Broken Arm

One of the boys' favorite things to do for a Family Home Evening activity is to stand on Dad's hands.  I will lie down on my back with my arms stretched out on the ground above my head.  Each boy in turn will stand on my open hands.  I will then lift them up in the air as they try to balance themselves on my hands.  It has become somewhat of a right of passage in our family.  The older boys are always excited when the younger boys can finally stand up in the air on Dad's hands.

This past Monday, we had our first injury.  Kaden was standing on my hands as I was trying to lower him back down to the ground.  Often times I will throw them over to the couch instead of lowering them to the ground and in hindsight, that would have been a better alternative on Monday for Kaden.  As I was lowering him to the ground, he lost his balance and I was unable to help him regain his balance.  He fell to the side and landed on his right arm.  We all heard a snapping sound and feared for the worst.

We felt his lower and upper arm, but could not detect an obvious break.  He seemed to have a fairly good range of motion, so we decided to ice his arm and put him to bed and see what the morning would bring.  The next morning, we could tell by the swelling around his elbow that he was going to need x-rays, so Brooke took him into the doctor after the rest of the crew got off to school.  It was hard for the doctors (pediatric and orthopedic) to get a clear picture of his arm due to the swelling, but they finally determined that he has a hairline fracture at the bottom of his humerus.  Kaden is in a splint until at least next week when they will take more x-rays (after the swelling has subsided) and determine whether he will need a cast or not.

Kaden is pretty bummed about not being able to play soccer (most likely for the remainder of the season), but is otherwise in good spirits.  His brothers have been eager to help him, which is fun for Brooke and I to watch.  They are making his bed for him each morning, doing his chores and helping him carry his backpack to school.

On Tuesday, when Tanner got home from school, he asked Brooke how Kaden was doing.  He then asked her to let him know when Kaden got home from school.  A little while later, Tanner thought he heard the bus, so he ran outside to look for Kaden.  The bus wasn't there, so Tanner came back inside.  Brooke asked him why he was so anxious to meet Kaden and he responded that he wanted to make sure he was out there when the bus dropped Kaden off from school so that he could carry Kaden's backpack for him.

Trevor is even going to "help him" this weekend by playing on Kaden's soccer team on Saturday.  Kaden's team will have several team members out of town on Saturday and will have to forfeit unless they have at least one more player.  In this league, they allow teams to pull from the younger league if they are short players, so Trevor quickly volunteered.

Hopefully the prognosis next week will indicate a quick recovery, but we know that regardless of the news next week kaden will be fine.  He has such a positive attitude about everything that he always finds a way to laugh about things that the rest of us would probably get depressed about.

Sun Spots

Remember when you were little and your parents told you to put on your sunscreen? You didn't want to because it took too long and was inconvenient. Well, I wish I would have listened a little better.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine mentioned on her blog that she was having a spot removed from her forehead. She was having it taken off because she had been told that recurring red spots could be cancerous. As I followed her experience I found a couple of similar spots on my forehead. I mentioned it to a nurse and she told me to put some vaseline on it and see what happens. I did that, but the spots kept coming back. In fact one of the two spots would often break open and bleed. That made me wonder about the spots even more. So last month when the spot bled again Chad told me I had to go get it checked out.

It is a good thing Chad insisted because it turns out one of the spots was Basal Cell Carcinoma (cancer caused by the sun) and the other was pre-cancerous. Oddly enough the cancerous spot never caused me any problems. It was the pre-cancerous spot that bled.

In order to get rid of the cancerous spot the doctor had to cut it out. I had seven stitches to show for it. I also got to wear a lovely large bandage. I think it must have said ask me what in the world I did to my forehead? One guy almost jumped back when he saw me. Come on, I didn't look that bad! I did look a little scary right after the procedure because some blood got in my hair. Too bad it wasn't Halloween! It was a little tough trying to get it out of my hair. I was told not to get the incision wet and it started at the base of my hair line.

The boys liked my incision. Kaden walked in one morning while I was changing the bandage and he commented that I looked like a football. That's a boy for you!

