He Did It!

Reed was so frustrated when he broke his second knee last December.  He knew right then that his life and sports were forever changed.  No more sports with twisting and impact- just too much risk of further dislocations.

Luckily, last summer he started getting really serious about golf.  He had a few lessons and spent a fair amount of time at the driving range and chipping in the field.  He was even supposed to go on a golf trip with Stan Lockhart for his birthday, but that was the week that he broke the second knee and that Becky got really sick.  That trip was not meant to be.

As soon as the weather started to warm up this spring, Reed was back outside, chipping away.  He would putt on the carpet in the house and had to deal with Ellie stealing the golf balls!  He managed to get in one last round with his golfing buddy, Bennett Anderson, before he moved to Austin, TX.  Then he moved down to the cabin to work as a lifeguard for the summer.  One perk of working at SMR is that he got to play golf for free!  Some days he would play 9 and others he would play 27!

All the hard work paid off.  Last week they were supposed to have golf team try outs on Monday and Tuesday.  Monday was so incredibly windy that they cancelled the try out.  In fact, when Reed got out of his car at the course, he heard a crack and watched a tree go down.  On Tuesday they played 9 holes and he had the second lowest score.

Yesterday they had the second round of try outs.  They started at noon and at about 12:30 I got a call that he had forgotten his putter and he wanted me to bring it out to The Ranches.  Let's just say it is not just a hop and skip away.  The Challenger and I managed to hit every single green light between here and there.  Crazy.  Then, stupid SIRI got me lost in Eagle Mountain.  As I was going into the Clubhouse a dog scared the crap out of me and I scared another man walking!  As it turned out, he volunteered to drive the club down to the 5th hole where Reed was by that time.  The coach watched him play 8 and 9 and he got par on both of those holes- after he had gotten settled in.

As he was leaving yesterday, the coach told him that he had made it, but he would send him a text.  The text didn't come until late this afternoon. . . and now he has a tournament tomorrow down at East Bay.  He is pretty excited.  We were talking tonight and he said that he might never even be in contention, but that he was just happy that he was getting to play.  What a great attitude.

I am pretty proud of him.  Way to overcome, dude!

"It's His Dream, Not Mine"

The Red Sox have had a pretty great season.  The "winning-est" team in baseball.  We had such a great time watching them play against the Yankees in July at Fenway Park.  It didn't hurt that they won.  Reed has apps for MLB on his phone and on his iPad so that he can always be checking scores.  Although he loves everything about baseball, the stats seem to pull him in the most.  I think he's watched Moneyball about 100 times.  As in. . . he watches it EVERY night as he is drifting off to sleep.  So he's probably seen the beginning about 400 times since it was released on January 10, 2012.  Yeah.  He's a nut.

We were psyched that the Red Sox won the ALCS last week.  We watched all the games and yelled at the TV, thinking that would help their performance.  So glad they won.  We already knew that the Cardinals were in the World Series and Ed mentioned that he would love to take Reed to a game.  He started looking at tickets and to get to Fenway for Games 1 and 2 would have required a home equity loan.  Holy smoke.  $1700 for a standing-room-only ticket?  No way!  We aren't THAT crazy.  Then he got thinking about going to St. Louis.  He and his business partner, Kyle, kept teasing each other about going to the game.

I realized that things were getting more serious, so I had a talk with Parker about the game.  We have gone to a lot of different ball parks and watched a lot of great baseball as a family.  I told him that Dad was thinking about surprising Reed by taking him to a World Series game.  I asked him if he wanted to go or how he would feel if just Dad and Reed went.  Parker didn't miss a beat.  He answered, "He should just take Reed.  It's his dream to see the Red Sox play in the World Series, not mine.  I'll stay home and get ready for my hunting trip next week."  I reported the conversation to Ed.  That was about 4:00.  Things escalated when Kyle called Ed at about 9:30 to ask if he had bought tickets yet.  Ed realized that Kyle really wanted to go and the gig was up.  DiAnna (who just happens to be Civil Science's resident travel agent) was called and set loose on getting plane tickets for four to St. Louis.  Ed started researching and buying the game tickets and I. . . I fell asleep.

