Waiting for the Sunshine

Quick update since last post: Finished school etc., headed to Idaho, got to Flagstaff and found out my dad was put into the ICU and had pneumonia, a heart attack and kidney blockage. Made the rest of the trip unsure whether we would see dad when we got here. He's been in ICU for two weeks today. Tuesday they did a surgical trachistomy and he was able to wake up and respond to everyone yesterday. He even sat up for the first time in 2 weeks. This morning he had two episodes of tachycardia and they are making the decision now on whether to do an angiogram. He's back in a medical coma again.
It's been cold and wet here (suprise. not) and we've been busy busy trying to get everything back into shape in the yard and house. I've got big renovation plans for the kids bath this summer and we're going to plant a garden. My sweet cousin Brian just got a job at the lesbian llama ranch and is bringing a load of "compost" over today for the garden. I've rented a tiller for tomorrow. We're kind of a little behind in getting things planted, but the family tiller hasn't been in good working order (machine or man).
We went to Sandpoint over Memorial weekend and visited the cemetaries. I had planned to do this before dad got sick and went ahead with it. Charles and I took the kids to Pinecrest and visited Grandma's grave (Smith. She passed last spring. Today would be her birthday). In retrospect, given the current climate in our lives we might not have taken the kids. Laney had a lot of questions and I got weepy a few times. Prior to the cemetary, we got lunch and then Griffin barfed all over himself as we left the drive thru window. Appetizing. So we made a stop at WalMart for more clothes. It was cool to see all of the headstones and recognize so many of our ancestors. My grandparents, their parents (with the exception of my grandma's dad) and my Grandma's grandmother are buried there.
After that, Charles dropped me at Uncle's and I met Mom, Aunt Lynda, Uncle Phillips, Uncle Curt, Ian, and Aunt Joyce, Matt and Michelle, and we made the trip out to Pack River cemetary to visit Grandpa and Grandma's McNearney graves. We take beer and have a beer with Grandpa--we each pour out a little for him. Afterward we go plant shopping in honor of grandma. Yeah. We're weird. I love to go out there because that area of Sandpoint is just beautiful. Seriously. Like Oh My God! beautiful. I'll take pictures one of these days if my camera ever gets fixed.
That afternoon we all went to Aunt Joyce's for a BBQ. Charles and the kids went early. The kids got to feed the baby calves their bottles and chase chickens/play in the hay/generally make a ruckus. Michelle took pictures, so when I get some, I'll post them.

Force March Phillips

In my brilliance, I decided to take my playgroup hiking. We went to Catalina State Park yesterday. Of course, it was the hottest day of the spring so far (about 90. seriously). I was initially planning to do a short flat hike at the Romero Ruins, but the guy at the booth said to do the Canyon Loop since there was water still in some pools. So I looked at the map and thought, hey we can do this. When we started, I wasn't sure where the trail head was for our loop and chose the one closest to the parking lot. I had a feeling though that we should start at the other side of the loop but didn't act on it. First part of the hike was a steep uphill and then we went up hill, up hill, up hill. My kids were horrible but everyone else's were great. The twins wanted to be carried though and so I did the majority of the hike holding someone and my friend Jill (bless her heart) carried Kenna quite a bit. The hike took FOREVER. Laney was supposed to go to school but we didn't get back until 12:30 and school, which was a 20 minute drive away, started at 12:15. I felt terrible for making her miss school and boy was she mad. I'm pretty sure all of the other moms were hating me by the end of that hike too. I think we hiked about 2.5 miles. Secretly though I enjoyed the hike even with my whiney kids. We'll have to go again. But next time I'm bringing more supplies. Like trail mix. Because hiking is a lot more fun if there are M&Ms involved.

Wax B's and Eye Disease

Oh, glorious day. I looked in the mirror this morning and discovered that my eye was NOTswollen, red, itchy, and was only slightly peeling/flakey. For the first time since January. It has been just as awesome as you would imagine it would be to have said eye condition for nearly 3 months.
Not much on the agenda today. I cleaned the kids' rooms and we generally hung out. Looks like we're mostly on the mend. The kids still have a cough if they get active, but things seem to be clearing. I can't tell if I'm still sick or just allergic to everything. It is pollen season in the old pueblo.
The kids keep trying to go swimming. The pool is freezing cold, but it's been in the 80s every day for a little while and looks like it will be continuing. Spring is sprung.
As I mentioned previously, writing is a big activity in my house. On my way down the stairs yesterday, I discovered a big red B drawn on the stair carpet using red chapstick. Hmm. Also, a tiny robot looking thing has appeared on Laney's wall. In ink pen. I have a lot of painting ahead of me.
 