The procedure went very well and the doctor was able to remove all of the cancer. My forehead is healing well. The next step is to get the precancerous spot frozen off. I will get another pretty bandaid, but I don't mind. I am just glad the spots are being taken care of.

Day After

Week and a half later

I am thankful the Lord put things in my path to help me get to the doctor. I know if my friend didn't blog about her experience I would not have thought anything of the spots on my forehead. I am also grateful that Chad cares enough to make me go to the doctor! I feel very blessed.

Fallen Clouds

This morning I had to get the boys up early (for a Saturday anyway) for Tanner's cross country meet.  The meet was about an hour away, but it was in the Eastern Time Zone, hence the earlier than normal departure time.  On our way to the meet, we encountered some low lying fog . . . enough to look cool, but not hamper our vision.  The boys all thought that the fog looked really cool (it did), but Devon had the best comment.  "Look!  The clouds fell down!", was his exclamation from the back seat when he first noticed the fog.

My Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

River Sunset

This past Sunday the weather was beautiful! It has been so hot here and finally Sunday it cooled off and there was a nice breeze. It was the perfect weather for a Sunday evening walk along the river.

As we started our walk we became spectators to a beautiful sunset. As the sun went down it lit up the clouds and sky so beautifully. Luckily, I had my camera on hand to capture the spectacular view!

I love sunsets! I love to watch the colors change before my eyes. There is something so beautiful and peaceful about this nightly occurrence. It helps all the worries and stresses of the day melt away - even if for a small moment. I believe sunsets are just another blessing from Heavenly Father. It's something He does just to lift our spirits and make us happy, because he loves us. It makes me reflect on the things I do. Do I find ways to lift others just because I love them? I hope so, but I am sure I can do more. Hopefully witnessing sunsets will be a personal reminder for me to make someone else's day a little brighter.

Part of the Band

This year Tanner decided to develop a new talent - he's playing the Baritone! Band is a huge thing where we live. When we first moved here, we were amazed at the number of kids in our ward that played in the band. There were only a couple that weren't in the band. Growing up in California, band was not seen as a "cool" thing to do. Here band is a way of life. They have major competitions - it is a big thing. So in order to get into band you have to start when you are in sixth grade. If you don't they feel you will be too far behind everyone else. At the end of fifth grade the band director comes and get the kids pumped up for playing in the band. Then you have to decided if you want to do it or not.

The decision was a little hard for Tanner. He had to decide to be in band or do the enrichment track. The enrichment track has things like greek mythology. Tanner loves greek mythology, but he also wanted to play the saxophone (no not the baritone - keep reading, I'll explain). So it took Tanner a couple of days to decide what he wanted to do. The band teacher had an informational night for the kids to come try the instruments to see which instrument worked for them. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the meeting so the band director told us to go to a local music store to try the saxophone.

Tanner was excited to try the saxophone when we got to the store, but he soon found out that it is hard to blow into the saxophone continually. He was able to do it, but it took a lot of his energy. So Tanner tried out some other instruments. One of those instruments was the Baritone. After playing the Baritone, Tanner decided that he would rather play it than the saxophone.

Tanner has really enjoyed the baritone so far. The baritone is a big instrument. When I saw it in its carrying case I thought about Tanner riding the bus everyday. Band is cool here, but I didn't think carrying that huge case on the bus everyday would help his social status (not that Tanner is really worried about that). Plus the thing isn't exactly light. Luckily, we found out that the school has enough Baritones for the kids to have one at home and one at school. All Tanner will have to transport is the mouthpiece!

Tanner has fun showing off his instrument to his brothers. I keep having to remind all of the boys not to put their head or hand into the Baritone.

So far I haven't had to remind Tanner to practice his Baritone. He enjoys practicing so he can learn how to play better. We are excited to see how Tanner improves over the course of the year. We look forward to attending his first concert!

The Bus!

