This blog is my excuse to carry my camera around with me and take pictures like a tourist in my home town.
This is also my way of staying positive and remembering the good things when I'm feeling buried under the mountain of straw.
And finally, this is also where I may go from time to time to vent.
So the advantage/disadvantage to me being unsure of my clutch abilities was that Cliff had to drive the entire distance home. It's not that big of an issue but most years I at least drive a small stretch so he can cat nap and this year it wasn't really a choice. We considered several options for when to drive home and although leaving early wasn't desirable it did seem to be the best option.
We picked up supplies last night for this mornings breakfast. Someone had mentioned that they were hoping for Cliff's biscuits and gravy so this morning he made a dynamite batch before we packed out. Well actually to be fair, Cliff made dynamite gravy, Shelley made the tasty biscuits.
It was a peaceful morning and we started towards home about the time we planned. Imagine that!
The skies were clear and traffic was light the whole way home. We made fantastic time which we've assumed was caused from the lack of my granny-like driving skills. From door to door with a long lunch break in just 10 hours. Awesome!
a train bridge off the freeway. Surprised my camera caught it so well
while traveling at high speeds...
We did hit some vicious fog in Woodland, but it just made me appreciate living in Antelope and being home that much sooner.
Black Friday is supposed to be a sport that starts no earlier than 4am on Friday after Thanksgiving. This year, most stores (or at least our favorite ones) opened at 10pm Thanksgiving or midnight on Black Friday. Really?! Thanksgiving hating Jerks!! It is unacceptable in my world. I love camping out at the stores and all, but not if it means I miss my Thanksgiving dinner or have to leave it early. I'll pass, even if I do love the sport.
I was very grateful to Amazon prime and Target's free shipping for card holders because that's how I got 80% of our holiday gifts this year. Cliff and I did decide to check out Walmart for socks and underwear that was unavailable online and see if we had any luck in getting a TV for our cousins. When I got to Walmart there were no lines for the big ticket sales (weird), lots of people in customer service doing returns, and tons of people with multiple full carts just hanging out around the checkout lines. I should of taken this all as a bad sign because when I got to the underwear area they were sold out of both the underwear and socks. Really?!
Had I not found the perfect present for our Elephant Bingo and a few other bargains ($4 crock pot) I would of just walked out. Somehow I convinced Cliff to come inside to grab the english muffins I forgot (and really needed) and after he got them he hung out with me in the massively slow lines.
It was all just kind of a joke this year. We realized that people purchased the sale items the day (or days) before Black Friday and then came in Thanksgiving evening to return them. Once returned they put them in their carts then gathered the rest of their little items from around the store. Items, there were not supposed to be put on the floor until midnight, but workers can't be bothered with such technicalities. Then, they just waited by the checkouts until midnight when the sale prices were active.
To make the whole situation worse, I saw better prices a week ago then I did today. I am so glad that I didn't wait to get my camera because I sure was doubting my pre-Thanksgiving purchase.
Even with the crazy lines Cliff and I returned home (after he made me drive the clutch) by 1am. It didn't seem right to be getting to sleep so early on Black Friday so we finally watched Cars2 before heading to bed. When we wake up there are home made McMuffins on the breakfast menu. It's no leftover plate, but I'm excited about it all the same.
I will NOT be going to Walmart on Black Friday ever again. I know I've said that before, but I was trying something different this year and I realized Walmart just doesn't care about this sacred holiday sport like I do. I think from now on I'll be sticking to online sales.
This whole I-can't-drive-a-stick-shift-comfortably is really starting to come in handy. In the wee hours of the morning Cliff went to pick up my holiday paper at the gas station. He's under the impression that he could of gone for it at a more civilized hour and there would still have been hundreds left, but I don't trust chance that way. Apparently the guy in front of him was also purchasing a paper and he wanted to complain to the attendant of the $2 price tag versus the regular daily cost. Wish I could of been there to witness the lady remove all the ads before handing him his paper for the daily price. She then told him if he wanted the ads as well it was going to cost him the full $2.
The day started off bad, I had a crazy painful swollen eye. No clue why or how, but thankfully after some Advil and a cold compress it went away. After Evelyn's bed tricks in the hotel, we've kept her sleeping on the floor. Lucky for us she slept in this morning, and she looked so peaceful too!
It was a very mellow day hanging out in the kitchen prepping dinner and drinking mimosas. Very good tradition indeed. The deals in the paper this year suck and the stores are opening way too early so I may not have a Black Friday experience this year. So far, I've just been buying my things online.
