Rewind

Finally!  A new post!

Tap, tap, tap.

Is this thing on?

Why is this so hard?  The push to catch up on blogging?  I feel like it's the first day of school.  I'm nervous.  I can't come back, but I really want to.  

It's for me.  It's all for me.  Our journal.  The next several posts will just be catching up on family stuff. 

What holds me back is when I take 1,287 pictures and I can't upload them onto my computer because my memory there is full.  So, I have to back-up and delete.  Thousands of priceless pictures from my iphoto,  forever tucked away as a digital file in a little black shiny box.  Never to be seen again...well until I can print them in a book, which we all know will never happen.

But the blog.  I have this blog.  And that is what will carry me through. :)

Frankie's surgery and recovery went really well!  A post for another time.  Thanks for all the sweet comments!  I loved getting those!

Backing up to Fish Lake with loads of photos.  

Ahh, my Camper.  That was so fun to take it to Fish Lake!

It was so easy to just back into our spot and voila, we're all set up!

Eating lunch at my favorite pit stop.  

The Hot Spot in Salina.

I LOVE this happy little girl!

Frankie all cute on his hands and knees, getting a nice break from the car seat.

Kevin was SO pleased to have his little 50 on the back of the camper.

It looks so manly with those cute curtains in the window.  My bad.

Breakfast and nap time, so cosy.

I LOVED every minute of camping in this thing!!  

I awoke smiling every morning looking at my cheery kitchen!  

Warming the baby's bottle water on the stove, I felt so old fashioned! Ha.

The kids and their souvenirs.

We love Bowery Haven.

MaryJane and Zach

Me, Stacey and Insun

All of the Family on my Dad's side.

Swimming in the dirty devil at Capitol Reef.

It's dirty, but oh so refreshing on a hot hot day.

MaryJane and Olivia.

Kevin trained Cole, Austin and Luke how to ride the motorcycle.  

Off he goes!  Cole loved it!  Not enough riding time for him this trip. 

My parents rented a pontoon boat.  We tried our hand at fishing (again) but with our poor luck, we got nothin'.  Probably because we had all the littles on our shift and scared the fish away. ;)

But we still had fun!

Camping with littles is not easiest vacation, but it is sure worth the fun memories!  

My kids loved the endless fun they had with their cousins!

  

Frankie's Surgery Day!

We were lucky to experience Shriners Orthopedic Children's Hospital for Frankie's surgery.

It amazes me how this hospital runs on pure donations... and that there are 22 of them in the U.S!

All their services are free!

Frankie's surgery didn't cost us one penny!

Frankie's doctor is a Hand Orthopedic Surgeon.  She has her own practice and works two days a month at Shriners hospital.  Which was part of the headache in scheduling and keeping Frankie healthy.  We only had one day each month to try and book Frankie's surgery.  

Relaxed on the meds they gave him before surgery.

Giving mom some snuggle time.

We had to be to the hospital bright and early at 6 a.m.

Frankie leaving with the anesthesiologist to the O.R

During surgery Kevin and I killed some time in the fun facilities they have there.

We ate breakfast in the cafeteria downstairs.

Played a little hoop upstairs.

A new favorite game, Bananagrams.

These pictures don't really do the giant activity room justice.  With lots of windows that overlook Salt Lake.  The dome (in the top pic) is where the activity center is.

They brought Frankie to us awake.  But still plenty groggy. 

Surgery went smoothly.  

Thankfully she didn't have to take a skin graft from Frankie.  He had enough chubby skin on his hand she was able to use to stitch up his fingers.  

I love him!

Frankie liked to zone out to the Baby Einstein video while the meds wore off. 

He really enjoyed being with his mama.  

I love being a mom!

Grandma brought the kids for a quick check-in on Frankie.

They only stuck around Frankie's room for about 2 minutes....because they felt like they were at Disneyland in the giant activity room!

Can you see the joy on their faces?  There were about 25 different ride-on toys, slides, rocking horses, ping pong, a pool table, basketball, play dough centers and games centers.

We look the kids to eat lunch in the Cafeteria while grandma stayed with Frankie.  

Their 10 minute visit was more like a 2 hour visit.  

Why would they want to leave?  Boy was it hard to get them out of there!

A great children's hospital indeed!

Yay for same-day surgery!  We left the hospital around 4.

We feel so blessed that things went so smoothly!  Thanks for all your prayers!

Frankie is recovering well!  It seems like the first couple of days really set him back.  But slowly he's coming around.  As long as he is on Motrin and in mommy's care, he's as happy as can be!  

His poor little cry and voice has been raspy from the intubation.

Frankie's soft cast will be on him for 3 weeks.  I can't wait to see how it turned out.  The Dr. informed us that it won't be very pretty at first.  But that's to be expected.  

I love his little thumb sticking out!  I've caught him chewing on it a couple of times.  It's cute.  

Before, he loved putting his little hand on my lips to have me kiss him and now he tries to put that stinky tape smelling cast on my face.  So I appease him and smother his little thumb with kisses.  :)

We LOVED Shriner's and I can't believe we had such a great experience!  

The facility and staff were amazing!

Please say your prayers...

for little Frankie.  

He will be having his 1st surgery on his hand tomorrow to separate his fingers.

