A Whirlwind Trip to Nebraska

First...pictures from Luke's birthday. Here he is blowing out his Thomas the Train cupcakes that we had for dinner on his birthday (the night before the party).
He's asking for another cupcake after devouring the first. Luckily, Joshua and Caleb had already eaten theirs.
Luke's favorite toy from his birthday was a bubble mower from Uncle Chet, Aunt Amanda, Andrew, Elizabeth, and Katelyn. He giggled up and down the driveway as Joshua and Caleb chased the bubbles.

We just returned from a family reunion in Nebraska. When I say whirlwind, I mean a fast trip and lots of wind! They were under tornado watches twice while we were there. There was terrible wind and thunder and lightning. The one beautiful day that we had was the day of the family reunion, so it worked out well. Mom rode out with us, and Danny and Jake flew out. They rode with us to the reunion, and we took them to the airport on our way home. The boys had a lot of fun playing together. The family reunion is usually at a state park in Nebraska, and everyone camps or stays in cabins for the weekend with one day being the main day to do stuff together. We started with "Eggs McWelstead" a take off from the Eggs McMuffins, and they were so yummy! Then everyone had some free time to play at the beach on the lake or hang out. Then, the afternoon was filled with organized games for the young and old-"er" alike. The evening was topped off by a pot luck dinner and campfire with smores. It was really nice to see so many family members and visit. Mom took us to the gravesites for her mom and dad and her grandparents. She was really close to her grandparents, so I know it meant a lot to stop by there. Here are the boys at their great-great grandparents grave in Fremont, NE. We also noticed that my great-great grandfather was a soldier in the civil war (NY infantry for the union). Matt just shook his head, I know he thought he married a true southern belle, ha!
The park we stayed at was at Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area at Gavin's Point Dam on the Missouri river (border of Nebraska and South Dakota), the same area that Lewis and Clark explored so many years ago. It was so pretty, and it was strange to think of them going up the river right in front of where we were camping (in a cabin, if that counts as camping). We actually got to drive across the top of the dam which I thought was unheard of in these days of national security. Joshua got to dress up like an explorer at the visitor's center, and Caleb sweet talked the lady park ranger out of some popcorn she had just made for herself.
Lastly, a lesson from the table. Don't let little boys take their diggers to lunch. Here is Luke loading up his chicken in his skid steer loader. Of course, food was all over him, the table, and the floor. I don't think much made it to his mouth (notice the plate is upside down too, I guess it makes for better loading).

Appendicitis

Yes, appendicitis and surgery all in an 18 hour period.
Matt woke up at 2:30 am Saturday morning with a terrible stomach ache. He thought maybe it was food poisoning, but he never had any of the usual symptoms, except the pain in his stomach. Finally, about 6:30 am, he said that he needed to go the ER. The ER doctor said that it was probably either the gall bladder, kidney stones, or appendix. We thought it would turn out to be a kidney stone. The ultrasound showed the gall bladder was fine. The CT scan didn't show a kidney stone but confirmed that it was the appendix. The ER doctor sort of stuck her head in the door (by now it was about 2:00 pm) and said, "yes, it's your appendix, I've called in the surgeon and the OR team will be assembling." I'm sure that I had a very shocked look on my face. I never really imagined that Matt would be going to surgery! Thankfully, they had not let him eat or drink anything all day. By 4:00, they took Matt back for surgery, he was in a room by 6:30, and we were able to come home at 8:00. 13 hours in the hospital, what a way to spend a Saturday! So, we didn't make it to Jake's party, bummer. Matt is pretty stiff today, but he's recovering well.
Crazy.

Happy Birthday Luke!

My little boy is 2 today! I can't believe how time flies. He is really into tractors and trains, so we are going to have a Thomas the train party this weekend. We are also going to Jake's birthday party since he will be turning 5 this week.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Thursday was a busy night for all of us. Caleb had his year end "graduation", and Matt and Joshua had their dress rehearsal for Tom Sawyer. Joshua also had his last soccer game for the season, but we had to miss it. :-(
I felt like the ultimate project manager! We ate dinner and off Caleb, Luke, and I went with Mom and Chris to the graduation. Matt and Joshua went to the theater. David and Jean met us at the graduation and when it was over, they took Luke home with them while the rest of us went to the dress rehearsal. After the dress rehearsal, I went to David and Jean's to pick up Luke. Then, we managed to get everyone in bed!
Caleb's graduation was really cute. They had all the kids dressed up like puppies. I think if we'd had this kind of class at my high school, I would have loved it. The high school kids have done a wonderful job working with the preschoolers. It gives them hands-on experience in the field of early education, wouldn't that look good on a college application? Caleb missed PE one day last week, because he was working so hard painting his spots on his t-shirt. Here is a picture of my little pup!The dress rehearsal for Tom Sawyer was really good, and I could tell that the 30+ kids (and the few adults) had put a lot of work into the show. Matt has grown out his beard and mustache to look very much the part, and we are very anxious to cut it off. Here is Joshua in the church scene.Here is Matt as Judge Thatcher in the court scene. Look at those "mutton chops" and the handlebar mustache!
Here is the cast at curtain call. Joshua is the one next to the end on the left. He was the youngest of the boys. Matt is at center with "Mrs. Thatcher."

Our Trip to St. Simon's Island

Before I start with the trip, a few side notes...
- we took a picnic and "field trip" to Anna Ruby Falls and hiked up to the waterfalls. I pushed Luke in the stroller, whew!

- my boys say that they are going to sleep in their own rooms in the basement. But, for now, doesn't it look like they love each other?

On to the topic at hand...

Matt had a meeting at St. Simon's Island last week, so we went along for the ride. We stopped to see Dad and Mom Mitchell. We visited the beach and ate seafood at Crabdaddy's. We also visited the Japanese steakhouse which is almost a tradition for me when it comes to St. Simon's. I took the boys to Fort King George again, since Joshua has talked about it so many times since last year when we went. They pass out wooden guns for the kids to use during the tour (to protect us from the Indians). On our way home, we stopped at the Okefenokee swamp and visited with the alligators! The boys loved seeing the alligators roam freely, and we took a boat ride in the swamp. It wasn't too hot or buggy, so it was a great time to visit.

Trike A Thon

Caleb did well in the Trike A Thon. We raised over $100 for the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital ("to help the sick kids get better"-Caleb). He really enjoyed having us come to school to see him ride, and Matt was able to come too. Caleb was the last one in from the ride, so all the high school girls (his teachers) were cheering him on, he loved it! After the Trike A Thon, they had several community helpers displaying their vehicles. Joshua and Caleb got to climb through the "smoke house". Caleb got to climb through a police car, and hopefully that is as close as he'll get to one!