The Rocky Road to Boston 2014

Kevin and I got the opportunity to travel to Boston, Massachusetts for a work conference in June. We had originally planned on flying my mom up here to watch the boys while we were gone. That plan hit a snag when she told us her work would only give her four days off; we needed her for four day, not including her travel here and back. So, we settled for driving the boys down to Vernal, Utah and then driving to Salt Lake City to catch a flight the next night. Road trip!!

Wendy's pit stop!

Tucker's gas station snack.

 Stopped in Casper, WY the first night. The next morning was Father's Day. I felt bad we were traveling but it was still a fun day.

The boys filled out these cute little questionnaires about their daddy and we gave him a jar of Reese's Pieces.

Father's Day June 15, 2014

We drove the rest of the way into Vernal, chilled at Kevin's parents while the kids played with some cousins, then we all went to dinner at Golden Corral. We headed over to my mom's for the night. About an hour after we got there, I noticed Jaxon kept wiping his lips with his hand over and over and also coughing. His lips had swollen to about twice their normal size! This is called angioedema and generally occurs with allergies/anyphylaxis. He was having trouble talking with such fat lips. He doesn't have any allergies that we know of, had tried nothing new that day, or come in contact with something strange. I still don't know why this happened and should probably make an appointment with an allergist before this happens again...

 

After forcing as much liquid Benadryl into him as we could (he is notoriously AWFUL at taking meds...ya know, one of those non-compliant patients!) and applying some topical Benadryl as well, we tried to get some sleep. Well, Jax started coughing uncontrollably around midnight. I still hadn't slept because I was so worried about him. After a 15 minute coughing jag where he could barely

  catch his breath, I said enough. I threw him in the car and headed for the ER. He received an injection of Benadryl. They also ran an RSV test and a flu and a chest x-ray because his lungs didn't sound the best.

All the hazy black on the right side of the photo is the infiltrate in the lung.

 Lo and behold....pneumonia! Quite a decent case, too. The ER doc said he hadn't seen an infiltrate of this size on a kid of Jaxon's size. He gave me two options: we could admit him for IV antibiotics since he hates oral medication so much, which we both felt would be a bit extreme considering his oxygen saturation was still fairly high; or we could try oral antibiotics at home with daily follow-ups at a local pediatrician's. Mind you, I was supposed to be flying to Boston in less than 12 hours, so this was NOT the news I was hoping to get! We chose the oral meds, the nurse and I forced (most of) a dose down him, and went home. By this time, the IM Benadryl had worked, he was exhausted, and crashed. Of course, I did the mommy thing and worried too much to sleep.

 As soon as Walgreen's opened up, Kev and I headed to fill the scripts for Jax and load up on apple juice, Tylenol, etc. Jax finally woke up and the swelling in his lips had decreased dramatically, he still had no fever, and we had a follow-up scheduled with the pediatrician the next day. After discussing it with my mom, who felt she would be fine with the kids with the help of my brother, we decided I would still go to Boston and worry from afar! Really, though, I had complete trust in her abilities and knew I could always fly back if I needed to. Kev and I had a quick lunch at Cafe Rio and ran into one of my best and oldest friends of 15 years and had a quick chat, so that was fun!  We spent the rest of the day making sure everything we needed was packed, and that my mom had everything she would need. 6 pm rolled around and I still hadn't slept but it was time to hit the road for SLC. We were giving ourselves plenty of time to make it to the airport, grab something to eat, etc. We ran into some pretty crazy rain so we were glad we left early. We checked in, ran through security, browsed some shops, grabbed some snacks, and settled in to wait for our 12:59 am flight. We decided taking the red-eye would give us a decent amount of free time to explore Boston, plus we could sleep on the flight....well, one of us could, anyway!

Waiting at the airport was soooo fun...

Plane boarded a little later than scheduled, and of course, the entire plane was full. Kev and I ended up in a row with the cutest little baby, which made me miss the boys already! Kevin predictably passed out right after take-off, and I had stupidly assumed I would do the same having been awake now for nearing 42 hours...but no. I just couldn't relax! Sigh. It made the flight seem very long even though it was only about three hours to Atlanta where we had a short layover and changed planes.

Hello, Atlanta! 6 am.

