Vacation!!! {Summer 2014}

We just spent a few days at Great Wolf Lodge with Grandma and Grandpa! The kids had a blast, although everyone was a bit overtired by the time we left. Poor Cameron got sick just before we left and had to stay home with Devon who didn't go because of prior commitments. Connor, Duncan, and Morgan stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for a few more days on an extended adventure, but Brenna and Owen came home with us a couple of days ago. Yes, a couple of days ago. I haven't blogged until now because I seem to have come down with the same thing Cam had on the way home and on top of my morning sickness, I haven't really felt like doing anything but sleeping the last two days.

Brenna took a while to warm up each time we entered the waterpark. She wasn't sure she liked getting splashed in the face, but then she'd get used to things and have fun.

Owen was in absolute Heaven! He loves the water, he loves getting wet, he isn't afraid of anything. With his epilepsy and all the medications he's on, he gets overtired easily. We'd have to drag him out for a nap whenever he started falling down and tripping too much so that he wouldn't have any seizures. He did great though and dealt with everything quite well. Great Wolf Lodge was wonderful about accommodating his ketogenic diet too. There is a no outside food and drink rule in the waterpark itself, but they were really good about allowing us to bring in any special items Owen needed.

Morgan was tall enough to earn herself a green safety bracelet which meant she was able to go on all the rides although she needed an adult with her for the biggest ride. Duncan was big enough to not need a safety bracelet at all which meant that he could go on all the rides without needed to be accompanied by an adult. Since he didn't need us with him all the time I only managed to get this picture though.

Connor was an amazing help with the younger kids! I was so proud of him.

This is actually Connor after taking Owen down the slide.

It was really nice to have some time away. I don't know exactly what condition Owen will be in after his upcoming new treatments, so it was great to do something fun with him while we can still enjoy it.

Home Again (Barely) !

Pictures from Devon's trip

Everyone is finally home again! Sort of. Devon got back from her trip to Boston on Thursday, just in time to have a friend from out of town spend the night. Then she was gone most of Friday night, catching up with other friends.

Saturday night, Connor and Cameron got back from Boy Scout camp in Oregon. They actually spent one night at home before going to their cousins house for a sleepover.

Uncle Sonny and Aunt Linda

Monday, Devon was gone all day catching up with yet another friend and helping Grandma. Tuesday, Connor (or maybe Cameron, I can't even remember) will be helping Grandma while the other two older kids babysit so I can fit in a doctor's appointment for me.

Then, Devon is meeting still more friends and following that up by another event on Wednesday. Thursday is Owen's birthday. Friday is Cameron's birthday. Saturday is their joint birthday party and another night out for Devon. Next week we have Owen's next hospital visit. I can barely keep track of who is where anymore! Anyway, I'll have more pictures of Devon's trip once I can actually get together with her to do a post. I don't have any pictures of the boys trip because I didn't have another functioning camera to send with them. I think we'll be getting another camera for Christmas!

Camping - June 2014 {Ketogenic Diet}

We made it through the camping trip with no ambulances or tow trucks! I think I need another week to recover. I've pretty much caught up all the extra laundry and dishes, but I still need to make up for not cooking keto meals all weekend. The trip to the campground went pretty well. We had one minor bout of car sickness, but that was all. The trip home was a bit of a different story. My two youngest were suffering from a severe lack of sleep and change of routine and pretty much whined and/or screamed the whole way home.

The older kids and Rod got to go river rafting, but fire was the favorite activity of the little kids. I thought someone was going to fall in several times. It took most of the weekend to teach Owen about safety circles. Brenna thinks she's 12 or maybe 20, so she was quite convinced that she could do anything the older kids could do. No one actually got burned though, so I think we did alright.

Owen's keto cheese sandwich

Yes, Owen got to roast hot dogs and marshmallows even though he couldn't eat them. He actually seemed fine with making them for everyone else. Owen's favorite way to cook marshmallows is to just flame them to ash. I figured a package of marshmallows cost less than a dollar, so why not just let him waste them if it makes him happy.

Brenna still mostly clean

Brenna a day later, not clean!

Morgan had lots of fun

Rod finally got Brenna to take a nap, but only as long as he held her. She didn't sleep well at all the first night. Sleeping in the tent freaked her out, especially when the big kids were still up and shining their flashlights around. She slept better the second night, but was still pretty grouchy on the ride home.

Unfortunately, I came home with a whole bunch of really blurry pictures. The kids just wouldn't stop moving long enough for me to get good photos!

Owen photo bomb!

These two were so adorable! They play so well together.

Sunday, we headed into Leavenworth before going home.

While everyone else had goodies in the gingerbread shop, Owen and I played with the cutest little beagles outside.

Owen doing a little dance while everyone else eats lunch on the way home.

Traveling with Owen's keto diet went very well. I made most of his food up in advance and just weighed out his fruit and butter with our travel scale at the campground. It was very nervewracking packing for him. We can't just go to the store and get anything we might have missed bringing, so we had to bring everything we might possibly need. I made up for it by being pretty lax on packing for everyone else. I can always run to the store if I forget anything any one else needs. I can't even pick up sunscreen for Owen as there are only a couple of brands he can use and most aren't available at small stores. But, like I said, everything went fine. We had no major mishaps. Although I will admit that I'm not ready to do it again any time soonI