When things start to heat up, the only cure is a trip to Alaska!
I love you cool Alaska. I love your clouds. I love your rain. I love your wind. I love your residents, Mike and Linda and Tiffanie and Matt. I love EVERYTHING about you right now.
And I love your restaurants, Lucky Wishbone and Simon & Seafords.
And I love your green. And your mountains. And your wildflowers.
And I love your fishing. Your moose.
And I love Dimond BLVD and Fred Meyer.
And I love Bayshore.
I just love ya Alaska.
Can't wait to see you on Tuesday!!!!!!!
Sorry Virginia. I don't love your heat and humidity right now (even though I love a lot about you too).
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
30 Staples
Garth is tough. About two weeks ago he had surgery on his ankle. He hobbled around the house, working through the pain, going to girl's camp, and preparing everything for a week at scout camp.
And after one day, his intestines began to hurt again (over the past few years, he has been dealing with this problem). Our good friend Steve had gone to help with scout camp...but he too had been in pain...his tooth! So Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum headed for the hospital, leaving the boys at camp to fend for themselves (no, I kid, they joined another pack). Tweedle Dee was dropped off at a hospital near the camp (and far from us...3 hours away). Tweedle Dum went home to find out he needed a root canal...oh yeah...and as I write this, he is in Vermont, running a 100 miler (hence my decision to name him the "Dum" Tweedle)...Go Steve.
Tweedle Dee, whom we will call Garth, was admitted to the hospital. He was very disappointed to miss out on all of the scouting fun...,except for maybe the 100 plus temperatures combined with pure thick wet air...we east coasters like to call...a summer nightmare.
Blessed day. The small town doctor thought he might know why Garth had been suffering for so long. A past appendicitis, which healed, left scar tissue, might had been the culprit for causing blockage problems on his small intestines (or something like that).
He was scheduled for surgery the next day. Grandma Gair and Pops Gair immediately headed south to be with Garth. I remained home with a house full of kid's with many needs, appts, places to go, piano lessons to teach...blah blah busy life blah. Oh how we wanted to go and see our Tweedle...but so grateful Garth's parents came to the rescue.
The surgery went great and sure enough, the appendix had been as good as gone and had left plenty of scar tissue. Unfortunately, they had to slice his abdomen right down the middle...ewww and ouch.
Just as things were getting better, they took a turn for the worse. His incision site became infected (abscess anyone?!) and a systemic infection followed. This required heavy antibiotics and an extended hospital stay.
They finally allowed him to go home...yay! under the understanding he would clean his open wound and return two days later for a follow up appt (a 2 hour drive each way). He did that and they were able to remove the remaining staples and told him he didn't need to come back (unless he wanted to :)
He came home and has been continuing his healing process. He usually feels well in the morning and then by afternoon he is, "weak as a kitten."
Unfortunately his tribulation continued on Sunday when after a few days of itchy hives, he awoke to a totally swollen lip. That required a trip to the ER to find out he is now allergic not only to penicillin but the anti-biotic, Cipro as well. Poor boy...he can't wait until he is roaring like a Tiger and leaves the "kitten" as a distant memory.
We love you Garth..our little kitten.
And after one day, his intestines began to hurt again (over the past few years, he has been dealing with this problem). Our good friend Steve had gone to help with scout camp...but he too had been in pain...his tooth! So Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum headed for the hospital, leaving the boys at camp to fend for themselves (no, I kid, they joined another pack). Tweedle Dee was dropped off at a hospital near the camp (and far from us...3 hours away). Tweedle Dum went home to find out he needed a root canal...oh yeah...and as I write this, he is in Vermont, running a 100 miler (hence my decision to name him the "Dum" Tweedle)...Go Steve.
Tweedle Dee, whom we will call Garth, was admitted to the hospital. He was very disappointed to miss out on all of the scouting fun...,except for maybe the 100 plus temperatures combined with pure thick wet air...we east coasters like to call...a summer nightmare.
Blessed day. The small town doctor thought he might know why Garth had been suffering for so long. A past appendicitis, which healed, left scar tissue, might had been the culprit for causing blockage problems on his small intestines (or something like that).
He was scheduled for surgery the next day. Grandma Gair and Pops Gair immediately headed south to be with Garth. I remained home with a house full of kid's with many needs, appts, places to go, piano lessons to teach...blah blah busy life blah. Oh how we wanted to go and see our Tweedle...but so grateful Garth's parents came to the rescue.