Creativity

It amazes me how fast children can change. In just the last couple of weeks, Laney has suddenly become a writer and artist. The light turned on and pow! There it all was suddenly. She's been writing all of her letters and her name and she made Charles a card the other night that was just the cutest thing. It had little people and caterpillars and things. Sure you may say, kids do this all the time and mine is always drawing something. Well, mine didn't. So one day no drawing, the next day figural drawings in lots of detail.
Griffin is still unusually attached to his pajamas. We fight about it whenever I need him to wear decent clothes (like to church) and he only wants to wear his tiger jammies. Hopefully this is a stage that goes quickly.
We went to church this morning and then went started our parenting class again. Then we went to the park for a church picnic. It was fun. Yesterday we cleaned the garage (or at least got a good start on it) and then I cleaned the car in the afternoon. It was amazingly satisfying to clean my car. It was just so gross that I felt bad every time I got in it or someone saw it. Yuck. Now it is clean and good. On the inside. I still need to go get it washed.
This afternoon I made gumbo and we all watched the Princess and the Frog together. The gumbo was awesome. I like okra though. Unlike the ladies on Our Best Bites, I do not believe that it is a vegetable grown in Hell and hoed personally by the devil himself. I guess I like goopy veggies. Now I need to go back and print out the recipe before my temporary membership to the website expires. Sad, yes?
Feeling sleepy now from too much gumbo (and a couple glasses of wine) so off I go. Got to help C get ready to leave again tomorrow.

Home Improving, Health Deteriorating

Bleh. We're all sick at the Phillips house. Griffin caught the crud last week and we've been passing it along. The bummer is that it doesn't seem to go away once you get it. So he's still hacking up a lung and now the girls and I are too.
I painted the living room over the weekend. Ernie brought a scissor lift over and I got to work. It was really fun to use a lift to paint. I'd totally do it again. I got really good at driving it. I painted the room a light tan, but Diane told me that it looks yellow. And I guess it does a little bit in the afternoon. Oh well.
Next up is getting my filthy carpet cleaned. I am also going to repaint the dining room. The piano is going to move into the living room instead of the dining room. It just too squished in there.
Charles and I are going to start co-leading a parenting discussion group at the church. I know, funny isn't it?
Mike went to jail over the weekend and Zack has a broken nose. Not sure what all is going on. We'll find out more this weekend I suppose.
This weekend we need to get out and start cleaning up the yard. My poor palm trees are seriously toast. I'm not sure if they will make it.

Baptism

Last Sunday we were baptized en masse: me, Laney, Griffin and Kenna. Diane and Ernie, Leah, Olive and Don came to the procedings. We came back to the house for brunch afterwards. Later that evening, Charles and I went out to dinner at the Omni for a work thing. Ollie stayed at our house with the kids.
It's Rodeo week in Tucson and Laney had fun at school. They brought bikes to school on Wednesday and had a bike rodeo. Today we went to the park and met Jill and Madelynn, then out to lunch with them and Richelle and her kids.
I think maybe next year we will be ready to try out the Rodeo parade. The kids are a little young yet to brave the crowds for rodeo.

Deep Thoughts and Poopy Shoots

I'm just shocked tonight. I was watching the news after the Mentalist and they did a story on a cold case murder. Last summer, after we had gone to Idaho, a man was murdered at Chik fil A. A man walked up to him and shot him in the head, then pedaled away on a bike. At like 7 in the morning. I heard about the murder when we returned in the fall, but did not realize until tonight--he was the dad of one of the little girls in Laney's dance class. I see his widow 3 times a week at St. Andrew's. I've talked to her at dance class. I had NO idea that this happened to their family. She's got 4 kids under the age of 10. It's unsettling to have so many tragic events occuring to people I know and at places I go.
[pause to reflect]
Ok. On a completely different note: we finally finished the enormous jar of cheesy puffs that I was conned in to buying at Costco. Sadly, we will no longer be able to fulfill requests for "poopy shoots" from Kenna. I laughed every time she asked me for poopy shoots. I'd ask her "do you want cheesy poofs?" and she'd say yes, I want some poopy shoots. LOL.
Griffin told me in the car yesterday on the way to pick up Laney and Rorie (our carpooling friend from school) that he loved Rorie. I said that was nice. Don't you love Laney too? He said no. He didn't love Laney. "Laney smells". These things start way earlier than I ever expected.
Laney is always talking about her future career plans. I am not sure why. I've never asked her for this information, she just volunteers it. Science careers figure heavily with doctor usually leading. This week, she was thinking about giving up the medicine dream to pursue dolphin training at Sea World. We watched Flipper earlier in the week. But it was back to medicine by today. Then in the car we were watching "The Incredibles" and at the end the bad guy gets sucked in to a jet engine (No capes!) at which point she speculated: "I bet his brain came out when that happened." Me: pardon?! Really, what can you say to something like that?