A Scrap of Life

Rissa is doing better. No idea whether she actually broke it or not. Since it's not displaced and she can breathe out of both nostrils they didn't do an x-ray. There is nothing they can do if it's broken so they're just letting her be. The swelling and bruising got pretty bad through. Here's her one day after the accident, right before we left for camp. Brian sent me a picture 2 days into camp, one he'd taken on the crappy camera in his digital phone. I could not believe how much worse the swelling and bruising got. She was bruised all around her eyes and her cheeks and with the swelling she looked pretty bad. The good news is that she is doing better now. Still some bruising that hasn't gone away but she's breathing well and it's not hurting anymore. Now hopefully she's learned her lesson and will be riding with her eyes OPEN from now on.

Just when we're recovering from our run-in with the deer Carissa is hit, yet again, with an unseen accident. She was riding her bike and didn't see it coming. Literally. She didn't see it coming because SHE WAS RIDING WITH HER EYES SHUT. I fail to see the reasoning for this. I fail to see the use of discretion here. Then again, she's 6 and ultimately short on discretion. Thus she finds herself riding with her eyes shut and slamming, full-force, into the back of a parked car. Brian and I heard her yells immediately. As soon as I got to her I saw that her nose was already swelling. We took her in the house and applied ice then called the advice nurse, who explained in detail all that we should do - stop the bleeding, ice it, give ibuprofen, prop her up to sleep. They want to see her tomorrow, after the swelling has gone down, to check to see if it's broken. I'm hoping that it's not. I'm hoping that it's just badly bruised and swollen. But I have a feel...

... and thank goodness for it. It's been a busy month. Start off first with the good news - Violet is back. She was missing for 8 days and one morning she just showed up here at home. The kids were all thrilled. A week after she came back we spent 1 night away from home and she left again. This time she was only gone 3 days though. Maybe she's finally realizing that we will return. So, what have I been up to? Camp, camp and more camp. I went with Tristan to Cub World for 3 days worth of Jedi cheesiness. Did I just say that? I hate to say that about a scout camp, but the whole Jedi theme was just so over the top and cheesy. Maybe the kids thought it was great but after 3 days of it I was SOOOO ready to come home. Add in the overwhelming stink of KYBO (like outhouses but worse ... absolutely rancid when it's 85 out) and I was DONE. I did however manage to secure yet another year of camp (4 years in all) without visiting the KYBO. It's worth the hike to the one and only fl...

This happens every time summer comes around. I think about how much free time I'll have, how much less volunteering, how much less time running kids to and from their activities. Yet here we are 3 weeks into summer and I have yet to make a dent in anything. We've kept plenty busy with all of our activities. Here's a rundown of some of the highlights (and lowlights) of summer so far. THEATER AND GYMNASTICS CAMPS The kids all took part in a camp the week after school got out. For Carissa there was gymnastics camp, where she had fun each day playing on the gymnastics equipment, doing crafts and listening to stories. The boys did their most anticipated event of the summer - theater camp. This was Chase's 3rd year and Tristan's 2nd year (next year Carissa will be old enough too!). They had a GREAT time. The play was "The Secret Garden" put on by River City Childrens Theater. Another awesome performance. Chase was a gardener and was so thoroughly into his chara...