As usual, dinner was divine! Evelyn loves olives, and jellied cranberry sauce, and this year she even got to have apple cider in a crystal wine glass (child sized) like the big kids. She was in heaven! She did so well being careful with her cup.
I wish there was a way to share just how delicious our meal was because it is something I look forward to every year! It is the highlight of our year and I look forward to it for years to come.
After yesterdays drama in the parking lot we parked down the street. The only draw back was that we Cliff had to wake up and move it by 7am. We had our breakfast and then packed everything up to leave the city.
We arrived at the Pacific Science Center just before they opened (as opposed to just before they closed like we did on Monday) making it probably the first time this trip that something happened exactly the way we hoped. Since it was raining, Cliff - our personal night in shining armor- dropped the three of us outside while he parked the car. Our ticket included a movie and I have to admit that Alex picked the one that interested me the least but after watching it I was so glad he chose it!
I had read that the center was really big and to be honest I was a little surprised that it wasn't bigger. I think it probably was but the floor plan was a bit confusing making it difficult to see everything. I will definitely admit that if I lived near this I would purchase a membership and bring my kids often (maybe not if I had to pay for parking every time...). If we had a full day to explore each area of the center I'm sure it would be oodles of fun for the kids and there are gobs of lessons you could teach using the place as a tool.
Evelyn was getting tired and grumpy (big surprise, she hasn't napped in days) and all she wanted to do was play with the water table. By some miracle we distracted her long enough to walk her out of sight of it and by then she decided she only wanted to play with the 3D puzzle pieces. Tired child! We made our way past the naked mole rats (eww!) and to the butterfly house. Oh my, that could of been such a disaster but luckily her mood improved long enough to go inside with Daddy, Brother, and me. I think a butterfly landed on her head because she freaked out, luckily stopping when she saw how excited we all were when one landed on Alex.
90 minutes wasn't nearly enough time to do all our investigating but it did allow us enough time to see a little of everything before our movie started. The movie was "Born to be Wild" in Imax 3D, narrated by Morgan Freeman. I was really worried that Evelyn would NOT want to wear glasses for the movie and without them it's hard to see but she did great keeping them on (even with her grumpiness). I'm sure it helped that they had glasses in 3 sizes so they were a comfortable fit for everyone.
The movie was very 'close' and sometimes uncomfortably so. It was hilarious to watch Evelyn try, multiple times, to grab or move things that were put in front of her. It was a very sweet movie following two people: one who raises orphan elephants, and the another who raises orphan orangutans and then both put them back into the wild. Evelyn didn't care much for the Elephants, she wanted to see more about the orangutans. Probably because they were so silly.
The only drama came at the end of the movie when Evelyn had to give her 'sunglasses' back. Oh boy, did that make her mad. Good thing we were ready to leave town because she kicked and screamed the whole way out of the theater.
We were urged to head out of town around noon if we didn't want to hit traffic and we got back to our car by 12:30. Not to bad in my books. Our plan was to meet up with a friend of mine in Olympia but she got called into work so we found some snacks in the truck and started out for home.
We should of taken the advice to heart. Or at least more seriously than we did. In a town that has a 24 hour carpool lane you need to be scared! OH. MY. GAWD! Can't say we weren't warned.
The traffic was from hell! The funny thing about canceling lunch with my friend (who was1 hour from where we started and 1 hour from where we were going) was that it took us four hours to get to her town, right around when she got off from work. We stopped for food at a Safeway in Olympia-or at least near to it (and the restroom that I had planned on using at the PSC but chose to hold it so we could get on the road then had to keep holding it). The Safeway Starbucks restroom was one of the worst ones I've ever seen. It was more than I could bare! The bushes outside were looking mighty inviting though. Still trying to float away I picked up some lunch meat and cheese from the deli so I could make sandwiches in the car. Deli meat may seem like a pricier option, but it meant that a) didn't have to store leftovers, b) everyone got to pick what kind of sandwich they wanted, and c) was 75% cheaper than getting a store sandwich for everyone.
When I returned to the truck I discovered that we had a flat tire -are you kidding me?!?! Cliff tried to repair it with that spray can of flat tire fix it only to realize it was sidewall tear and not repairable. UGH! To access the spare tire we had to move the kids, the car seat, and all our gear we had stashed inside the cab. The aggravation was so high for Cliff and I, but then we remembered it could be raining and we remembered a way to get it all done and still love each other. This was especially true, when Cliff agreed to drive me over to a 'cleaner' restroom once we were back on the road.
