Sunday, August 23, 2015

Summer Vacation, Part 1

At the end of July, just 10 days after I injured my knee, I flew to Canada with the 3 kiddos without Ryan. Crazy I know. I didn't want to cancel my vacation, and quite frankly I was starting to get really depressed at home not being able to do anything. Don't get me started on checking into my flight or the 4 hour delay because I want to forget about them - not fun! We finally landed in Canada around 11:30 and was at my house by 2:30. Kids were up at 7am ready to play ... ahhhhh! So we drove up to Waterton and started having a blast with cousins.

Avery and Addie had so much fun playing together. We found them giving each other hugs and calling the other best friend. So cute! 

These cute girls are only 1 month apart in age.
One of my best friends/college roommates Jasmine and her new hubby Fausto came to visit. It was great to catch up.
One of the traditions we had in Waterton while growing up was going out for ice cream at Big Scoop. The kids had fun eating all two bites of their ice cream before running off to play and letting it melt.
I ate all of mine though!
Another Waterton classic ... throwing rocks in the lake.
We were able to drive back home (30 mins) for my cousins wedding. Griffin was borrowing his cousins portable chair - super handy!
Jaxson took some photos of me and Grandma French. It was so nice to see her and my other relatives I haven't seen in a while!

Grandpa French & I. Thanks to Jaxson the photographer!
After the wedding we drove back up to Waterton so that Jaxson could go fishing with Uncle Justin & Zach. This is Cameron Lake - another classic place we spent many hours at growing up.
Love this cutie of mine!
And this one!
These boys didn't make it home until 11pm - which made this momma kinda worried. Jaxson had such a fun time fishing though, so thank you Justin for taking them! Jaxson caught 2 fish and was so excited to tell me about it :)

We met Jazzy for breakfast one morning because he brother's own some of the food shops in town. She makes the cinnamon rolls and scones - yum! We also had a yogurt parfait and Belgium liege waffles - so good!
I make these kind of waffles at home so it was fun to try another version of it. The mountain in the background is bears hump. I would have taken the kids up it for a hike if I wasn't crippled with my bum knee :(
One a walk to go throw rocks in the lake. Avery loves picking flowers for me and I think it's just adorable!
Walking to the lake with Guh Goh Low.



Throwing rocks. We use to do this for hours growing up.

Super strong Avery!
Super Strong Jaxson!

We stopped by Cameron Falls on the way back home. They are so gorgeous!



Avery found a friend and was trying to have a conversation.
While in Canada I had to stay true to my Canadian roots and let the kids try poutine (french fries, cheese curds, gravy). Jaxson thought it was pretty good, but preferred the plain fries as did Avery.
Griffin, however, loved the soggy gravy covered fries!
One last stop before driving to Montana. We played at my Brother/Sis in laws house while we were waiting to leave town for Echo lake. Avery and Jaxson found some awesome dress up clothes to try on.

Jaxson loved this old school cash register. I totally remember this toy!! 
Yeehaw Griffin! 


This was Avery's favorite outfit - the kitty cat. Meow!
Last photo from Canada ... This is the temple I married Ryan in. This is the temple I saw almost everyday growing up. It holds a special place in my heart, and I love the new bench put in so that photos like this can be taken. Priceless!

Friday, August 21, 2015

July 2015

The first half of July was a fun one! Griffin was our sweet little helper as we de-junked the garage and did yard work. I love this kids smile! 

 Jaxson had his first ever sports camp. It was a multi-sport week long camp consisting of soccer, basketball, baseball, and football. He had so much fun if you can't tell from the photo.
 All the kids received medals at the end. I think Jaxson got the "respect" award.

 He was a sweet brother and asked if Avery could have one too. I love it when they play nice with each other.
 Ahhh this smile. I am so grateful he choose our family because he is the happiest little guy. I think he helps us all calm down and just be a bit happier because he is around. We love you Griffin!
 He is crawling/scooting all over the place. This was one of his favorite places to play and drool. You can always tell where Griffin has crawled because you will find a trail of drool marking his path.


 Griffin's fang teeth popped through this month. Now that this picture is a month old and his top middles are coming through, we actually thinking these might be his 2nd teeth and not the 3rd/fang teeth. Either way, he is still a cute little vampire baby.
 Now for the reason the 2nd half of July wasn't very fun. On Saturday July 18th, I went to play basketball with Ryan and some of the other men from the stake. I have been playing with them for a while now, but this will be my last. Towards the end of the last game, I jumped up for a rebound and was hit from the side by two younger guys fighting each other for the rebound. My legs got taken out from under me, and when I tried to land, my knee immediately dislocated. Painful!!  We rushed to the ER, took X-rays, and the verdict was am avulsion fracture with a partially torn ligament (shown in the MRI a few days later). Bummer ....

This was the lovely full immobilization brace I wore for a week. I stopped using the crutches on day 2 because they were slowing me down. 
 Swelling and bruising on day 1.
 It just kept getting more colorful throughout the week.

 Ryan showed one of these pictures to a guy he was working with, and his response was "I haven't ever seen that much bruising on someone who was alive!" Ha! It was quite colorful. I am glad to say that after 4.5 weeks, the bruising is basically non-existent. I still have swelling but am trying to get that down.

See ya later July, I am happy you are behind me - now onto rehabbing this knee and getting it bending again!