When I woke up at 11:30pm the plane tickets and game tickets were bought and Ed was hunting for hotels with no luck.  Everything within 50 miles of St. Louis was booked. . . until we got smart and started looking for Saturday night AND  Sunday night.  Then we found a few openings.  Ed was actually on the phone booking a room when it disappeared but at the same time I was able to score two rooms at a Red Roof Inn.  That was at about 1:15am.  Then we started looking for rental cars and thanks to our Costco membership we got a pretty good deal.  Finally at 1:45am we slept.

Reed had the math test from hell on Friday for third period, so we didn't dare tell him about the trip because we were afraid he would lose focus.  At 11:45 I went to the school to pick him up.  He didn't want to leave and miss his Wrestling Conditioning class but I told him that Dad had asked me to check him out.  I kept the topic on other things on the ride home so that he wouldn't ask anymore questions.

When we arrived at home, Ed was waiting for us and he handed Reed an envelope.  Reed opened it and stared at the first page.  Then he stared at the second page.  They were both boarding passes- one to Minneapolis and then one to Chicago.  Then he turned to the third page and his mouth dropped open.  After about 10 seconds he said, "What game is this for?"
Ed replied, "Game 3."
"That's tomorrow." Reed responded with a questioning voice.
"You are leaving in about two hours.  You are packed but you need to take a shower!"  I said.

At that, Reed danced through the house.  As soon as he got to his room we could hear him yelling, "I'm going to the World Series!!!!!!!"  He was ready to go in about 10 minutes which is when he looked at me and asked where Parker was.  I told him that Parker wasn't going.  He had decided that it was more important for Reed to go.  Reed was a little upset about that, but the excitement soon won out. Just a couple of minutes later they were off on the big adventure!

Batter Up!

This was written by my awesome husband.  I posted my feelings last night and I want to have his here as well, so that when we print this blog the stories are saved.

October 10, 2013 at 9:49pm

Some things I want to remember about yesterday's trauma.

- Medical professionals have training but that doesn't make them smart.  In an office setting, the Dr. may be calling the shots from a distance, sort of like a football coach.  He stands off to the side calling the plays to his assistants. Even the assistants have assistants and as you get farther away from the Dr., the skill level and competency of the employees is viewed as less critical and thus the stage is set for crisis.  The young man who brought Reed to us in the recovery room was not competent.  I suspect he knows less about medicine than I do.  He certainly wasn't aware of or following any kind of reasonable protocol for the discharge of patients following surgery.  Reed would still have crashed, geography wouldn't have changed that, but the crash would have taken place in the Dr.'s office where at least oxygen could have been provided to improve his oxygen situation.

- We need to resist the urge to follow the direction, spoken or implied, offered by those in the right outfits just because of their position.  This presumption of expertise by role is what allowed Reed to be basically lifted out of the wheel chair and placed into Kaye's car.  He wasn't able to stand and didn't help with the relocation from the wheelchair to the front seat.  We even talked about how we would deal with him once we got him home.  While we had the expert in the right outfit to help us at the Dr's office we wouldn't have that help at home.  He suggested we hold him up, one on each side.  For some reason that made sense at the time.  How stupid I feel now about taking that direction from a runny nosed kid.  Those of you who know me well will recognize this as a rare lapse of guard.  Always, always, always question authority.

-To understand the intellectual capacity of the average person, call 911 to report an emergency.  The assumption of the 911 dispatcher is that the caller is dumber than a box of rocks.  They don't act that way for no reason folks.  Think it over and be scared for our country like I am.

- Sometimes the most important person in an organization is the person answering the phone.  I already knew this but it was certainly reinforced yesterday.  If you want to appear inept, make the right choice for your phone attendant and you will accomplish the goal.  If I could point to the moment where my fire was lit to make this Dentist learn from the mistakes of his office, it was the phone call foul up.  It took longer for the Dr.'s desk staff to get the answers to the simple question, "What did you give him?" than it took for the ambulance to arrive in my driveway.  Really.  I have the timeline of events logged by the calls I made from my cell phone.  I was on the phone with the dispatcher for 6 minutes, until the EMT's arrived. It took 8 minutes to get the Dr.'s staff to answer the question.  Eight.  The Dr. was 10 steps away from the counter where the call was taken.