After my scare with not remembering that Evelyn was eating a burger when I got in the car accident I've been a bit neurotic about eating in the car. I checked on Evelyn when I finished my sandwich only to see turkey hanging out of her mouth and her head slumped sideways. I start to panic thinking she'd choked and I didn't notice so I started shaking her and saying her name loudly (now freaking out driving Cliff as well) still with no reaction. Just when I'm about to completely loose it and freak out her eyes flutter open and go to take another bite of the sandwich I was trying to pry out of her hands. She was asleep! I told her if she wanted to sleep she needed to spit out her bite of food-which she did- then I tried to put my heart back into my chest.
7:30pm and we finally made it back home (not really home I suppose, but it feels like home to me). Only took us 5 hours longer than it should have. No, I'm not grumpy at all (anymore), I'm just glad we're home.
Parking is a nightmare in this town! Last night I paid for parking at the meter that faced the parking lot and was located next to the entrance. We go to leave this morning for our last day here and this prick is outside next to our truck saying we didn't pay and he called the cops because we don't have plates. We argue that we did pay and show him the receipt (taped properly in our window) and he insists that we paid for street parking. The meter we were supposed to pay at is at the back of the lot facing the street (because that makes so much sense!). We really didn't want to get towed and figured it would just be a $20 issue so that we could carry on with our day but of course not, the jerk made Cliff pay an extra $37 dollars! If we hadn't been in a hurry we should of called the cops and let them decide the fair course of action.
We started out at the space needle. I figured since we'd already seen it, it would be the shortest stop. It was raining but we did get to see some of the workers on the top and that was a pretty interesting sight. From there we scooted over to the Science Fiction Museum and Music Appreciation. We skipped most everything there (time limit people!) except the Avatar and Battlestar Galatica exhibits. The Avatar picture viewer/computer was really neat!
We had to drive back to the waterfront for lunch and coffee before our harbor tour. Right after we got our coffee my cup got knocked off the table and all over the ground. I went and told the lady (same one who sold it to us!) that I needed something to clean up my mess from my brand new coffee. She went and got a mopped and cleaned it up without a word... or even offering another drink, paid for or not. That kind of put me in a funk. First the parking lot jerk took $40 and here I have another $5 wasted on the floor. I was very grateful for the harbor tour because the first time I stepped outside onto the dock of the boat while we were cruising around the harbor my foul mood melted away.
With his fisherman beanie and grizzly beard he fit right in
It was a very interesting cruise, I'd recommend it for sure. I really liked the information. My favorite part was one of the dock hotels main attraction and selling point used to be that you could 'fish from your bedroom window!'. People would actually stay there and fish from their windows. Of course, a hotel room is a terrible place to try to clean a fish, and most people just hid their catches somewhere in the room. Needless to say most the hotel had to be redone and they stopped advertising that.
The baby finally fell asleep (first nap all week!) towards the end of the tour on Cliff's shoulder. All we had left to do after that was Pike Place Fish Market so we chose to walk the blocks up to it. It was a big Denios. Quite the let down for me, but we did get to see them throw fish and we ate the nearby donuts while we watched. 10 minutes later we were running through the rain trying to get back to our car.
I'm not a fan of paying for parking up front. I don't want to have to rush back if I'm 10 minutes late and I hate to pay for time we don't need -which is what we did by 2 hours so as we drove out of the parking lot we handed our ticket to a couple of ladies who were just pulling in. Good deed for the day-check.
Our last stop was the Museum of Flight just outside of the craziness of downtown. We planned for a little over an hour to spend there but we learned it was not even close to enough time! There was so much interesting information to be absorbed! I was expecting it to be a hanger full of different planes and a sign with the names of each. It was so much more than that. The only parts we got to explore before they closed and we got kicked out was the WWI and WWII exhibits. They had stories about some of the people from different sides of the war. They had the plains of course, but then they went further and told stories about the pilots, the mechanics, and other figures that have been lost in the obscurity of history. We'll be going back next year and we will be spending an entire day there! It was phenomenal!
