Water Break!

I feel like I have been cooped up in my house for a week. My sweet niece, Meliah, has been here since last Friday to help me; and I feel like she has been cooped up in my house for a week. I know my boys feel like they have spent too much time at home. I guess we have had a good excuse for leaving, but you can only handle staring at the walls for so long. 

Yesterday was the first time that I have felt well enough to get out, which was fortunate, because it was the first time I felt like I could drive. (I am definitely not 100%, but I believe in Fake It 'Til You Make It.)

In pursuit of excitement, I convinced my friend, Megan, that we needed to take our kids to the splash pad nearest us.

Boy, oh Boy! The kids had a great time. I think that I need to make this a weekly (maybe daily) activity! Why is there not a sash pad at every park?

My little rose tree

Ever since I was a little girl and saw Alice in Wonderland for the first time, I have wanted to have a rose tree. Last week we were at a garden center, looking at magnolia trees; when I turned around, there it was, my rose tree. 

I got so excited. There it was, my childhood garden dream right before my eyes! So Tom picked it up, and brought it home for me. However, they told us, when we bought it, not to expect many blossom this year. Which was fine with me, I can be patient.

On Wednesday night, Tom decided that next to the rose tree was an appropriate place to bury the baby. I agreed. And we preformed a midnight burial.

Today, I went out side for the first time since Wednesday (I lost a lot of blood, and can't really walk well, but Tom helped walk around the yard). A single red rose has blossomed on the tree, right above the baby. The boys now call the tree the Baby Tree.

I think I will always love this tree.

Memorial Fun

I can honestly say that Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays. It is right up there with Christmas. It is the one day of the year that the entire Strong Family sets aside to be together. I am talking more than my siblings (which they do as well), but my cousins, my aunts and uncles, my grandparents. It is fabulous, and I look forward to it every year.

We have an epic breakfast cook out. All the best breakfast foods you can imagine, with some of your favorite people; homemade rockets shooting off into the air; baseball; sword fighting; How can it get better? 

Well I will tell you: my parents then preceded to have a grand party at their house for just their little family. Barbecue, water slides, grandkids. Sounds like a recipe for good times to me. And let me assure you, it was.

Check out the rocket!

Rocket launch with Grandpa.

 

Sadly, the rocket did not survive.

Have you ever played on a deflated, blow-up water slide? I am not sure which they liked more, sliding down it when it was inflated and wet, or rolling around in it when it was dry and flat.

And to top it off, I gave Tom a mullet. (Word to the wise, NEVER ask you wife to cut your hair during a family party, you might end up like this:)

LOSS

A busy day at work

A spot of blood

A moment of fret

A call to the midwife

Another spot of blood

A long nap

A loving husband

A spot of blood

Why won't the blood stop?

A beautiful blessing

A good nights rest

A lazy morning

A feeling of peace

A reclined afternoon

A meal from a friend

A cramp

A lost appetite

A rush to the toilet

A single moment of loss

A scream for help

A loving husband

A lot of blood

A call to the midwife

A tearful bath

A red bath 

A long shower

A red tub

Why won't the bleeding stop?

A concerned husband

A knowledgeable midwife

An amazing mother-in-law

A rush to the pharmacy

A perfectly cooked steak

A hundred thousand tears 

A burial by a rose tree

A somber sleepless night

A hug from a son

A tear from another

A very sad family

When will this bleeding heart stop?

Porcupine picnic

Cache Valley has a hidden secret, and it is one we don't like to share with the college kids around here. And that secret is Porcupine Reservoir.

This is honestly one of the most beautiful, peaceful places I can think of. I love it up there, so you can imagine my shock when I learned that my in-laws had never been to the lake. I knew this was an unfortunate situation, that needed to be remmidied.

So we planned a picnic for today; and of course today desided to be the wettest May 18 on record.

Insead of going to the lake, we picnicked at our kitchen table. After the fabulous food, Tom decided that dispite the downpour, we should still drive out to Porkipine, just so his parents could see how pretty of a place it is. After all, we could drive around, enjoy the scenery, and stay dry in the car. 

Well, an amazing thing happened as we made our trek to the lake, the rain stopped, and the clouds cleared right as we got o Paradice. By the time we were in the canyon the ground was drying and the day was warm. You would have never guessed that we nearly needed an ark to get there. 

It was beautiful. The water clear and smooth, the birds chirping away, the trees budding. Could not have asked for more perfect weather. After about an hour and a half of playing, and exploring, we desided we should pack up and head home. You will never guess what happened on the drive back; rigt as we got to Paradice, the clouds gathered, and terenchale rains started to pour. Talk about perfect timing for our little expedition. What a beautiful day it turned out to be.

It's a beautiful day for a picnic!

It maybe 25 degrees out side, but inside it is a perfect day for a picnic.
We even had a bear attack!

Go Aggies, Go Aggies! Hey, Hey, Hey!!!

As we all know, WE ARE AGGIES at the Fullmer house. We wear blue, we bleed blue.
This weekend we got to cheer at not just one, but two Aggie events.

Friday night was the inter-squad meet. Tom treats a couple of the team members, so we decided to go and support them. It was pretty informal, it was actually held in their work out gym; but there was a good crowd that showed up, and WOW it was fun! After watching the first routine my boys were hooked, and in between events they would have crowd completions. Both Owen and Tom competed in hand stand challenges. After the meet was over, they handed out team posters, which my boys had all the ladies sign, and then they let the kids play in the gym. This was definitely my boys favorite part. The walked on the beams, and rolled on the mats. But their favorite, by far, was jumping into the foam pits. It was nearly impossible to get them to leave. In fact I got Tal's shoes and coat on him, and turn to help Owen with his coat, and the next thing I know Tal had ran across the gym, and jumped back into the pit still wearing his shoes and coat. Yeah, I think I might just need to get him into a tumbling class.

Last night we got to go to the Basket ball game. I love Aggie basketball! There is nothing like the SPECTRUM, the fans are crazy, the team is awesome, the crowd is loud, and the seats are orange. how could you not have a good time? Not to mention that the majority if mine and Tom's courtship happened in the Spectrum, so going to the games always gets me reminiscing.
The boys LOVED the game. I fully expected them to be ready to leave after the first half, but they lasted the entire game. We got to see USU completely trample Western Oregon, and we had the privilege of being part of the crowd that welcomed Danny back (sad story, one of the team members heart randomly stopped earlier this week, and he was in the hospital for 5 days). I really loved watching the crowds reaction when he walked out on the court (don't worry he did not play). Aggie fans may be ruthless to the competition, but the sure did rally around Danny. It was awesome.