Ady's owie

Summertime always brings adventure and as you know we've had our fill of them... so we weren't planning on having any more for a while until 3 weeks ago, our first Thursday night home from our trip.... Adyson was being goofy and her usual "monkey." Her hands were sweaty so as she was climbing the doorway of our pantry she slipped and fell. She usually has a loud cry anyway but when she wouldn't let anyone get near her arm and she couldn't walk or move we knew that something was wrong. At 9:00 pm. Jeff and I decided that we might as well get her arm checked out before it had to be a midnight ER visit. At 10:30 Jeff called from the ER and told me that Ady would need surgery because she broke her arm on the growth plate and damaged it. They were on their way to the Seattle Children's Hospital. Ady was given the choice to have surgery that night or in the morning. Ady wanted it right then to not only "get it over with" but she knew there would be traffic in the morning and it would be easier on Jeff to not have to drive to Seattle in the morning. (Can you tell she is our amiable-peacemaking-always-thinking-of-others girl?) I called our awesome home teacher, Dave Swan who met Jeff and Ady in the parking lot and gave her a Priesthood blessing. I arrived to give books, insulin, blankets and snacks in case of a long night plus lots of hugs and kisses to Ady. I ached inside thinking that she was going to be having surgery and praying my hardest that it wouldn't really have to happen.

Well, to make a long story a bit short Ady and Jeff arrived home at 4:30 am. without any surgery. They had a specialist check out the X-rays and even take more x-rays and decided that she was ok without surgery. I don't understand all the details whether someone made a mistake at her initial diagnosis or whether her arm was healed after the Priesthood blessing (my choice of course) but I do know that we were all so grateful for specialists and for Heavenly Father who is the ultimate specialist.

Here is Ady trying to stay awake waiting the verdict on her arm. Surgery? or not? Damaged growth plate or just broken?

They wrapped it up in a temporary cast and sling. Such a pain literally not only her arm but now she had neck aches from the sling.
Five days later she returned for the official cast... awesome GREEN! We bought a plastic shower cover for the cast so she could still swim and stuff but it wasn't 100% waterproof, not to mention how freaking HOT her poor arm was in that cast. A week later she had to go back to get an X-ray to see how the bone was healing. Perfectly. The nurse noticed that the cast was a bit damp from all the swimming and put on another cast... this time a WATERPROOF pink cast. Holy Cow, did you know they even make waterproof casts? What the? It's a far cry from the plaster ugly white one I had to wear in the 2nd grade.
Just to prove that you can swim in the waterproof cast. We went to the beach one day and Ady got sand down in the cast that hurt her hand. Jeff played doctor and slipped the cast off, shook out the sand and noticed that her hand looked like a withered prune. Hmmmm, we're not sure the cast is 100% waterproof either. After her hand dried he slipped the cast back on like a glove. She's doing fine... learning to be a "lefty" and hoping she can have it off for when school starts so she can write. She loves that she doesn't have to practice the piano but other than that she is not letting it stop her from doing anything... but it is SO hot.

FCCRVC 2009

I am ready to share about our Family Cross Country RV Cruise 2009. I have decided to publish a scrapbook that is dedicated to the over a gazillion pictures I have taken on our trip and therefore will spare myself the time of repeating myself by reliving it all again here on the blog. Enjoy these 34 pictures. That's plenty! Consider this blog post but a crumb of a feast... only a page of the Reader's Digest version... a wetting of your appetite. I hate to leave so much out but I will. I think you'll still feel full after the many pictures I do post here. It's not too late to sign out, run while you can.

On June 18th (the day after the last day of school) at 6:45 am. we departed Seattle and flew to Buffalo, New York. Thankfully the flight was uneventful and we landed on time to the open arms of Aunt Sandy, Uncle Pete and Jeff's parents. The kids were so thrilled to see a swimming pool at the Mangs that they jumped right in their pool eventhough it was cool and rainy. We're from Seattle and not afraid of a few sprinkles. In one day we enjoyed seeing cousins at the pizza/buffalo wing dinner at the Mangs,

Niagra Falls,

Jeff's Grandma Mertie's gravesite,
and Grandma Slichta in her Nursing Home. She looked great!
We drove to Rochester to excited cousins who had been waiting "forever" for us to arrive. For one week we played and laughed and ate and ate and played with Jeff's parents and sisters and families. The cousins had so much fun being together that they had to sleep together every night too. It was one big party at the Tripps. We went to Kellen's battle of the bands in the park... had fun at the Strong Children's museum... went to a movie... made smore's in the backyard pitt, watched Garrett's baseball game and played lots and lots of Wii. So much fun together and so sad that we live so far away.