 This was a familiar view of my travel partner on all four of our flights. :)

On the flight from Atlanta to Boston. I still couldn't sleep.

Descending into Boston!

We finally made it to Boston about 9:30 am local time. I was so ready to crawl into bed but seeing that we took the red-eye in order to give ourselves the maximum amount of time to explore, plus the fact hotel check in wasn't until 3 pm, meant I needed to caffeinate, suck it up, and EXPLORE! Deplaned, grabbed our luggage, and then Kev needed a bathroom break. This is where Boston got awesome for me. 

So here I am chilling, waiting for Kev, and there was this guy sitting next to me just snoozing away. Then these two TALL, muscular guys come around the corner, chatting away, and all of the sudden, the one closest to me lifts his shirt up, flashes a badge clipped to his belt, and says, in a PERFECT Boston accent, of course, "Boston PD. Whatcha doin there, guy?" So the sleeping guy tells the cop he's just waiting for the Silver Line bus(same bus we were going to catch). The cop tells him he's gotta go outside to catch the bus and can't stay sleeping in the airport. He gets up and sort of stumbles out the door. The cop says, "You ok, ma'am? Can I help you with anything?" Me: "Uh, no sir. I'm fine. Just waiting for my husband. He's in the rest room right over there." He smiles and says have a good day and gets on the escalator to go upstairs but then leans over and yells, "Hey, that guy there didn't bother you, did he??" I say no and he says, "Ok, good, cuz you're too nice a girl to be bothered." or something like that and says have a nice day. It was just too funny! Kevin FINALLY  comes out of the bathroom and we wait for the bus to take us to the correct subway station to make it to our hotel so we can drop off our luggage and start pounding the pavement!

You ready for us, Boston?!

To be continued!!!

The Smashed Finger

There's a drainage ditch in front of my house that a landscaping company came and painstakingly placed big rocks around the culvert to make it look nice. I'm forever telling my two youngest boys to quit playing with the rocks, and now they know why!

Monday June 2, 2014. Boys are playing outside while I am talking with my dad at the dining room table. I had a window open and was checking on the boys every few minutes or so. Tucker has a tendency to scream all the time. When he's playing, angry, happy....all the time! So I hear a scream, and thought, "Why does he have to do that ALL THE TIME??!" Said scream proceeded to get louder and closer. I look out the window and see Tucker running up the driveway as I conclude this scream is a "hurt" scream. I met him at the front door and all the blood dripping from his hand clinches this theory. I automatically wrap my hand around his and apply pressure. Kyan ran to get me a wash cloth and when I opened my hand to apply the cloth, I knew a trip to the ER was in order. Tucker told us that Jaxon, the 2 year old, had dropped a big rock on Tucker, the 4 year old's right pinky, while Tucker had his hand resting on another rock. My dad got Tucker in the car while I persuaded Jaxon he wasn't in trouble and needed to come inside (he knew he was in for it and ran to the middle of the jungle gym and crouched down, thinking I wouldn't be able to see him!) My dad kept an eye on the other kids and called Kevin to meet me at the ER.

After we got the bleeding stopped. He never cried again once there was no red stuff dripping everywhere!

Waiting to see the doctor.

Stop taking pictures and let me enjoy my popsicle in peace, will ya??!

The end result: dermabond (skin glue), steri strips, and a splint.

Fast forward three days. June 5, 2014

The glue wasn't quite dry before the splint was applied as we found out a few days later when we tried removing it. A call to the hospital, a quick soak in a bit of warm water, and bam! Problem solved.

It looks worse than it actually was. Tucker was quite annoyed that I kept asking him how his finger felt and if it hurt. "Mommy, it's fine. I'm fine. Stop asking!"

 Monday June 9, 2014

Healing up pretty well.

 Wednesday June 11, 2014

Friday June 13, 2014

Looks like Tucker will make a full recovery. He uses the finger all the time now and he only complained of pain 3 times. I can't say I'd be as tough or brave!

 Oh, and Tucker loves to look on the front steps, sidewalk, and driveway for his "blood track", because Mommy hasn't had time to pressure wash it off yet. Boys!

Strawberries!

I love strawberries. They have been extra super good this year, it seems. 

Our fridge is always stocked with them. We've had them almost every meal...well, Jaxon and I have, at least.