Every morning, Austin watches as his older brothers climb aboard the bus and head off to school.  Tanner is the first to leave and Austin loves to wait for the bus.  On Labor Day, Austin was actually able to ride a bus during our visit to Mammoth Cave National Park.  He was very excited!  Austin's enthusiasm for the bus each morning has quickly become part of our morning routine.  Tanner rides a bus that picks up kids for both the junior high and the high school.  Fortunately, Tanner is not one of those kids who is embarrassed by his younger brothers attention because I don't think his little fan club would take kindly to any requests to tone it down a little.

Mammoth Cave National Park

This year for Labor Day, we decided to visit Mammoth Cave National Park.  I have a goal (a "bucket list" of sorts) to visit every National Park during my lifetime.  For me, nothing quite compares to the experience of exploring beautiful places and landscapes.  There is something about the National Parks that makes me feel as if I have come home. 

Over the years, we have lived reasonably close to Mammoth Cave, but never "had the time" to visit.  We are starting to recognize, however, that we need to make time to explore new places, have more fun and deepen our relationships rather than let our busy schedules determine when or if we will have time to prioritize our lives.  As a good friend of ours often says, when our kids grow up they aren't going to say, "Hey Dad, remember that time when we all stayed home to clean up the basement together!"

Initially, the boys had mixed emotions about our plans to visit the cave.  We woke them up early so that we would have plenty of time to arrive in time for our scheduled tour and still have some time at the end of the tour to hang out in the park.  The drive was easier than we had anticipated, so we arrived at the park well before our scheduled tour.

The cave tour that we chose involves a short bus ride to one of the back entrances to the cave.  We waited under a pavillion that was right next to the big green buses that would eventually take us to the entrance.  It was all we could do to keep Austin away from the buses while we waited.  Every morning, he watches his brothers climb onto the bus as they head off for school, so he has become quite fascniated with buses.  He was so excited once he realized that we were going to ride the bus.  Clearly, the bus ride was the highlight of the day for Austin.

Much to Austin's dismay, the bus quickly reached our destination.  After a brief introduction to the cave, including all of the necessary safety precautions, we began our descent into the cave.  This "back door" to Mammoth Cave was discovered in the 1920's and quickly became a competing entrepreneurial enterprise to the older and much larger Historic Entrance prior to the cave's adoption into the National Park system.  The descent into the cave begins with a trip down a stainless steel stair case that winds its way down through several giant shafts that were created over thousands of years as water made its way through the limestone.  It was fun listening to the boys (who were behind me, but in front of Brooke) as they called out warnings to Brooke.  "Watch your head Mom!  This landing is really slippery Mom!"  They were all very concerned.

We made it safely down the staircase, through several narrow passageways and into one of several large rooms where we paused to listen to our guide as he explained how the cave was formed, what type of wildlife inhabit the cave and some of the history behind the cave's discovery and continued exploration.  At one point during the tour, the ranger turned off the lights.  As soon as the darkness covered our eyes, I felt several small arms grabbing at my arms and legs.  I smiled as I thought of their earlier bravado on our way down the staircase.  Needless to say, the boys were all relieved when the lights came back on.

The tour ends near a flowstone formation called Frozen Niagara.  Here we were able to see several stalagtites, stalagmites and columns that were formed over tens of thousands of years.  This area of the cave was one of the the highlights of the tour for the boys.  Tanner especially was eagerly anticipating this area of the cave.  I was impressed by the variety of formations and geology that we were able to see on our relatively short tour.  Brooke and I both commented that the tour seemed much shorter than two hours.

After lunch, we headed over to the Historic Entrance to the cave.  This entrance is much larger than the New Entrance.  Aside from the size of this giant hole in the earth, the first thing that we noticed as we approached the Historic Entrance was the cool breeze that constantly flows from within the cave.  As we walked further into the entrance, the breeze became a steady rush of cool air that would rival even the most sophisticated air conditioning system.