Taking some Father's Day pictures at Lorey's house. Such cute siblings.

Our last day together was spent packing and getting cute for family photos. It was worth the craziness of the day because the pictures turned out great. Here's the whole entire Slichta gang doing a big family squish!
Off to Palmyra, the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah and dinner at our favorite Chill 'n Grill in Palmyra. Isn't the Palmyra Temple so pretty peeking out of the green trees?

We drove down near New York City where we stayed the night and woke up the next morning to have a lovely outdoor breakfast with Christ Slichta and his 2 boys. The kids could have stayed there much longer with their pool and all the fun toys but as we soon realized the theme of our trip was, "So much to do, so little time."

New York City was pure craziness! We saw so much, even the famous naked cowboy...

We surprised the kids with tickets to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. We bought tickets the night before as we were driving so it really was a surprise for all of us. The show was FABULOUS!!!

Washington DC was our next stop. We picked up our RV in DC from a family that lives a few blocks from us. They had a reunion in DC and didn't have time to drive the RV home too. Definately chalked up as a tender mercy for working out as perfectly as it did. We toured the city at night which actually was REALLY neat looking and without crowds of people.

Arlington National Cemetary.

The Washington DC Temple is amazing. Besides a potty break in the visitor's center a quick picture in the parking lot is all we had time for. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was our next visit. Did you know that Alaska was the only state not involved in the Civil War? I was the only one who guessed the answer right thank you! It's the only state that makes sense. Why would Alaska care about the North and the South?? Hawaii even had 1 soldier present in the war. These soldiers were full of interesting facts.

We got to spend a whole day at this super duper funnest ever water park in Sandusky, Ohio called Cedar Point. It also has a huge roller coaster themed amusement park but we focused on the water portion. Our campground was right at the park and on the coast... could have definately stayed there longer.

Shipshewana, Indiana is a definate must stop if you're ever in the neighborhood. It is an Amish community. It was so crazy to drive down the street in an obese RV and to pass planely dressed Amish people riding their carriages. We really went back in time. Jeff and I also came to realize that the Amish have something going on that we need to get in touch with. They are so happy and live such simple lives. They're not distracted with the cares of the world or with STUFF. Their sole purpose is to help build the community and serve God without all the fluff that we get involved in. We went to a real Amish family's working Dairy farm and helped milk cows and saw their cute teenage girls. It gave us a teeny desire to be more like them in some ways or at least to eat at their amazing food more often. (My mouth seriously just started watering when I thought of what we had for dinner in Shipshewana.)

Chicago was nostalgic to pass through. We were overwhelmed with ALL we wanted to do there and all our friends and relatives we wanted to see. We ended up doing nothing but camping in our old church parking lot, playing some football there, eating a Chicago Dog, and showing Maryn and Adyson where we lived when they were born. Our favorite was taking this walk down the Riverwalk in Naperville... a favorite past time for us.

On the way to Nauvoo we stopped in Gailsburg, Illinois to see Jeff's Great Grandma Jone's house where everyone came to visit in the summer. We had dinner at the park where Jeff played at as a kid. We also went to the cemetary where many relatives are burried and after 45 minutes of searching as the sun was setting and finally with divine intervention we found all of the relatives grave sites and took pictures.
Nauvoo, IL was a favorite. We were happy to finally stay the night twice in the same place. We even supported the Community of Christ Church by staying in their campground. You're welcome. Nauvoo has so many entertaining, family things to do that it made the whole time fun for everyone. They had a pioneer pastimes where we could play pioneer games and dress up. Kaden found this hat and shirt and would not take it off. He wanted to be a "pioneer dude." We loved the temple and the tours of the homes. Our favorite was the evening show put on by the senior missionaries and the young performers. It was so hilarious. Definitely made me want to serve a mission in Nauvoo when I am older just to be in the show.

We took a wagon ride pulled by horses and this wagon ride pulled by oxen. Oh my! I would have walked too as a pioneer if my wagon were pulled by oxen. BUMPY!

The temple was shimmering and inspiring and majestic. Loved it! Maryn remembered going through the Open House when she was 5 or 6. Carthage Jail was our last visit in Illinois. I am always amazed at how strong you can feel the Spirit in a jail and to see the bullet hole still in the door where the bullet passed that killed Hyrum Smith.

Hannibal, Missouri was only an hour and an half away. That's Mark Twain country in case you don't know. We took the tour of the Mark Twain Caves where Mark Twain played as a young boy. In his Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn books he takes stories from places and people in his own life. We saw certain places in the cave that are mentioned in the books. We even saw Jesse James' signature where he hid from the law for a while. So much character in Hannibal... so much to do, so little time.