Getting back into downtown was (just like driving anywhere in that town) and nightmare! We were in traffic for 2 hours and we were only 15 minutes away! We were so frustrated we couldn't figure out where to eat since we didn't know the town. iPhone did one good deed this trip: it pointed out that Washington had just 2 of our favorite restaurants, Buca di Beppo! I even brought one of our coupons from home just in case! Traffic was nasty all through town and parking wasn't going to be possible so I ran out of the car and into Buca at a stop light, then Cliff when and hung out in an alley way until I was done. I'd like to say there was prompt service (or at least a greeting) when I got there but there wasn't. Apparently when you come into a place at 6 o'clock on a Tuesday night you're not important.
While I waited for the order I took a picture of their 'motivational wall' in the kitchen.
We went back to the hotel and pigged out! Dinner was delicious! We followed that with quick showers and another early bedtime.
.................
Evelyn sleeps in a bed with rails surrounding it at home. We didn't have that here so we put her in bed with Alex, stuffed a rolled up sheet next to her, and tucked her in tight. Shortly after Cliff and I feel asleep we hear a very loud thud come from the kids' room. I woke up in a panic because I didn't hear Evelyn cry after that but Cliff got into the room first. He then came out laughing and told me to grab my camera.
She rolled OVER her bed roll, somehow jumped over the gap and landed on the bedside table lodging her arms in the space between the two. Through all of this she and Alex both kept snoring.
One real nights worth of sleep before packing two days worth of clothes for Seattle. Thank you travel gods.
NOT Pike Place!
We headed out early for Seattle and after traffic we were looking at getting into town around 1pm. When we got close I pulled out my GPS and searched for Pike Place Fish Market. It instructed us to get off the freeway, so we did. It sent us up a hill and into a residential neighborhood but I was thinking that maybe it was taking us the shortest route. A few more turns and we end in a cul-de-sac having "arrived at (our) destination".
To the Asshat at 385 Datewood Ct NW, Issaquah, WA 98027 who thought it would be funny to mark your house as Pike Place Fish Market I hope you briefly choke on a marshmallow and all your teeth fall out. You probably don't eat marshmallows which means your teeth are probably perfect, but you just sent us 40 minutes out of our way. 40 minutes when you only have 2 days to explore is crucial. Santa better be bringing you coal. And yes, I understand the Asshat may no longer live there, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still an asshat.
Anyway, 40 minutes behind schedule meant that we missed my harbor tour by 10 minutes. Just close enough to make me sad about it.
We managed to find parking downtown (nightmare!) and went straight for some Starbucks. We bought Alex a hot chocolate and he shared it with Evelyn. Such a great big brother!
We walked the pier to the aquarium as our first official adventure in Seattle. Well actually, I think the bum that was hanging on our window telling us we needed to give him money for a room because he was pointing to a parking spot (that we saw without him) for us would be our first actual adventure. Welcome to the city. Lock your doors, keep your kids close, and wear your money where no one can see it!
This seal came right up next to us to hang out and
scratch his back on the glass.
The aquarium was actually pretty awesome. They have research right outside in Puget Sound on sharks (one specifically named the sixgill shark) and other local creatures that they feature in the aquarium. There is a salmon run that is set up that I'm sure would be amazing to see when the Salmon are actually in it. My favorite part was easily the seal and otter exhibits. It was set up so you could watch them from above (like we can see in San Francisco) and below the water. I can honestly say I've never seen otters under water before. I had no idea they were so fast and getting to watch them play together was so much fun.
We left the aquarium and drove to the space needle. Again, parking was insane but we came at the perfect time. We were there when it was still light out (and we could just barely see Mt. Rainer) and stayed long enough to watch the sunset and see the city at night. I don't know why I didn't consider how windy it would be at the top but I was grateful it wasn't raining on us. I failed to charge my camera battery and a nice passerby offered to take our picture but apparently has never worked a camera that has a focus button. Either that or she just didn't care. Thanks anyway for trying. We almost got a family picture.
We finally left the space needle and ventured through town to find the Camlin where we were staying. The hotel was gorgeous but we just went to our room and fed the kids easy Mac for dinner before canceling our in room movie plans in lieu of sleep or the kids. Evelyn hasn't napped all week and she was beyond grumpy, making me grumpy, and I ashamedly took it out on Alex a wee bit with 'angry Mommy voice'. Sleep cures all.
We needed milk for breakfast so I walked the block to the local stop and rob passing only 1sleeping homeless person along the way. There seems to be a lot of homeless here. Yogurts were $1.20 so I only got enough for the kids plus a gallon milk (only $0.30 more than a quart), a couple string cheeses, and some bananas for $9 total. Ouch.
Back at the hotel I played with the parking meter until I finally figured out how to pay for our overnight space. Very unclear instructions but $10 later I made it work!!
