“Quick, Hide.
Somebody’s
Coming!”
Dagen loves hiding under blankets and saying, “Quick, hide. Somebody’s coming!” Jaidyn found her like this one time. She did this all by herself.
Jaidyn didn’t even know anyone was underneath it until she heard noises coming from it.
She always wants someone to hide under with her.
A Handful of
Crazy
My car accident had come and gone. The pain and stiffness and soreness all had faded to almost nothing.
Memorial Day was spent at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a pool party and some yummy grub.
Mike’s mom gave him a sweet apron and hat from their trips they just got back from to Italy, Greece, Albania, Jerusalem, France, and a couple other places I’m sure I’ve forgot to mention. Mike DID have a pair of swim trunks under (‘cause I know ya’ll were all wonderin’.)
A few slaps in the face…
TRANSLATION: Love taps… I love you buddy, I love YOU buddy!
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Dagen was lounging in her floaty and eventually fell asleep in it.
I know… tough life!
It’s so fun having these extra cousins move nearby.
The more the merrier!!
Julia, Ashley, Jaidyn
(I later found out that Collin started feeling sick while swimming, so someone took him upstairs and he threw up a couple times.)
…And then, everything was a blur.
The kids and Mike and Dave were swimming in the pool while some of us were inside and I was sitting outside the gated pool in the middle of my Eclipse Book.
Heather came out to ask me if I’d seen Lydia.
“Have you seen Lydia? I just had her. I thought she walked in with me.”
(Before this, Heather had gone to check on Collin and had taken off Lydia’s floaty suit and took her in to find a diaper and wipes and put on dry clothes and a diaper on Lydia.)
I stood up for a sec and gave a quick glance at the pool, seeing that all the kids were playing contentedly with Mike and Dave and sat back down saying, “Nope. I don’t think she’s out here. I don’t see her.”
And I went back to reading my book.
Next thing I heard was, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”
(I’m choking up and teary eyed right now as I am writing this. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to share this story without feeling everything I was feeling rush back to me.)
I stood up and ran over to where Heather was screaming and saw her jump in both legs at once into the hot tub and by the time I got over there, she was pulling Lydia out of the water.
(Lydia had been laying curled on her side at the bottom of the hot tub)
Heather: “Oh my gosh!!!! Somebody help me! Somebody help me!”
Lydia was blue and her lips were blue and puffy as she lay curled in Heather’s arms.
Me: “MIIIIKE! OH MY GOSH! MIIIKE!!!”
It seemed forever and no one was coming and all that kept rushing through my mind was 2 breaths, 5 compressions, 2 breaths, 5 compressions. Heather was still screaming, “SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!” I was all panicky and was about to finally grab Lydia from Heather and do whatever I thought I could with CPR and then Heather pushed me away and said, “Go call 911!”
I ran inside and saw Ron who I think was asleep on the couch and someone else there.(I still don’t know who ‘cause I wasn’t even looking when I yelled out, “Call 911, Lydia fell in the hot tub!” and then ran back out.)
(seconds went by but it seemed like minutes before the guys came running to help. The kids came out of the pool too and as soon as they saw Lydia on the ground they immediately fell to their knees screaming and saying silent prayers begging she’d be ok, “NOOOOOOO!” was all they were screaming. (blood curdling screams)
I saw Dave smacking Lydia’s back a couple times while Lydia still laid there lifeless and then Mike did the same too, hittin’ her back a couple times and then Mike started CPR. The kids were still watching and Julia and Emma were hysterical. Julia was screaming, “NOOOOO, Whyyyy! Whyyyyyyyyy Lydia! Noooooo!”
I grabbed all the wet kids and took them inside, upstairs, into a room to wait, while I tried to calm them all. I thought Emma had come in with me, but she had stayed behind still screaming and crying, clinging to Cynthia, who was holding Heather, who was still screaming hysterically.
(It was awful. Just horrible!)
I comforted the kids a sec and then left them and ran back down quickly to see if Lydia was ok or breathing again. And that’s when I saw Emma still there and the paramedics were knocking on the door and Lydia had just started spitting up and began crying.
When I had been upstairs with the kids, Ron had placed his hands beside Mike’s, while Mike did compressions and gave Lyds a blessing. Immediately after saying Amen, Lydia started spitting up water and food out for the first time.
What a relief.
To hear her crying was the best sound ever.
She was back.
I led the paramedics through the house to the back and there were still screams coming from Heather and Emma and the firefighter asked that all kids be removed from the scene.
I pulled Emma away and literally had to pry her hands away from Cyn and Heather to take her upstairs.
(My heart is still racing while I am writing this now.)
When I opened the door upstairs and walked in with Emma, the kids were asking, “Is Lydia dead? Is she ok? Is she breathing?”
I had to answer them and calm them and tell them Lydia was crying and breathing, that the ambulance and firemen were helping her and making her better.
