18 Years

We've been married 18 years!  It's crazy to think that I've had him in my life for so long.  It's a good thing I like him!

We went to the temple and did sealings.  I was able to be proxy for Helga as she was sealed to her parents.  There was such a special spirit there.  It was a really nice time to be in the temple.

 On our way home, we picked up the motorhome to prep it for going somewhere for Labor Day.  Mike was washing the windshield and spending the cash to fill it with gas and I thought of how grateful I am for him.  He didn't ever want a motorhome, but he knew it would make me happy.  I think that's how most of our life has been.  He does things because he wants me to be happy.  He is so very good to me.
Both of us have changed so much in 18 years, but I'd like to think we've changed well together.  We compliment each other's strengths and we make a good team.  Yay for anniversaries, and yay for us.

She's Back!

Allie is finally feeling well again!

I followed her out to the bus stop to get a better picture of her heading out to school.  Can you believe the cuteness at the bus stop!?  So many girls!  There aren't any boys at all.  

 That night, I looked out the window to the back porch and saw Allie out making slime.  She's back!  There were a few days where she wondered if she'd ever feel good again.  I'm glad that those miserable days passed and now she's busy enjoying life again.

First Day

All the kids were back to school on Wednesday.  

 Allie was still pretty miserable, but she wanted to give it a try.
She ended up coming home at lunch time.  But that's not too bad.  She did okay and going for at least a half day helped to alleviate her fears about being able to find her way around the school.

 Jason was headed off to all day school.  First grade!  I can hardly believe that my little Jason is beyond the cute kindergarten stage and off and away for 7 hours a day.
He had so much fun.

 Nathan was feeling pretty good.  I sent him off to 3rd grade with a soft lunch and medicine in his pocket.  I felt like maybe I should check on him at lunch time, so I went to the school to sit with him.  It was a good thing I did, because in the excitement of the morning, he took the things out of his lunchbox and he didn't have anything to eat except ramen noodles with no seasonings.  (That morning, he told me to leave the flavoring off his...he didn't know what that really meant though).  So I took him home to eat really quickly and then he went back to finish out the day.

I love these kids of mine, but school is also a good thing for them.  This year, we were all looking forward to the change of pace and regularity that school brings.  We overcame the first hard day back after surgery.  I hope this means the rest of the year will be a breeze.

Bobcat Academy

Jake had to go to school a day earlier than the other kids.  He was still not at all recovered.  Poor kid was miserable at night.  I got a text from him that said, "Mom.  I'm getting tired of waking up to a face full of boogers and a throat that feels like I tried to swallow a bag of sandpaper.  I can't sleep." 

Then later, he said "Mom, answer me honestly.  Do you think I will be able to go to school tomorrow?" 

He was pretty miserable. 

I woke him up super early so he could get some meds and try to have it kick in in time to go to school.  He was really good about drinking and doing all that I asked of him.  He even smiled for pictures...

Looking at those, you'd never know how miserable he had been just hours before.

He went to school and made it until lunch time and asked if I could come get him. 
I can't believe he's a freshman! 

Jake...I love you boy!  I hope you have a great year!  Good luck kid! 

Back To School Night

There are only two littles at elementary school this year.  We had back to school nights at two different schools.

 Jason has Mrs. Larsen.  She was Nathan's teacher 2 years ago and he remembers going with me to help in the classroom.  He's excited to have her.  She is wonderful.

Nathan has Mr. Perkes.  Jacob had him in 3rd grade too.  He has a few friends in the class, so he's excited and ready to go.

Nathan is still taking Tylenol and ibuprofen pretty regularly, but he's not on the narcotic anymore, so he will be just fine going to school.  I love elementary school and feel like both kids are in great hands at the school.  They will have a great year!

The Aftermath

The kids all slept through the first night without a hitch.  I set alarms on my phone and woke up every 4 hours to make sure they had meds on board.  They woke up in pain, but it wasn't too bad.

I kept a log of who got what medicine at what time.  It helped things out a whole lot.

Each kid went to their own little corner of the house and set up a comfy spot.

Charlie wandered in and out and tried his best to make each kid happy.

I tried not to think of the hours and hours of screen time...

The YW came and brought Allie some ice cream.  They gave it to all the brothers too.  They are so nice.

They all did okay.  for my part, as long as I kept them medicated and offered popsicles every few minutes, I felt like I was doing my job.  The hard part came when they didn't want to eat or drink.  The medicine hurts your stomach if it's not eaten with food, so I felt like I was constantly forcing them to eat past the pain.
Jake and Nathan did okay with that.  Allie, not so much.  I force fed her and even then, she was pretty miserable.  I really just want to forget the bad things.  It was a brutal recovery.

I did get this nice text from Jake though...

"I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you helping us through this.  I know that we would be ten times more miserable without your help.  Thanks so much."

I think the hardest part of this whole ordeal for me was that I couldn't always just fix things.  They had to go through some misery and I couldn't take it away.  I'm glad that Jake noticed that I was trying my best to do what I could to help.

Poor pitiful little Schwabbies...