Independence, Missouri was where we suffered our worst night's sleep because of a terrible storm. A definite tender mercy that we survived that one. It was the 4th of July when we woke up in Independence so the only thing open was the Mormon Visitor's Center. Yea for the Mormons. A short but oh so sweet visit as we spoke with a senior missionary couple and learned the importance of what did and what will take place in Independence and the surrounding areas. Liberty Jail, Haun's Mill, Far West and Adam-Ondi-Ahmen were all so spread out from Independence that we couldn't squeeze those places in too but the senior Elder said with emotion in his eyes, "you are standing on holy ground here."

Our longest drive of the whole trip proved to be the longest drive of the whole trip. Things were absolutely going too perfectly up to this point that we couldn't complain when the front lights didn't work in the RV. As it was getting evening we knew we couldn't drive in the dark so we camped where we were... York, Nebraska in a mobile home park. We bought some fireworks and root beer floats, posed in our Old Navy flag shirts and celebrated the 4th of July Nebraska style. Ah, memories. The next morning we had some making up to do with our driving but we had to stop in Scottsbluff to see Chimney Rock... an important landmark to the pioneers and tradesman and Indians and pony expressers. The amazing part is that it's no where near as tall as it was 150 years ago. It freaked us out to see these sign postings everywhere about "rattlers" but imagine being a pioneer and walking THROUGH the weeds and rocks and homes of the rattlers. At least we had sidewalks to walk on. Our love for the pioneers continued to grow with each pioneerish thing we saw.

About 45 minutes from Custer, South Dakota we saw some Buffalo out on the beautiful hills grazing. We pulled over and watched them for a long time. (We also had our "church" in the RV as we kept our eyes on the roaming buffalo) I saw something that I knew we just HAD to have... buffalo chips. The pioneer children gathered them for their family's campfires so that's exactly what I had my children do for a future campfire of ours. They could not believe their mother would make them do such a gross thing.

My family, and I mean ALL of my family miraculously and I mean miraculously worked it out to help us finish our trip. They met us in South Dakota where we stayed for 4 nights and had the best time seeing Mt. Rushmore.

Crazy Horse (can you see it in the background above Jeff's head?). Robbie Yellow Hawk did some neat dances from his tribe for us. My question is this...do Indians call themself Indians or do they call themselves Native Americans? At the museums we saw here they said Indians but we thought it was because they hadn't spent the money to become politically correct yet. Write in if you have the answer.

We stayed at the silliest campground that the kids and everyone loved. Admit it. The Flintstones campground. They had a goofy theme park that cost way too much money but we sure got some good pictures.

We drove through Custer State Park and saw some wild donkeys, lots of white tailed deer and lots and lots of buffalo. We saw this buffalo right smack on the side of the road. There were tons of warning signs everywhere telling you to stay away from the buffalo. Apparently every year many tourists are either killed or injured from attacking buffalo. Now, how could this cute, cuddly creature hurt anyone? Can you believe how close we are?!

Lovell and Cowley Wyoming were our next stops as we visited the house where my Grandpa Harston and his 10 other siblings grew up. We saw the church in this minute-of-a-town where my mom got her Patriarchal Blessing and we also went to the cemetary where we saw my mom's grandparents gravesites and well as some uncles and aunts. Before we got to Cody, WY we passed through our scarriest drive of our trip up the side of a mountain, on some dirt roads and down the other side of the steep mountain. Yikes! We stayed the night in Cody and went to the Buffalo Bill museum the next morning. Look! We saw him!

Yellowstone. Ah, need we say more? It was relaxing and divine and not as smelly as I remembered it as a kid. Old Faithful was faithful and did it's thing as usual.

We went wading in the Yellowstone River that was too inviting to pass up. Jeff just pulled to the side of the road and we all cooled off.

We took a "little" hike to see the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Pretty amazing. Can you see Spencer on James' back? barely. We couldn't believe he didn't go right over the falls since he was "over" them anyway. James, give me that baby right now!!!

Here we are before we were to head home to Seattle. Can you believe what a gigantor vehicle that is? It treated us well and was actually like saying good-bye to an old friend. We were truly sad to be ending our trip. We wanted to do more, to see more. We realized that the world is big full of beauty but small with everything we humans have in common. The favorite parts for us were: starting the trip with Jeff's family and ending it with mine and having SO much alone time in the middle where we weren't bothered with anyone or anything. We had Jeff 100% to ourselves with no stresses. We didn't have friends taking our children away. We didn't have responsibilities outside our trip or family. We LOVED being with each other and we actually liked being together. We are nice people. We were surprised that our kids hardly ever asked, "how much longer?" like they are famous for asking. The joy was in the Journey for us.

