Having Fun in Nampa Again

We had another trip to Nampa two weekends ago and this time our whole family went, so I had to get Milo a dog sitter. Right before our trip though, Milo had started to lick himself down in his private area and kept licking and licking so it was getting red. There was a ball of hair that I cut off, but he kept licking after that. I was worried he might have a bladder infection or something so I went ahead and got him into the vet. We figured out that it was tree sap on his belly from our pine trees in our back yard. They cleaned a lot of it off but not all of it and instructed that we should have him wear the cone so that he wouldn't lick down there and to try to clean him off with Dawn dish soap or rubbing alcohol. They prescribed some antibiotic pills as a precaution. While we were there, they were able to discover that he also had a double ear infection, as his ears were filled with yeast. I had been trying to clean that out with mineral oil but it kept coming back since I didn't know what it was. It was just very dark brown to black in color and disgusting. It did smell a little also. They cleaned out his ears with rubbing alcohol and then put an antibiotic fluid down the tubes. That was all he needed for that, thank goodness. We also got his vaccinations done while we were there so we wouldn't have to come back in December. I wanted to get away from doing that near the holidays so I was happy they suggested it! We made good use of that vet visit, 3 things in one visit. 

Fortunately, the people who watched Milo for us while we went out of town were still happy to watch him even though he had to wear the cone sometimes and take a pill each day. Sometimes we would let him have a break from the cone as long as he would not lick. He is usually pretty good when we say "leave it" when he does try, but if he did it multiple times, then the cone went back on.

I got Milo dropped off on Thursday, the 19th while kids were in school. We were on the road to Nampa around 5pm and we didn't get to my grandma's until 10pm mountain time. The kids had Friday off of school for a teacher work day, so that's why we all went. Garrett's appointment was late Friday morning. It went well but unfortunately for Garrett, he's not done AND he has to wear a rubber band again. It's only one but it stretches from one side of the mouth to the other. They keep saying he's close to being done and I surely hope so, but they have said that for the past year. Ugh. I don't want to drive during the winter and it would be nice to get the braces off so we can do some senior pictures.

I took a picture so we can remember where he needs to place it.

After his appointment it was a good day for kids to hang out with friends. Garrett and the girls hung out at the Wallace's with Lilly and Sydney. I'm glad Garrett hung out with someone this time. Jack got together with friends from FSY at the arcade and then Porter and another friend came over to grandma's to play videogames there. Curtis worked from grandma's office this time, so that was nice that he didn't have to find rides to and from Meridian. I did a little shopping with Garrett and found some earrings for the girls. They had recently discovered some clip-on earrings and were so excited about them that they wanted more. I told them that if they would pay for most of it, then I would help pay for the rest. I found a pack of 6 pairs at Walmart. They are pretty happy and have been wearing them. Charlotte had gotten her ears pierced two years ago but they bothered her ears, so she stopped wearing them and they closed up. I'm happy that they have an alternative so they can wear earrings now. 

She's wearing the earrings the girls had found in a box of stuff that was given to us. That's when we thought to look for clip on earrings for the girls.

Before Jack met up with friends, I took him thrift shopping to try and find a suit jacket because he really wanted one. After striking out at D.I. we were able to find one he likes at Savers for $12. That's a lot better than $60-$100 brand new!

It needs some ironing, but it looks good.

Instead of watching a movie Friday night, Garrett, the girls, grandma and I watched some episodes of Little House on the Prairie. We're anxiously trying to get through season 6 to see Laura and Almanzo get married! My brother Stillman also showed up Friday night. He came to town to attend the BSU game on Saturday night. Saturday afternoon, the adults went out for lunch with mom and dad to Chick-Fil-A. Dad missed the picture though since he went to the restroom. The waitress took the picture, so we didn't want to keep her waiting. 

Our niece Livvie was also going to the temple before leaving on her mission in a couple of weeks, so Curtis and I were able to attend that as well on Saturday with mom, dad, and grandma and all of Melissa's family. It felt good to be there and I'm so glad we were able to make it. After the session, Curtis, grandma and I followed Melissa's family over to a Hawaiian restaurant that had some good meats and rice. It was called Mo' Bettahs. Then we headed back to grandma's house to watch the BSU game. It didn't start until 7:45pm. Another item I bought at the store was a 500-piece BSU puzzle, so we could work on it during the game. Even Stillman got into this puzzle before the game. We finished it after church the next day. BSU won their game and Stillman got back to grandma's house after all of us had gone to bed. One big mistake was that nobody gave him the code to grandma's front door lock, so he was stuck outside for awhile. He had gotten there around 12:30am. Grandma finally heard him pounding the door and ringing the doorbell, and she only has one good ear. Normally I would hear stuff like that easily but because we were using a box fan to help cool us down, I couldn't hear anything and our phones were on vibrate. He tried calling and Michelle did too. I felt so bad the next morning about the situation. We'll make sure that never happens again! He was obviously not happy.