At the end of the day, we were all very glad that we made the effort to see the cave (no more mixed emotions).  Sure, we didn't get everything done on our to-do list, but most of the things on that list probably need to be reprioritized anyway.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Shortly after we returned from our Utah vacation we had some visitors. Grandma and Grandpa Monroe came to visit us for a week! We had a lot of fun with them. The only problem was that the weather here was unbelievably hot - I'm talking over a hundred with a huge helping of humidity. It was unbearable to be outside so we tried to be creative.

Grandma and Grandpa know how much the boys (mostly Tanner) love legos so they brought the boys a batman lego set to put together. Grandma was a good sport. She sat down with the boys and helped them put the set together. I know the boys loved putting it together with her! The boys also got to play games with grandma and listen to her read books.

According to tradition, we all went to Steak and Shake with Grandpa. It's grandpa's favorite restaurant. He has to go there sometime during his stay. In fact, now when grandpa comes for a visit the boys start talking about going to Steak and Shake! We like to see Grandpa's face light up when we go there!!

We all got tired of being inside the house, so we started looking for somewhere to go. When I mentioned Santa Claus Grandma and Grandpa got excited. No, I don't mean that guy in the red suit, I mean the place - Santa Claus, Indiana. Yes, such a place actually exists. Grandma and Grandpa love everything Christmas so it was the perfect outing. I had never actually been there so I didn't know what it was like. We looked online and found out that there is a little museum, a Christmas store, a Candy Castle and a famous post office. It is also the home of Holiday World Theme Park (where Tanner went on his 5th Grade Field Trip). We didn't have time to go to Holiday World, but we had time to check out the other things.

Santa Claus is kind of out there by itself. It is a really small town. Most of what I listed is all that is there. It is small, but they make up for it in spirit. The town is all about Santa. Upon entering you are met by several statues of Santa, as well as many signs bearing his name. I am sure it is a very fun place to go in December.

We started off at the Santa Claus Museum. It is a cute little museum. It tells the history of the town and of Holiday World. The kids completed a treasure hunt game that took them around the museum. At the end they got a sticker for a prize - a Christmas one of course! It is amazing how wonderful a sticker can be when it is labeled as a "prize"!

Next we ventured next door to the Christmas Store. Grandma was in heaven! It was a really cool store. They had everything Christmas - you could even take your picture with Santa! Grandma found some really nice ornaments to put on her Christmas tree this year.

Then we drove up the street to the Candy Castle. We were a little disappointed to find that it was really just a glorified store. We didn't spend very long there. We did get a couple of candy canes to snack on though.

Before we left to go back home we stopped at the St. Nick Restaurant. We were wondering what kind of meal we would get since the place looked a little old inside. We were delighted with our meal. The portions were really large, the service was great and the food was very good. It was a great place to stop.

The rest of Grandma and Grandpa's visit was pretty low key. We hung out, went shopping, and ate out. One of my favorite parts of hanging out was when Austin discovered Grandma and Grandpa's shoes. Austin loves shoes as you may have seen in a previous post, so when he saw new shoes lying around he had to check them out. He was really cute with Grandpa's shoes. First he had to get them off of Grandpa's feet, then he tried to get them back on. When that didn't work he resorted to putting them on his own feet and walking around! We all had a good laugh.

Grandma and Grandpa like to shop at the nearby antique shops when they come to visit. This trip I found a new antique shop to check out. The shop is located inside an old mall. They still use the building for shops, but they also use it for medical offices. It's a little weird. We had fun looking through the stores. The boys had fun looking at all the old toys, while Grandma and Grandpa checked out all of the other stuff. Grandma was able to find a couple of treasures to take home. On our way out we stopped at the food court where Grandma and Grandpa treated everyone to a cookie. While we were eating the cookies the boys spotted the ride on toys you put quarters in to bring to life. Since the boys had done such a good job in the store we let them play on the toys for a couple of minutes - they were in heaven! It was just the right thing to get their wiggles out before getting back into the car.

I am really happy Grandma and Grandpa were able to come visit us. I am so glad my boys have the chance to get to know their grandparents. When I was little I didn't get to see my grandparents very much. I always wished I could see them more. What a blessing it is to have two sets of grandparents that make the effort and have the means to come visit us so often. We love it!!