- The soft reply turneth away wrath.  The Dr. called tonight.  He won't forget the conversation for a long, long time.  I pulled out all the stops to push the man into a corner.  He willingly went.  I was almost disappointed that he didn't offer resistance.  After a rough start he changed the direction of the conversation by acknowledging his role in what occurred and stating that he felt responsible for what happened without qualification.  Now, time will tell if that is just a line of bull stuff, but he said it.  What was I to do?  I punished him for 10 minutes about the failure of his office staff to follow any kind of reasonable procedures.  He instantly agreed that things hadn't gone according to the protocol of the office.  I don't doubt that tomorrow morning when that office opens, the first item of business will be some staff training conducted by the Dr.  So, I'm still pretty angry and plan to make the Dr. learn a lesson that he won't forget, but I've got a little bit less steam up than I did yesterday.  If you're curious, I don't think this is worth a pile of cash and that isn't the point.  The people who do this work are licensed and required to operate within the parameters of those licenses.  Just like the Engineer's that work for me are responsible for the work they put their stamp on, whether they actually did it or not, the Dr. is responsible for the conduct of the people in his responsible charge.  A third party review will not be easy on him under the circumstances but based on his conduct on the phone, he will take the advice and improve his practice.   I know, right?

- Some of you probably think you have the best neighbors but you're wrong.  I have the best neighbors.  My phone went dead trying to respond to the concerns and petitions to help.  When I looked up and saw Ro Minervini watching from across the street, I knew that prayers were already on their way.  As more joined Ro I knew the conversation was about my son, about his condition, and I know that urgent and heartfelt petitions for his safety were spoken and unspoken to each other and to the Almighty.  Sometimes I feel guilty for enjoying our little cloistered corner of the world so much.  Yesterday I was profoundly grateful for my neighbors and friends in Carlson Heights.  You are our family and we love you back.

- My wife is an elect woman.  No panicking weakling here, just the tough and tender mother of three boys, turned awesome young men.  Kaye has her moments where people get her down, usually the mean and stupid variety that seem to be sprinkled liberally through public education, but she is rock solid in a crisis.  A little shakey after, but never during.  I think Colby figured out that the frilly dainty girls aren't the kind you marry by watching his Mom.  No, the kind you marry cut the heads off snakes and carry laser sight handguns in their Coach purse.  And they direct Church Choirs.  And they constantly learn and do new things.  And they have and show unshakeable faith in things that are yet unseen, but true and testify of it.  And so it is with Kaye.  I love you just as you are.  

- Our Rice family connection is tight.  Who get's the call in a crisis?  Dan and DiAnna.  The Psalmist wrote that a friend that is near is better than a brother that is afar off.  We love our near and far brothers and sisters and family, but this bond of friendship and family tie we have forged with the Rice's is what the Psalmist was talking about.  In the day of calamity, a friend that is near IS better than a brother afar off.  There are no words more.

- Reed is strong.  He is for sure in pain today, but he is not taking more than Advil and Tylenol.  Like his brothers, he is a tough kid and knows that while into every life a little rain must fall, it won't rain always.  In a Family Home Evening a couple weeks ago we talked about a favorite scripture of mine in Hosea.  Chapter 6 Verse 1 if you're interested.  The scripture presents the simple idea that sometimes, for things to be fixed, they have to be broken.  We were talking that over in the context of Parker's tibia which was split like a log, on purpose.  The Dr. had to break it in order to bind it up.  Some blessings are as sunshine and and some as rain.  Reed isn't happy about what happened, but he won't be dwelling on it either.   Reed's life is a perennial baseball game.  No crying.  Batter up.  On the way out of the hospital last night he spotted a guy in a Yankee's polo.  He stopped and picked a fight with the guy about the Red Sox v. the Yankees.  He is doing just fine.  

Respiratory Arrest

This morning Reed had an appointment to have his wisdom teeth out at 11:20 at a dental office down the street.  Our regular dentist does not do wisdom teeth and he recommended an oral surgeon, but there was a longer wait, so I went with this place.  He was a bit nervous, but nothing unusual under the circumstances.  I was not worried because Parker had his wisdom teeth out at the same place two months ago and because Reed has been under general anesthesia before with no issues.

It seemed to me that the procedure was taking a long time, but not so out of the ordinary that it raised a red flag.  When I saw the hygienist, who told me that she would be watching his vitals, come out to get another patient, I figured he was done and sure enough it was about 5-10 minutes later that they asked me to move my car around to the back to pick him up.  Ed had left for a few minutes, but arrived back just as I was in the recovery room.  As soon as they rolled him in we both gasped.  He looked terrible and his face was already swollen.  He could not hold his own head up and after watching the assistant be somewhat awkward about it, I stood and had his head resting against me. The assistant told us that he had been a fighter and that they had to use some extra medication to calm him down.