I noticed the *empty* metro station across the street and couldn't resist briefly checking it out. I only stayed a moment before heading back inside to put the food away but not before I noticed the theater kiddy corner from the hotel.
itty bitty blub in the middle is angry bum
After putting the milk away I grabbed my camera to snap a picture of that theatre only to be chased down by an angry bum accusing me of taking his picture when I had no right. First of all I AM in a tourist town meaning people tend to take pictures of everything; second I was just up the space needle where they have a camera anyone can control that can zoom in all over the city. Needless to say when the guy literally crossed two streets all the while yelling at me this scared little white chick was not such a fool that I didnt run my ass back inside. I was extremely grateful I hadn't ventured more than 20 yards from the entrance and the waiting doorman. I ain't going out solo at night again unless I'm dressed to match the bums. No one jerked with me then...
I reviewed my picture and yes, your blurry (let me strongly emphasize blurry) ass IS in my picture but you quite clearly walked into it. What makes it more offensive is that I wasn't even using a flash!!! Find me a camera that can take a clear shot of someone in a bright city at night and I'll give you my left arm!
I know I had a really fun video of the otters swimming but for the life of me I cannot currently find it. I'll just have to post it later.
She actually does know how to sleep.
It's sideways with a foot lodged in my spine
and her skull in Cliff's shoulder.
I loved having a night in my sleeping bag (best purchase ever!) but I wasn't too happy about waking up with so much snow on the ground. We left Klamath Falls up 140 where the highway had disappeared under a layer of snow. Thank you, thank you, thank you car gods for getting the 4wd up and running before we left. Oh boy would that of been scary without it. Okay, it was actually a little scary even with it, but I knew it was doable at least.
We were going to stop in Roseburg but the people we were planning to visit all got really sick. Without something to split up the long drive up the Corvallis the kids (okay, me too) all started getting really grumpy. We stayed up way too late last night (11pm-ish) and Alex was up by 6am. Crazy kid.
We finally made it to Corvallis in time to take Mom and Mark out to an early dinner before Mark had to go to his bowling league. A trip to Washington isn't complete without Shari's Loaded Potato Soup. Since we skipped lunch I was starving and might have overdone it on my dinner. I had the French Dip sandwich subbing Stuffed Hash-Browns in place of fries and a bowl of Loaded Potoato soup. If I don't eat another loaded potato for the rest of the year it will be too soon.
With all of the days plans changed we were ahead of schedule so we drove into Washington tonight instead of in the morning. It was a great surprise that Keith and Shelly opened their home to us so we could crash for a night before driving onto Seattle. Being able to unload the car and repack our bags (meaning that we didn't have to take everything on our 2 day trip) was such a blessing!
The morning started later than we planned and the weather threatened to dump on us the entire drive to Dunsmuir but somehow we made it when it was still dry. I haven't been there in a number of years and since we weren't positive if we'd be able to stop I failed to print up a map in advance. Boy, will that teach me! I haven't been there in several years and it's a little tucked back anyway. The places I was recognizing were because I had done u-turns in them but I wasn't sure which way I was heading when I did them. Needless to say, my GPS (and Cliff's) sucked and my memory failed too. I got really frustrated (at myself and the situation) so Cliff stopped at a hotel (my suggestion) for directions and we found it in minutes.
I don't think Cliff took me seriously when I told him that we shouldn't meander on the way to the waterfall, that we should walk with purpose. As my luck would have it, a train did come while we were walking naturally in the most narrow section of track. Cliff yelled at us to run which freaked out Alex a wee bit. Cliff took the baby (he's much faster running with her than I am) and Alex darn near tried to jump off the cliff into the river below. I grabbed his hand and we ran as fast as we could on the uneven tracks to the next wide opening. Poor Alex was really freaked out and kept trying to get off the tracks (the only other options were a rock wall and a steep cliff to the river) while I tried to explain (while running of course) that's we're better off on the tracks where we can run faster than falling into the river where we will surely die. We made it with several minutes before the train arrived. I was happy for it's horn because I did not hear the tracks hum this time like I have in the past.
We were only a few minutes from Mossbrae Falls and when Alex saw it all his earlier jitters went away. I love that place! This was my first time visiting in the fall and all the colors were amazing. We were the only ones at the waterfall (we arrived right as a couple of backpacking photographers were leaving) so we had the view and quiet (if you can call a waterfall quiet) all to ourselves. It was so peaceful. On the walk back we passed 2 other couples and another train came right after we got to the truck. It was windy so we popped out our backpacking stove and heated a cup of soup on the tailgate and served the kids the tuna packs we planned for lunch.