These guys finished off the puzzle even though Dad and I did most of the work. I didn't really care that I wasn't in the picture though. I just wanted a picture of the puzzle and these handsome guys. Dad wasn't there yet.

Playing Golf while waiting for biscuits to bake.

Dad and Laverne had brought over the main dish for our meal after church on Sunday while I cooked some biscuits at grandma's and Curtis's request. They also brought cookies and cake. Well, I knew that Mom's birthday was the next day and Garrett's was in a week, so I told Dad to find a candle and we could sing to both of them. So he did!

Dad found one big fat candle. It worked, lol. Garrett bought himself that fedora hat while we went shopping on Saturday. He loves it. He also bought himself a Michael Jackson cd because he likes his music now.

I think Laverne did most of the work on blowing out the candle, lol. 

We got on the road back home around 2pm. It was another fun weekend in Nampa and I'm sure glad we could all make the trip this time. It makes it worth it to have to drive back and forth for Garrett's appointments! Unfortunately, the next one will just be me and him since we were forced to make his appointment on a Monday. He'll have to miss a day of school for that one. It will be the beginning of November. We'll probably drive down Friday or Saturday for that one.

Injury Update and More

Charlotte and I worked on her puzzle together and got it done in two days. She went back to school after staying home two days from the dog bites. She has been slowly healing and getting better. It's getting easier to bandage her up now that we don't have to do her hands anymore. There's just 4 main bites that we're waiting for to scab over, but they are looking better. 

We did have a little scare this last Monday. Charlotte had gone to school and I picked the girls up and went straight to the church for activity days. By the time we got home around 5:30, she wasn't feeling good and said she felt warm. I took her temperature and it was at 101. The paper they sent home with me said to bring her back in if her temp got to 100.4 or higher, so I rushed her over to the same emergency room. I hadn't looked at the wounds since the morning, but they had looked good then, as far as I could tell. We waited in the waiting room for nearly 3 hours before they got us back there. The ER was busy that night. I didn't know of a quick care option that wasn't ER that didn't require an appointment. While we were waiting, she was coughing and sniffly, so I thought maybe it could be related to that instead of the dog bite wounds. Charlotte had an appointment with her pediatrician the next day and I was very seriously thinking about leaving before they finally called us back. I was correct. The mild fever was because of the upper respiratory issues she was having. Thankfully her wounds still looked good and her lungs were clear. 

The next day Charlotte's doctor was surprised to see that it wasn't healing as quickly as she expected. She prescribed a stronger antibiotic ointment called Mupirocin. One problem we had was that the gauze pads we were using were soft but would stick to the wounds and rip off anything that had started to clot and it would bleed a little. I was able to find some different pads that don't stick to the wounds and it's been doing better.

Placing the last piece in the puzzle.

All done!

Grandma Vernie and Grandpa Tony brought a little gift for Charlotte when Dad drove here to meet Stillman to go to the BSU game in Oregon.

This is what her arms look like today, almost two weeks later.

Aside from Charlotte's injury, I have been working on dehydrating apples that our neighbors have been giving us. They have multiple trees and have lots of apples to give away. They are Criterion apples. I've never had them before but they're good. I'm also hoping to do some apple pie filling and applesauce. Curtis and I also started working on our trim boards in our bedroom. He bought the boards and I painted them. Last Saturday, he hung up what we bought so far.

Boards all set up in the garage, ready to paint. That means I get to park outside for a little while.

Looking good so far! We'll still have caulking and touch up painting to do. Not to mention, the doors and doorways.

Friday morning, Alice's 4th tooth fell out while eating breakfast. That's the 4th out of 5 loose teeth. The last one is not very loose, so it will take a little longer I think. Maybe if she eats some apples, she can get that one out earlier.

Our little toothless girl.

Friday night was Jack's first football game performance for the marching band. They just focused on playing the music and didn't move around during the performance yet. It is "Top Gun" themed. I look forward to seeing the progression. Unfortunately, our football team is not very good. They were getting killed against Kennewick, so we left after halftime. 

Having fun walking to the car after the performance.

While Curtis was working on the trim work on Saturday, the girls and I drove over to Connell to help Bronson Brown and his family with another parade. The girls last minute asked if they could bring their bike and scooter to ride in the parade, so we did. They decorated their helmets while riding in the car. They loved it. This parade was a lot shorter than the other one but the walk back to our car seemed a lot longer. It was a good thing I have google maps, or we probably would have gotten lost. After the parade we drove over to Pasco to use some free pizza tickets for the girls at Shakey's. It was the first time we have ever eaten there, and it turns out it is like the Primo's pizza place they used to have in Nampa. Buffet style with salad bar, pasta, chicken, etc. Unfortunately, they didn't have the chocolate chip cookie dough pizza, like at Primo's. That was my favorite and I miss it. I can't say it was the best pizza, but it was alright.