The doctor came in and told us that things had gone well.  All the normal stuff.  The teeth were deep still so they had to work harder and he would probably be sore for a few days. Blah, blah, blah.

It seemed that the assistant was anxious to get Reed on his way even though we expressed concern that he didn't seem ready.  We were given a bag of "stuff" and the assistant wheeled him out to my car.  Reed could not stand or move on his own, so the assistant muscled him into the car.  Ed left just before me to drop off the prescription at Walgreen's and I headed for home.  I was trying to get him to talk to me but about halfway home he fell asleep.  I turned the corner into my neighborhood and soon saw my neighbor out for a walk with her kids.  I waved and then I looked over to Reed.  That is when I noticed he was very gray and his lips were blue.  I sped into our driveway, slammed the car into park, and ran around to the other side of the car.

I immediately felt for a heart beat and his pulse was strong.  I could not wake him up.  He was totally non-responsive and he wasn't breathing.  I moved his head around to try to open his airway and he gasped a bit but there was so much crap in his mouth that it sounded awful.  At about that time Ed drove in and immediately realized what was going on and called 911.  Just then the UPS man arrived to deliver some boxes.  Dispatch wanted us to get him out of the car and on the ground.  The UPS man and Ed got him out and I slightly rolled him to his side so that he wouldn't choke on the blood in his mouth.  My neighbor who I had waved to offered to call 911 when her son told her that Reed was on the ground, but Ed was already talking to them.

Just then the first two police officers arrived.  The first officer thought he might be chocking on the gauze so we were trying to get it out when the ambulance arrived within 30-45 seconds.  EMT Paxman took control of the scene.   Ed called the dentist office to see what meds they had given Reed.  He was put on hold and then told that the doctor was unavailable.  There was some strong language when he had to call back, but finally the EMTs got the information that they needed.  They administered NarCan and were expecting him to wake up rather violently and had warned us to not be alarmed.  That did not happen.  We were loaded into the ambulance and headed to American Fork Hospital.  That is when I realized how many emergency personnel and neighbors had gathered.  I was pretty shaky by then.   Before we got to the hospital he had 2 nasal doses and 4 shots of NarCan and he was finally coming to.  I have never been so happy to hear him cough just as we got to the hospital!

In our time at the hospital he went through several "phases" but continued to improve- except for his breathing.  We had to keep reminding him to breathe.  He was hooked up to monitors and when they started going off they would scare him awake and he would breathe.  Around 4:30 they decided to release him, but then he had several breathing episodes in a row, so we stayed.  The monitor continued to go off- but mostly when he was asleep.  Around 6:30 the doctor decided that he thought Reed might have some sleep apnea that was being worsened by the swelling but that he thought he would be fine.  He was released around 6:45.

And now he sleeps.  And I do not.  I'm sitting right next to him so that I can hear him breathe.

I am so grateful for the people in our life.  DiAnna Rice was at the hospital almost immediately.  Our Bishop came and helped Ed give Reed a blessing.  A Lehi PD detective who has been a long-time friend came to make sure that everything was OK,  And the very first officer who arrived on scene went to the dentist office, got the list of meds, and brought two copies to the hospital.  Another police officer called Ed this evening to check on Reed and to make sure that we knew that calling 911 was the right thing to do.  His oxygen levels were below 50% when they arrived and he would not have woken up on his own.  How scary is that?

I know that Ed is really angry with the dentist's office.  I didn't deal with them, so I'm not. . .yet.  He felt like time was crawling when he was on the phone with dispatch and I felt like it was flying by because I was totally focused on making Reed breathe.  I think we were both pretty calm in the face of an emergency.  I did not get shaken until the EMTs started working on him.  Ed was a rock, like usual.

You always hear that you shouldn't take anything for granted.  I try really hard to live by that advice.  It will be a little easier tomorrow with today's reminder of just how fragile life is.  How very glad I am that we are sealed as a family for eternity!

Reed just wanted to get home and snuggle with Clark.  And Clark was happy to oblige.