The drive from Dunsmuir to Klammath Falls was pretty short (foggy) and we were very grateful for getting to stay at Shannon's new house. I loved how cute it was! She cooked some freezers pizzas for us and we feasted on chips, pizza, and wine. It was fantastic just hanging out sitting on the floor, chatting, eating, and catching up.
Opportunity has knocked in Texas so he's off to start the next chapter in his life. We are excited for him and the possibilities that are before him.
If he is unable to visit for our yearly hike to Enrique's Leap then I'll be forced to Internet stalking... I don't really have the time to do that so I really hope his job gives vacations.
We love you and we'll miss you dearly! Best of luck on this adventure!
We prepared an awesome dinner for Bert and his family tonight. It was a very enjoyable evening, but it's our last night with him. We wish him the best in his new adventures and all the happiness life has to offer.
I love you Bert. Thank you for being a great part of our life.
Bed time is becoming a breeze *knock on wood*. She wants her ladybug light (almost always on blue), baby Jaguar, Bug, night light friend, and a cup of water. Cover her up with bum bum and off she goes to dreamland all on her own. A kiss, sweet dreams, and I'll see you on the clouds. I love you, Baby.
Today was probably one of the luckiest days possible. Something about 11*11*11 just rings well for me. I would love to say that today I was able to spend it in a perfect way doing perfect things but that's not my life. Today was full of challenges with one single perfect blessing reminding me at the end of the day what really matters. Some days are difficult. Some days will seem impossible, but I am so blessed to be able to be home with my children being a part of their life, raising them myself, and helping them grow into better humans. None of my blessings would even be possible today if not for countless others who've given up everything.
Freedom isn't free and today is not a 'happy' day. We should all be grateful to all our veterans everyday and not just one day a year. These people make everything we have possible. They have giving up anything for our freedoms, and too many have sacrificed everything. This Veteran's day I want to say thank you to all of you who ever served, who are serving now, and who ever will serve. To my military family and friends. To all branches and their families. Thank you. Your dedication, honor, and selflessness is inspiring and I am truly grateful.
I'm very proud of Evelyn for wanting to go potty by herself today. When she came back (I was on the phone) she told me she went poo and gets num nums! Then, as we're walking to the bathroom for the num nums she tells me she had an airplane poop. I was very curious what that was and if I even heard her right but again she told me she had an 'airplane poop' followed with hand motions and airplane sounds. "Vrrrrrrruuuummmm!" I have no clue where she got that from or what it actually is, but she seems to know and that's what matters.
I cut this lemon open to make a glass of lemonade but Evelyn had another idea. She wanted to eat it so her and I shared this fun sour experience with each other.
Evelyn and I drove to Daddy's work so we could have dinner and look at a possible car we might buy. I got to the shop before closing time (is there really such a thing?) so I went to the freezer to share an otter pop with Evelyn. After we finished it, Evelyn decided she needed another one so she walked me to the freezer and asked me to 'get something' from it. When I told her no, she tried to scale it herself.
At dinner, Evelyn enjoyed picking off of my plate and having the cutest conversations with baby jaguar.
No, I did not take any pictures of her! I was making her better!
We got to experience Evelyn's first really bloody accident. Sure she's skinned her knee before but tonight she bit her lip and it was just gushing blood. Poor baby tripped and lucky for her Daddy was there to catch her and keep her from getting really hurt, but she still bit her upper lip.
Sadly, my first reaction was to scoop her up but to stare and comment at how much blood there was. I snapped out of it pretty quick and took her downstairs to get a piece of ice wrapped in a paper towel. The bleeding stopped quickly after that but Evelyn was very curious what the red spots were on the towel.
*in a very squeaky high pitched voice*
"What is that?!"
"That's your blood, Evelyn."
*2 octaves higher* "Blood?!"
She calmed down pretty quick and all that was left to do was try to get all that blood out of her sweatshirt (I was in a black shirt so I didn't care). Thank you Oxi-Clean. It was a joy to watch the foam on the stains with it's magical like stain removing powers .
We picked up supplies last night for this mornings breakfast. Someone had mentioned that they were hoping for Cliff's biscuits and gravy so this morning he made a dynamite batch before we packed out. Well actually to be fair, Cliff made dynamite gravy, Shelley made the tasty biscuits.
