Sabbatical Part 3

We woke up on Monday morning and enjoyed the dawn chorus.  I think there were at least 15 different species singing.  We fell back asleep and I woke up with a terrible headache.  Mark had to give me a blessing and I was able to rest a bit more and get feeling well enough to journey on.  There was a black wasp enjoying the syrup from our pancakes.  It got pretty windy while we were packing up the tent.  We played with the fly in the wind a little.  We packed up our tent, then drove the rest of the way to Steamboat Springs.  We spent the rest of the day settling into the suite we stayed in.  We went to Steamboat Smokehouse for dinner.  We bought an extra pound of brisket that we were able to use for lunches the next couple of days.  We went grocery shopping at Walmart and bought Sorry! to play.  We took it home and played it a couple of times before bed.

Calvin sleeping in the tent at Deer Creek Campground.

Sabbatical Part 2

When we woke up on Sunday, we got ready for church and attended the ward in the stake center.  It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and for the longest time, no one stood to bear testimonies.  Eventually, a bunch of the kids got up and bore simple, but powerful testimonies.  They brought the Spirit there.  Mark bore his testimony too, sharing how Calvin wanted to camp on the temple grounds, and how he shared the sentiment of wanting to stay in a holy place.  Albric and I explored the building a bit.  After the meeting, we went to the temple grounds again.  Then we went back to the motel and checked out.  We went to the Utah Fieldhouse Museum.  Calvin's favorite part was a little playing room right at the beginning that had dino toys in it.  He didn't want to leave it, and after we saw the whole museum, we went back to that room and let him play for 30 minutes.  We got some groceries and lunch food at Walmart.  Albric fell asleep, so I stayed in the car with him while Calvin and Mark checked out the Cobble Stone Park.  Calvin was not impressed, as there was no playground equipment.  We next went to the Dinosaur National Park.  We rode the shuttle up to the quarry and enjoyed that.  We rode back down in order to take care of a poopy diaper.  We rode the last shuttle of the day back up and took the hike down.  We drove a little longer to the eastern side of Dinosaur National Park and stayed in Deer Creek Campground.  We got there in time for sunset.  

Sabbatical Part 1

At the company Mark works for, after 5 years, you earn a two week sabbatical.  Mark was able to take his this month.  It was awesome, and I loved spending so much time with him and having him with our family.  The first night of our vacation was Thursday night. It was spent at my parents house so we could follow the family down to a camp out at White Rocks.  We had everything packed up for our whole vacation.  We went to dinner at Empire Chinese in Centerville.  Our kids were kind of naughty and running around a lot, but there was only one other person there and he enjoyed watching their antics. 

On Friday morning, we headed over to the Goudy household and got to hold baby Clara while they packed up some last minute things.  Albric absolutely loved holding Clara and was devastated every time I tried to take her back.  We all gassed up our vehicles and followed the procession to White Rocks in Skull Valley.  I didn't take any pictures because I just enjoyed the camping.  Mark set up a little reading nook in a tree with a water bladder hanging above him, and his lounging chair in the shade.  Calvin explored with his cousins and climbed up on the huge rocks.  Albric loved climbing on the stationary motorized vehicles belonging to the Goudys and pretending to drive them.  Calvin got his cast signed by everyone there.  I stayed up later with my siblings telling scary stories around the campfire. We all enjoyed it.

On Saturday morning, we packed all our gear back up in the car and headed to our next destination: Vernal.  It was about 4 hours away from White Rocks.  Albric didn't feel well and we had to stop on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere to let him have a bit of a break.  We drove through a canyon afterwards and he threw up when we drove through Provo.  We pulled over and changed his clothes, then headed through Provo Canyon.  He threw up again, and was unhappy, poor little guy.  When we finally made it to Vernal, we decided to go to JB's for dinner.  I changed Albric's clothes again and we enjoyed being out of the car.  We noticed a church behind JB's.  We walked over to the stake center and behind that was the temple.  We walked into the grounds and enjoyed some quiet time there.  When it was time to go, Calvin wanted to know why we had to leave.  Mark told him that we needed to find a place to sleep for the night.  Calvin replied by pointing to a grassy area of the temple grounds and saying, "I know, we can camp right here!" His sentiment of wanting to stay at a holy place was very powerful and touching.  We ended up staying at the Econolodge that night and everyone was able to get clean and some good rest. 

We took a selfie in front of the temple.

Calvin behind a flower bed on the temple grounds.

Calvin's Cast

11 Days after Albric's emergency room visit, Calvin ended up needing medical care.  On Saturday, we decided to go to the park.  As we started driving there, Mark instead headed up the canyon and we explored the Logan River Trail a bit.  We went up on the mountain on the northern side of the road and we walked along an old pipeline. There were steep parts, and sheer drop offs, but we managed to stay safe. 