Twenty six days and 17 states and (10 pounds) later we are fully aware at what a gift and blessing this trip was in our life. If we weren't responsibile people in the Church or school or in needing money we would consider doing this for much longer. It was awesome!!!

last day of school

June 17th was the kids last day of school. I always think the last week is such a joke because it's filled with a trip to the roller skating rink, parties, field days, picnics, assemblies, half days etc. Maryn's last 4 days of school she only attended her classes 2 times and that was for 9 minutes in each class. (a total of 2 1/2 hours at school.) Such a waste. Was school like that when I went? I sure don't remember all the short, fun, non-academic days. Anyway, the kids are happy and around here their days are so flippin' academic and strenuous that it was a welcome relief to have no work or homework to do. Hallelujah!

Fortunately our children have always been blessed to have the BEST teachers who we have just loved. (except Maryn's 4th grade teacher.) As a mom I get a bit teary saying good-bye to their teachers and thanking them for being so great. It surprises me each year that I have that emotional reaction. There's something about having teachers honestly love your children; teachers who build your child's character; teachers who see the same great qualities that you see in your children and teacher's who praise your children and make them want to be better that makes it hard for me to say good-bye to them. I love the teachers we have had because of the love they feel for my children. They spend more time with the kids than I do so I am extra thankful when they are wonderful people, good examples and positive influences.

This year was no exception...

Adyson's teacher was Demetra Trull. She was adorable and had the cutest classroom. She was the kind of teacher who went the extra mile in all her projects and learning. Every time when I volunteered in her classroom I got the tiny desire that someday I want to teach again. She saw Ady's potential. Throughout the year she called several meetings with us to find out how she could reach Ady better. She saw Ady's strengths but she also saw a bit of her strong-willed side too. She understood that Ady was embarrassed easily and tried hard to only build her up in front of the class but she was also able to help Ady blossom socially. By the end of the year Ady was known for having the funniest laugh and for writing the silliest stories. Ady loved Mrs. Trull's creativity and loved all the art and "cutsie" stuff that went on in the classroom. Thanks Mrs. Trull for being a great teacher.


Emmy's kindergarten teacher was Toni Osotio. She was such a short lady that it seemed appropriate for her to be a kindergarten teacher. At the end of the year Mrs. Osotio cried as she hugged all the kids because she knew she wasn't going to be teaching kindergarten again... she will be the assistant principal... that's how great she is! Mrs. Osotio helped Emmy learn to follow rules and taught her that you can be a class leader and still be a good friend to everyone.... even if they have brown skin. (did I blog about the time when Emmy told a little Indian girl that Emmy couldn't play with her because her dad told her she can't play with children who have brown skin. Oh my! I got a call from the principal on that one.) Anyway... Mrs. Osotio gave Emmy the love of reading. She went from barely knowing all the sounds of the ABC's to ending kindergarten on a 3rd grade reading level. Whew! She's energetic and fun and so darn cute! Thanks Mrs. Osotio.

I asked Maryn if I could go to all 6 of her classes at Beaver Lake Middle School to take pictures of her and all her teachers. She died of embarrassment just thinking about it. I'm sad that Maryn is growing up so much. She did have great teachers this year... except her math teacher who was a lady without much personality. I don't understand why they can't make math a little more fun and get non dead-head teachers to teach. Anyway, I had several conversations with most of her teachers and they saw MUCH progress with Maryn over the course of the year... especially from January on. That was when we started giving her medication for ADHD. I was in denial about that before but now I should be a spokeswoman for it and for medication. It has helped Maryn SO much. I mean SO SO much!!!! I love it! I have a testimony about giving medication for ADHD...my understanding has expanded and now I'm a believer. Call me if you are one in denial. In the end, Maryn had a great 6th grade year at middle school. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be socially... we'll try to keep it that way.

The best part of the summer for me is NO HOMEWORK. I don't remember my parents being so involved in my homework as I am with my children's. School is so flippin' hard here. They have so much homework and it's so hard! Jeff and I both struggle in understanding what they are supposed to do most of the time. So Hallelujah for no homework for 2 1/2 months!!! Yea for not waking up early! Yippee for not having to pack lunches daily! yeehaw for being able to take life down a few knotches for a while. I want to enjoy my kids (and Jeff for that matter) this summer and make some great memories just having FUN!!!