Cripple Creek

Last fall I read a blog post about a local family that went to ride the train in Cripple Creek at the end of September.  The blogger talked about how pretty the leaves were and what a great trip it was for the kids.  I immediately decided it was something that we should try and it's been on my radar ALL summer.  Last weekend we made the trip.  And we called it an early birthday outing for Finn (since Reid's at work and Kai's in school on Finn's actual birthday).

The drive was a bit longer than I was expecting, but it was quite pretty.  Too bad those pictures are on Reid's ipad and I don't know how to retrieve them.  When we arrived it took us some time to find a parking spot as it seems everyone thought it was a good weekend to check out the leaves and the train in Cripple Creek.  We finally found a spot and then went to buy our tickets for the train.  At that point, a train was just pulling away and we saw a whole heck of a lot of smoke....I mean A. LOT.  Our immediate concern was for Finn.  Reid seemed willing to give up the train ride, but I had promised the boys and I didn't want to back down.  So, I turned to the cashier and told her I had a son with a lung disease and was wondering if there was any way to avoid as much of that smoke as possible.  Maybe an enclosed car?  She thought for just a second and then answered that they did have an enclosed car and it was on the train that was departing at the time we were buying the tickets for.  She also told me exactly what time to arrive to make sure we got a spot on that car and right where to sit so that we could close the doors to the car as needed.  It made my day and made me realize that there really are understanding people out there.  Not only did my kids get to ride the train, but we did it nearly 100% free from the smoke of the coal.  It was great!  Granted it did get hot when we had to close the doors to the car, but hey, we survived.  And there was just a moment or two where I held Kai's jacket over Finn's nose so he wouldn't breath the smoke that was blowing in, but Finn did great and we all had a good time.  We even walked the town and bought candy, popcorn, and water for our journey.  It was a fun Saturday afternoon and I'm so glad that I just asked!

At the station

On the train

Both boys were curious to see the coal and watch it being shoveled into the engine

I love ALL of my boys!

Our engineer and tour guide

My 3 handsome boys!

The ride took us through old mining country.  Who knew there was so much gold in Colorado?!

The remnants of a mining community

What remains of the "town" of Anaconda

Counting Down

Reid's last vacation was Thanksgiving of 2011.  Yep, that was a LONG time ago.  We've been working on planning a fall vacation for a while, but were struggling with where to go.  I have had my heart set on Disney World for a while, but the price mixed with the ages of our kids, concerned us.  Seriously, there were several discussions over the course of nearly 2 months before we finally decided to bite the bullet.  The truth is that I found a fantastic deal and honestly don't believe we will ever be able to do Disney this "cheap" again.  So, right before Reid's parents arrived on September 1st, we bought the plane tickets.  In other words, we were locked in.  After all of our family cleared out we decided to tell the boys.  I wanted to tell them early as we will be at Disney World over Halloween and I wanted Kai to know so that when talk of Halloween costumes, trick-or-treating, and the like arises, he will know what we are doing this year.  He was VERY excited!  Finn, on the other hand, didn't know what to make of it except say that he's "scared".  That has become his go-to phrase for when he doesn't understand what's going on, or when he doesn't want to do what the rest of us are.  But over the last two weeks, that has changed.  Finn is now asking to go to Disney.  He's excited, and yet still a tad scared.  So, yesterday we made a paper count-down chain.  We are officially one month away from our trip!  Kai was happy to cut off our first link today.  We're looking forward to a fun vacation!

The First HALF of September

It seems the month has just slipped by.  The first two weeks of the month were filled with an endless stream of visiting family.  It was fun and busy.  I love September in Colorado.  It truly is the best month of the year.  I'm glad that we were able to share with family!

On September 1st, Reid's parents arrived.  They stayed with us for the week and the boys just loved having Grammy and Papa with them.  We went out to eat, showed them Kai's school, and even went to the library. On Saturday the 8th of September (late in the evening), my parents arrived as well as my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Margie.  Early on the morning of the 9th Reid drove his parents back to the airport and then my dad, aunt, and uncle left for my other aunt's house in Southern Colorado.  That left just me and the boys.

We had a couple of quiet days with just us and then on Tuesday the 11th my dad, aunt, and uncle returned.  And not too much later my Aunt Gayle and Uncle Steve arrived.  We had 10 people at our dinner table that night and I meant to take a picture.  It just got to busy and I totally forgot.  Drat!

Early on the 12th my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Margie departed leaving my mom, dad, Aunt Gayle and Uncle Steve.  That day it was raining and so they all went out shopping and gave me some much needed quiet time with boys.  On the 13th we decided to head over to the library and feed the ducks.  That is always a lot of fun and worth the stop!  After that we went to the park to play before heading home for lunch and to take Kai to school.  After dropping Kai off at school the rest of us headed down to Garden of the Gods and did a short driving and walking tour.  Poor Finn was so wiped out he slept through it all.  

