ROBBED!

Finally! Vacation Time! We were on our way to Canada for our week long family reunion in the luxurious Whistler Resort, I was soooo ready. We packed up and headed up to the border, however we thought we would stop at the outlets to stretch out legs. After walking around for a bit, we all climbed back in the car and drove the last hour to the border. Once we were close to the border Matt told me to get out our folder that contained all our documentation. (green card, birth certificates, and passports) I looked down at my feet to find that there was no black bag. I frantically asked Matt where the black bag was? He said he had never moved it....

We pulled over and started clawing through the car trying to find it only to discover Matt's duffel bag with his clothes were gone, the bag with our wii in it, our sports bag, and of course the black tote with our documentation, camera and video camera. I immediately started to cry. I instantly realized my vacation I longed for had just been taken from me. As I cried, the kids cried....

We then talked to around 5 border patrol men who were very sympathetic but essentially said crossing the border without documentation, no matter what the reason, is not a good idea to say the least. We then had to drive back at (10pm) to Marysville to file the police report. Apparently we were the 5th Chevy van hit that week. The thieves had a special key or remote that would instantly get them in....Dang. After filing the report, the police officer told us that he was sorry and that stinks, gave the kids each a police bear and then gave us the number to customs. We sat in the dark parking lot in Marysville trying to see if we could some how, some way, make it across. They (Canada side) told us they couldn't say for certain, but the best way is to go home and get as much proof and documentation we could. Especially to prove the kids were ours, Jessica's mirror image of mommy wasn't enough apparently. We called the American side, they said they couldn't answer for sure, but if we got through the Canada side by some miracle, we will probably be fined 575 dollars for crossing and trying to come back without documentation. We decided to try...

So at 11pm we drove all the way back home to Wenatchee, arrived at 3:30am...jumped out of the car grabbed everything and anything we could think of, and hopped back in the car....we arrived approx 20 hours later to the border at 7am.

Before we drove up to the gate we decided to say a very important prayer. We knew that if we were going to get in, with nothing but a few files about our lives, would take a miracle. We pulled up, and told the man our story, showed him the police report. We fully expected to be pulled in and interrogated for a time. He simply asked the kids a few questions and then told us to have good trip. Prayers answered! We quickly pulled over and offered up gratitude prayer.

The kids learned that night what the word "violated" was, as I said it over and over.

Getting back into the country...story to follow....

Stupid Should Hurt

What started out as a good idea..turned into a stupid dangerous one very quickly...look this happy smiling group, so trusting...all ready for a good time floating down the river...

...anxious to have some fun we drove up the road a little further than the "usual" drop in place people float the river...because we thought, (unsure why we thought we had any expertise) we knew better and found a better place to drop in....4 miles higher up the road.

I was so busy helping my 65 year old parents down the rocks safely I didn't notice...


...Hunter took off his life jacket in the car and didn't get it back on before he started to float away...oh no.



Before I could blink all the people I loved were being quickly being swept away down the river...

What was the problem?: We were in fast low flowing current with large rocks, it stretched at least 4 miles long with one child life jacket less who could swim well in still water however didn't have a chance in a current and 2 aging parents that either just had major knee surgery or heading towards hip surgery...and did I mention all of our inner tubes where too small? Where everyone else was putting in was where the SLOW and DEEP ride would of been..however that isn't what we chose to do....oh no why follow the crowd?

Everyone had a different take on the experience...

1. Jessica...balled the entire time.
2. Matt cursed the entire time.
3. Dad smiled the entire time
4. Jenn prayed the entire time.
4. Mom closed her eyes and rode backwards the entire time.
5. Hunter talked his way through it to Grandma the entire time.
6. Logan was scared speechless the entire time.

After narrowly missing a fish hatchery, climbing/falling to the side of the river only to climb through bushes through to the back of some farmers house with 3 crying kids and my mom...we walked our sorry selves for a mile or two down the road while passer by drivers waved and smiled...if they only knew I was holding myself back from throwing myself to the ground and kissing it, but I thought such an act would scare the kids further...

Matt and Grandpa continued down the river so they could get the car...they made it safely but not without a bloody shoulder and a bunch of scrapes.

I know if you have floated a river you are probably saying what is the big deal? Trust me on this one, this was no slow flowing river... if it wasn't indecent exposure I would show you a picture of my butt with the half dollar sized black bruises on my butt...but I won't...at least not this time.

A Day in the Life of our Summer...

I always have a camera ready to snap moments I don't want to forget...

I was sitting on the couch and all was quiet...all of a sudden I heard chomp chomp chomp, looked around and couldn't see anything...I walked over to the laundry shelves and Hunter says, "Hi, Mom!" He was playing hide and go seek while eating a freezie. Ah freezies...the signature of summer.

Logan decided to put his hand in a glass of water to see if it would make his hang nails feel better.

Meet the Hulk and Magician Psychopath...(Hunter named himself) and a couple extra neighbors.

Cookie making around here has become a new creative outlet. Each have their own custom recipe.

Jess didn't understand why only chiwawa's are the only dogs you can dress.

Jess also wanted all her pets to get along.

We discovered doggie poop duty was much more effective then "time out".

However Jess likes to spend her "time out's" in private solitude.

I love to spend my Sunday mornings baking...especially pies...it is the only thing that ever turns out.

Finally, ever walk in on your kids while they are playing?Jess decided to stamp her whole face with our FRAGILE stamp at work...and Hunter swung himself into a twisted mess and managed to get his shorts stuck.

Back Update

For all those who wanted to know....

I went for my final testing (nerve and muscle testing) yesterday for my foot tremors and pain. The doctor mentioned he was performing the last test to check for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) , which was news to me, but shortly after the test said my leg did NOT show signs of these diseases or any NEW damage...I could of told him that. He said I haven't lost weakness in my leg but I have in my toes.

Soo, because the damage is in the nerves of the pelvis, they won't do surgery unless there is a tumor. Otherwise surgically there is nothing you can do the the damaged nerves in there.

Treatment with meds is the only method...I have SO been there, and didn't want to return. I asked him if I could progress and get worse?

He said no.

I said how come I have new symptoms then, like the toe weakness and foot tremors and leg pain....those are new.

He sat there for a moment and said it would be rare....hmm. At this point I had little faith in his abilities, realized I was in a small town and probably sitting with a neurologist who graduated from a community college in hoe dunk town at the bottom of his class....(I love small towns, except when it comes to health care)

That didn't sit well with me. Then he proceeded to give me another new prescription that "may" make me drowsy, which I didn't fill. These doctors all sound like broken records, do they ALL end their sessions writing prescriptions for meds that "may" make you drowsy...I have yet to get a prescription written for me that will give you great energy and make you feel like a million bucks....and I know marijuana was out of the question...

I went home very confused and felt like I was back at square one. I thought a lot about how I got to this point, and what worked for me in the past. I know that the damaged occurred from having the three pregnancies in 2 years, however I don't think it would have happened if I had been in better shape in my core and could handle that much strain. Thus causing all the damage in the first place

So if damage occurred from lack of strength, maybe bringing strength back to those areas can improve my pain level, it has worked in the past when I trained for the triathlon. However the limit I can go is hard to find. I don't know how hard I can push.

So in conclusion, like before, I am going to fight this myself without the help of prescriptions that make me loopy drowsy or "Dori" like.

I wish I could just have them cut me open and fix it. However I am finding I am going to have to work hard on my body myself to get it to where I want it to be so that I won't get weaker or more fasculations and become one of the rare.

Thanks again for listening....or reading.

Our Fourth of July Weekend