Reagan's Surgery Day

Reagan had her surgery this morning in Iowa City and she was a champ. I was really impressed with how brave she was. I was anticipating a less than enjoyable experience (not that surgery is ever that enjoyable) considering the major fit she threw when she had to have her finger poked at her check-up, but she did great! Ryan, Reagan and I went to Iowa City on Sunday evening and stayed over-night, because we had to be to the hospital at 7:00 and didn't feel like leaving our house at 4:30 in the morning. It also gave Reagan a chance to swim in the hotel pool and have a little bit of extra-special time to make it a more desirable experience. We know how to spin things around here.:) They were great there. I actually got to walk back with her and stay in the operating room right beside her until she was asleep. I was so thankful for that, because I think that would have been the hardest part for her. What child wants to walk off with complete strangers into a scary and possibly painful situation? We had talked about it ahead of time and she knew she would be asleep the whole time and not feel anything, which helped her relax some. She hasn't had too much pain either. She started to complain of it hurting on the drive home, but unfortunately I didn't have any Tylenol for her and her ice was melting. She's been great since we've gotten home though. If anything, she might relax a little more! I'm so thankful it went well and it will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference once the swelling and bruising goes down. This surgery was a hard decision for Ryan and I to make, but we didn't want it to affect her vision down the line and they said that 5 is an ideal age to correct the ptosis. We're thankful to God that she didn't have any difficulties with the anesthesia and that she has minimal pain post-op.

Modeling her surgery outfit and looking good.

I think I went into the wrong profession. I would have made a stunning surgeon....especially loving the shoes, although I did put on some lovely booties before entering the O.R.

Reagan enjoyed two popsicles after waking up from surgery.

Not the greatest picture, but you can see that her eye is black and blue and quite swollen.

This picture cracks me up because she looks like she had a major tussle with someone and came out on the losing end.:)

This was actually before surgery. They had a nice little playroom with a T.V. to pass the time while we waited to go to the Operating Room

Ten Already?!?

Ryan and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary today. I seriously can hardly believe that it has been that long already. We were talking with his Grandma Elle about it this past weekend and her and Grandpa Tom would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last week. When I hear that, I think ten years is hardly anything! I found a few snapshots from that fun day. It's always fun to look back and remember that day. It kind of makes me wish we could do it all again.:)

Happy Birthday, America!

Most of our 4th of July activities were done on the 3rd of July instead. We attended church in the morning, the parade in the evening and some fireworks that night. It was a fun-filled day! I put the pictures on here in the order I wanted, but blogger has not been the easiest to work with lately and switched them up. We might hit some more fireworks tonight, depending on the kids attitudes! Two late nights in a row might make for a long week for mommy.:)

Jason and Kristin's family and some of our friends from church came and watched the parade with us. Lisa and Kurtis and kids were supposed to come up as well, but they had sick kids and couldn't make it.:(

Luke waiting patiently for the parade to begin.

I was the only one not wearing patriotic colors for church that morning, so I got a picture of them looking good.:)

This was the theme of the day, especially for Drew. When he would see a firetruck coming down the street he would cover up his ears until it was safely past. It makes it tricky to gather candy when you're standing that way though!

We did some sparklers before we headed out to the fireworks display.

The kids were ready to gather candy. Luke and Reagan ended up with a gallon size ziplock bag filled with candy. Ugh! I combined Drew & Lauren's and they have that much as well. I'm pretty sure we'll still be eating that by the next 4th of July!

My little firecrackers.
I asked them to take a picture together. After the first shot (above), I told Lauren to put her skirt down. Instead, they proceeded to lift their skirts and shirts shouting "fireworks" and laughing hysterically.

This was actually the pre-show fireworks display. A big group beside us lit off a ton of huge fireworks of their own. Drew wasn't a big fan. I'm pretty sure being tired wasn't helping. When the real display started though, he didn't mind the noise and started to get more into it.

Luke wore Ryan's flip flops while we did sparklers. It reminds me of how quickly they grow up and how soon his feet will fit into these shoes!

All of our kids have their own creative side, and they've been coming out a lot this summer. Luke loves his Legos and does a great job of building with them, sometimes using their designs and many times making his own. Reagan loves to draw and perform. She has been having a lot of art shows lately (the picture below shows one she created with her friend) and dance shows. The couch in the playroom is her stage. She sets up chairs for the rest of us and Luke is usually the D.J. Drew & Lauren's creativity comes out in their 3 year old play. They also love to help me "create" in the kitchen. They're always the first to pitch in when I'm baking cookies. They like to wear their aprons like me. Aunt Lisa made Lauren her very own apron, so now they both have one. The twins have also gotten pretty good at getting themselves dressed. Drew sometimes comes down with his own outfits on, because he is able to reach his summer shirts. The rubber rain boots are usually part of the ensemble.:) It's fun to see their personalities shine through and think about how they might use these creative sides in the future.

The Toothfairy strikes again

Reagan lost her first tooth a couple of weeks ago (I'm a little behind!). She was super excited but terribly nervous when it came close to falling out. She thought for sure it would hurt and I tried to convince her otherwise.:) She finally wiggled it enough with her tongue for it to fall out....and she found out I did know what I was talking about!

Braving the great outdoors

Last weekend we went camping with my family. We had great weather (no rain at least!) and a fun time together. The cousins all did lots of running and playing and spent their fair share of time hanging out in the campers...especially ours which is the only one with air conditioning.:) We celebrated Drew & Lauren's birthday there also. They got some fun presents and enjoyed their Buzz Lightyear/Dora the Explorer party. We opted for cupcakes, because they're much easier to transport! We played a fun asteroid water game and did a Dora treasure hunt to Candy Mountain.
I felt bad for Ryan because we didn't get to do too much for Father's Day for him, but I don't think he minded.:) I told him to purchase a grill cover for his gift. I read a Father's Day devotional for our church service and the girls and Drew sang a song about Dad's. I think the dads and grandpa liked it. We had a yummy brunch of Dutch Oven foods and wrapped up our weekend. We might not get out again until Labor Day but we'll have to see what we can do. Lisa and I would like to take the kids out on our own, but I'm not real sure about pulling the camper by myself...and I have no idea to set it up either!