Scheduling Frankie's surgery has been a big headache and a long story.  I'll spare you the details.  Keeping him healthy for 6 weeks straight so that he can have this done has been exhausting!  Originally he was on the schedule for June but due to the doctor who wouldn't clear him for surgery for dumb reasons, we had to push it back to July.  So I've been trying to keep him healthy for 11 weeks now!  I should be going to girls camp this week with my Young Women but this is the only time we can make this happen.  It's warm and Frankie hasn't had croup since April.  He's had croup 5 times within a 4 month period.  

I'm just ready to get the ball rolling here.  

We had some tummy time today to take advantage of Frankie's freedom before he's in a cast for three weeks.  It will take two surgery's to complete Frankie's hand and separate all three fingers.  First the pinkie, then the middle fingers.  The bones are all there and are not fused together.

I love this picture (below) of Frankie spotting his daddy.

He is the most lovable, kissable, cuddly, sweet and happy baby I could ever ask for!

Frankie's just learned how to get on his hands and knees.  It is so cute to see him rock his body in that stance.

His physical therapist is amazing!  I'm so grateful to have her teach me how to work with Frankie and his development.

He loves to put his head down like this and then pop up on all fours.  He really likes to leave his right leg straight out like that even when he pops up.  

His other new trick.

Sitting.

Sooooo big!

He's oh so close!  He finally sits in the bumbo without flopping out of it.

When he's in the mood, he can now sit for a minute or two.

Today, he was so proud of himself!

He's going to miss chewing on that thumb.

I love his two little teeth.

I want to eat. him. up!

I'm going to miss the shape of his hand and the way Frankie scratches his three fingers on things for texture and sound.  But it's for the best.  He will be taken care of by a great doctor and a great hospital!  I feel so blessed to have a great medical team watching over Frankie!

My Camper: Interior Changes

After many late nights and a neglected house, I finished the interior of the camper just in time to use it for Fish Lake.  My husband thought I was a little nuts as he heard the sewing machine begin to hum at 1:00 a.m. (the night before our trip) as he climbed into bed.  

My curtains had to have tie backs.  

For looks and to allow air to flow through the windows during the day.

Even though I still have changes that need to be made, I'm very pleased with the results!

Ready?

                                Before:

After:

I took these pictures after our trip.  Seeing how I hadn't cleaned the dust and dirt off the walls yet and I forgot to remove the hat and fishing pole from under the table. :)

The cushions turned out perfectly!  I wanted to use red vinyl but the upholsterer told me that would not be the best idea.  Vinyl is hot and sweaty and doesn't breathe well.  Wet bums (from swim suits) would cause the cushions to not dry and get moldy.  Yuck.

The red fabric is a material they use for car seats.  It won't fade in the sun, it breathes well and it is easy to clean.  I thought they worked perfectly.  The fabric gives a little because the cushions are tightly squished between the walls.  Doesn't seem that noticeable in person. 

I love the oil cloth table cloth!  It was a purchase from a local fabric store.

                                Before:

                             After:

Kevin was sad to see the hunting motif on the back wall go.  Seems like we have a conflict of interest here.  :)

The upper storage area was great to have on our trip.  We kept tupperware bins of stuff up there.  We could fit Cole up there to sleep.  We have an air pad that fits perfectly there.  

But Cole LOVED sleeping in the tent with Dad. 

The bed is so large when I fold all the cushions down!  We easily could fit the whole family in.  But I think the boys will stick with camping in the tent.  I thought Cole would beg to sleep in the camper but the tent won every night. 

                                 Before:

                             After:

See the floors.  I can't wait to redo those!

I polished all the copper hardware.  My cute little tea kettle worked perfectly for warming hot water for Frankie's bottles.  The blue door is an ice box.  Like a cooler.  Big ice blocks fit in there to keep the temperature cool.  

                                Before:

    After:

Sorry for the poor lighting in some of these.

I ripped out the linoleum that was on the back splash.

I'll eventually need to replace the counter tops.  I'm not a fan of the little nails around the edges.

The trim around the back is in bad condition.  I just had my dad spray paint it anyway until I get to it.  Someday I'll have the back splash run from the counter top all the way up to the cupboards and by the door.  To cover where the linoleum damaged the wall.  

Damage on the wall that will be covered by the backsplash.

I love the look of the curtains without the ties but it covers the cute windows when they hang down.  

                                             Before:

Closet / Porta Potty

                             After:

The Porta Potty is in the garage.  Fish Lake has great flushies.  We'll save the porta potty for those rare trips where we might need one.

I built these shelves the day before we left.  I bought the bins at Ikea.  It is great to just stack up the bins, bring them inside and pack one for each person and then put them back in their assigned shelf.  The kids were in and out of these all weekend.  It was a great place to keep all their "stuff" out of the way.

Yay!  I'm cooking in my new kitchen!  That was a lot of fun!  

I made a Yummy Corn and Black Bean Salsa for our Sunday picnic in Fruita (Capital Reef).

You must try this recipe!  It's delish!

3 Large Tomatoes Diced

3-4 chopped green onions

1 Avocado Diced

1 Can of Corn drained

1 Can of Black Beans 

1 Pkg. of dry Italian dressing, prepared as directed.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and then pour prepared Italian dressing over.  This salsa tastes better when it has been refrigerated for several hours.  

Enjoy with your favorite chips!  

I have been sooo tired!  Two weeks of  really late nights working on the camper, our renter of 2 years moved out of our basement 3 days before we left (permanently, Yay), basement apartment and post vacation cleaning, playing with family who is visiting from out of town and the 4th of July celebration.  It finally all caught up with me!  All this fun,  I am wiped out!