We went out for some lunch, and then headed to the old Utah Theater for our ward activity.  We were late, so we went up to the balcony to watch Coco.  After the movie was over, we helped clean the theater.  Calvin was running around on the balcony with other boys from the ward, and somehow cut his ear, but we managed to stay safe.

On the way home, Calvin realized that we had not gone to the park, and he begged to go to Merlin Olsen park.  Albric was napping, so we laid him on a blanket in the shade and watched Calvin play on the playground.  He was climbing up the tall ladder and sliding down the big tube slide.  The last time he climbed up, another little boy was climbing up right behind him.  He was at the top rung when he turned around to tell the other boy that it was his turn to climb up. When he turned around, he let go of the ladder and fell to the ground, landing on his left arm and then his face.  It was really scary to see him fall and be so far away from him.  I immediately jumped up, said to Mark, "Calvin fell off the ladder," and ran over to him.  He had wood chips in his mouth and stuck to his forehead, chin, and cheek. He was crying and very sad.  As we examined him he cried worse when we touched his arm close to his wrist.  I wanted to take him to the doctor right away, but he wanted to stay and play some more.  Mark convinced him to stop crying and looked at his arm some more. He decided that Calvin did indeed need to see a doctor.

We went home and then Calvin and I walked to the Instacare.  We got x-rays and were told he had a buckle fracture of both his radius and ulna. They put a splint and a sling on him and sent us home. 

On Monday, we were able to get in to see an orthopedic doctor.  He had decided on a blue cast.  We were able to get a waterproof cast so we can still go swimming on our vacation next month.  We'll get the cast off in 4 weeks and we'll see how things are going then.  I am grateful that he didn't break his neck.  I am grateful that we didn't have to go to the emergency room this time.  I am grateful that he didn't lose consciousness.  I love him very much and I am proud of how brave he has been while seeing the doctor.  He just didn't want to get any shots. 

Albric's Stitches

Albric had to get stitches on his nose on Wednesday night.  He tripped while running with a fork in his hands. By the time we got to him, he was covered in blood. At first we thought it was a bloody nose, but as we got him cleaned up we could see the cuts.  I took him to the ER.  We were there for about 3 hours before he got the stitches. While he was getting stitched up he growled at the doctor. We got home a little bit before midnight.  He had a hard time sleeping that night and last night.  He has been mischievous and playful during the day though.  It was heartbreaking and scary for us to go through, but we are grateful we could get medical care in a timely manner, and that it wasn't his eye.  He ended up with six stitches and some wicked bruising.  Mark gave him a blessing when we got home from the hospital.  I am grateful for the power of the priesthood and I am praying that his nose will heal as it should. 

Here he was napping at the fabric store the afternoon before the incident. 

This morning after showering.

You can see the bruising in this one.

This was after we got home and he was still a bit drugged up. 

Huckleberry Time

We love huckleberry time.  We joined Mark's brother and sister on Friday afternoon and stayed overnight.  There was a huge thunderstorm during most of the night.  We had lost the rain fly to our tent and borrowed a tarp to keep us from getting wet.  It only blew off once.  We picked about two gallons of huckleberries, which is good because our supply was basically non-existent.  It was Albric's first time picking.  On Saturday Mark was up picking and I could see another storm rolling in.  I prayed that I would be able to pack up our tent before the rain hit.  I had Calvin and a couple of his cousins helping me. Albric was really sad, but his Aunt Nicole held him.  My prayer was answered, because the rain didn't come until I was zipping the tent bag closed.  We enjoyed sharing dinner together on Saturday night. I ended up getting a migraine, which wasn't the best way to end the trip, but overall we had a great time.  I hope next year we'll be able to spend more time picking huckleberries. 

This is how Calvin fell asleep. With his hand on Albric's cheek.

4 New Amigurumi Creations

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but this year I decided to make little amigurumi toys for all my nieces and nephews for their birthdays.  After I created Alcott the Elephant for a neighbor, I felt more confident to create more of my own amigurumi designs.  The first one I did was a snake for my nephew.  I had Mark 3D print a black tongue for it.  We put a wire inside it to make it bendable. 

The next little creature I made was a fox for my nephew.  It was fun and I think it turned out really cute.

The next one I designed was a white owl.  A nephew on Mark's side loves owls, and a niece on my side specifically requested a white owl.  It was cool that I was able to make it twice by following my own pattern. 

My latest creation was given to a nephew last night at his birthday party.  After asking him his favorite animal, he said, "Calerpillar."  When he opened it he hugged it and I think he really likes it.  I really like it too. 

These little creatures make me proud of my creativity.  I have loved taking what I have learned from other projects and applying it to these.  I hope that my knowledge will increase and I will get better at designing.  In the near future, I plan to crochet a moose, and a salamander.  I hope they will turn out as cute as these.