On Friday the 14th my Aunt and Uncle left to drive back to New Mexico leaving just my parents for one more day.  I'll admit that on Saturday the 15th (and for a few days after that) I found it weird to walk around the house and not find someone else hanging out some room somewhere....or not having some one all of sudden just walk up the stairs to join us.  It was almost as if the ghosts of all 8 people who had come to visit were lurking for just a little bit!

With Grammy and Papa

I really meant to take more pictures while everyone was here, but for some reason it didn't happen.  But I do a have a few.  I'm glad my Aunt and Uncle were taking lots and willing to share!

Grandpa and Grandma

Uncle Steve and Aunt Gayle

The boys enjoyed playing on Uncle Steve's computer.  Heck, they love any computer!

Balance Beam?

Or just toilet paper?  When you're two, it can be whatever you want!  Mommy calls it a mess though!

GI Updates

Finn first saw a GI doctor at the end of May.  He ended up there after I told his pulmo about his recurring vomiting episodes.  I have struggled with these episodes as they are not consistent, have no common denominator that I can identify, and they ebb and flow.  He can go for weeks and be just fine, and then out of no where it'll crop up on us and he'll have several bad episodes.  For a good part of June and early July, Finn did well.  And over the month of August he started to have bad moments again.  We had a follow-up appointment with the GI doctor at the end of the month and I went in not knowing what I was going to say.  I have had concerns about putting him through unnecessary procedures, as he has enough procedures already.  But I knew that if I told her that what we had tried in the spring did not seem to work, that we would be looking at yet another procedure.  However, Finn losing his hot dog all over my foot the night before definitely confirmed to me that we still have a problem.  That and the carpet cleaning bills from both May and August.  Yep, carpet cleaning every 3 months.  Not good.

After waiting for nearly an hour and half in our little tiny appointment room (don't even get me started on that one), we finally got to talk to the doctor.  I was honest and told her that while his episodes have changed in some respects, the fact remains that he still has them.  It was at that point that she indicated that she wanted to go ahead with further testing.

Soooooo exciting!  Children's Hospital Colorado has opened their own clinic just 20 minutes from our house!!  This means that we'll never have to go to Denver again.  Well, not never.  If he's ever admitted, that'll still be in Denver and if he has to undergo anesthia for anything (such as an endoscopy) that will also have to be in Denver as he is considered a high-risk patient.  But other than that, we can do it all HERE!!  Amazing!

It took guts for me to express my reticence about these procedures with her.  For example, I don't want to do an endoscopy just to wind up with "normal" results.  The stress of going through the endoscopy is not worth it to me.  (Finn on anesthesia is my worst nightmare!)  So after some conversation, she agreed to go ahead with other tests first.  After the results come in on these two tests, we will decide if we are going ahead with an endoscopy.  That made me feel better.  The other thing that she said that I had no thought about was her concern about damage to his esophagus.  Basically, if he is having uncontrolled reflux there could be damage occurring an that would be something that we need to find out.  So, Reid and I talked and decided to go ahead with the testing.  The poor kid does throw up A LOT and if we can help him, it'd be nice to know.

So, the morning of September 18th we went in bright and early for a "gastric emptying study".  Basically, they put some radioactive liquid in his Ensure which he drank and then they used a camera to track it as it traveled through his stomach.  He had to sit strapped into his carseat on the x-ray table for an hour, so we put Lilo and Stitch in (his favorite movie) and I sat next to him.  He was a gem!  At the end of the hour, he had not quite digested 50% of his drink so we had to come back an hour later to take another picture (just 1 minute long that time).  Two days later we got the results.

The GI doctor indicated that the gastric emptying study showed slow motility at both the 1 hour and 2 hour intervals.  In other words, he food isn't digesting as fast as it should and remains in his tummy.  She prescribed bethanechol (a drug to help loosen the digestive muscles and allow food to go through more quickly) to be taken 3 times a day.  Thankfully, it's not a large dose and has no real flavor so Finn doesn't mind it at all.  In fact, he calls it his "yummy water".  The downside is that it is a refrigerated medication and with the mid-day dose......well, let's just say we had a long day the other day and ate lunch out of the house only to come home and find that I had completely forgotten about that dose of medication.  So, I have some logistics to work on with that.  :)

Last week Finn did his second GI test--the Upper GI.  This test consisted of swallowing barium and then doing a series of x-rays.  The test would reveal any structural abnormalities with his upper digestive system.  Finn did NOT like the barium at all--even with the fruit punch flavoring.  And he was not a fan of being held down for the test.  But they got it done and his results were completely normal.

Waiting (and waiting) for the doctor

So, that leaves us back at the beginning.  At this point the GI doctor is waiting for me to call back when we're ready to go ahead with the endoscopy.  I personally want to give the bethanechol a couple of months to see how we feel about it.  I talked to his CF doctor about the procedure this past week and she feels that it would be a worthwhile exam, but she does understand my concerns and is seems to think that it's ok to give things just a little more time.  So for now, we're waiting and watching and hoping that some how we can give this little side problem the old heave-ho.  We shall see!

