WW~ And We're Off....C Ya!

True Story Tuesday~ Colin's Surgery

Well Thursday was the day. Surgery day for Sweet Colin Boy. This kid is a trooper...if you missed that post you can read it here. He went under the knife for a right undescended testicle. Which is the SAME surgery he had 4 years ago on his left side. One would have thought they might have found it then...right? NOPE! So under the knife he went...AGAIN.

We headed downtown to Phoenix Children's Hospital for his 6:30 AM check in. Now mind you this child has not had anything to eat since 6:30 PM the night BEFORE and the only liquid he could have was a tiny sip of water to take his meds with. To say that he was hungry & thirsty was an understatement.

Surgery was scheduled for 7:30 am.

We get there...

...and Colin gets into his very stylish hospital gown...

...and his sassy accessories {Ryan & I actually got to sport one of these bad boys ourselves!}
...and these fun loving socks...which he got to take home!And then...

...we waited...

...and we waited...

...and WE waited...

IF you remember THIS post...then you know that Dr. D is not known for promptness.

An HOUR later he shows up. No we didn't mind the wait one little bit.

So anyways...Colin gets taken away {but only after I have prayed over all of the docs & nurses hands} and I head back to the waiting room...well to wait some more.

About an hour or so later Ryan & I get called back to the recovery room where we find a very sleepy Colin Boy.

Thankfully they put the IV in AFTER he was sedated. I think that was very nice of them...don't you?!

Look at that pouty lip...such a sad face. And he wasn't even awake.

Twenty minutes later he was {almost} awake & {semi} dressed and ready to head home.
See the braclets on his right arm? Well before we went into pre-op he got the white {regulation hospital band} one and the orange {alleregy alert} one. Well RIGHT before he headed back to the OR his doc put the blue one on. I asked him what that was for. Well it has what operation will be preformed & the doc's name. Well now I am thinking...what...are you going let him get lost back there?! And that it needed to be put on the right arm [cuz you see I put his left arm up thinking that since there were already 2 on his right arm, it would be more comfy]. The reason being that it needed to be on his right arm...SO THEY KNEW WHICH SIDE TO OPERATE ON. WHAT???! Shouldn't you ALREADY kinda know what kind of operation and the side you are doing it on BEFORE he gets taken back? just sayin'

But nonetheless the surgery was a success and now he is a 2 balled boy!!

We came home and he has been calling the couch his bed since then. Gotta True Story? Head over to Rachel's & link up

*sigh*

...my little boys...
...aren't so little anymore...

*sigh*

Project 365

A Picture a day for 365 days...a year's worth of fun!
I hope you have as much fun seeing a peek into my week as I am posting about it!

Sunday~149/365

Fathers Day 2010

Monday~150/365 Monday we spent the afternoon at another coach's house for fun & food!
Altogether there were 4 boys around the same age...they had a blast...what started out as a 3 hour play date turned into a 6 hour play date! The boys had a 'slam dunk' contest & these are 2 shots that I captured! Lots of fun! Thanks Joni & boys for a great afternoon! This was also the afternoon of my fun blog make over! Thanks Mimi for surprising me once again...I love it!

Tuesday~151/365 Tuesday my friend Stacey took me to In-N-Out Burger. I have lived in AZ for 6 years and have never been to one. It was SO yummy! They specialize in burgers, fries & shakes and that is about the only thing you can order. I was amazed at how busy it was. We were there at 1:30pm and had to wait for a table to open up (and it's not that small of a place!). When we were leaving there had to be at least 15 cars in the drive-thru lane! After lunch I took her to The Dollar Tree...a store she had never been to! What a fun afternoon with a great friend!

Wednesday~152/365 Last minute picture before bed!! That's what happens when you forget to take a picture but need one for Project 365!

Thursday~153/365

Thursday Colin had to have out patient surgery. It was a long painful day, but I will post more on that this week. He is such a trooper.

Friday~154/365

Colin sacked out on the couch the day after his surgery. He spent most of the weekend here as it was painful to walk around. He is enjoying a yummy breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs, toast & strawberries.

Saturday~155/365 Saturday Ryan had their last passing tournament of the summer. We were going to go and watch some of it, but with the heat and Colin still in lots of pain we opted to stay at home and chill out. We were able to babysit this cutie, Tori, while her dad was at the passing tourney. I got my baby love on! And so did Brendan & Colin!