The surgery went great and sure enough, the appendix had been as good as gone and had left plenty of scar tissue. Unfortunately, they had to slice his abdomen right down the middle...ewww and ouch.
Just as things were getting better, they took a turn for the worse. His incision site became infected (abscess anyone?!) and a systemic infection followed. This required heavy antibiotics and an extended hospital stay.
They finally allowed him to go home...yay! under the understanding he would clean his open wound and return two days later for a follow up appt (a 2 hour drive each way). He did that and they were able to remove the remaining staples and told him he didn't need to come back (unless he wanted to :)
He came home and has been continuing his healing process. He usually feels well in the morning and then by afternoon he is, "weak as a kitten."
Unfortunately his tribulation continued on Sunday when after a few days of itchy hives, he awoke to a totally swollen lip. That required a trip to the ER to find out he is now allergic not only to penicillin but the anti-biotic, Cipro as well. Poor boy...he can't wait until he is roaring like a Tiger and leaves the "kitten" as a distant memory.
We love you Garth..our little kitten.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Ethan Breaks the Record!
Here is the number one 9-10 Boys Medley Relay Team in Prince William County!
The got a gold medal in the Firecracker Relay!
And here are the second place, silver medalists for Freestyle!
But what thrilled us all today was Ethan getting a record in the Breast stroke and coming in first place on his favorite stroke!This week he is ranked number 2 in the whole county!
That boy is fast!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hip to Clip Coupons
I have been feeling very hip about my coupon clipping for years now. My good friend, Brooke is also pretty hip too! We not only love saving money on our food, cleaning supplies and beauty selections...we love everything CHEAPER!
So with our passion for saving, we have started teaching a coupon clipping class a few times a month. We often get asked, "How do you save so much on your grocery bill?" It is time to share our secrets.
Our first class sold out. We hope to have many more to come!
We have a new blog set up: hiptoclipcoupons.blogspot.com. If you want to join us for a class, or have us host a private coupon party...let us know.
Let's get clipping!
So with our passion for saving, we have started teaching a coupon clipping class a few times a month. We often get asked, "How do you save so much on your grocery bill?" It is time to share our secrets.
Our first class sold out. We hope to have many more to come!
We have a new blog set up: hiptoclipcoupons.blogspot.com. If you want to join us for a class, or have us host a private coupon party...let us know.
Let's get clipping!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Swim, Swam, Swum
Ethan went away on his first overnight camp at UVA!It was swim, swim and swim all week long.
He met a great group of friends right off the bat!
Here he is giving us a farewell as he begins his week.
But first the whole family drove to the UVA campus to get him settled in. Our first stop was lunch and a few wishes at the wishing well. Ashton "wished" he would find a quarter. His wish was immediately granted when he looked down and found one on the ground.
Here we all are glad to have just gotten Calvin back from BYU golf camp and sad to be sending off Ethan to his camp!
Here is the door to Ethan's dorm room for the week. Notice, Porter Garth. Garth accidentally signed himself up for the camp. We had to change a few things to get Ethan's name changed but his friends still liked to call him "Porter."
Here he is with a big excited smile ready to go!
But is seemed a bit scarier when we actually were there saying good-bye! Look at the fear in those eyes...or maybe he just thinks I am weird.
The camp was a success and he had a blast. Do you know that this boy is ranked in the top 25 for all 9-10 boys for Breaststroke in the whole county (I think he is #5)?! And he is on two relays that are ranked #1.
He met a great group of friends right off the bat!
Here he is giving us a farewell as he begins his week.
But first the whole family drove to the UVA campus to get him settled in. Our first stop was lunch and a few wishes at the wishing well. Ashton "wished" he would find a quarter. His wish was immediately granted when he looked down and found one on the ground.
Here we all are glad to have just gotten Calvin back from BYU golf camp and sad to be sending off Ethan to his camp!
Here is the door to Ethan's dorm room for the week. Notice, Porter Garth. Garth accidentally signed himself up for the camp. We had to change a few things to get Ethan's name changed but his friends still liked to call him "Porter."
Here he is with a big excited smile ready to go!
But is seemed a bit scarier when we actually were there saying good-bye! Look at the fear in those eyes...or maybe he just thinks I am weird.
The camp was a success and he had a blast. Do you know that this boy is ranked in the top 25 for all 9-10 boys for Breaststroke in the whole county (I think he is #5)?! And he is on two relays that are ranked #1.Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Lake Loving
We love Grandma and Grandpa's lake house. For years, jumping off the docks have been one of the highlights. I would be the only exception to that rule due to my fear of open water. I WILL NOT be eaten by the creature(s) lurking in the deep murky waters of this or any other lake/ocean/river.
