled over as it was happening, so they would crash into him, and they got out of their car just before a truck behind them crashed into their car and pushed it feet along the guardrail. Talk about scary. They were so shook up, which I can imagine after what happened. A couple hours later, they called to see if I could come get them, so I went the back way, because the interstate was totally shut down. I couldn't believe what the back of their car looked like when I saw it. I'm so glad they were able to get out and were not harmed.
The rest of the evening, I got the van all packed while Aaron slept. Our goal was to get the kids ready for bed and get on the road at their bedtime. This worked out well and Caleb was so excited that we were finally heading on our trip! Our goal is to get to Ft. Scott, Kansas by morning and spend the day with Jennifar and her kids at her parents house, and spend the day with her parents.
6/18/07- Time to start packing! We leave for our trip TOMORROW night!!!! YAY!!!
We had to run to Wal-mart for a few things and we went by Lisa's house beforehand. They had been on a trip and they still had Caleb's birthday present and wanted to get that to him before we left on our trip. We had a great visit with them and Caleb loved his race cars and race track from them.
6/17/07- Happy Father's Day!! Caleb was so excited to give Daddy the present he picked out. It was a Kasey Khane red t-shirt and Kasey Khane lounge pants. Daddy loved them and said he would bring them on our trip to use as his pajamas. We also gave Daddy a very nice card, a new sportsjacket, and a very special book that I made through Snapfish, with pictures of him and the boys since they've been born. It was a really fun project, because I could input captions with the pictures and even have a page of just text. He really liked it.
Gigi made a great ham dinner and we all enjoyed it very much. Caleb and Daniel gave Papa O the card they made for him and the shirt they picked out for him. Caleb called Grandpa Collins, but by accident called him "Papa O" on the phone and got so embarassed that he made that mistake. Grandpa assured him that it was okay and he understood and knew it was just a mistake. He appreciated the call from Caleb and the t-shirt and card the boys sent.
We are so thankful for Daddy and what he means to our family. He's such a GREAT Dad and he does so many great things with our family and for our family. We love you bunches, Daddy!!!
6/16/07- Zzzzzzzzzippppppp! Caleb woke up and opened his sleeping bag around 7:00am. Daniel was still fast asleep, which I couldn't believe, because he had been waking up regularly between 6:00 and 6:30am. I quickly opened my tent and saw a happy and smiling Caleb, peeking through his Cars tent. "Good morning, Mommy! This was fun!" I was so glad he enjoyed it. I told him Daniel was still sleeping, so he coud just zip up his tent and watch the Cars movie. He loved that. Daniel slept until 7:20am, which was GREAT! He sat up and then stood up and looked around at this big green tent we were in. He smiled when he saw me and woke up in a great mood. Dad/Papa was watering the trees and plants outside already, so unzipped the window on Daniel's side of the tent so he could see Papa. He just waved at him and smiled. We all went in for a good breakfast, because they were hungry.
After a few hours, we went in the pool again. The boys really enjoyed the pool! I'm so glad. Daniel got doing this thing where he'd be on the shoulders of Dad or Matt and they would take him across the width of the pool. Well, when they stopped, he would kick his feet on their chest, as if he was telling them, "Yah! Giddy up, horsey!" It was so cute to watch him. And Caleb just jumped in and swam across the pool with Nana's help. He did that over and over again.
We got everything loaded up and got on the road just in time for naps. The boys were worn out, but they had had a wonderful time. It was a great, short visit.
6/15/07- The boys and I left early this morning to head up to Nana and Papa's for Uncle Matt's birthday. He was going to come over to their house after work, so we went up early so we could go swimming in the new pool. At first, Daniel was nervous about going in. He's been afraid of the water lately during bathtime and even when we're outside in our little pool at home. But, he got over the fear somehow at Mom and Dad's and was just like a little fish in their pool! It was so cute! And Caleb was jumping into Nana within an hour of being in there! They both did GREAT!
We had a delicious dinner of pot roast and potatoes and carrots. After dinner, we got the tents setup in the backyard. What? Well, we are talking about camping a little bit while we are on our trip out West, but Aaron was a little hesitant about it working out with the boys, so I decided to try it out at Mom and Dad's! The pack-n-play fit great in the big tent and there was plenty of room for me to sleep, and I could tell there would be plenty of room for Aaron also. We setup Caleb's Cars tent and put his Cars sleeping bag in there. He wanted to watch the Cars DVD, so I let him take our little DVD player out there in his tent and watch "Mater and the Ghostlight" before bed. It was so cute- he told me, "Mommy, this is so neat! I'm in my Cars tent, in my Cars sleeping bag, wearing my Cars pajamas, and Cars underwear, and watching the Cars Movie!!!" Priceless.
Daniel went to sleep great, even though he was out in a tent. I was very surprised, especially after the problems of going to bed at home. Both boys were out within a few minutes. I think they were worn out from swimming in the pool. I think they spent almost 3 hours in the pool! They had a great time. Hopefully, we'll all make it through the night out in the tents and not have to track back in the house!
6/14/07- We worked out picking up the van by all going with Gigi and Papa O to see the 2 houses they are interested in. Aaron met us at the homes and it was neat to see the houses. The boys napped after we picked up the van and woke up after we got to the second house. By the time we looked at the houses, it was time for dinner, so we all went to Cracker Barrel.