Recap of 2012

I can hardly believe that it is already 2013!  There were certainly times when 2012 seemed to drag, but taken as a whole, it zoomed by.  So much happened- here is a quick run down:

Ed:

• Lost 100 pounds.
• Opened an office in North Dakota in April.  And just finished their second office a few weeks ago. 
• Wired up the cabin so that we can see what is happening down there.

Kaye:

• Got recertified to teach for another 5 years but discovered she is no longer marketable.
• Bought a serger and spent many happy hours sewing- especially for Baby Gracie.
• Still serves on the City Council.

Colby

• Spent the summer working in North Dakota.  He made a pile of money.
• Got engaged to Danaca Moore on Halloween. 
• Worked at WalMart this fall, but got laid off last week, so he's looking for a job.

Parker:

• Healed his separated shoulder but then had surgery in November to remove an osteochondroma on his knee.  Soon he might get to wrestle again.
• Got his driver's license. . . and wrecked his truck.
• Hit six feet tall and size 14 feet.

Reed:

• Played baritone in the Lehi High School Marching Band and went to Washington, DC to march in the 2012 National Independence Day Parade.
• Is on the Lehi High School wrestling team and has a JV spot at 113 pounds.
• Has six happy chickens and sells eggs to the neighborhood.  We also eat lots of omelets.

Lewis and Clark:

• Big Lew got hurt fetching the tennis ball at Thanksgiving with Madison.  He couldn't even get on the bed, but now has his hops back.
• Clark sliced his tail open in January which resulted in a partial amputation of his tail.  This fall we have no idea what he did, but we came home one day to find a big chunk out of the end of his tongue.  
• They are the funniest, best dogs around.  Except when they are being sneaky and stealing food off the counters! 

Chicks Gone Wild!

Kathie Lee, Tiara, and Oprah

 

In March we went to CAL Ranch.  Probably to buy some work gloves.  While we were there we were beguiled by the tiny chicks peeping and running around their enclosures.  Reed asked if we could get some and I hemmed and hawed about how it didn't go so well the last time we had chickens.  (We were poor. . .  didn't get a coop in time. . . eggs all over the yard. . . chickens eaten by the Bichon Frise. . .)  He looked at me with a blank face.  "When was that?"  I began to laugh because he had been so little that he didn't even remember the chickens.  He was probably only two at the time!

Kathie Lee

 

 Big Red would not come out of the nesting box.

 

This is Izzy.  She is our meanest chicken- and the smallest, too!

 

Since he had never had the experience, how could I say no?  To be totally honest I wanted to bring them home as much or worse than he did- I just needed him to be the excuse when Ed looked at me in wonderment.  We decided we should look around first.  We drove to IFA and left with 6 chicks.  Three Americaunas and three Rhode Island Reds. 

Oprah

 

Gladys

 

We rigged up a brooding box in the laundry room and had a blast watching our chicks.  Sadly, a couple of days later the smallest, weakest chick died.  Reed wanted a replacement chick, so while he was at school I went to get another.  The lovely gentleman at the store would not sell one alone, so I had to get two.  I got a white leghorn and a Plymouth Rock hen.  Reed was thrilled.  Everyday we held each chick and started naming them.  Everyday a couple of chicks participated in dog training so that Lewis and Clark would learn that they could not touch or hurt the chicks.  I didn't think it would work, but it was worth a try.  As it happens, it DID work.  My two bird dogs bark at every sparrow and robin, but they wander among the chickens with no issues and are quite protective of them.

 Lewis watching the free-rangers

 

Now it is August.  The ladies outgrew the brooding box and moved into their first coop the first week of May.  After a couple of weeks in the garage, they moved outside into a dogrun- coop and all.  Last week they moved into new luxury coop that is on the outside of the run, but they have full access.  We are getting 4-6 eggs a day.

The new coop.  Colby helped me paint and shingle it.

 

The coop and run.  Our mini farm.  Reed's domain!

 

What?  You're leaving?

Reed's Commercial

Link to the video of Reed's commercial for Rocky Mountain Power:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLYRxrA-OsQ


One thing that happened this summer that was really fun for our family was Reed being chosen to "star" in a commercial.  We got a random call from one of our friends asking if Reed played the tuba.  I replied that he really played the baritone, but that he could play a little on the tuba. . . and that we just happened to own one.  She told me that she had already shown his photo to the director (thanks to Facebook) and that they wanted to audition him. 

