Our Crazy Summer

So, I know that I haven't kept up with this very well lately.  It's not that I don't want to, but I have had a much harder time keeping up since going back to work last year and this summer has been even worse, but in my defense it's been kind of a crazy summer!!

We started June with a trip to Kansas for a family reunion (my Grandpa Varner's family: maternal grandfather).  It was just for a long weekend and was a 12.5 hour trip!!  Uncle Jacob and I took the kids (have I mentioned that he's their nanny this summer!)  While there, we visited my Grandma Doel (maternal grandmother) who was in the hospital with complications due to a gall bladder surgery.  We were supposed to return Monday, but Sunday night, Jacob suffered a SEVERE ankle sprain playing in an adult soccer game with our cousin, Thomas, so . . . plans changed and we headed to Dallas instead with mom and dad because he was still in too much pain on Monday for me to try to transport him and all five of my kids 12 hours with no other adult help.  After allowing some of the initial pain to subside, we were able to all drive home on Tuesday so I could work Wednesday and Jacob got his girlfriend, Aujehl to help with kids for the first day back at work.  Did I mention that Jackson went on a week long trip with just Granna and Poppo the week before the reunion, so he met back up with us in Kansas. (I should do a post about that trip if I can get my hands on the pictures!)

After getting home, we thought the rest of June was going to be quiet, but my Grandma Doel (who had been in the hospital while we were in Kansas), passed away on June 14.  It was fairly unexpected.  She had gotten VERY sick while in the hospital, but was finally on the mend, feeling good and had gone home 3 days prior.  I guess Jesus just couldn't go another day without her.  I know how He feels, she was a pretty special lady!  We headed back to Kansas, for another 12 hour drive with the whole crew (though we sent a couple  of kids in a car with Jacob and Kiki) and spent a week saying good-bye to a woman that I still can't believe is gone.  I will also do a post on my Grandma, because you just can't sum her up in a short paragraph, she requires her own space.  I miss her very much and very much want to share who she was with everyone, but that's for another day. . .

Kynlee with her splint

We returned from Kansas on Friday, June 22 (which was my mom's birthday, not her best one ever I will venture to say, but we did take her out the night before) and then left again the following Saturday, June 30 for our week at the Lake (see the post titled "5 Little Firecrackers" for details).  When we returned home on Sunday, July 8th, I thought life was finally going to slow down, but I was wrong . . . Kynlee broke her left wrist that Tuesday!!  She fell down and fractured it all the way through the radius!  She's been a real trooper and actually kind of likes the splint that she has to wear.  She goes back to the doctor tomorrow and will probably get to quit wearing the splint.  I'm not sure it's going to go over well!


If you think that's enough craziness, well it's not.  Last weekend, we hosted a going away party at our house (just two weeks after all of our traveling, this may seem like sufficient time to get ready, but with 4 toddlers, there is NEVER enough time to get ready).  Clint was trying to get a bunch of backyard projects done for the party, such as the dog run ( so excited that we have that done now), etc and I decided for some crazy reason that I wanted to paint my entire foyer and playroom the weekend before the party.  So I spent every spare second for 3 days, painting (meaning time when the babies were sleeping or someone else could watch them).

It continues . . . on Saturday night, during the party, when I was changing babies for bed, I noticed Gage had a few hives.  I didn't think much of it, they had been playing out in the yard, in the heat all evening . . . but when he woke up on Sunday morning, he looked like this:

This came and went for 3 days on his trunk and face.  We went to the doctor and of course no hives while we were there, but I did show her the picture.  When we left though, his face looked like this (about 20 minutes post doctor's visit):

But that was the last we saw of the hives (last Monday), then he had one random occurrence of vomiting Friday evening, shortly after I sent Jackson with his Uncle Jacob to go visit Granna and Poppo.  I just knew I sent him there spreading a stomach bug after Gage got sick.  But it hasn't happened again and no one else is sick, so now I'm wondering if he is having some reactions to something and maybe the vomiting and hives are related . . . I may never know!

On top of all of this, I have spent my summer planning a baby shower for a friend in Austin.  I'm so excited to be doing this for her.  I'll post about it afterward.  But it is only 3 weeks away now and I feel like there is still so much to do!  We leave immediately from the shower to drop our kids off with Granna and Poppo and go on a 5 day Mommy and Daddy gettaway.  Then we come home with only a week until the babies' s 2nd birthday (so I've got to get that party planned before we leave) and then the very next weekend, my sisters and I are going to Vegas with Jacob to celebrate his 21st birthday!!!

Whew!  I'm tired just reviewing the summer!  I thought summer was supposed to be relaxing!  Nothing like staying busy (and having 5 kids) to keep life interesting.  Loving this crazy life, but struggling to find time to keep up with everything!