This is what Sara says on her blog about Project 365...
"I am attempting to take one photograph each day of this next year. My hope is to be able to slow down and see the small things, become a better photographer and to be reminded of the many blessings God sends my way! "

Well said Sara...thanks for letting me tag along!
Join in with Sara...It's not to late to join the fun!

Long Time Coming...

...I have been without my laptop for about a month {gasp...I know!} and finally got it back at the beginning of the week. Downloading pictures to my desktop is a BIG pain in my butt so my posts have been lagging...and for that I am sorry!

My family, along with some family friends, headed to the Avi Resort & Casino in Laughlin Nevada at the beginning of June. We weren't gone long, but we did have lots of fun! We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and no sooner drop our bags in our room and then run for the beach! (well the moms & kids anyway!) The Avi is located right on the Colorado River so they have a man made beach for playing and swimming.

DAY 1

The kids had a blast running and splashing through the water and playing in the sand.

Colin getting dumped on by his older brother.

This is about as close to a picture of me on the beach in a bathing suit that you are gonna get!

After playing at the beach for awhile we headed to the pool. although the kids would have rather spent the entire time at the beach. The pool was very nice, but very shallow which is the reason the kids liked the beach better.

At each end of the pool were beautiful rocks and a cascading waterfall.

After swimming and playing we headed in for dinner. The kids played at Kids Quest after dinner while the boys played in the casino and Maren & I were able to sit and talk...childless!


DAY 2

After a super cheap and yummy breakfast we headed back to the pool for a dip! We then headed to the movies, which was located at the resort, to see Marmaduke!

Brendan was very excited...it was called Brenden Theatres!

After the movies was lunch and then back to the beach.
In between swimming I was able to talk the boys into a few photos!

After fun in the sun we headed back inside to clean up and head to the buffet for dinner. After dinner the kids wanted to go back to Kids Quest (very fun supervised kids play area) so the boys went back to play in the casino and us girls headed for the hot tub!

DAY 3

We finally talked Ryan into coming out and playing at the beach with us after breakfast! He had fun with the boys wading through the water and skipping rocks.

They also found what looked like to be a mini-lobster. Which I am sure was not, but interesting none the less!

One of my favorite pictures of my boys walking along the beach.
The McCraken Family

After playing for awhile it was time to head back to the room and check out, but not before a picture of our piggies in the sand!
Our mini vacation was lots of fun! We are hoping to make it an annual summer get away with our friends!

Camp Candlelight

Last week Colin attended Camp Candlelight. This is a week long camp for kids with Epilepsy. Colin was diagnosed with Childhood Absence Epilepsy in January so he was eligible to attend. There were 38 campers and almost as many counselors, staff members, nurses and doctors. I felt very safe sending Colin to Camp Candlelight since I knew he was going to be around people who were specialized in taking care of him! And he was so excited to be going AWAY to summer camp!

So on Sunday June 13, 2010 we packed up Colin and headed 3 hours north to Camp Candlelight. The farther north we headed the cooler the temperatures were...so nice!
Colin was in a room with 8 other campers and 3 counselors. Altogether there were 19 boys and 19 girls. He was able to grab the top bunk and became fast friends with other campers in his room!

Once we got Colin all settled in we still had some time before the parent meeting so we explored the camp. There was a lot of things to see...a fire pit...
...a big white cross...
(I later found out that this camp hosts lots of Christian summer camps as well and I thought that was so cool!) There was even a chapel on site.
There was a gym and a huge field with a ball diamond and goal posts as well as a picnic area and basketball court. They had a beach volleyball court and tether ball too!
And it was all so GREEN! Here in the desert we don't see much of that!

So a week goes by and we head back up to hear all about his fun filled week!

Here is Colin with his counselors and some of his roommates.
He had a BLAST!
Couldn't stop talking about it...
...HORSEBACK RIDING...
...FUN IN THE SUN DAY...
...CARNIVAL...
...BONFIRES WITH S'MORES...
...OUTSIDE CAMP OUT WITH COOKOUT...
...ARCHERY...
...ROCK CLIMBING WALL...
...ARTS & CRAFTS...
...DANCES...
...SPORTS JERSEY NIGHT...
...GOOFY HAT DAY...
...FRIENDS...
...FRIENDS...
&
...MORE FRIENDS...


Colin & Rachel
Apparently he told Rachel that she was "an angel sent from above".
REALLY??? You are 9!!
The last day of camp they had a ceremony and each camper received an 'award'...Colin was awarded the 'SMOOTH OPERATOR' award.

Colin with bunk mates Simon & Robert

Colin had so much fun. We weren't even out of the camp parking lot yet when he was talking about next summer!!