Cole Family

Garrett and Megan have been busy working on their "Everybody Club."  A club where everybody is invited. If I'm looking for a toy or a book, all I have to do is go to the Everybody club and there it is. Garrett has also been rummaging through the garbage for anything he finds suitable for his club.

• During lunch the other day Megan started choking on a chicken nugget, seriously choking (as in the not breathing kind) and I had to do the Heimlich maneuver on her.  I was going to the bathroom when I heard the choking sounds and came running in without even pulling my pants up (ok, that part was a little funny....).  We all survived but it was scary.
• Sometimes all 3 of my kids cry at the same time. And then I join in.
• I was walking repeatedly through what I thought was a puddle of water on my kitchen floor, until I looked closer and noticed that the puddle was yellow. Not water. Pee (Megan's).
• While driving in my van, I almost hit a man who was crossing the street to go to his mailbox. He flipped me the bird as I sped away.
• Megan has a stomach bug and threw up twice, one of them being a projectile vomit from the back seat to the front seat of the van.
• Lindsay has a cold. And a fever. And wants to be held all day. Poor thing.
• My children have invented the "toot gun" and "burp talking" which are pretty self-explanatory.  Burp talking occurs during all meals. Toot guns occur sporadically.
• Jon's leg has gotten worse. The bruise keeps growing so much that it covers most of his upper leg now, as well as half of his lower leg. He has been to the Doctor twice. He tore his muscle and apparently all he can do is wait it out.  

Garrett can watch Scooby Doo, Ninja Turtles, Ben 10 Alien Force and the like without even batting an eye.  But when he watches one of Megan's princess shows, watch out! The kid is terrified! I was outside weeding the other day while they were watching "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" when suddenly I heard a scream and running. I rushed in, sure that someone had been hurt. No. It was Garrett cowering behind the couch. "Mom. That show is SCARY!" I checked in to see if Megan was as equally damaged from viewing such Barbie carnage, but no, she was sitting there reveling in all the dancing and twirling.  "Is it scary, Megan?" I asked. "No. They're just dancing." was her reply.  Garrett gets just as scared when he watches Curious George.  He makes me laugh.

I think I jinxed Jon with my comment of "I hope I have a husband with 2 working legs" since he only has one working leg at the moment.

At mile 65 his tire got lodged in a train track he was riding over and he went down. He uses toe clips, so his feet were attached to his bike pedals and he had no way to brace himself as he went down. He fell hard on his shoulder and somehow tweaked his leg pretty bad.

At mile 75, he stopped for water and accidentally stepped into a small trench, pulling his hamstring on his already injured leg.

To make matters worse, Washington and Oregon were sporting their hottest temperatures so far this summer (92 degrees!!) and as Jon was finishing up a particularly treacherous hill at mile 115, his body succumbed to heat and exhaustion and he passed out two times. Luckily, all of his riding mates were there to catch him and carry him over to the shade.  He decided that was a sign he should stop and was pretty bummed that he couldn't finish the ride, but I am SO proud of him for doing so good. He went 40 or so miles on his bad leg!  He rode down in the support car the rest of the way to Portland as he cheered on his riding buddies.  What an accomplishment!  He's already planning out next year.

 
He's going to the Dr. to get this checked out since the bruise keeps getting bigger and he can hardly walk at this point.

 
Signs the kids made.

 
He got home at 2 a.m. and still went to church the next day! (ok, just for the 3rd hour, but still!)

Jon takes off bright and early tomorrow morning (3:30 am) for the STP (Seattle to Portland). Yes, that's riding a bike from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR.

204 miles.

I hope I still have a husband with working legs. 

I was rocking Lindsay to sleep in her dark bedroom when a tall (handsome) stranger was silhouetted in her doorway. I screamed and quickly plugged my ears and shut my eyes tight. It was only Jon who had come home early from Scouts and didn't want to make any noise when I was putting the baby to bed.  Had it really been an intruder, no doubt my gentle rocking, ear plugging and eye shutting would have scared him away, don't you think?

The other day at Target (our usual destination) Garrett asked the somewhat masculine female checker:  "Um, excuse me? Are you a boy or a girl?" I got wide eyed and shushed him, yet he persisted. "I'm curious if you are a boy or a girl cuz your hair is like a girl, but your voice is like a boy."  Luckily the elderly checker was hard of hearing (or maybe just polite) and did not appear to hear him.  As Garrett opened his mouth yet again to repeat his question,  I ripped open the bag of tootsie rolls that I was buying and popped one in his mouth. "YUM! Candy!" he cheered and not another word was said about the mysterious she-man checker at Target.  

Andrea!  Congratulations!  Andrea, send me a message (next to the add a comment button) with your mailing address and I will send this your way.  This was fun...thanks for participating, everyone!

 
Garrett randomly picking the name from a bowl

Rock not included....

Our friend stopped by the other night with his daughter on his new Scooter.  He gave the kids rides and in true Garrett and Megan fashion, Garrett was scared and Megan wanted to go faster.  If you know Megan, you know she is a tank: unafraid of most things (unless it's a swing....she's terrified of those) and tough as nails.  Garrett often tests out situations using Megan as the guinea pig so he will know when it's safe. Garrett:  "Megs! Run over to that dog and see if it bites you!" Megan: "Okay!!"  Thanks for stopping by on your scooter! The kids had a blast! And Jon has now added "Scooter" to his ever growing list of things to buy. 

Go faster!

Slow down!

Me want, me need!!

I am a girl who likes to keep busy (although keeping busy sometimes involves watching my favorite television programming--hey! my fingers are busy working the remote!).  My biggest hobby right now is trying to get to bed by 9:00p.m. A close second is my ever-changing list of crafts that I am obsessing over.  Something I have been into for a long time is making these little stitcheries. I think they are so fun and pretty easy to do.  I have made so many of them I am running out of room and wall space to put them in my house!

I thought it would be fun to give away the stitchery pictured above. The frame is handmade (by Jon) and painted barn red, with a 5 x 5 opening.  Just leave a comment on this post between today and Sunday, July 8 and I will randomly pick a winner and announce it on Monday, July 9. It's open to anyone! Good luck!