I gave them some money to play at the arcade while waiting for their pizzas to cook. They won a few tickets and got a couple of small prizes.

Our activity that we did for activity days on Monday was making homemade ice cream in a bag. I think the girls loved it. We had some extra ingredients, so today after church and lunch, Curtis and I made our own ice cream. It was pretty good but melts fast. I think I may want my own ice cream maker now. We used to have one years ago but only used it once or twice, so we got rid of it. I think I would use it more now.

My bowl of ice cream, topped with chocolate syrup, peanuts and Oreos.

Curtis shaking his bag.

Curtis added vanilla flavoring to his and same toppings, except he also had caramel.

Great Weekend Turned Nightmare

Labor Day weekend was pretty good. The kids had some friends over on Saturday for swimming. I was glad to see the pool getting some good use after working hard to clean it that week. Garrett also found my camera and had fun taking pictures of the girls jumping off the diving board. He got some pretty good shots. 

Garrett with my camera.

We were invited to be in a parade on Monday (Labor Day) over in Prosser, which is about 35 min away, to help support a member of our bishopric who is running for judge in the next election. They had heard my girls wanted to be in a parade after we saw them in the Kennewick parade. We all joined except for Garrett and they even gave us some t-shirts to wear. It was fun and the girls loved it! I started out the parade by handing out stickers & business cards, then I climbed into the back of the truck to help Wendy fill candy bags for our group to pass out. They have told us they are doing one more parade on the 14th. Jack has band practice that day but maybe the girls and I can go, and maybe Curtis.

The girls got to ride on the mini train.

Jack and the Wingert kids.

Curtis held a sign and I was given a bubble gun, but later gave it to Charlotte. 

Testing out the bubble gun.

During the parade the girls got out of the train and threw candy and shot bubbles. People loved the bubbles.

When we got back, Curtis had to work on a presentation that he would be giving on Wednesday for work. The kids and I did a few chores, and then the girls went swimming for a bit. By the time I was ready to get in the pool, the girls were done. They got out and changed so they could go play with our backyard neighbor friend. I swam alone for a little bit and then got out and showered. When I got out of the shower, I was shocked to find both girls by the back door and Charlotte crying. She had been attacked by her friend's dog and was bleeding all over her right arm, right hand, and left hand. This was a total shock because she wasn't really doing anything to provoke him to bite her. She had just reached out to pet him and he attacked. Some were pretty deep wounds. We cleaned her up with water and peroxide (which we later learned peroxide is not something we should have used), wrapped a paper towel around her arm and took her to the emergency room.

From the different points of view of the 3 girls that were a part of this, Charlotte did not do anything to cause him to attack. She was calm and just reached to pet him. It terrified all 3 of them. Alice had run to hide in a tent, but then when the friend had hold of her dog by the hind legs, Charlotte and Alice were able to get back over to our yard. They did so without running, so that it would not encourage the dog to chase them more. Right before we left for the ER, the friend and her mom came over to check on Charlotte and see how bad it was, and of course they were shocked and so sorry that it had happened. The friend was in tears.

We took Charlotte to the ER down the road and Alice came along to help support her sister and to be there in case they needed to hear what happened. She's such a good sister. By the time we were done, we had been there just over two hours. They took x-rays on both hands and the right arm just to make sure nothing was broken. They gave her a TDaP shot because she would need one in the next year any way, but said the only thing they could do is clean up the wounds, apply ointment and wrap them. With dog bites, there is too much risk for infection, so they did not stitch her up. They also prescribed Augmentin antibiotics as a prevention and gave her pain meds while there. Everyone at the hospital was so nice. She felt much better by the time we brought her home. The doctor gave her a note to have her stay home until Thursday from school. She was bummed because she really wanted to get perfect attendance this year. 

This was the biggest damage.

This was a temporary wrap that they put on in triage.

After we got home, she was able to give me a smile. She looks like she has a cast on but it's just soft cotton wrap.

We are so thankful that this wasn't worse than it was, and that Alice was not also attacked. The neighbors have been so nice about it. Tuesday morning, they called to see how Charlotte was doing. They have been praying for her and even offered to pay the medical bills. They will be taking the dog to the vet to get checked out and get advice on what steps to take moving forward with their dog. They certainly do not want anything like this to happen again. Even their daughter is afraid of the dog now, and she's a year older than Charlotte. The dog used to sleep in her room, but not anymore. Anyway, they're not sure yet what they will do with him but have told us they will let us know when they make a decision. It's hard because this dog was the girl's best friend for the last 5 years. I would feel bad if they had to give him up but at the same time, I would not be comfortable letting my girls go over to their house again if they keep him. And the mom said she didn't want anyone to feel unsafe over there and wanted to keep a good relationship with us. We have been truly blessed to have such good neighbors.