The following day we packed the tuba into the Prius and headed up to the audition site.  They were waiting for us and we passed by all sorts of kids with 8 x 10 glossy headshots.  The actual audition was about a minute and a half long.  Then we were on the road back home.  We just laughed about the audition and thought we would never hear anything. 

The following Monday I got a phone call saying that they wanted him . . . and me!  He was picked to be "Tuba Boy" and they wanted me as an extra.  When they called Reed was on TREK with our ward, so I was imagining him coming home with a horrible sunburn and a zillion bug bites.  Luckily he actually wore sunscreen and there weren't many bugs, so he looked great when he got home Wednesday afternoon.

On Friday morning we headed to Salt Lake to find the house where we were filming.  As soon as we got there they did his make up and chose an outfit from all the items we had brought.  The clothing was a little tricky becuase they didn't want any logo wear. . . and that's about all Reed wears!  We had a little shopping trip to Kohl's.

The filming took about six and a half hours.  Reed did exciting things like turn off a lamp 25 times and flipping a light switch 30 times!  The longest shot was of a fan.  Yup.  A ceiling fan.  They shot it from two different angles and that took about 2 hours.  That included cleaning the fan and after the shot was done, some panic while all the company people feverishly tried to determine if the fan that they had just spent two hours filming was Energy Star approved. I laughed.  Out loud.

 

One funny moment was when they were filming Reed unplugging an iPod.  It was staged in the boy's room.  His name was Nate and on his bulletin board there was a poster that some girl had made for him of doodles of his name.  I was watching the monitor in another room and I said, "Isn't the boy's name Steve in the commercial?"  I got told that it was.  I innocently said, "Wouldn't it be a little creepy for Steve to have a Nate poster on his bulletin board?"  All of a sudden a hand came into the shot and took the Nate Doodles off the buletin board.  Too funny.

Reed's favorite part of the day was the catering table.  There were lots of treats and cookies and drinks.  I think he cleaned out the gummy bear container.

So, now Reed is semi-famous.  At first he was VERY embarrassed when anyone brought it up, but now he loves it.  Especially when the junior high age girls recognize him and squeal.  It has been a fun experience.

In Threes

Well, it took a while, but Parker's shoulder finally got healed up enough to go back to wrestling in practice. Then, on the 16th he came home from practice saying that he thought his finger was broken.  I figured it was a new excuse to get him out of the next Dual, so I wasn't too concerned.  Until the next morning when his joints were black and swollen.

Bad mom.

An x ray confirmed a fracture and he go put into a hard splint.

Fast forward one week.  It was an early out day, so I took Reed to the Legacy Center to play basketball.  Soon I received a text that her had hurt his finger.  Yeah.  The same finger- left pinky.  He already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the next day to deal with his allergies/asthma, so he had an x-ray.  No break, but torn ligaments. 

At that point I was ready to come home and break Colby's pinky to get it over with since I am kinda superstitious about how things come in threes.  Colby is glad I restrained myself.

Fast forward three days.  I was cleaning the bathrooms and needed some cleaner from the linen closet.  I grabbed it and headed back to the bathroom with both dogs following me.  Clark yelped and I didn't know why.  I put down the cleaner and glanced back into the hall where I saw a lot of blood on the floor.  This whole event took about 5 seconds.  In an instant I knew what had happened- Clark's tail had been cut in the grate of the hallway nightlight.  I followed the trail of blood and trapped him under my desk.  Since I could see the bone of his tail, I knew it was bad.  I called Ed and the vet and tried to stop the bleeding.  Ed and I carted Clarkie to the vet where he got 6 stitches and a big tail bandage.  We are hoping that everything grows back together, because if it doesn't, they will have to cut off his tail above the injury.  That would make us all really sad because Lewis and Clark have awesome tails.

So, anyway.  That was number three.  Colby is safe. . . for now.  At least from me breaking his finger!

Four Outs???

I love baseball. 

Memories of my childhood include laying in my bed listening to the Red Sox play as I drifted of to sleep on warm summer nights.  My whole childhood and youth were filled with seasons of Red Sox games because my parents were fans.  Ok. . . my mom was more of a fanatic.  She was normally quite mild mannered, so hearing her call the pitcher a bum and ranting about the manager-du-jour was pretty amusing.  During those years I was a fair weather fan who mostly watched the games because they were on- not because I was interested.

