Diagnosed

I just got back from the rheumatologist and thought I better write all this down before I forget...

Speaking of forgetting, do you know how embarrassing it is to finally meet your doctor and he says, "Well, I haven't seen you in a while," and you just stare at him with a stupid look and finally ask, "Ummm, have I been in here before?"... to which he replies, "Yeah, it's been what now, a year?"

Apparently I had met and talked with him a year ago but had no recollection. I remember getting some labwork done, but no memory of meeting with a rheumatologist. He must have thought me insane, but he was kind enough not to mention it.

The good thing is, since I had already been there, they had a bunch of bloodwork already done on me and the diagnosis was easy... although not a good one...

I definitely have rheumatoid arthritis and sjogren's syndrome, and they are running more tests to check for lupus...which I do have the antibodies for but not all the symptoms right now... hopefully it stays that way...

I'm glad to finally know that my suspicions were founded at least, and to know what the enemy is so I can work at fighting it.

As far as the memory loss goes, at least now I have an excuse (that's the sjogren's syndrome)...

Tropical Escape

A tropical paradise is definitely not what you think of when you think of this town, but when we locals get the itch for a little taste of the South Pacific, this is where we go...

It's not a cheap resort, but I did some snooping and found a buy-one-pass-get-one free deal. Anything to motivate the kids to get their chores done is worth it...


Please forgive me for my overabundance of photos lately...our computer is acting up so I am kind of using the blog as my backup photo place right now, just in case...

Anyways...

Even Ella braved the tube slide...

We had a few friends along, the more the merrier!

Taron's favorite is always the hot tub... even though it was plenty warm there to me. That boy just doesn't have enough insulation on his body...

Caden seemed to like the Tiki bucket the best...

But the overall favorite seemed to be the whirlpool...

And of course, you can't forget the lazy river...

And the arcade...

Moving On...

Taron had a really great teacher this year and has done so well in school. I happened to be in his class when they were taking a group photo and thought I would post it for his own records. I was sad to hear that his teacher is losing her job because of budget cuts and union seniority rules, she really was a great asset to the school (she is on the back left, Taron is in the front left).

Eh, Batter Batter Batter

My childhood is riddled with memories of attending my older brothers' little league games... Well, not really the games themselves, but the cans of pop we always got afterwards. I don't know why it was such a big deal to me, but it seemed so exciting back then.

Now they pass out gatorade. And freezer pops. But the excitement for the kids is still the same. The only difference is, I'm actually watching the games now.

Unfortunately my videos are not uploading for some reason, but I got some good ones of them at bat... they both are quite the little sluggers!

Dinner Cruisin'

Last Tuesday, Chris had all his district managers in town for meetings and we took them out on a dinner cruise that night. Unfortunately, I am still on my horrid diet so I couldn't eat most of the food, but what I tasted was absolutely delicious. I did have to cheat a few bites...

We had a narrator telling the stories of all the ships and sites we passed, and although the rain put a bit of a damper on the night, I think everyone enjoyed the trip.

(photo courtesy of duluthboats.com, I forgot my camera again.)

Lettin' Loose

With all the perks that Chris gets with Sara Lee, you would think they'd give us free bread too, but alas, I have to buy our bread at the store like everyone else...

He does have one perk that is pretty cool though...

Once a year, he takes some clients up to Canada to a five-star resort for a week of fishing some of the biggest fish you ever done seen...

Such a hard life, working for this company...

So with all that fishing, you would think he would bring home some fresh fish, right?

Wrong. It's all catch and release... gotta let 'em loose.

So, just like the bread, I guess I'll have to go buy our fish at the store like everyone else.

After School Activity

Yesterday I picked Taron up from kindergarten and we hopped across the street for a stroll in the park... But this isn't your typical park...

There are no swings, no teeter totters...

No colorful plastic playgroound equipment...

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No jungle gyms to climb on...

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No water fountains to get a drink from...

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Or sandbox to dig your fingers in... (fyi, this is froth from the falls, not snow!)

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But there are park benches to rest on...

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Which is a good thing, with all those stairs to climb...

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And bridges to cross...

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Until it's time to go home.

So...

What's across the street from YOUR school???

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