San Fran Day Trip

We took our first day trip to San Francisco and it was a success. We went to the SF Fine arts fair at Fort Mason, the Exploratorium, the Marina Yacht Harbor, a great restaurant called Capurro's, and finished the day riding scooters at walk in front of the Maritime Museum.

The weather was a little chilly/windy to play in the water. Of course Aaron did it anyway. Since it was only an hour drive, we saw a lot and the boys loved riding their way around the major landmarks. I think we will definitely scoot our way through vacations in the future.

So much has happened...

Its been almost 2 months since I posted in here last. That is a record for me. My life went into a tailspin in late September, and now I think I can write a little bit about it.

A couple months ago, we bought plane tickets to go out west, visit family and do the St. George marathon. Then a couple days before we were to leave, Chris' grandma Vera died at the age of 92. With the help of Chris' parents, we bought new plane tickets to leave a day early than we had originally planned so that we could be there for the funeral. It as an emotional time as

we got to see all of Chris' family and attend the funeral and burial. That was Friday - Monday.

Tuesday was the only normal day of that week. We went to Hogle Zoo with Chris' family and toured SLC a bit. Alex lost his first tooth and we prepared to travel to St. George the next day.

Wednesday we drove down to St. George, met up with my sister Michelle and greeted my brother Justin and his family as they came into town from California. Thursday morning everything changed. We got a call from my mom that my dad had a heart attack. He had it two days prior, but was not treated until Thursday morning when my mom and dad realized that something was really wrong. Monday of that week my dad had a procedure where they put a scope down his nose and took a little sample from his lungs because he had questionable spots that appeared on a CT scan. When my dad had intense chest pain on Tuesday, he thought it was just a result of the procedure.

So many things happened once he was admitted to the hospital, I hope I get all the details in. (and it the right order) First, they put a couple stints in his heart to keep the arteries open in a certain area. They did this by going in through a point in his groin. The stints were good, but they got a clot and they had to go in again. After/while the this was happening my dad's kidneys were failing and they put him on dialysis. I guess this happens sometimes as a result of the dye they use in the stint procedure. Friday we had Alex's birthday party.

After the marathon on Saturday morning, Justin and Michelle drove their families down to be with my parents. I got a ride on Chris' dad's plane. (It was awesome, we went over the grand canyon.) While I was there from Sunday morning to Monday evening I got to spend 2, 2 hour sessions with him in the ICU. It was touch and go and his heart rate was not very consistent.

I left and he was looking better than when I got there. But Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of that week were not good. My dad's heart crashed several times and they had to defibrillate him. But once the doctors found a medication that regulated his heart and put in a pacemaker/defibrillator he was on the road to recovery. My sister April came down from Oregon to be with him during that time as well as Michelle, Justin, and Brandon. I came back to Michigan, but it felt like every 8 hours I would call and something new was happening.

My dad went through so much and continues to walk on pins and needles to keep his heath in place. He is the ultimate trooper. He was discharged from the hospital and his home now. My mom and he have many many doctors appointments each week. When I talk to them on the phone, they are sounding good and little rested.

As Veterans Day approaches, I think of my Dad and the life he has led. He has honorably served our country and led our family. Our country and our family are never far from his thoughts. I love him.

Lake Michigan Camping and Michigan's Adventure

We spent 3 days at Lake Michigan camping and going to Michigan's Adventure. It was such a fun trip. It will be our last outing before the baby comes and we certainly made the most of it. The first day we went to Chuck E. Cheeses before we checked in to our cabin at Muskegon State Park. The boys had been looking forward to Chuck E. Cheeses for a full year. At the camp ground, the boys rode their bikes, played on the swings, and we all walked over to the Michigan Winter Sports Complex where they have 2 luge tracks. One for the winter and a wheeled luge track for the summer. Sadly, the boys had to be 8 years old to go.

The next day we spent all afternoon at the lake. Seriously, I sat on this beach towel for 4 hours. The boys played in the sand and water. Then Chris took them for an hike on some huge boulders to get closer to the light houses.

Wednesday was the last day of camping, so after we checked out of our cabin, we went to Michigan's Adventure. It is a amusement park/water park combined and we had so much fun! The weather was super dreary in the morning, so we just went on rides - and never waited in one line! Then after lunch we spent the afternoon at the water park and the boys loved it! Aaron's favorite was the wave pool. Alex's favorite was this tunnel slide called the snake pit which was totally dark inside. We spent every moment, from when the park opened to when it closed, doing stuff. It was a very fun day.

Climbing the dunes

Alex being cheesy while Aaron was moping about getting his picture taken.

On the Lazy River

Running from the waves

Alex went down this slide 30 times

Lego Land Discovery Center Chicago

The boys and I spent the weekend in Chicago while Chris was in New Orleans on business. We had a great time at Lego Land. It was a pretty cool place. They call this location a discovery center because it was more condensed and only had two rides. The boys love it. They got to build models, race the cars they built, watch a 3D movie, played on a playground, rode rides, built with huge legos, and bought some new sets at the end. Good day.

The boys had fun at the huge playground in the Woodfield Mall

We went to the Rainforest Cafe in Chicago. Wow. I was so impressed and I am still amazed at everything they had to see there. We even saw a diver in these tanks cleaning the sculpture. The food was average, but the ambiance was unbeatable.