ALL ABOARD!!! I wish they really said that, I don't think they do but then again I could have easily missed it while keeping an eye on the kiddos. On this fun day in July we met up with all of our old Kerman friends and a lot of new ones for a trip to Hanford. Some may wonder why we would take a train to Hanford...DUH it's because Superior Dairy is amazing! We took our first real train ride (even for me) and headed to Hanford. We hit Mickey D's for lunch, then ice cream at the big S.D. and rode the Carousal in the park
Paris and her buddy Skyler traded off taking care of babies pretending to be little mommies and let me tell you the babies ate it up!
I have future sitters in these girls!
Penny didn't want to take a picture break so she just kept on eating
Gigi of course always ready for a pose
Penny finally let the bottle go
Charlie amazed of the view out of the Amtrak window
Ty and his buddy Conner. These two are perfect for each other. They don't see one another sometimes for months but when they do it's like they don't even skip a beat. I am blessed with friends like that so I am thrilled my son has found one too.
Gigi and Penny
Charlie
All the kids..TY looks SOOOO thrilled
The whole sha-bang!
This was one fun group of ladies and Mike who really helped out with baby holding and stroller pushing. We love our buddies and can't wait until next summers adventures!
I have been wanting to take the kids to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom but as adventurous as I am, I just could not bring myself to do it alone. Luckily Josh was able to get an extra day off so we got a sitter for the babies and made it a big kid day!
It was so quiet on the ride up! As much as I love my babies I have to say it was AMAZING to just get to listen to my big kids and have some real quality one on one time. Gigi got carried more, Paris got hugged more and Ty got made fun of a bit more. Paris was the adventure girl who was willing to ride all the coasters! Ty wasn't so willing but we got him on a few.
They were pretty excited
I can't believe how big they all are
Sweet Ty
Crazy Gi
Pretty Paris
My first baby girl
Awesome Tiger show- I highly recommend taking kids of all ages
We were so close to this lady we had to back up as she turned
Heading to the next attraction
Josh was the only one that had a butterfly land on him and Gigi was so disappointed!
I see a slight resemblance
Ty's hero
Only picture taken of Josh and I where he wasn't making a stupid face or giving me bunny ears..he's very mature
This appears wrong on so many levels but Gigi was in melt down mode at this point, so I am just happy she smiled..kinda
All and all we came home to sleeping babies and happy big kids. I hope it's a day they will always remember.
Right around the time Penny turned 9 months she had to have surgery. I didn't talk about it much in advance because I couldn't with out crying. Penny has urinary reflux which is fairly common but what's not as common is the fact that she only has one functioning kidney so the urinary reflux poses a big risk. Risk with my kids is not ok with me so we opted for surgery to fix the reflux and decrease her chance of damaging her good kidney greatly. Its a fairly simple procedure and she would only be out of our arms about an hour and half which in my mind might as well been an eternity. Poor lil Penny seems to have gotten the short end of the twin stick. The days leading up the the surgery I was a wreck. I couldn't even talk to my friends in fear they'd ask about it and I'd cry so I just stuck to myself and tried to cry privately. You probably think it's ridiculous and honestly it is.
I am a nurse.
I know its a common procedure.
I know chances are it will be just fine.
.........
I am a mom.
So all that other stuff goes out the window.
Knowledge was lost on me at that point in time. If it was someone elses kid I would reassure them as to how easy it will be and bla bla bla but it wasn't someone else's kid.
It was MY kid.
MY baby.
I just want her whole.
She can't be so that I have to accept.
The night before surgery I worked and then left at about 5am to make it to the house in time to get Penny to Pre-Op. I was exhausted, scared and panicked.
My little Penny Layne before surgery...I tried to hold it together when the nurses did their job but of course inside I was scrutinizing everything in detail.
As I knew deep down, Penny did just fine. She woke up fast from anesthesia and we were home within two hours of the start of surgery. She was a little extra fussy for a bit but was doing well so I headed to bed to let Josh take over since I had to work again that night. I thought about calling in but by the time work time came around she looked perfect so I headed to the hospital. Come September we will have another renal ultrasound and hopefully she will be able to get off her antibiotics. As long as her non-functioning kidney doesn't get infected (which it shouldn't after this procedure) we just leave it alone. I will always be extra cautious with her to protect that kidney but chances are she will live a long a healthy life just as her twinky... Don't get me wrong even though I just said that I still worry all the time. In fact I still can't think abut it much before I am in tears... Pathetic...
What can you do? The kids are part of me and I of them. The thought of them ill or hurt kills me but at the same time I feel I have to make Penny be that much tougher so she knows she can accomplish anything she wants...she will...that I know
So all and all it has been a great summer.
Kids start back to school Monday and I started back in a BSN program last week. Time to start back up with a busy life but we will continue to make memories along the way.
In a world filled with schedule I truly believe it is of the utmost importance to have some fun! Now the journey begins to make this school year a successful one.
Much love!
