Zoo Lights

We headed to the zoo in Portland on Dec. 23rd. It was cold, but not nearly as cold as last year. Brr! With everyone bundled up we arrived at 3pm. We spent several hours looking at the animals. It sprinkled on us a little bit, but nothing too bad. We had some great & close encounters with the Jaguar, Lion, and Baboon. Most of the rest of the animals were hiding, or indoors, where the adults in our party could spot them, but little eyes could not see or distinguish the animals from their surroundings. The kids particularly loved the Jaguar, and in the picture below you can even see Lincoln's little hands reaching out to pet the kitty. ;)

Once it got dark we headed for the Zoo Lights Train, and waited about 45min to board. Unfortunately, Lincoln had a seizure minutes before it was our turn & fell asleep, so he ended up sleeping the entire train ride. Oh well. It happens. June enjoyed the ride, despite being exhausted from the long cold napless day. It was a lot of fun & everyone had a good time. Once we left, she was fast asleep in the car before we even got out of the parking lot. Lol!

The Sharp Knife

There is this song on the radio right now called "If I Die Young". It is beautifully sung, and I love it...but it makes me cry every time I hear it. When I first heard the song, it was about a month after our scare with Lincoln in the hospital, and I couldn't help but think of how devastated I would be if we were to lose him, or June for that matter.

Now the message behind the song takes on a new meaning as we cope with the loss of our best family friend here in Tucson. His name was Chris Rea. He died on 12/18/2010 at the age of 35 in a snowboarding accident. It was a tragic accident, and really should not have happened. If only circumstances were different. If we could go back and change the past...how different that day could have turned out.


Here are some pictures of the times we spent with Chris these past several years.













































We mostly have pictures of going Jeeping with him, but really we did so much more than that. He was at our house probably every other weekend, and Andy sat a few seats away from him at work. They spoke all of the time, and Chris would come over to work on cars or other manly projects, and our bi-weekly BBQs. We would go to his house or Hooters to watch MMA fights together, and we would also do other fun things around Tucson like baseball games, hockey games, horse-racing, Rennaissance Faire, Oktoberfest, Beerfest, etc.

He was fun, funny, and so nice. I love that he never hesitated to pick up one of my kids and give them a hug and some kind words, or carrying them around and letting them sit on his lap when he was visiting. I am so sad that he is gone. Not just for the loss of such a great friend to me and to Andy, but also the loss to my kids, of never knowing or remembering someone who was so kind to them when they were young, and who had the potential to be a very good friend to them as they grew up. People as good as Chris are rare and very hard to find. He will be very very missed.



If you were curious, the lyrics to "If I Die Young". Many of the words don't really apply, and seem to be more for a young girl...but I thought that the imagery was very good.

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother
She'll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had, just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had, just enough time

And I’ll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I’m as green as the ring on my little, cold finger, I’ve
Never known the lovin' of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand, there’s a
Boy here in town says he’ll, love my forever
Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls
What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I’ll sell them for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I’m a goner
And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singin’
Funny when your dead how people start listenin’

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a, bed of roses
Sink me in the river, at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep ‘em in your pocket
Save them for a time when your really gonna need them, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I’ve had, just enough time

So put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls

Oregon Coast Aquarium

We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium on Sat. Dec. 18. It was cold & rainy off and on, but better than we expected (afterall it was winter on the Oregon coast). We got there around 2pm and really enjoyed ourselves. The kids really liked the animals behind the glass windows that they could touch and bang on. I am not sure the fish appreciated all of the noise...but the rest of us thought that it was really cute.

June would get so excited when she would spot something moving around...she would kick her feet, make noises, and bounce as hard as she could. Lincoln liked running around and touching all the glass. And he seemed to notice a lot more of the fish than the last time we were these also. The kids really enjoyed their time there, and the Christmas lights in the trees were a nice bonus. We spent about 3 hours there, and saw everyting we could. :)

Here are some pictures.

Yesterday's GI Appt.