The Last Meal

On the day before the tonsillectomy, we were running around trying to get some last minute things done.  Jake had some appointments with the orthodontist and dentist, Allie was out on the boat with friends, and the littles were out enjoying the last day of fun in the sun.
We were still running around when dinner time approached.  I let Jake talk me into getting Panda Express (his favorite).  Then, I decided to be one of those moms who goes through all the drive throughs trying to find food that would please each individual child.  Not really, I just knew that the littles don't like Panda, so I bought them a pizza from Little Caesars.
It became the last meal.  They all got to eat a meal they liked before their throats would be too sore to eat for weeks and weeks. (I hope that's not really true.)

Tonsils...Who Needs Em Anyway?

Right after we got home from McCall, the kids got their tonsils out.

We were at the pediatrician and he noticed that Nathan's tonsils were pretty big.  He suggested that we see an ENT.  Later in the month, Allie's orthodontist mentioned that her tonsils were compromising her air way, so we took her to the ENT.  Next thing you know, we have an appointment for both kids to have a tonsillectomy.  I walked by Jake's room the next night and heard him snoring away and wondered if he should be on the removal list too.  We took him in, and sure enough, the little Schwabbies just have huge tonsils (Jason had his removed at 18 months).  We made the appointment as far away from the start of school as we could get, but we still knew we'd be pushing it.

The kiddos were all cute in their pre-surgery garb.

Jake wondered why in the world he had to wear a dress.  He was pretty uncomfortable and probably won't appreciate that I posted this picture...

After the tonsils were removed, Allie and Nathan shared a room so I could help them.

Nathan was pretty out of it at first, but he perked up quickly.

Allie was hilarious.  She kept talking about how they had put a glow stick in her finger.  She loved the red glow (although she would have preferred purple).

She cried when Nathan got dressed they took away his glow stick.  She just knew they'd take away hers too.  Mike promised her that he'd pick up more glow sticks on the way home and she perked right back up.
It was so funny.

Jake was completely normal after his surgery.  He felt like he was just coming off a roller coaster, but felt pretty good.  He wanted to go be in Allie's room though because he could hear us laughing at her and didn't want to miss out on the fun.

Everything went smoothly and the kids were all feeling pretty good for the first day.  The recovery nurse said they were the best patients she'd had in her 8 years of working.  I thought for sure we were on our way to the easiest tonsillectomy recovery known to man. 

Conversation With Grandma...

We were on the way to McCall and Jason got talking with Grandma.  Here's how the conversation went...


Jason: How old are you Grandma?

Grandma: 29.

Jason: (turning to me).  Good.  Then we'll have her a long time.  Because if she's only 29, she's going to live a long time.

Me:  Yep.  We'll have her a long time.

Later...

Jason:  You don't look 29.

Lots of laughter...

Jason:  No really.  You don't look 29.  You look a lot older than that.

More laughter...

Jason:  A lot older.

Me:  (still laughing)  Ok, Jason.  That's enough.



---Still later on in the week---

Jason:  Mom, did you have another mom then?

Me:  What do you mean?

Jason:  Well, you are 41 and Grandma is only 29.  So did you have a different mom when you were growing up and now you have this one?

Me:  You're too smart for Grandma to trick.  No, she's my one and only mom.  But we don't need to worry about how old she is.

Swimming

On Saturday morning, some of us got up early to swim across the lake.
My nieces Nicole and Taylor were both doing it, so I joined them.

We started near Grandpa's dock and swam to Ponderosa.  We swam for an hour and 20 minutes and the girls did so great.  Nicole just started swimming and never really stopped.  Taylor wanted to make a plan of what goal to swim to every few minutes or so.  We picked the white cabin, and then the red chairs, and then the blue chairs, and then the green cabin, etc. until we were there.
I got a charlie horse in both calves at one point and nearly sunk to my doom until I remembered that my arms still worked.   Man, those muscle cramps in cold water are no joke.
I was glad to be there with the girls cheering them on.  I'm sure they would have made it just fine without me, but I like to think I helped by being in the water with them.  It's quite a feat!
I wish Jake had come with us.  He's still a new swimmer though and I didn't know if he could have kept up with the girls.  We didn't want to be split far apart with only one boat.
Next time we go to McCall, he's going to do it for sure.
Yay for swimming!

Going To Town

When we stay at Mill Park, the marina is just a short walk away.  The ice cream is only a dollar for a heaping cup full.  Why not go every day?

We didn't leave our beach or the boat very often, but when we did, it was worth it. 
The night that Mike got there, we went out to dinner to celebrate Allie's birthday.  The kids got an ice cream cone for dessert.

 As we walked back  home, we found an old school arcade.  The owner gave us each a few quarters to get us hooked.  It worked.  Jason begged all the next two days until we went back.

We all competed for high score at Mrs. Pac-Man.  It brings me back to the days of watching my dad and uncle playing it at Quick Stop when I was young.

Mike was the reigning champion.

 When I was a kid, you had to ski around the lake for the ice cream prize.  Each day, these kids did something brave to earn the ice cream.  It's a great tradition if you ask me.