Then there were the dark years. . . I never watched a game during college or in my early years of marriage.  Colby and Parker had no effect on my tv viewing habits, but then came Reed.  I swear the child was born with a baseball in his hand!  He would watch games when he was just a little guy, but the whole thing got out of hand when we moved my mom to Utah.  The Alzheimer's was getting bad and one of the only things that settled her down was watching a game.  We immediately signed up for DirecTV's Extra Innings so that we would have games.  we also started recording games as a hedge against winter.  Little did we know we were creating a monster.

So. . . Reed finally got to play on the Red Sox this year.  He loves putting on the uniform- I think he thinks that he is heading off to play with Papelbon and Big Papi.  I got to the game late tonight, but just in time to see Reed snag this grounder and throw the runner out at first.  The thing that made me laugh was the wad of bubble gum he had going.  That reminded me of my brother Bruce.  He ALWAYS chewed bubble gum.

Any way. . .

About the four outs.  Our pitching was in the toilet.  We had walked the first three batters up, so the bases were loaded.  At this point we were ahead 7-3, but the parents were thinking that we were in big trouble.  The batter hit an in-field pop fly which was caught (out 1) and the ball was thrown to home plate where the catcher tagged the incoming runner. (out 2)  Then  the ball was thrown to third where the incoming runner was tagged (out 3) but he had actually been on 1st base and had passed the kid on second, so they were out anyway (out 4?).  It was crazy, but the game was saved!  We went on to win after the next inning.

Little League baseball just about kills you to watch.  There is not enough time spent on the basic rules and since the rules "change" every two years as the kids progress to a new age group, there is always plenty to learn.  But, there is never any lack of excitement!

Capturing the Moment

We went to take Jim to the airport in Salt Lake this morning, so we decided to play around for a little while. I absolutely love to watch these fountains at the Gateway Plaza. We lucked out and were there for when they sync up with the music "Citius, Altius, Fortius" from the 2002 Olympics. Very cool, to say the least.

I bought myself a new book this week that was highly recommended at the Scrap Girls conference. It is called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. I use AUTO mode about 80% of the time on my fancy dancy Canon xTi, because I am terrified that I will miss the shot by being in manual mode. After reading only the first section of the book, I dared to give it a whirl today. I am pleased with the feathery water I got by using a slower shutter speed. I had no idea what I was getting until I uploaded them on the computer!
I love this shot of Reed running through the fountain. I panned with him which is how I got the feeling of movement. I feel like a little kid with a new toy! I have had this camera for two years- and I absolutely LOVE it- but I feel like I am just now figuring out how to use it! Luckily, I have Photoshop skills, too. The picture below would have been trash, with Reed terribly underexposed, but a few clicks and I can see my sweetie's face! BTW, I did not Photoshop the dark blue sky. . . that was a happy accident thanks to my polarized filter and the settings!

We also went to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" in 3-D. That was a cute movie, but most of the 3-D effects were lost on Ed and Reed, since they are both nearly blind in one eye!!!!

Finally a Diagnosis

Day 14 of Feeling Crappy.


Reed has been diagnosed with Pseudomembranous Colitis caused by Clostridium Difficile. He is taking Metronidazole. What a mouthful!

Basically, the good bacteria in the colon have been overthrown by the bad. Presumably with the help of the antibiotic that he was on for his Strep Throat. He has diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. He is exhausted and basically feels lousy. We have been pretty agressive in trying to find out what is wrong with him because he is SO sick! We just found all this out today. We still don't have the results of the ultrasound, but probably will in a couple of days. Hopefully he will be starting to feel better by then.

Happy Birthday, Reed!

I cannot believe that my baby is eleven years old! And here I am. . . only 29! We celebrated this morning with breakfast at McDonald's. It is also the last day of school before Christmas Break, so all the boys were happy to have a mini-celebration.

One of our weird traditions is that we don't really celebrate Reed's birthday. We will go out to dinner and have a cake tonight. . . he wants a cheesecake. . . and he will get one present (which hasn't arrived yet). Then, on June 19, when the days are hot and sunny, we will have a party with friends and he'll get a few more gifts from us. Since we have been doing the half-birthday "thing" for so long, it is no issue. In fact, last summer we had "Reedfest" when both Colby and Parker were gone for his half-birthday week!