Double the sun, double the break

Spring Break came twice for the Eilmes family this year.  Actually, we just doubled our break from one week to two.  I figured we don't have too many more years we can pull the kids out of school without much consequence, plus, the airline tickets were nearly half the mileage cost per ticket a week earlier, so we just started our break a bit early!

Our time in Florida with MiMi and PopPop was fabulous!  (That may have to be a whole separate post.)  Simply put, it was a blast.  We had some great time with my parents and with my grandparents.  The kids love the water, both the pool and the Gulf, and the wildlife and surroundings are so amazing, it's a bit like Epcot in some "engineered" environment meant to feel like the real deal - the real deal being...PARADISE!  One of the days we got to go on a boat ride with Captain Larry and Aunt Faye.  When we pulled the boat up to the backside of a restaurant right on the canal, I realized and even said, "geesh, people dream of vacationing like this and you guys (my parents) live like this!  This year it really was paradise - Daddy joined us for a portion of the trip for the first time in over 3 years!!  It was great.

Once we returned home to Colorado, we still had 5 more days of break here in our own sunny corner of the world!  The weather couldn't have been more perfect!  I think it was high 70's every day, with very little springtime wind.  We went to the zoo, biked, had picnics, hiked, and biked some more.  One day we wanted to do a hike we hadn't yet done.  The boys are great hikers and truly love being on the trails.  Elyse - well, let's just say there is tremendous room for improvement! ;-)  So, since I had all three and Elyse is getting too heavy for this 34 year-old back, I wasn't sure how far we'd make it.   

Within the first 5 minutes Ace tripped on a root and landed directly on his left arm.  Did I mention that the cast was removed less than 24 hours prior?!!  I nearly had a heart attack, and I'm not the kind of mom that frets about falls, cuts, bruises, etc.  However, I am the type of mom that frets about costly medical bills!  He was fine, praise the Lord, but I quickly decided the sling he was told to wear to protect himself was actually another accident in the making rather than a helpful tool that particular day, so we took it off.

We used all our senses and thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors.  The kids were having so much fun and being such wonderful siblings (especially the boys to Elyse, which doesn't always happen), that we just kept going.  We counted the early spring flowers, watched for wildlife, pretended to be different super heroes saving the trails from the villains, ate our picnic lunches, and eventually came to the top of the trail!  I never expected we'd go that far.  I think it was 4-5 miles round trip.  I love to hike and do it daily early in the mornings with girlfriends during the summer/fall months so I am so thankful my kids have become little hikers, too.  I think that day was a real turning point for E.  She had a ball and there was absolutely NO whining!!  She wanted to keep going!  It's a joy to have kids who enjoy being outdoors so much!  They truly are little Colorado Kids!

Dance Party

Most families try to have a nice "slow down" before bedtime. In the Eilmes house that doesn't always happen. Here's an example of our evenings (from January 2011).

Isaac loses his first tooth

I'm very behind in recording certain things...

Last July, the day after Isaac's 7th birthday, our house lost its first baby tooth! It was quite the family experience, as you'll see. Since then, we've only lost one more. Both of his teeth have been loosened out of necessity, as the replacement teeth have been making their way into his mouth before the babies were ready to go. Our kids tend to hold onto their teeth! (The dentist says this is a sign of healthy teeth...I hope so!!)

I just love the noise in this video...it gives a true glimpse of the noise and enthusiasm levels in our home!

Before Kurt pulled Isaac's tooth, we showed the kids this video. I think they LOVED the idea of this strategy for tooth pulling, but Isaac didn't commit...maybe that's because he remembers his dad's track record of rocket launching...

Listen carefully to Isaac's comments...the kid cracks me up!

It took many takes to finally get the rocket to launch...

Goofy Girl

Elyse was having fun with her brother's swim gear last week...

Oh how she makes us laugh!

No more Monkey's jumping on the bed!

On February 19th we faced a new adventure. All three kids were up on Isaac's top bunk goofing around together and having lots of fun. Moments before the "incident," Kurt had gone into the kids and told them to stop jumping from the top bunk to the bottom bunk. I honestly think they did stop that, however, there were still three crazy kids crammed onto one high bed, and well, with the help of a little laughter, shoving, and craziness, one of those kiddos tumbled off.

Ace was definitely hurt. The question was, was it serious, or just a bruise. We didn't know. Thanks be to God, Ace slept through the night that Sunday night with only one initial dose of Ibuprophen, so when he awoke the next morning, we briefly questioned the need to even see a doctor. He was able to move his arm, gingerly, and although it didn't look quite "right," it didn't necessarily look like more than a bruise and he said it felt a lot better. Thankfully after some prayer and discussion, we decided to take him to a professional to make sure. Sure enough, he had broken his forearm and dislocated his elbow, which needed immediate surgery! Whoa, that is not what I was expecting to hear. It was hard to believe our little boy was going to be put under anesthesia! It was scary, but at the same time I was totally at peace and knew the Lord was in control. He sent us to a fabulous pediatric orthopedic surgeon, who was absolutely wonderful! We were surrounded by prayers and support. So many people came to pray with us and visit us before and during the surgery, that we didn't even have time to worry!

Long story short: Ace was trooper in surgery. It couldn't have gone better, he came out of the anesthesia so easily, he had a rockstar neon-green cast which he sported around Colorado and Florida in the pool, at the beach, on the playground and everywhere else for 6 weeks, and is healing perfectly!! (Needless to say, this didn't slow the kid down too much...) The cast is now off and $6K out of pocket later, we are on the mend. He still has to be quite careful of the elbow, but he should be 100% soon.
Just before surgery. He was fairly relaxed, as he got to watch the Disney Channel on a personal tv attached to his bed!

Daddy wasn't quite as calm, as you can see by his "smile."

Having fun, just a few days after the surgery.


D-Day! All three kids LOVED the process of getting the cast removed. (Oh, and P.S. there was a quarter and a few other "trinkets" found in the cast after 6 weeks!)

He is Risen!

This year we woke the kids up at 5 am to attend the first Easter Sunrise service at First Pres since Jim Singleton has been there. Kurt and I had taken Isaac and Ace, when Ace was just a few weeks old to the Sunrise service in Albuquerque with the Hubers, but hadn't been to one in 6 years, thanks to the typically snowy and cold Easter weather we have.

I was so grateful to watch a glorious sunrise as we celebrated our RISEN Lord - the Risen SON - with our kids! They thought it was quite a treat too, as the church had hot cocoa out and we brought bagel eggwiches we made the night before to eat between the sunrise service and the 7 am service with the traditional hymns and beautiful orchestral music, including trombones and other brass instruments. We were home after two worship services by 9:15 a.m. We had an egg hunt in the back yard and just a very restful, low-key day. It was a glorious day, celebrating our freedom, given by our risen Lord and Savior. (Isaac still thinks it should have snowed, to remind us how Jesus's blood washed our sin as white as snow...)

Elyse and Daddy at her preschool Easter Egg Hunt.