Ups and Downs

It's been an interesting week with various ups and downs. Last Saturday was an "up" time with shopping and lots of outside time enjoying the nice weather. Jackson even modeled hats for us at Fleet Farm.

Sunday was a different story, the start to a down period. Jackson had battled the flu Friday but was well Saturday, we thought. Sunday he woke up lethargic and obviously dehydrated. We ended up feeding him Pedialyte with a syringe as he can't stand the taste and wouldn't touch any liquid. Thank goodness by Sunday night he was feeling a little better. However, by Monday afternoon I wasn't feeling so hot. I only missed a bit of work and was back at it by Wednesday. Then Thursday Chris picked Jackson up at daycare minutes after Jackson had tripped over a teacher's shoe and split his lip open on a toy box. Off to Urgent Care we went. The wound really filleted open but it only took two stitched to close it back up. That entire experience was absolutely traumatic, for everyone.

By Friday things started looking up again. I had spent a beautiful day up in Door County for work and then got home and hopped in the car with the family and headed to Iowa for the weekend. Iowa greeted us with green grass and popping flower bulbs! Saturday Jackson was quick to wake up and look for his cousins, his Tanta and the dogs. He always has so much fun visiting them and wears himself out silly.



Saturday afternoon I finally got to take Taylor to lunch and shopping for her Christmas and Birthday gifts (sorry this took so long Tay!). We had an awesome time and she is now sporting some of the best looking clothes Aeroposotle sells : ) We returned from our shopping trip to find Chris and Jen making dinner for everyone. As we finished dinner the freezing rain and sleet turned to snow flakes the size of golf balls and Sunday morning we awoke to about 4" of ice and snow. Bye-bye spring.

Sunday we headed over to my Grandma's apartment at Grandhaven for one last family gathering before she moves to Wisconsin to live with my parents; my Mom is taking care of her full-time. For those unaware, my Grandma's Alzheimer's has progressed at an unprecedented rate over the last 3 months and she in no longer able to live alone or in an assisted living arrangement. It will be nice to have her so close to us and Jackson seems to lift her spirits.

As we approached Green Bay on Sunday afternoon everyone was sick of being in the car so we decided to end the trip on an "up". Instead of going home and beginning the unpacking (we brought back lots of stuff from my Grandma's) we procrastinated a bit longer by detouring to Baird's Creek Parkway. This was a great decision, it allowed all of us the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine, perk up our moods and stretch our legs. I decided to capitalize on the location and weather (both beautiful) and hopped in the back of the Trailblazer and changed into my running gear. I logged 3.5 miles on the muddy, wooded and winding trails before meeting up with Chris and Jackson at a waterfall. We played there for awhile throwing sticks and bark into the water and watching them run downstream in the swift current. What a great way to transition back home for all of us.