Emma ran into the bedroom walk in closet and curled up in the corner. I followed after her and Julia followed after me. The other kids were looking out the window at the fire truck, ambulance, and police cars.
Emma kept saying, “Whyyy. Whyyy didn’t it happen to me! Whyyy.”
Julia: “I can’t live without her. Not one day! Lydia can’t die. I can’t live without her.”
And all I could do was pray with them… hold them… and be there for them… and wait.
Emma: “I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
I took her to the bathroom and had her sit by the toilet.
Cyn finally came up and gave us an update and more comforting words to the kids. “Guys, everything’s going to be fine. Lydia is fine. They’re going to take her to the hospital and keep and eye on her for awhile and make sure she gets all better.”
Then she quickly whispered in my direction: “The firemen ran their truck into the side of Dave’s car.”
(are you kidding me? How does THAT happen?)
The kids were still looking out the window and Emma and Julia joined them and that’s when the screaming from Emma and Julia began again. Lydia was on a stretcher being lifted into the ambulance in the driveway.
Heather climbed into the ambulance with Lydia and Becky drove Dave to the hospital.
Emma never threw up, but she laid on the couch beside Collin and watched a movie. Judy kept them overnight there, while Julia came with me and wanted to stay at my house overnight with Jaidyn.
The officers and firemen stayed after a long time after that asking questions, checking the scene of the accident and then figuring out the car accident with Dave’s car.
It took days to get over everything. Something like that isn’t easy to get over and it felt like no one smiled for days. I felt like I was walking around in slow motion for those next couple days. I was drained of everything.
Lydia was at the hospital for 3 days as they tried to get all the water out of her right lung. Julia and I paid her a visit the next day and showered her with gifts.
As you can see from the pictures, Lydia LOVES monkeys… and everyone knew it… and all had the same idea for gifts.
Update:
She is good as new and running around like it NEVER happened.
What a handful of crazy we all had been given that week with my accident and then Lydia. I am soooo grateful she is ok. Life would not be the same without her.
Nee Go Pee
Peeeee!
Dagen has always been one smart little cookie. This is her newly found way of getting out of time out. As soon as Mommy puts her in timeout, the crying and screaming continues with “I nee go pee peeee!,” said over and over again, until Mommy caves and thinks, maybe she really DOES need to go. And that’s when the stinker gets free from her time out and gets taken to the bathroom to find… “No pee pee, Mommy.”
This game has been played one too many times where now Mommy is smart enough not to fall for her tricks.
At least not this trick.
(Not once has she ever needed to go pee pee in any of the time outs she’s gotten.)
She’s sooo good, she even does the “holding it” position.
The Power of
the Rings
While Kallie’s friends were over, they made some bracelets, necklaces, and rings out of buttons and play beads. They found some matching black buttons and came up with the idea that when you put them on, you become mean and bad.
Then they found some matching cream and brown ones and said that these one make you sweet and princessy when you wear them.
And then there was the matchy-matchy fruit rings that turned them into cute strawberry shortcake characters. There was Bluberry Muffin, Strawberry Shortcake, and BerryLicious.
Awww Man!!!
May 23, started out as a beautiful Sunday morning. We were getting ready to go to the Gila Valley Temple Dedication at the Stake Center. We traded kids with the Eastons. They went to the early session while we watched their cuties and then we went to the 12:00 session while they watched ours. Mike and Jaidyn went earlier driving the Pilot to grab our tickets and I joined them at 12:00 driving the Camry. The dedication was wonderful and Jaidyn was old enough to go with us. The session was closed with a prayer by President Monson and we all headed home.
This is what happened on MY way home.
Here’s the scoop. I was getting off the 101 and then heading northbound on 59th and just as I was coming towards the first intersection a car crosses right in front of me. They were going southbound and in the left turn lane crossing into the Wells Fargo parking lot, but failed to yield before turning and I tried to dodge them and turned right but still got hit. The kid hit me in my front side and then I continued right into the concrete wall in front of Wells Fargo. After getting out of the car and calling Mike trying to hold myself together but failing to, I made my way to the other car. It was a lady and her son and I asked if they were ok and she said, her neck hurt, but that she had been teaching her son how to drive and that he had his permit.
WELL DOESN’T THAT JUST EXPLAIN EVERYTHING! Talk about a traumatizing experience for this poor 15 year old getting a first time lesson on driving with his mama.
Here’s the crazy part. More of a blessing than crazy. When Pres. Monson was closing his prayer, one thing that really stuck out to me was when he asked that everyone get home safely. My mind began to wonder and think how often this line is said in prayers, but this time it was the prophet saying it and hmmm, I wonder if everyone DOES get home safely when this is said in closing prayers after meetings and hmmm if the prophet is saying it than everyone should get home safely, right? It’s all about faith right? And then the prayer ended and off we went to our cars.
I was going to drive the Camry home since I drove it there, and usually Jaidyn likes to drive home with me, but this time, Mike said, “Honey, why don’t you drive the Pilot and Jaidyn, why don’t you come with me.”