Classic breakfast.

Fruit and cookie platter with cheesecake dip for a girl's night. It was delish!

I love that Jaxon helps himself to such a healthy snack!

So yummy, Mom!

The size of some of these berries has been ridiculous but so sweet and juicy.

I have been adding them to my lunch and dinner salads, too. Adds just the perfect amount of sweetness, plus tons of extra vitamin C! These were all right around 300-350 calories, too.

One of my favorite ways to eat strawberries lately is for lunch or dinner using plain Greek yogurt, a touch of honey, berries, protein granola, and chia seeds. If I've eaten a bit heavily throughout the rest of the day, this is my go-to for something lighter. It's still super filling but healthy and right around 400 calories.

Found this little gem at a Flying J truck stop in Billings....

....Yes, it was as good as it looks!

How do you like your berries? :)

Sakura

Williston is always rumored to be getting new restaurants. I never believe it until I see it!

Kev planned a night out with one of the guys he works with and his wife. We decided to try out Sakura, a Japanese grill and sushi place. Kyan was stoked because he's been to a teppanyaki grill with Kev's parents before and had a great time.

We arrived and we were immediately seated which NEVER happens, especially here! Boys were already off the wall because they were issued a balloon animal by the hostess when we walked through the door.

Obviously he loved it!

Then the fun really began. Our chef was tons of fun and the boys were having a ball. Watching them was almost as much fun as watching the chef!

Tucker was completely mesmerized by the mad skills!

The chef likes to squirt sake and/or some kind of water or apple juice (at least Tucker said it tasted like apple juice) in everyone's mouths. The adults thought that was fun; Jaxon apparently did NOT!

The boys' favorite part:

After the "show" we settled down to eat. Man, there was a lot of food! Kev and I shared a dinner that had salad, soup, rice, noodles, veggies, chicken, steak, shrimp, and lobster all cooked right in front of us. I was stuffed and we both had leftovers for dinner the next night. The boys shared one child order of the chicken dinner and a side of fried rice. More leftovers for us. So: the atmosphere is great, the food is plentiful, the prices were a bit high for an every day kind of place, so we will be saving it for special occasions and/or when we have visitors....hint, hint ;)

We topped off the night with some yummy frozen yogurt at My Swirl. It was a super fun evening and it's always nice to meet and make new friends and put a face with a name I'm always hearing from Kev!

Tucker's Preschool Graduation

I was thrilled and also secretly dreading this day....Tucker's last day of preschool. Ever.

He, on the other hand, was nothing but excited. I guess I just need to look at it as another important milestone that he has mastered.

The preschool had a huge party on the last day with a bounce house, games, tattoos, pillow case painting, hair styling, train rides, and ice cream sundaes for a morning snack! I brought a huge stack of tattoos and stayed to apply them and managed to snap a few photos between kids.

Of course Jax tagged along.

He'd been planning this hair out for a week...gold spikes with blue.

I made him wash out the color before graduation that night; gold was sifting from his head all over the house!

We headed to the preschool around 6:30 for graduation. Kev and the other boys grabbed us some seats while I walked Tucker up to the classroom and got him ready. I may or may not have cried.

Tucker and his best bud, Konnor.

The kids got to walk "down the line" to Pomp and Circumstance just like a real graduation. I also may or may not have cried here, as well. Imagine how I'll be at high school graduation...

Blurry but that's my Tucker!

Also blurry but he was so happy and proud!

The kids presented a little program with songs and such they had learned throughout the year. Totally cute.

He was too quick for me to snap a pic when he was receiving his diploma but this was right after.

Congratulations, Tucker!

I tried to get a photo of all the brothers together. I'm trying to prepare myself for many, many more such photos to come...

Outside the school.

Tucker finally said, "Ok, Mommy. Quit crying and taking my picture. Let's celebrate!!" 

He decided we would grab McDonald's, take it home, and watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It was an awesome evening. The kids worked very hard and learned so much throughout the year. Tucker really loved preschool, even when he claimed he didn't (mostly because he didn't want to wake up!) He is super excited to be entering kindergarten in the fall, mostly because he gets to ride the bus with Kyan.

In the words of Tucker, "Peace out, preschool!"