End of Summer Stats

We've said good-bye to another summer and hello to a new school year.  We're three days in and while all has gone smoothly so far, summer was good to us so we miss it.  Here are just a few stats:

1--the number of times we did a paper route.  We were covering for some friends while they were on vacation.  The kids thought it was great fun.  It was a flood of memories for me.

Caleb took himself out to lunch with his earnings.  Alyssa saved hers.  That's pretty typical.

2--number of wedding receptions we attended.

3--number of roller coasters we rode. Some we really big, one was not.  They were all fun! (we did lots of other rides, too.)

4--weeks we spent apart from Caleb.  He spent one week at scout camp, one week with cousins, one week at Grandma's house and then there was the week Jon and I were NYC.  That's a whole month of the summer that he didn't have to listen to his parents!

5--Caleb's height measurement in feet. (plus one inch)  I'm pretty sure this will be the last year that he is shorter than me.  Sad.  He'll start high school next year.  Really sad.

6--birthday parties attended.

7--approximate number of minutes I spent wiping away my tears after my baby walked into her first grade classroom.  The emotion caught me by suprise but I was just so sad to see her go.

8--days spent in swimming lessons.  I just never got tired of seeing those little goggle-eyes.  Natalie became much more comfortable in the water but still doesn't know how to swim, darn it.

9--number of candles Jon blew out.  The other thirty were imaginary.  It was a good birthday.

41--beach towels used.  Yes, I did do some counting but this number might not be exact. :)

 112--hours Alyssa spent in the gym.  She's learning some fun tricks but now she'll have to juggle those same demanding hours with fifth grade homework, too! 

Good bye, summer.  I'm sad to see you go.

Camp Z

There's just something about camping. It's fun to get a little (or a lot) dirty while taking in the crisp mountain air and stunning scenery. Plus the food tastes better and it's non-stop fun with friends.

Alyssa helped me with dinner the first night.  Dutch oven mac and cheese and chicken kabobs.  Dessert?  Peach cobbler and chocolate cake out of the dutch oven and gluten-free pizookies.  I just love cooking on a campout!

There was lots and lots of canoeing...

...And some fun skits.

The big kids treat Austin, the baby of the group, like a rock star.  Here he is dancing in front of his adoring fans.

I just love this little cabin in the woods; rustic enough to feeling like camping, but homey enough to keep you warm at night and your food cold in the mini frig. 

Our group had reserved five cabins but one family was unable to attend at the last minute.  So we let the boys have it one night and the girls have it the next.  They had the time of their lives talking late into the night.

Saturday was game day so we planned our attire accordingly.

This is our "Go Cougars!" pose.

All the kids:

The whole crew:

So much fun! 

As we were driving out of the campground, we made a last minute decision to turn in the opposite direction and go to Yakima to watch the BYU game with my family.  Game day is always better when shared with fellow die-hard fans.  Holy moly was my heart beating out of my chest!  It took me a good hour to wind down from that one but it sure feels good to get that win.  It was the perfect end to a perfect couple of days.

We came home exhausted.  Just as it should be.

Small Fry

Alyssa sporting her "small fry" shirt that we got for her at the Shake Shack in New York City.

It was the moment we'd all been waiting for.  The moment the doctor would take Alyssa's measurements and announce to us how much she'd grown since going gluten-free.  After all, that's what was supposed to happen.  Imagine my disappointment to hear that she'd actually fallen in the growth curve and added a mere 3 cm to her stature in the last 8 months.

Naturally, the doctor questioned how the diet was going.  In my utter shock, I tried to explain just how fastidious we'd been about everything she ate.  He wasn't necessarily accusatory but there really was no other explanation for her lack of growth other than gluten contamination.  He suggested blood work to see if the Celiac was under control.  If the panels showed contamination, we'd be sent to the gasteroenterologist and dietian.  If it came back clear, we could entertain the idea of growth hormone even though we already determined she does not have a deficiency.

I was disheartened.  I couldn't stand the thought that all my gluten-free efforts had come up short.  (No pun intended.) If the Celiac was not in control, I just didn't know what more I could do.

Well today my mind was set at ease when the doctor called to give the results of her blood work, "Her Celiac is completely under control!" 

Indescribable relief.  I did do a good job after all.

Now what about her short stature?  Evidently she falls into the "grab bag of idiopathic short stature" or in other words, the medical world has no explanation for her pint-sizedness.  And you know what, we're OK with that.  Tiny is who she is and we kinda like her that way.  She's the epitome of health which is why we've all decided it's best not to mess with growth hormone injections.  Why put her through that for the sake of a few inches?

Our naturally mild-mannered girl literally jumped for joy and shouted, "Yeeessss!" when we told her that her Celiac was under control.  She's had to sacrifice so much in changing her diet and she's done it with a remarkable attitude.

What a little--and I mean little--gem!

Unassisted Teen

Caleb was thrilled to receive the invitation to spend a week with his Tri-Cities cousins. They certainly occupy a spot on his short list of favorite people. We just needed to figure out how to get him there.  After considering several options, flying seemed the best way to accomodate our schedule.

He was so excited to fly alone.  An unassisted teen, as they call it.

Off he goes!  Make sure you get on the right plane, Caleb! (With these small planes, once walk through the main gate, it separates into many other gates.)

He arrived safe and sound with his only complaint being that the 30 minute flight was too short.  He did tell us that he almost went through the wrong door and would've ended up in Missoula.  Guess he would've been spending a week with Grandma and Grandpa instead. :)

We miss him but have no doubt that he'll have the time of his life.