Arlington Ward Sunday School...

Here's Russ' cute Sunday School class at one final class party the week before our move. He loved teaching that class, and we really miss our fun ward and those great kids!

Cumberland Island

We had been wanting to visit Cumberland Island for months, but were kind of turned off by the high prices to get there. Two weeks before the move, Russ discovered that we could take our little boat across (turns out you didn't have to go into the ocean like I had thought) and save the money from the ferry. So, we called our friends the Fergusons and headed out for a little adventure...

We did lots of hiking around to explore all the ruins. Some huge mansions completely destroyed, at least one by fire. All used to be owned by the Carnegies. Pretty impressive on such a beautiful island... too bad it's not still in use (although I guess that's why we get to explore it). We saw LOTS of horses all around. One baby only a few days old!

At the other side we stopped and swam at the beach before hiking back to the boat. The boys were having so much fun with their friends that despite lots of hiking and sun, we hardly heard a complaint. What a great day!!

Too Much Pink Medicine...

So, Mason is definitely our most accident prone child (although this one was no accident on his part). Here is a shot of Mason (thanks Jess) during his 3rd trip to the ER. The next day we were back again making 4 trips to the ER in his two short years of life. I'm sure others have had worse, but I don't know of any, so let me know if you do (it'll make me feel better:)

It seems like something traumatic always happens to us right before a big move. Cole sprayed cleaner in Parker's eyes the week before we left Colorado, and he wouldn't open his eyes for three days. I was preparing myself for the idea of having a blind child.

This was Mason's turn. A couple of weeks before leaving Florida (while Russ was out of town of course) we were all sick and were all prescribed Amoxicillin. I had the kids all lined up to get their medicine, and while I was giving Parker his, Mason slipped behind me without me noticing (he already had his and obviously loved it) and as quickly as possible drank Sadie's entire bottle. I thought I had it high enough on the counter to be out of reach, but from now on I will be extra careful to put the lid back on tight even if I'm going to be opening it again 3 seconds later...

So, we headed off to the ER after the poison control lady told us it was the highest amount she had ever heard for his weight. Luckily our good friend and her daughter (thanks Patty!) were kind enough to stay with the other kids at the last minute. I did see another mom in the ER with 6 kids and was very grateful to just have Mason.

They worried about kidney failure, but after being monitored for a few hours and having blood and urine tests done, they determined he had made it past the critical point and could go home. The only thing that showed up (randomly) in his urine was a possible bladder infection. So, we left the hospital with strict instructions to come right back if I noticed any blood in his urine.

Well, the next day the symptoms of the bladder infection were starting to show, and Mason refused to go to the bathroom because it hurt too bad. In the mean time, we had started another antibiotic for that problem. Needless to say, after a 24 hour period of holding it and not knowing if there was blood in his urine (not to mention his poor kidneys with all that build up) we headed back to the ER to see if we needed a catheter. He ended up being just fine, but it was a crazy few days.

Mason's 1st trip to the ER was for his broken arm (falling off the slide) at 18 mo. The 2nd was for breaking the same arm 6 months later when he climbed up the back of Russ' recliner, and it reclined.

I really hope we don't have any more for a while...

Ginny Springs

We tried as hard as we could to see as many things as possible before leaving Florida. There are just so many great places, and not enough time to see it all, but we crammed it in the best we could during our final few weeks. Three weeks before the move, we went to a beautiful place called Ginny Springs. Russ had been wanting to go there for a long time, and we really enjoyed it! The water is so clear (and freezing cold!) and there are caves in the bottom of the caves that people scuba dive into. Russ did a little free diving, and all the kids swam. Even Sadie did okay in the cold water for a little while, but I was happy to bring her out when she'd had enough!