Family is a great blessing & a little trip

Every time I come back from a trip to the doctor I am reminded of how blessed my life is. I am healthy, my husband is healthy and both of my kids are healthy and developing very well. The worst thing that has ever happened to Ari was kidney reflux, which she outgrew. For Hunter the worst thing that ever happened to him was developing a flat spot on his skull. Luckily we caught it in time, he had a helmet for a few months and his head is so much better now. Healthy eating, and living a healthy lifestyle has become so important to me because I want to stay healthy, and I want my husband and kids to stay healthy as well.

My silly kids. Love Hunter's face!

I had a really bad day a few days ago. I was really grumpy. I had to drive in rush hour traffic to not only drop Hunter off with my sister and brother-in-law, but to go pick him up as well. I was exhausted by the time I got home. I started to vent to Ryan. I even started to write a whole blog post venting about it, but then Ryan said something that surprised me and caught me a little off guard. He told me I am fortunate to even have a car, and that I am fortunate to have my sister and brother-in-law watch Hunter all day for free. At first it made me more mad since I was already in a bad mood, and I only wanted to vent. The more I thought about it, I realized that he was so right. My life is filled with so many blessings. My husband and kids are the biggest blessings. Family is the greatest blessing.

We need more family pictures

We are fortunate to live really close to both Ryan's side of the family and my side of the family. Last week we were able to do a little family reunion with my side of the family in Bend. Another reason why I am so blessed is because I live in the most beautiful state in my opinion. The drive up to the reunion was breathtakingly beautiful.

Source
Detroit Lake

We drove up along Detroit Lake (fun fact-that's not so fun...I got a third degree burn at Detroit Lake when I was about 5 or 6. It burned my hand and elsewhere. Luckily it didn't scar my hand at all, and only left a scar the size of a quarter elsewhere). Admiring the view made the 3 1/2 hour drive go by fast. Spending so much time with my family was a blast also. Ryan and I only get 1 day off a week together and it was so nice to be together for so long. We spent majority of the time in the pool, river and hanging around camp. The first day we got there we went set up quickly and went straight to the pool. The campground even had a shallow little kiddie pool that both kids loved. We were lucky on the second day my dads friends were staying in SunRiver and got a bunch of free passes for their water park. Ari loved it. Hunter had a  hard time the whole trip. Poor boy had diarrhea and I'm pretty sure he was homesick. If Ryan or I weren't holding him he'd cry. The third day we went to the river and floated the rapids. The water was freezing, but we had a lot of fun. I was sad to leave, but on the fourth day we woke up early and headed home. Unfortunately Ari drank bad milk and puked a little ways into our drive. Thankfully we had plenty of baby wipes and she felt much better once she was done. The rest of the drive was uneventful. Both kids woke up right as we were pulling into our apartment complex. Hunter ran straight to his room the second we walked in. It was a really good trip. I hope that we'll be able to do more family trips like that soon. And hopefully Hunter will enjoy it more. 

Camping Buddies

Boys in the dirt - typical

Spoons make great shovels

Daddy caught a cricket

 A bunch of randoms:

Beautiful girl

Hatching a Dino egg

Family time at the park

Shadow man

Handsome!

Silly girl.

We love slides

Worry

I tend to worry a lot. Especially when it comes to the kids. Ari has been getting over a cold and losing a lot of weight. I worry that she's getting too skinny, and she's not eating enough. Ari also has been having very peely fingers and toes. Yesterday I noticed huge lumps on Hunter's neck. Luckily Ari had an appointment today, so I brought Hunter along to get him checked out as well. Turns out that everything is related to Ari being sick a few weeks ago. The peeling fingers and toes are most likely a result of her body getting rid of the toxins that were inside. Her appetite has come back from when she was sick, so hopefully we can see her gaining the weight back. Hunter probably fought whatever it was that Ari had, and the lumps on his neck are just swollen lymph. They sometimes swell when they fight off viruses and bacteria, so it's completely normal. I am so glad that the kids have such a good doctor. I am also so glad that Ryan gets such good health insurance through his work. 

It seems like nearly everything causes cancer nowadays. Sunscreen, cleaning products, and even some foods. If you have a lump or a mole it could be cancer. I would be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind seeing the lumps on Hunter's neck. I Googled what could make Ari's fingers and toes peel and the first thing I saw was some nasty disease. I am so thankful that it wasn't anything near that. I am grateful everyday for my children's health. Being a parent, it's hard not to worry about your kids health, safety and development. Because of all the worry it tends to make me feel inadequate. That it something I have been trying to work on. I am reminding myself that I am a good parent. I am raising good kids. I am teaching them, and I am keeping them healthy. I can't protect them from everything, but I am doing my best. Can I do better? Of course, but it's not good to focus on all of my shortcomings. It is easy to focus on all of the negative, but that just brings you down. I am trying to focus on my strengths and build on them. I am trying to teach my kids to focus on the positive, and to be optimistic. 

http://gagthat.com/super-mom/

Summer Shape-Up

I have 4 blog posts that I've started, but for whatever reason i have not been able to finish them.

We've been having some hot weather the past few days. I love it! It makes me want to get into better shape and eat really healthy.

Sunday was such a fun day. We went to the park (that didn't last long, due to a huge Ari tantrum), we colored with chalk, ate ice cream bars and root beer, did a little shopping and visited Ryan's family. That evening when we got home I was in the mood to go for a jog. We packed the kids in the double stroller and jogged for about a mile or so.

Man, I am so out of shape. The jog wasn't horrible, but I had to switch from jogging to walking a few times. 2 days later and my legs are still sore. I should have done a better job stretching. Next time.

I am so glad Ryan has been supporting me and running with me. We want to make it a nightly ritual. My goal is to one day run a marathon and Ryan said he would do it do it with me.

It's a nice feeling knowing you're close to reaching your goals. I have a ways to go still, but I know that I've also come a long way.