This morning Charlotte went back to school for the first time since it happened, and she was a little worried. I have been so worried also about her getting an infection and trying to remember all of the things the doctor and nurses said to watch for, like redness, swelling, stiffness (like a board), etc. She also can't take a bath or swim, obviously. If she showers, she needs to hold her arm out of the water stream and just let any water run off. We haven't tried yet. It's been hard for me to focus on anything else since this happened but I'm glad she went back to school, and I know it will help her feel better. We even watched "The Call of the Wild" movie and then started reading the book that I bought her recently. Her Butterfield grandparents sent a goodie bag with their bishop, who works with Curtis and was coming to town for the presentation. They gave Charlotte a puzzle, a card, and some Skittles. We got most of the puzzle put together yesterday but didn't finish yet.

This was taken when we first started the puzzle.

Now that Charlotte's back in school, I'm running around trying to get things done. I feel like there's not enough time in the day! Her wounds are looking better each day, and we just pray that they will continue to get better.

And totally off subject, but last night while eating our dinner, Alice pulled out another tooth. That's #3!

Two on bottom and one on top.

School Starts Again!

Garrett and I took a quick trip to Nampa for his orthodontist appointment, just in time before school started the following week. We drove down Thurs the 22nd and came back the next day after his appointment. We stayed with Grandma again and played some Golf with grandma, Dad and Laverne Thursday night. After Dad and Laverne left, we watched Wonder Woman 2 while Garrett did the cycle machine. He's getting his last credit of P.E. by doing it at home. He needs to get 75 hours of exercise logged and take a competency test. This was great for him because he really didn't want to do any P.E. at the school where he would have to dress down. Now he gets to do whatever exercise he wants and when he wants. So, that's why he did the foot pedal machine while watching the movie and then we went to the gym the next morning with Dad and Laverne since they had guests passes we could use. We walked the track a couple miles and then did machines. Garrett just did the treadmill. Right after the Rec Center is when we went to his appointment and then shopping at Walmart. The doc says maybe a few more appointments to go but things are looking good.  Then we went back to grandma's to pack up and go to lunch with grandma, Dad and Laverne at Taco Bell, then hit the road back home.

We made this trip quick because Garrett was scheduled to take the driving skills test on Saturday. Unfortunately, on the way home we got a call from the driving school where he was to take the test and they told us they couldn't do the test because they're having trouble getting their business license renewed. Garrett was disappointed but I told him it would give him more time to practice. Garrett really wanted to get his license before starting school. 

Well, since we weren't able to do the test on Saturday, I told Garrett to have his dad take him car shopping so he can have a car to drive to school. Curtis calls me later and says they found a good car. I had no idea what it looked like until they got it home. This boy is going to be driving in style! It's a 2016 Buick Lacrosse. It had a lot of miles on it and a few small cosmetic issues but they were probably highway miles and it looked in good shape. It's our car but the boys will get to take turns driving it. Garrett's pretty excited! Maybe one day he'll buy it from us.

We didn't hear anything from the driving school on Monday, so by Tuesday morning I called them and they were still having issues. She said if we wanted to take the test somewhere else, that was totally fine. I left it up to Garrett. One reason I wanted to go to this place is because it was the cheapest and they gave us the option to use our own vehicle. ($50 to use their car, $40 to use ours) Garrett really wanted to take the test using our van but decided he didn't want to wait anymore. So, Wednesday morning I did some searching online and found another place that did walk in testing and was the next best price ($55). Other schools wanted around $70 to over $100 per test. There was no way I was going to spend over $100 for that test.

I was able to take him over that very same morning and he passed with an 82%. He only needed 80% to pass. Yay!!! From there, we drove straight to the DMV to get his license. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long since we didn't have an appointment. I think it was around 20 minutes. We got his temporary license and then called the school about getting his parking pass sticker. We filled a form out online and then went over and got it. That was the same day that the girls started school, but the high school does a Freshman only day, so the boys didn't start until Thursday. Garrett got everything he needed just in time to start school the next day. It was his first time driving without an adult, just him and his brother Jack.

All ready to go to school!

And there they go!

I did get first day of school pictures as well. This time we walked out to our backyard so we would have a nice background and no sun in their faces. Garrett's starting 12th, Jack 10th, Charlotte 5th and Alice 2nd grade. It's going to be a great year!

Of course, Charlotte wanted Milo in her picture. Her shirt says "I axolotl questions". It has a little critter on it that's called an axolotl. It was perfect for her, because she really does ask a lot of questions!

Then both girls with Milo.

Senior year!

Sophomore year!