To interrupt the retelling of our holiday travels...

Well we met with the GI doctor for the first time yesterday. She wants to do an endoscopy & biopsy, swallow study, and some blood work to look for inflammation, tubers, and aspiration as possible explainations for his lack of appetite and weight gain. If all of these come back clear, then we can blame his issues on the seizure meds, and if we continue to have issues getting him to eat we can give him an appetite stimulant. But in the mean time we are supposed to keep doing what we are doing, and supplement his diat with a daily multi-vitamin.

So these are the things we have coming up in the next few weeks w/ doctors & hospitals:
3-day video EEG
MRI
Endoscopy biopsy
Swallow study
Fillings for cavities
Dietician Consult for Ketogenic diet
Blood draws

Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about all of the running around we will be doing. Poor Lincoln.

Getting to Oregon

The day before we left June had her 9mo well-baby check-up. She was 28.25in & 18lbs 10oz (same weight as the previous month). It was 83 degrees in Tucson that day. Lincoln went shirtless, and June & I were in tank tops all day long. It was strange to think that the very next day we would be in weather 40 degrees colder!

The next day we got on the airplane at 11am. Andy got a gate-assist pass so that he could help me get the kids through security. That worked out great!! It would have taken me forever without his help. Lincoln fell asleep while waiting for the airplane & actually slept until we almost landed in San Diego. I had a hurcules move picking him up from the stroller at the bottom of the boarding ramp while he was dead asleep, with my 23 week pregnant belly, June strapped to my chest, a stuffed backpack on my back and a pillow in my other arm. It was actually kinda scary, once I was down in the squat, my legs said "Nope, not gonna stand back up!", and I was like "Hell yes you are! I am not falling on my ass with my kids in my arms!" And I did it, but I did have to groan a little bit, kinda like those professional tennis players & their grunts. The guy behind me in line even said "Wow". I probably looked a little ridiculous, and my legs were sore for days afterwards, lol. After Lincoln's feet kicked the first several rows of passengers a stewardess asked me if I needed any help. I said yep, and let her carry my sleeping Lincoln to his seat. Once we were settled we were good to go for our 5 hour journey with 2 stops.

As I already said, Lincoln slept the first leg of the journey to San Diego. June fell asleep, after much encouragement during the second leg of te journey to Sacremento. And then Lincoln fell asleep on the final leg of our journey to Portland. All in all it went well. There were no huge screaming fits, and we had plenty of toys, snacks and bottles to keep everyone happy for the duration. And were no poopy diapers while in flight, thank goodness! The hardest part was keeping Lincoln in his seat instead of climbing on my lap while June was sleeping in her baby carrier on my chest. I really needed her to get some rest or she would have been a mess! Lincoln did not appreciate this, but we survived and I managed to keep her asleep for almost an hour.

We went out to eat with my Grandma in POrtland that night, and the kids did wonderfully! I have nver had such a good experience with both of them in a restaurant before! I think they must have been showing off for my family! However, they were so wired by the late dinner, and th enew surroundings in Salem at my parents home, that they did not go to sleep that night until well after midnight! June's latest night ever!

Winterhaven Hayride

On December 12th we went to look at the Christmas lights in the Winterhaven district of Tucson. They shut the whole place down to cars, and you can either walk the neighborhood or go on the wagon rides. Last year we did the wagonride and Lincoln LOVED it, so we knew we had to do it again this year. Luckily we were still in town when Winterhaven opened the second weekend in December.

This year they liked it quite a bit, but Lincoln didn't squeal like he did last year. So that was a little dissapointing for us, but I would venture to say that they both had a great time as judged by the smiles, and we will be doing it all again next year!

Here are some pictures. I was so busy taking pictures of the kids that I didn't get any pictures of the lights at all. Oh well.

We are home!

We had a blast, but we are all definitely glad to be home in our own house & our own beds!

Look for more detailed posts about our adventures and happenings in our time away in the days to come.

Here are some teaser pics!