First Day of Kindergarten

On Monday August 20th, Kai's elementary school had an open house.  We left Finn with Megan, the boys' sitter, and headed on over.  We had several things to do that day--we needed to find Kai's classroom and meet his teacher, pay our fees, drop off school supplies, and get Kai's Z-pass to ride the bus.  (It's a new system this year that allows the district to charge for bus rides, and also track the kids as they get on and off the bus.  The buses also all have GPS trackers.  I think this could be a very good thing for some of us over-protective types!)  We managed to get it all done and that was it.  It was time to wait for the first day of school.

The Bear Creek Bear

School officially started on Tuesday August 21st.  However, the first two days the kindergartners are split in half, with half going one day and half the next.  All of the kids will go together for the first time on Thursday the 23rd.  Kai attended today (the 22nd) with 5 of his other classmates.  (His class only has 13 total kids!) Since he is in the afternoon class that doesn't start until 12:50, we took the morning to pick up Reid from work and eat brunch at IHOP.  Kai loves pancakes and really enjoyed his funny face.  Finn entertained us all by ordering a bowl of broccoli and pretty much eating the whole thing (while dancing in his high chair).

After IHOP we had an extra half-hour or so, so we headed over to the park near the school.  We called our friends that live across the street and they joined us playing.  Finally, it came time to say goodbye.  Finn, however, didn't want to leave the park, so my friend took him for me and then Kai and I headed over to the front of the school.  There we found Ms. Korte waiting outside for everyone.  Once all of the kids arrived, she lined them up and marched them into the building.

Kai also took his first school bus ride home today, which was quite exciting for him.  Finn and I arrived at the stop a bit early and anxiously waited for him. Kai ended up being the first off of the bus and came running right to us.  We were all excited to be together again.  From Kai's report, he had a great first day of kindergarten and is looking foward to going back tomorrow.

Without a nap Finn gets pretty tired

Catching a glimpse of the bus.  Kai's stop is only the 2nd one on the route.  He gets home quick!

The end of a good first day!

On the way home Kai asked to pick some flowers to make me a bouquet.  He also had drawn me a very special picture.  Unfortunately, his water bottle leaked in his backpack and caused the picture to tear.  So, he just drew me a new one instead.  I LOVE this kid and I'm so glad he had a good first day.  I hope it just keeps getting better!

My very special surprise from Kai at the end of his first day of school.

The Last Weekend of Summer

With Kai starting Kindergarten this year and the summer coming to an end, we tried our best to get in some last minute activities.  On Friday we made a spontaneous decision to go to the zoo right after lunch.  We had a good time with no real agenda except to have fun together.  I let the boys pick which animals we were going to see, so instead of following a normal pattern around the zoo, we skipped around picking and choosing.  We were excited to see the 3-day old baby gorilla, and we walked in right at the end of a bird show.  After nearly a dozen trips to this zoo, I had NO idea the birds were there!  So, that was neat.  It was a fun afternoon that we topped off with some yummy gelato (cantaloupe flavor!) before heading home.

The baby giraffe was released into the exhibit.  We had seen a couple of times before
but were excited to see him out with the others.  He's only a month old.

The baby gorilla.  Sorry for the blur, but there was a huge crowd, so I had to zoom a bit.
And then, of course, there's the glass between us and the gorillas.

No trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the train.

On Saturday we headed up to Denver after lunch to check out the children's museum.  The kids had a great time, although we did end up splitting up a bit.  There were several exhibits geared toward older age-ranges and so Reid and Kai tackled those together while Finn and I enjoyed the younger crowd.  It was also fun to see a nice park right next to the museum as well as a trolley ride.  We didn't get to ride it, but I'm sure we'll have to make time for that on a return trip.

Finn fell asleep right before we got to the museum.  He was "borrowing" Daddy's sunglasses.

Building a rocket with his dad at the rocket launch station

Finn liked watching these scarves fly up in the air.

Using real tools at the building station with dad.
This is where Finn and I took off.  Finn does not need any encouragement with a saw and hammer!

Finn loves to get behind a cash register no matter what store we are at.
So, instead of shopping in the grocery store he assigned himself the cashier position.
All of the girls were so excited that he ended up with quite a long line.

Crawling around

Trying to catch a bubble in the bubble room

Do you see the bubble Reid and Kai are standing in?

More fun with bubbles

Big bubbles!

The train room

The outdoor water exhibit

Kai got soaked!  Good thing I planned ahead and brought both boys a change of clothing.

We ended our visit in the under 4 year-old room.  Kai got to wear this really cute vest.

Going fishing

This only lasted a second.....

and then it was this!  :)

We topped off the night with a trip to The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Kai has now declared that it is his new favorite restaurant, and I can't blame him.  We were visited at our table by one of the best balloon men I have ever seen and the kids were quite entertained.  The food was good, too.  I'm glad that we discovered it and ventured into downtown Denver a bit more.  I still think we have some more exploring to do up there.

Waiting for a table

Kai requested a snake

Finn wanted a giraffe

It was a good and busy two days, and a great way to end the summer.