8/27/09

Our plan this past weekend was to just hang out and be lazy, but it didn't turn out that way. On saturday we decided to change our back patio. So I helped Ben lift all the slabs of rock and stacked them up on the porch. Then he started digging because we wanted the patio surface to sit lower so it would be even with the cement from the porch. I cut some sheets of plastic to fit under the new patio area. then I went in to get lunch for the girls while Ben stayed outside working. So while I was feeding the girls lunch and recovering from all my heavy lifting, (I didn't remember those stones being so heavy when we originally put them down) Ben got the whole thing finished and moved. I was glad I didn't have to help anymore because of the lifting, and also the bugs. It seemed like there were 30 spiders under every slab, so I was pretty freaked out. We also uncovered earwigs and centipedes, which I have never seen in our backyard before. I guess you just have to know where to look for them. After we all got showered, Ben asked Kara if she wanted to go to the toy store to get a new bike. We have been noticing lately how small her current bike is. Kiersten is about ready to be able to ride it, so we wanted to get Kara a bigger one. So we all headed to toys r us to pick one out. Here she is trying it out in the kitchen! On the way home from the toy store, Ben wanted to stop for KFC, then we headed home. just as we sat down to eat, Ben got a call from our friends, the Bipperts. They were in town and said they would stop by. I was glad to see them, but a little horrified at the state of our house. We had been working in the yard, with the girls shut inside to play with whatever, and make plenty of messes, then we left for toys r us, and I hadn't picked up a single thing. So we did a quick straighten, and made Kara clean up the playroom so she could play in there with Evan. So they got to come to a messed up house, but they didn't seem to mind. It was fun to see them, and it turned out okay afterall. After they left, Ben put together Kara's bike for her, but I thought it was getting too dark for her to try it outside. That's why she had to ride it around the kitchen. I'm just glad we have enough room for that type of sillyness.
Sunday we decided to go to the zoo. It was a pretty nice day, and not too hot. I am really wanting to get up to the woodland park zoo again. Kiersten's never been there, and they have african animals, which pdza doesn't. But being closer, and not having to pay, always ends up taking us to pdza instead. Oh well, we always have fun. Just a couple pictures from there.

Ever since changing the back patio, Ben started feeling really itchy and stiff. It was alarming, because a few years back he had a similar episode that just kept getting worse until he couldn't bend certain joints at all, and had to have fluid removed from his knee. None of the doctors he saw could figure out the cause, but some theories were a bad form of strep, or arthritis. He was worried that it might be the same thing again, but the soreness and stiffness started getting better, so we thought it was just from working in the yard. But the itching kept getting worse. He called me from work on monday to say he wanted to cut his arm open with a knife to scratch the bone, so that was a bit disturbing, and I thought maybe he should go to the doctor. But he remembered how they couldn't do anything for him the last time, or tell us what the cause was, so he didn't want to. He started getting little red spots, but it didn't look too bad. Tuesday after work, he was covered in a rash, and we decided he better go to the dr. in the morning. When he woke up yesterday, the rash was even worse. the splotches were about 3 inches wide, and all over his back and arms. The doctor said it looked like it could be an allergy, and gave him a prescription. He said if it doesn't go away in a few days, it might be something worse, so to go back. So far, the pills have not helped or made any difference, but we'll give it a few days to see what happens. He told me he wanted to take an oatmeal and chocolate milk bath, gross!

These pictures are from tuesday before we went grocery shopping, the girls were hanging out on the stairs while I was making lists. Kiersten had her first pigtails that day. It was really hard to get them to be pigtails because all of the long hair is right on top, and it was hard to get the side hairs into the elastic. So she will probably be sticking with pony tails for a while. Kara asked me why I did Kiersten's hair like an alien. It's hard to see in this picture, because they blend in with the stairs.

here's a closer picture of my little devilish girl with her piggy tails. Yesterday after the gym, the girls and I came home and made sandwiches to take to the park. Kara was really excited to take her new bike. I had to stop at the post office, and then we got to the park. I always push the lock button as soon as I have Kiersten's door open, so I can drop the keys in my purse and have one less thing to hold in my hands. For some reason, I was having a hard time getting Kiersten out, so I set my purse down on the floor. I didn't remember to pick it back up when I slammed the door shut! I realized as I heard the door lock, what I had done. I was so angry with myself, but I was glad that I had thrown my phone in the diaper bag. Ben had mentioned that he might leave work early, because he was still feeling miserable, and he'd already missed most of the morning anyway, while he was at the doctor. So I called him to see if he had left. He hadn't, but he said he would just make a few phone calls, and then come over. I wasn't too worried, because we had just gotten there, and I knew the kids would want to play for a while. Also, I had the sandwiches with me in the diaper bag, so that was good. Kiersten slept for the first 40 minutes while Kara played. Then she woke up and they ate their lunch. I talked to Jackie for quite a while, and that helped the time pass quickly. After we had been there for an hour and a half, I called Ben to see where he was. He said he was still at work! I got so mad because I thought a few phone calls would mean half an hour at most. I knew it would take him a minimum of an hour to get home and then come back up to the park. So he said he would come straight to the park and I could take his car to go home and get the spare key for my car. I said he had to leave work immediately. I was worried that the girls were getting tired, and I knew Kiersten was thirsty, because she was trying to steal every kid's drink. Luckily, they both did okay until he got there. We had said I would take Kiersten with me, since he does have a carseat for her in his car, but she seemed to be having fun playing, so I said just to keep both girls at the park, and I would hurry home for the key. I guess Kiersten got upset that I was leaving, so Ben sent her to catch up to me. I heard him yell that she was coming, and as I turned around, I saw her running happily toward me. I headed back to get her, but not in time to stop her from tripping on the sidewalk, and faceplanting into the pavement. She had a bloody nose and a scratched up face. poor baby! She looks horrible!

but at least she can still be happy, even all banged up, the poor thing! We had dinner, and then watched Pineapple Express. It was an okay movie, not really my thing, but Ben liked it. Today I get to stay home and catch up on housework, since I was at the park all day yesterday, and didn't get anything done around here.