Garden Update

Here are a few pictures of our growing garden. The corn has definitely taken a beating this spring. We had a huge rain storm last night and the last 3 rows of corn are laying flat on the ground, hopefully they will bounce back. Sadly the peas didn't produce, fresh peas are the only way I 'do' peas, so we'll definitely try them again next year. The pumpkin plant has taken over the garden, and has tried to spread out over the garden wall. We have to keep reminding it of it's place. The carrots are coming along, and the lettuce has been fun to watch, it is just beginning to curl down into what I would expect to become the head. We have lots and lots of green tomatoes. I was hoping I would be able to enjoy one freshly picked tomato before we left for Utah, but I don't think it is going to happen. Darn. We are having so much fun with our little garden and can't wait for the corn! I can almost taste the corn smothered in melted butter and salt and pepper. Yummy!

(Garden. My marigolds are going crazy this year. I've never had them grow into such huge clumps! )

(Pumpkin, chives, carrots, lettuce and green onions)

corn, corn, corn and more corn!

Okie Dokie

I realized today that I sounded a bit bummed on my last post. I admit, it probably wasn't the best time for me to be telling you all about it, the 'mommy guilt' was still hanging pretty heavy. So, here is an update on my Bryn.

Things went pretty well with the extraction. The biggest complaint Bryn had was that she couldn't eat before we went in to have it done.

Once we arrived at the Surgical Center she wanted Greg to take her back into the room where he was able to hold her while she breathed in the gas. Once she was asleep he came back to the waiting room and it was probably only 30 minutes or so before she was waking up and we were able to go back with her. The Doctor said that everything went just as expected. The tooth was broken in 3 other spots, so it was more of just taking the puzzle apart and then convincing the root to come too. The only hiccup was that they decided they wanted to put an IV in her, but after sticking her 4 times and being unable to find a vein they decided not to. Her poor little arm has quite a few bruises. She woke up pretty easily, and wanted to go home right away. On our way out the nurse stopped us in the lobby just in time for Bryn to get sick. Thank goodness for tile floors!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We just tried to catch up and make sure she was happy. I am glad kids bounce back quickly, but I think a bit of Bryn's sweetness was knocked out with her tooth! :) Now we just wait for 3 or 4 years for the next tooth to fill the space!

Message from Bryn

Translation:

Hi Friends. I lost my tooth today. Cheese.

We were just leaving the swimming pool this afternoon. Bryn had her towel wrapped around her and was running to catch up with the other kids when she tripped over her towel and landed face first into the sidewalk. I didn't see everything happen, but I remember the sound, and I knew then that something had happened to a tooth. She stood up with a fat lip and scrapes on her nose and cheek. Her tooth was still in place but as I looked closer I knew it wasn't going to stay that way. On the way home she would say "I got it out, here mom" and I would put my hand back and she would place another piece of her tooth in my hand. Not a fun feeling. Luckily we were able to get her into a Pediatric Dentist within the hour and he pretty much told us, as nicely as he could, that there really wasn't anything that we could do. It looked like the tooth had not only broke off almost flush with the gum line, but it was pushed back up into the gum as well and with that combination there just wasn't enough of a chance for the (remaining) tooth to survive any sort of crown. He referred us to a Oral and Facial surgeon to have the remainder of the tooth extracted and we went straight there. On the ride down the guilt really set in...my beautiful little girl. I know there wasn't much I could have done to prevent this from happening, but isn't it my job as her mom to make sure it doesn't happen? Anyway, we arrived at the surgeon's office and spoke with them for 5 mins then they sent us home because they couldn't use the anesthesia if she had eaten with in the last 6 hours. So, tomorrow morning at 8:30 we take our little girl to have the rest of her front tooth taken out.

I know I am going to hear a lot about her finally fitting in with the locals here in Arkansas, so I'll get that joke out of the way before anyone else tries it. (Truth is that I am a bit sensitive about this topic right now and I don't think I could really handle hearing this joke right now anyway.)

Tonight as I was tucking her in bed I she said she wanted her tooth back to be a tooth. Poor girl. I hope things go well tomorrow. Just makes me a little nervous.

But then again, I was just reading on my cousin's blog about their friend who just lost their 1 year old little boy this week... kinda puts things in perspective... after all, it is just a tooth.

Kindergarten Celebration

Tanner has officially graduated from Kindergarten! Ok, so it really happened a week ago, but I am a bit slow. Tanner's class and 2 other kindergarten classes teamed up for a play presentation of "Bugs." It was quite cute and all the kids had their own speaking parts.

Tanner's lines were:
All this talk of food is great.
I can't wait to get started.

He performed them like a pro! I was so proud. He must be related to someone who is well schooled in the art of dramatics. (Wonder who that could be....can you think of anyone Dad?)

They also performed a few really cute songs. Tan is the second from the top on the left hand side. We weren't sitting in the perfect spot to get a great picture of him, but I swear you can hear his voice on the yelling parts.

After the program we went back to Tan's classroom for awards and a yummy picnic. There's nothing quite like hot dogs at 10:00 in the morning. :) Tan was one of 6 kids in his class that passed off all 300 sight words. We are so proud of him and can't believe what an awesome kid he is.

The last day of school was on the 2nd and I was really concerned about keeping Tanner entertained this entire summer, but I have to tell you, this past week has been so incredibly fun! I love having my 'little boy' around. He is such a great help, (so far) he is so willing to help out, and Kade absolutely loves him so it gives me more time to get to other things. Now I am not quite sure what I am going to do when I have to send him back to school at the end of the summer, but we just won't think about that right now. We'll just look forward to a fun filled summer of sun (if it ever stops raining) friends, swimming, visits to the library and splash park and visiting family and friends in Utah. We can't wait to see everyone!