I do like watching the kids and Garth jump in to their heart's content. This video cracks me up at the end. I ask Garth "how is it?" He actually thinks I am going to jump in...like no way.
I do get in every once in awhile (when the kids beg) which then leads to heart palpitations waiting for "the creature" to grab me by the leg and pull me under into the abyss.
If you think I am kidding about this phobia, I am not. Last year I was saved by my friend's purple swim cap as everyone laughed at me trying to swim a few yards in hope's to doing a triathalon in open water.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Highlights of Calvin's Trip
Calvin was thrilled to miss the last 3 days of school in order to take off on his vacation. In Calvin style, he began organizing everything weeks in advanced, printing off his BYU golf camp internary, making a list of things he needed, calling Grandma to earn some money, that boy was ready to roll!
Aunt Lisa arrived the day before, driving down from New York to whisk him away early on Wednesday morning.
Their first stop was Park City!
The list of activities those two did were absolutely amazing! Here Calvin is doing the bungee jump. I even heard Lisa did a double back flip...that takes talent indeed!
This is Calvin (totally out of order), leaving for BYU Golf Camp. He attended this week long camp, where he improved his golf game, made plenty of friends, ate ice-cream at the Creamery each night, decided hand's down that BYU-Provo was his dream college (he had better get those grades up), and LOVED his golf coach (a lovely young lady on the BYU team). He finished 12 or so in the tournament with around 50 kids from ages 12-17.
Back to Park City. Here Calvin feels like the third wheel as Lisa snuggles up to this "beary" cute date. I think I have a picture with this very same bear while I was at BYU.
This is Calvin in front of the Salt Lake Temple. Temple square is a must see for anyone visiting Utah.
Another adventure Lisa and Calvin went on was river rafting. I hear the water was freezing. But luckily, there were not any major rapids so no one was thrown overboard. I think Calvin threw himself over at some point.
Taking the chair lift up the mountain and biking down was a highlight for sure. Calvin even sustained a nasty injury when he flew over his handle bars.
If you think that was enough fun, you mistaken. The two ventured up in a hot air balloon too!
How cool is that?!
Calvin said his favorite activity was ATVing.
The ride was dusty, so they decided to go as bandits...
Rock climbing was also one of the activities. Calvin was quite the climber according to Lisa.
The also visited Olympic Village. They were able to see all the cool venues from the Winter Olympics from a few years back.
I am missing pictures from the zipline, the alpine coaster and alpine slide...fun for all I am sure!
Aunt Lisa arrived the day before, driving down from New York to whisk him away early on Wednesday morning.
Their first stop was Park City!
The list of activities those two did were absolutely amazing! Here Calvin is doing the bungee jump. I even heard Lisa did a double back flip...that takes talent indeed!
This is Calvin (totally out of order), leaving for BYU Golf Camp. He attended this week long camp, where he improved his golf game, made plenty of friends, ate ice-cream at the Creamery each night, decided hand's down that BYU-Provo was his dream college (he had better get those grades up), and LOVED his golf coach (a lovely young lady on the BYU team). He finished 12 or so in the tournament with around 50 kids from ages 12-17.
Back to Park City. Here Calvin feels like the third wheel as Lisa snuggles up to this "beary" cute date. I think I have a picture with this very same bear while I was at BYU.
This is Calvin in front of the Salt Lake Temple. Temple square is a must see for anyone visiting Utah.
Another adventure Lisa and Calvin went on was river rafting. I hear the water was freezing. But luckily, there were not any major rapids so no one was thrown overboard. I think Calvin threw himself over at some point.
Taking the chair lift up the mountain and biking down was a highlight for sure. Calvin even sustained a nasty injury when he flew over his handle bars.
If you think that was enough fun, you mistaken. The two ventured up in a hot air balloon too!
How cool is that?!
Calvin said his favorite activity was ATVing.
The ride was dusty, so they decided to go as bandits...
Rock climbing was also one of the activities. Calvin was quite the climber according to Lisa.
The also visited Olympic Village. They were able to see all the cool venues from the Winter Olympics from a few years back.
I am missing pictures from the zipline, the alpine coaster and alpine slide...fun for all I am sure!Thank you Aunt Lisa for making some amazing memories for our Calvin. We LOVE you!!!
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