6/13/07- Doctor's appointment for both boys- check-up time!! Caleb was 34 lbs. and 38" tall and Daniel was 25 lbs. 12 oz, and 33" tall. Daniel is average for weight and height and Caleb is slightly below average, but everything else with Caleb is ABOVE average, and Daniel is as typical and normal as they get!
I spoke with Dr. Fox about Daniel's behavior and he said it was very typical of 18 month olds to act like that. He reassured me about what I was thinking and really made me feel better about a lot of things. He said the fluid is still in Daniel's ears, so we need to make an appointment for the ENT. Daniel ended up just getting one shot and he didn't cry at all. Caleb had to get 5 shots and he was SO brave. I was so proud of him. The nurse did the first 3 in the right arm and he didn't cry at all. She just raved about him being her best patient and how great he was doing. She went to the other arm and did the fourth shot and then before the 5th and final shot, she said, "be ready," because the last one was the worst one. He didn't cry at first, but then I looked at him and said, "are you okay, buddy?" and his little mouth quivered and he started to cry a little bit. I felt so bad for him, but he did SO GREAT! She had some Cars stickers for him, so that helped get his mind off of the pain.
By the time we got out of the doctor's office, it was 10 minutes after 10:00am. We decided to go ahead and go to the library and this week there was a magic show, so Caleb was excited that we went.
We met our good friends' for dinner at Los Compadres, where kids eat free on Wednesdays and had a great time visiting with them, because they had been out of town. After church, Aaron and I went to drop off the van to have it serviced and Gigi and Papa O took the boys home.
6/12/07- I had a doctor's appointment today in Chattanooga and Aaron is still in school, so Gigi and Papa O and Nanny took the boys with them to look at houses and we met up with them later in Chattanooga.
After I got the boys, I took them to Books-a-Million to play with the Thomas the Train stuff on the table they have setup there. Caleb has no problem just playing with the trains on the table, but Daniel wants to go all around and try to pull the trains that are packaged for sale on the shelves and bring them to me! Stinker! He is just so curious about everything. He doesn't want to just play with the trains on the table. 2 different and precious little boys...
6/11/07- Daniel has been having a very rough time lately. He has been extremely fussy and even having a hard time laying down for naps and bedtime. He has NEVER been like this before, so it's hard to know what to do. He is trying so hard to talk, but it's hard to understand everything he's trying to say. However, he understands everything we're saying, and when it's not what he wants or his way, he has started throwing fits. AAAHHH! I know we went through fits with Caleb, but it seems different this time. Maybe because we have 2 children to deal with now, and he's the second one, and he's also not speaking as much as Caleb was at this point. We will make it through. It has to be a stage. We go for his 18 month check-up and Caleb's 4 year old check-up in two days, so I'll talk to Dr. Fox about it.
Daniel is just so curious and getting into everything. I know he feels like he can do everything now that he can walk and somewhat communicate with us, so he gets frustrated when he doesn't get his way. We will just have to be firm with this little guy! He's so cute and it's easy to give in, but we must be STRONG!!! We love you, Daniel!
Something cute that he's been doing is when I squeeze his little chunky legs, I say in a deep voice, "chunky, chunky!!" And he will imitate me by doing his voice deep- it's adorable! This little boy is so smart! He understands everything that's going on around him- he just doesn't speak it!
6/8/07- I attended and helped out with a special dinner, honoring the older ladies of the congregation at church, so the boys, Aaron, and Nanny and Gigi and Papa O all went out to Rafael's for dinner. Each of us had a great evening, even though we weren't together.
6/6/07- Rompin' Stompin' Reading Roundup Time!! Today was the first day of the summer reading program at the library. It's obviously a western theme, so they had a little cowboy/cowgirl puppet show and then there was a lady there with Appaloosa horses. It was neat to see the horses and the boys seemed to enjoy it. It was just really hot. We will only get to go this week and next week, and then we'll be heading on our trip OUT WEST!!!
6/4/07- Papa Goodall came down last night so he could be here to finish up the bathroom downstairs so Gigi and Papa O would be able to stay downstairs and have a bathroom while they're staying with us. We got everything done, for the most part- toilet in and running, vanity and sink in and running. Just the ceiling will need to be done in the future and it will need to be painted. Papa O will help out with the painting and caulking, which will be nice.
Nanny flew in today from her visit in Tampa. After she got in, we all had a good dinner and enjoyed a good visit altogether.
6/3/07- Gigi and Papa O finally made it to Tennessee! They have moved here from Oklahoma and will be staying with us for a while, while they look for a home to buy in north Georgia. We're excited that they are here!
This afternoon, in between church services, the boys and I went to the Hunter Art Museum downtown for their free-first-Sunday-of-the-month. It was really interesting. They had some oragomi activities that Caleb enjoyed. We mainly just walked around and looked at the different paintings and art collections. Interesting!
5/30/07- The boys and I went over the Nickajack Lake Park and flew the kite for a while. It was such a neat day! The boys also enjoyed throwing rocks in the water. This is one of their favorite things to do. It has been Caleb's favorite thing for a long time, and since Daniel wants to do everything his brother does, it's starting to be one of Daniel's favorite things to do!
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