We seem to have lost our deck to overgrown wisteria!

Engage Brain Bonnie

So I think I might be nominated for mother/wife of the year this week. Yesterday Kirk was teasing me about something and I lightly tapped him on the back, he says I hit, I didn't, and it happened to be where he hurts the most... oops. Then last night somehow Elle ended up in our bed and around 3 she woke me up to complain that she couldn't sleep and I remember saying "well be quiet so I can". I don't know why, I guess I was tired. I will be very nice to both of these people I love today!!

Squawk Good Morning, TWEET TWEET GOOD MORNING

So the Johnston's needed a new home for their love birds.... so they asked Elle if she wanted a pair of beautiful bird in their own large cage. She said yes. They are pretty. We've had to put them upstairs because our 2 cockatoos keep trying to get to the other cage. We really really need to clip their wings as you can hear in the video of them flying together to the upstairs banister. So if I aim the camera at them they are quiet so I aimed it at AJ who just woke up and is playing legos. You can hear how obscenely loud it is in our house in the morning, it's like being in the aviary of a zoo!! Ummm Kirk is not happy.

Rolling Down the River

I have Connor in a 2 week rowing class on the Chattahoochee river. He has really enjoyed and can't stop talking about what a wonderful team sport it is and how you have to depend on each other and what a great workout it is! The youngest you can start is 7th grade which is where he is now so if he still loves it after the last week I might have to sign him up for fall! Its a long drive and not a cheap sport to join but I would love for him to find a sport that he loves. It's not soccer or baseball, we haven't tried tennis and I know I should have! But he loves his kayak so this seems like a obvious fit!

The gall of Kirks gallbladder

It's early in the morning and so I'm a bit groggy but there has been so much going on. I'll do quick recap! Kirk ended up back in several Dr's offices after his hospital stay in New Mexico and we've discovered that they were wrong in their diagnoses, and Kirk was right. It is his gallbladder and after lots of blood work and ultrasounds they've decided that they absolutely have to take it out. So next week sometime we don't know yet he is having a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, sounds exciting huh? He was really hoping it could happen sooner since he hurts a lot. However I have really watched his diet this week and he's been very careful and so it isn't as horrible as it was the night he ate pizza hut! I told him if he really wants it out sooner then we can go eat 5 guys for lunch and then pizza hut for dinner so he would need a trip to the ER and they can remove there. I thought I was a very nice wife for suggesting it :) He was getting his hair cut and the lady was telling him about having hers out and it wasn't a big deal she just eats healthy and she has been fine. She goes on to say the only time she has been really sick and hurt a lot since the surgery was when she ate taco bell. Kirk says he almost cried.

Home sweet crazy home

So we are all finally back in the same house. As much as I didn't want to leave and come back to the humidity it did feel good to be home with the family. As most of you know it was a roller coaster ride yesterday. Kirk was taken from Philmont to the hospital by ambulance in New Mexico. He called me at 5 am at say "I'm in a ambulance, it's not my heart, call Matt no one knows where I am going". So I called my friend whose husband was there as well and he arrived in time to see the ambulance pull away. After a very long and stressful wait while they ran tests it was diagnosed as a horrible ulcer flair up. He has fought his ulcers for years and this is the worst he's had. They really thought it might be his gallbladder. I was trying to figure out how to get my kids home from Seattle and me to New Mexico if he needed surgery. Luckily he was released in time to race the 4 hours to the airport and barely made being wheel chaired onto the flight with Matt and the other scouts. Both of our planes circled ATL for about 30 minutes due to lightening storms. Our plane finally got to land while Kirk and Matts was diverted to another airport for gas. They didn't get in until almost 12:30 which luckily for us only felt like 9:30. SO here we are, the kids are still asleep at 11am and Kirk is elevated on the couch dealing with the pain. Fun times for all!

No place like here, rather be here than home

Its going to be very hard to get me back home to Georgia I'm afraid. I spent the morning running 4.2 miles on trails that looked like Edward or Jacob might be hiding behind any tree, eating almost ripe blackberries... I won't be here for them to be right so I simply had to eat a few unripe ones to say I had! Then we spent the afternoon walking 2.5 miles through a mountain to twin falls waterfall, which was by the way gorgeous. Then after a fabulous dinner at home, I drove the kids to the corner park where they climbed on the neighborhood rock wall. I think it would take years to see all the wonderful things there are to do here in Seattle. we've done the beach, rode the ferry bainsbridge island where I ate the best clam chowder in the world. We went to the zoo which was beautiful and fun, and while in the tropical exhibit felt like we were home again. All in all it's been amazing and beautiful. I'm going to need some serious pushing to get on the plane and some serious help keeping me home once I'm there because I love the northwest.