(usually Jaidyn would say, “But I want to go with Mommy.” but this time there was no argument.)
(must have happened for a reason right? If Jaidyn had been in the Pilot with me or if I had driven the Camry instead, things could’ve been much worse than it was.)
Also after telling Mike the part that had stuck out in the prayer to me, he said that that part in the prayer stuck out to him too and that he was kind of thinking the same thoughts I had during the prayer. hmmmm.
And then here’s another thing. I’ve been in an accident where the airbags have deployed and I know how hard it feels to hit it and how badly your arms can get burned, ‘cause it happened to me in an accident back when I was engaged to Mike.
It was a whole different experience this time. When I saw the car and was about to hit it I panicked and turned and the car hit me and immediately the air bags came out and from there it was like SLOW MOTION. I was thinking, “Oh great, the air bags are out… when is the car going to stop moving? I still feel the car moving.” And then the car came to a slow easy stop.
It wasn’t until I got home from the hospital and saw the pictures that I realized the car HADN’T come to a slow stop like I had thought, but must have hit that wall at 35mph or so to have gone through it like that. I was telling everyone at the hospital that my car had cracked the wall, ‘cause that’s all I really saw from my point and not the huge hole that the pictures would show me later.
Air bags deflate immediately after deployment and I DID NOT feel the airbag when the car hit me and I DID NOT feel anything when I hit the wall, even after the air bags were deflated. Hmmmm.
My bracelets on my arms were gone. Later to be found by Jaidyn when she crawled through the car looking for them. They were in the backseat… BROKEN in pieces.
When I got out of my car and went to see the other car, Stephanie Jones, was heading home from the dedication and saw the accident and saw my blue dress that I was wearing as I stepped out of my car. She came over with her kids to see if I was ok. She asked me how Jaidyn was… and that’s when I lost it. I hadn’t thought yet, what could’ve happened if Jaidyn had decided to come in the car with me.
They checked my back and my neck to find that I was just sore, but no major pain, so I was sent home after getting a tetanus shot. I had a couple burn scratches on my arm and from my bracelets and a burn on my neck from the seat belt and felt like I had been hit by the ugly truck and looked it… actually… the following few days, but that was it! Jaidyn was waiting with Grandma in the waiting room and said to her, “Grandma, I knew someone was going to get in an accident this week. I had a feeling all week.”
I am so thankful for everyone that helped, with watching my kids the days after and bringing dinner those nights!
I am thankful for having been protected through this whole accident and that I was able to walk away from the accident and feel fine today and that my dear sweet Jaidyn hadn’t been in the car with me when it all happened.
After leaving the hospital, we went to the Eastons to grab Kallie, Dagen, and Isaac and when we walked in, Kallie was on the couch hysterically screaming and holding her foot. They told us that the kids were playing in the backyard and that Kallie, 5 min ago, had stepped on a little scorpion. They were on the phone with Poison Control asking and making sure everything was going to be fine. They said to wash it with soap and water, then that the pain would last for the next 6 hours and that the pain could be intense because the venom attacks the nerves and could cause numbness as well. Also, in serious cases, the anti-venom needs to be administered in the hospital if she experiences paralysis or twitching or sagging in her face. GREAT! That we were to keep an eye on that in the next few hours.
She was crying hysterically for the next 2 hrs. She’d stop and wimper for a little while and then it was like the pain was shooting up her leg or something and she’d be hysterical all over again. I was on pain meds and totally drowsy and drugged, I couldn’t really comfort her. Thank goodness, Mike is good at playing Mr. Mom. He’s not just good, but REAL GOOOOOD!
What a day!
Father/Son
Campout
It was that time again, for another Ward Father/Son Campout. Isaac has been really looking forward to this.
He said he loves going with Daddy, 'cause he gets to carve a stick all by himself with a KNIFE. Something my son and I WOULD NOT be doing together if it was a Mother/Daughter campout. hee hee.
Mike has been saving this knife that he made, to give to Isaac. And when Isaac got home, all he wanted to do was show this thing off to everyone. In fact, when his cousin, Collin, asked him over to play, Isaac asked if he could bring his knife with him to play with Collin. I’m sure you all could imagine my reaction to such a suggestion.
He also got another lesson on gun usage. I don’t think the kid needed one, for what I heard. I guess the first shot taken nailed the soda can right in the middle. And he hit several other cans with no problem at all. I don’t know if I should be proud or worried!
Later, they hiked through a cave and Mike said that Isaac was trying to put on a brave face, but failed in his attempt. He looked worried as ever and kept saying he wasn’t scared. Mike had to tell him over and over again, that it’s ok, and that they WERE going to be able to get out. I asked him about it later and he said, “It was really dark, Mommy, and I knew there was only one way out and I didn’t want the cave to fall on us or close the way out.”
Poor baby!
