We've Been Hit Again!

Conrad has been recovering from pneumonia since last Wednesday.  He has been doing nebulizer treatments 3 times a day and prednisone twice a day.  Thankfully Con wasn't as scary as Caleb, and the antibiotic he took worked.  He has felt pretty tired, though.  Friday, I thought I'd take the kids to Incredibles 2 since Conrad was supposed to go on an overnight float trip with Bo and the Scouts, but he couldn't (He tried to hide being sick so he wouldn't miss it, but it got too bad).  By the time the movie was over, he was feeling bad, so we went home.  He felt worse than before until tonight.  Whoops.

Conrad likes the mask and doesn't like the tube Caleb wanted.

I'm hoping the smoky air will go away, so I don't have to worry about other lung issues coming up. We're happy to see you perk up and feeling better tonight, Con!  We love you!

Rigby Fair

Conrad and Hailey got to participate in the fair this year!  It was fun to see how they did.  Conrad entered 7 photos he's taken the past couple of years.  He did great!  He got three blue ribbons and four, second place ribbons.

Here are all his pics

Hailey sang "Lost Boy" in the Rigby's Got Talent show.  She did a great job!  It's always so fun to hear her sing. (I posted the video on the next post.

Waiting for her turn

Here are the judges' comments so we can keep a record.

Hailey’s Performance

What’s with Pneumonia This Year

On our hike, we talked about how nice it was that our kids were getting older and that when they get sick, we don't have to worry as much.  A few hours later, we were at the swim meet, and Caleb felt hot and had the chills.  When we got home, I checked his fever, and it was 103.5. That's really hot for our kids.  But it went down quickly with Ibuprofen, so I didn't worry too much. The next few days, it was much lower and would be gone in the morning until late afternoon, and he didn't act sick at all. But it just wouldn't go away, so I decided to take him to the Dr.

The Dr. said he had Pneumonia.  I couldn't believe it.  He just had a little cough.  But, I took him for a chest x-ray to confirm and started him on an antibiotic.  He rested the next few days, but on the evening of the third day, he started struggling to breathe.  We ended up in the ER getting nebulizer treatments and a steroid.  They sent us home with 3 more prescriptions.  Hindsight proved I really should have pushed to put him in the hospital.  Life would have been a bit easier in the next few days.

He just couldn't keep his oxygen up above 92 during the day (which means it will drop about 4 percent while he's sleeping), and his medicine would only last two hours instead of four, so there was lots of monitoring and stress.  By Monday night, my nerves were shot.  I was sure we were going to make another trip to the ER when I laid him down for bed I could just hear popping and crackling when he breathed, and he'd taken all the medicine I could give him.  But, I thought I'd give it a bit longer.  I checked in on him off and on, and about an hour later, the sounds were gone, and I could hear his airway opened up.

 I was so relieved.   It was an answer to prayer.  Nights are always the worst for breathing, but Monday night, he cleared up.  He has steadily gotten better, and now two weeks later, he's pretty much better.  He was a trooper. It's always so sad to see your kids so sick.  But, it was sweet to see our other kids treat him so well.

Oh, how we love this kid! We're glad you're better, buddy!!!

He hated the mask.

Girls Day

A few friends of mine went on a hike to Lower Palisades Lakes.  We ended up going further but not up to the upper lake.  But by the end of the walk, my phone said 11 miles!  Holy Cow!  I have never hiked that far, and I had to put this on here because I'm not a hiker, and this was a feat for me. :) Hiking with these gals was a breeze.  Thanks, Becca, for putting it all together.

Becca Allen, me, Jen Baxter, and Cami McQuivey (although you can't really see her cute face.)

Some of the gorgeous views

Skark Swim Club

Last year the kids did a swim club at The Apple in IF.  We decided it was fun and perfect for them, so we did it again.  I'm not sure what it is, probably the years of not having any swimmers, but it is so satisfying to sit and watch them swim.  I LOVED watching them swim laps and learn different strokes.  They have all made leaps and bounds, and Conrad was able to get his swim merit badge because of it.  I'm proud of these kids and all of their hard work.

Caleb is also pretty much a swimmer.  He can't swim in water above his head yet, but he should be there soon.

Way to go kiddos!

These first pictures are just a day we stayed after and played.

Here they are warming up for their swim meet.  Swim Club does one at the end of the season.

We've Been to Gilmore Twice this Summer

Our friends from the ward Becca and Travis Allen invited us to go with them on an RZR ride in Leadore.  Here are the highlights:

I couldn't believe how snowy it still was at the end of June.  We were high up there!

We loved the ride so much we called Dustin and my parents to go with us again but camp this time.  We met up and made the same trip we'd done with our friends, but this time we drove out to Gilmore and camped too.  The kids had a great time with their cousins, and we loved getting away and relaxing.  This world of ours is pretty beautiful.

This is Meadow Lake.  One of my favorite mountain lakes.  It's crystal clear and surrounded by beauty.

On Saturday, Jake and Bonny Shumway, our friends, came and showed us another ride with a mine you can walk around in.  We didn't go far, and we all felt a bit uneasy in that mine.  It made me think about those who came before us and spent the day in and day out mining in those dark, moist tunnels.  I can't imagine what that life was like.  All I know is that it would have been hard.  We were able to see some old cabins, and one spot had a whole bunch of cans thrown in a pile, which was pretty neat and made it more real that others did live there at one point.  It was so beautiful out there. 

 After looking through the ghost town there, we stopped at another spot with a small creek.  We hiked along the stream for a little while, and I felt like I was in a little fairyland.  It was so pretty by the creek.