Four-Wheeling Catastrophe

Yesterday Scott, Suzi and I went 4-wheeling up Bountiful Canyon while Chuck rode on his dirt bike. It was the first time I've ever been on a 4-wheeler (other than in Cancun a few years ago when we rode on the beach) so I wasn't sure what to expect but it was actually a lot of fun....that is, until we got to a really steep and rocky hill. Scott and Suzi went first and then I started making my way up the hill. I don't know if my 4-wheeler hit a rock or if I just lost control but halfway up the hill I plunged off the side taking the 4-wheeler with me as I went. Luckily I landed in some trees which cushioned my fall (and the 4-wheeler's), otherwise we would have fallen about 50 feet. At first I thought my leg might be broken so when Chuck found me he was afraid to move me until someone else was able to help him lift me. Scott came back a few minutes later and they were able to lift me back up onto the hill. I was able to move my leg but my knee hurt really bad and was bleeding pretty heavily. When I was able to sit down I started to go into shock. My vision and hearing kept fading in and out and I felt really nauseous. Some people stopped and gave me some water which made me feel a little better, and they were also able to help Scott get the 4-wheeler out of the trees which was a miracle. Somehow I was able to get back onto the 4-wheeler and ride the rest of the way down to our truck without falling off again, although Suzi fell off of hers on the way back. I think she did it just to make me feel better because she was going about 2 miles an hour when it happened. After dropping Chuck and Suzi off we drove straight home although I probably could have used some stitches in my knee because there was a pretty big puncture wound in it. It didn't stop bleeding until late last night and my knee is really sore and stiff now. But even though I'm sore all over and my knee is killing me right now I'm just grateful it wasn't a lot worse because it easily could have been. And even though I don't ever want to see that steep and rocky hill in my lifetime, I still enjoyed going 4-wheeling and would definitely like to try it again.
P.S. Chuck's mom was nice enough to watch not only Ander but Dawson so that we could go today and we really appreciated it. She also took some cute pics of them.

Alpine Slide/Coaster Fun

We were planning on camping in Bear Lake this weekend with Chuck and Suz in Scott's parents' motor home but someone sabotaged the water lines in the motor home by putting honey in them which totally plugged them up. Scott and his dad worked on them most of the day Friday and weren't able to fix them so we decided if we weren't going to be able to go to Bear Lake we should try to do something else fun to make up for it. My sister Leslie was able to come and watch the kids (we sure do appreciate her) so we took off to Park City. We decided to go to the Park City Mountain Resort so that we could go down the Alpine Slide, which we've always enjoyed. The resort also has a new attraction called the Alpine Coaster which is a mini roller coaster that takes you on an elevated track about a mile up the mountain and then hurtles you down at about 30 miles per hour. It was a lot of fun but Suzi got pretty scared and almost got off the ride before it started (see pic of Suz having a near-heart attack afterward). The rest of us liked it better than the Alpine Slide.
We went to Cisero's for dinner, which is a great little Italian restaurant on Main Street. Scott and Chuck got the special, which was broasted (a cross between boiled and roasted) rabbit. I felt like I was going to hurl every time I looked at it but the guys sure did enjoy it. For dessert, we all got a big warm chocolate chip cookie served in a skillet with ice cream. Pure heaven!

This Kid Cracks Me Up

A few days ago I had a miscarriage at 9 weeks, which has been really hard to deal with because both Scott and I really want another child. Fortunately, my little clown has been keeping me sane by making me laugh at all of his silly antics. He's always doing or saying things throughout the day that crack me up.
Thank goodness for my sweet and funny child, who is helping me get me through this tough time without even trying.

Let Loose in the Hoose

The little guy has been getting pretty sick and tired of playing in our family room so I decided to let him roam around in the kitchen and living room today. You would have thought it was Christmas by how ecstatic he was. His eyes were full of complete amazement as he gazed at everything in this brand new world that had been opened to him. He ran around and around and around and around the kitchen until I thought he would pass out from exhaustion but no, he was far from being done yet. He then crawled down the step into the living room and loudly smacked his hands on the coffee table while checking out the many wonders of the room. He then alternated between smacking the table, running up to the kitchen again, dragging around the kitchen rug, using Zeus as a footstool, and trying to open both our front and back doors. This went on for about 45 minutes. He was literally in 7th heaven being able to explore this whole area that had been off limits to him before today.
We still have some babyproofing to do in these rooms, but he was surprisingly good about not touching certain things when I told him no, which was a complete shocker to me because I was under the impression that the word "no" in Dawson's mind meant "Keep on doing whatever naughty thing you're doing. Oh, and laugh about it while you're at it because that makes it all right."
Maybe he's really starting to understand what "no" means after all. Or maybe he's smart enough to know that his newfound freedom will be taken from him if he abuses it. Or maybe it's a little bit of both...

Our Little Climber

Over the past few weeks, Dawson has learned to climb on the furniture and it's become one of his favorite pastimes. We have to watch him constantly to make sure he doesn't fall once he's gotten up because he doesn't seem to have any sense of danger. He tries to walk off our couches as if they're just a small step to him but we've been able to catch him every time before he could actually "walk off". Sometimes I wonder if it's a good idea to let him fall just once so he'll be a little more careful in the future (fear can be a good thing), but that would be the time he would break his head open so I don't dare. He also loves to climb into his toy chest and play in it but sometimes he gets stuck in all the toys so he gets mad that he can't get out. It's pretty funny to watch. I'm waiting for the day when he can climb up and over our safety gate and into the kitchen, which we still haven't totally childproofed. We've still got some work to do to make our kitchen and living room safe for (and from) him.

Day with the Sisters and our Boys

Suzi, Leslie and I got together the other day at Suzi's house while our boys played together. It's kind of funny that we each have only have one child and that child is a boy. Leslie's Taylor loves to play with Ander but is not a big fan of Dawson yet. He calls Dawson "clumsy and destructive". This is true but I think most 15 month old boys are clumsy and destructive. Hopefully Taylor will like him a little better when Dawson gets older. We sisters had a great time talking and playing with the boys. Leslie kept Dawson entertained the majority of the time we were there. It's always fun to get together with my sisters.

Park City and New Word

Scott, Suzi and I went shopping for the kids up at the Park City outlets last Friday and got a lot of great fall clothes for them. Dawson and Ander were wearing the same shirt that day (which was unplanned) and they looked so cute together.
On a different subject, I've been a little concerned about Dawson's vocabulary because the only words he's ever really said are "mama" and "dada". I was starting to wonder if he'd ever say anything else. However, this Monday Dawson finally said a new word. We were over at Suzi's house and my sister Leslie was there too. Leslie thought she heard Dawson saying "bubbles" (he pronounced it buh-boe) but I didn't realize that it was Dawson talking. Ander's favorite word is "bubbles" and he says it at least 100 times a day so I just assumed it was Ander talking. I have to give credit to Ander for teaching Dawson the word "bubbles" because I'm sure Dawson learned it from hearing him say it so many times. I don't think Dawson even knows what bubbles are but he sure does like the word because he says it almost as much as Ander does. He also learned to say "ball" later that day so I'm hoping he's finally on his way to learning to say more words.