PUMPKIN CARVING TIME!!!

And some video...



And what was Junior up to while the girls were cleaning out pumpkin? Well, he was enjoying some Teddy Grahms. And what happens when Junior decides to crush up the Teddy Grahms while sitting on the couch?

Halloween Party

The girls had their first Halloween Party at school this Wednesday. Dawna took Kevin up there to participate. Unfortunately, I had Senior Service at the church and was unable to attend. They all seemed to get along pretty well.





Kiera is a bride this year.



Kaylee is a princess.



Kevin is Pooh. Sorry for the lack of pictures of him. Dawna didn't have him in his costume before I went to work, and then at the party, this was the only side she saw of him as he spent most of the time running away from her.

Getting Better

Well, we've had the girls in school the past two days, all of them are running around like wild banshees, and even Dawna and I cough only occasionally. I guess you could say that we're getting better. Kevin's nose continues to run like a sieve right now, but other than that bit of messiness, it looks like we're over the hump.

Just hope that by tomorrow my vocal chords are back tomorrow. The church band that I am one of the vocalists for is playing at another church's fall festival. It might put a little crimp in our ability to do quality work if I'm squealing all over the place. But it's a church function. Folks should be forgiving.

Back Home and....

SICK!!

Yep. Kaylee's virus apparently liked the rest of the hosts in this family, because EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US got this cotton-pickin' virus.

It's a nasty sort of buggar that coats your vocal chords and rests in your chest. For the girls, it's been rather nightmarish. They are fine for 45 minutes to an hour or so, and then the coughing fit hits. It doesn't end until something comes up, which at first, was whatever was in their stomachs. Kiera's been a good sport, I taught her how to hock a lugy (don't worry, I didn't take pictures), and since then, no more vomiting. Kaylee, however, doesn't seem to want to listen to her mom and dad's instructions. Of all the kids, Kevin seems to be handling the drainage best. He still coughs from time to time, but nothing like the girls.

What is fun is dealing with sick kids when you are sick too. That's been the most interesting aspect of the whole ordeal. Luckily, Dawna and I have been spared the worst, and it seems like we are coming out on the end of it.

Now, I have to give a shout out to my sister who feels terribly guilty that we came down with this nastiness when we came up to visit her. Don't worry, sis. As Dad told me when he gave us advice about whether or not to come see you (when y'all might have gotten H1N1), "Sh-t happens. If you're gonna get sick. You're gonna get sick."

Well, guess what, Dad. It happens.

North Carolina Part 3

Kaylee had a really, really rough night last night. Her cough intensified keeping her awake quite a bit. We ended up moving her out of the room with Payton and Kiera and put her in bed with Dawna. I got the couch downstairs.

About 6:30 EST this morning, Kaylee woke up with a lot of coughing. She said she wanted Daddy, so Dawna brought her down to me. When I held her, I could tell she was running a fever. Sure enough when Aunt Laura brought the thermometer, it was 99.7.

Well, we knew plans to go to Hanging Rock State Park were out, so we worked to get Kaylee into see my sister's pediatrician. Appointment 10:45 a.m.

After Tylenol, Kaylee's fever broke completely. She was off running a playing with Payton, Ian, Kiera, and Kevin in no time. Still was draining and coughing. We decided to keep the Dr's appointment considering we were embarking on another road trip tomorrow. Didn't want an ear or sinus infection causing us a lot of grief on the way home.

I ended up taking Kaylee to the doctor in Laura and Scott's Nissan Murano while Laura, Dawna and the rest of the kids went to a nearby park.

Doc came in and looked Kaylee over. No ear infection. No sinus infection. Probably the start of a virus. Doc was pretty sure it wasn't H1N1 because Kaylee's fever was non-existent (Tylenol had even worn off by then).

So, now it's treating all the symptoms to help the little girl get well: changed OTC meds from Mucinex Decongestant to Mucinex and Cough Suppressant, got a portable vaporizer, stocked up on Tylenol in case the fever comes back. Whoever gets the room next to us in the hotel on the way home will probably be wondering what in the world is going on, but I really don't care. Got to take care of the kid.

After the Doc's visit, Kaylee wanted to join the rest of the kids at the park, so I took her there. Never would have known she woke up with a fever. She had a blast as did all the other kids.





The kids were fascinated by several "Daddy Long Legs" Spiders.



This evening, we will probably hang out at the house playing in the playroom and running around the backyard. It's an absolutely beautiful, fall day in NC.



Tomorrow, we'll head to Asheville to take a small foray into the Great Smoky Mountaings as we head toward home.

North Carolina Part 2

Today, we took the morning and went to Dan Nicholas Park near Salisbury, NC. The park was amazingly kid friendly with play parks, a train, a carousel, mini-zoo, petting zoo, picnic areas, and more.



We first headed over to the playground area. I've never seen that much equipment in that small of a space.



They had some really cool and unique stuff for the kids to play on.



I think the kids would have had more fun there if it weren't for the southern yellow-jackets flying all over the place. They were a complete and utter nusciance while playing on the playground and eating. Both Kiera and Kaylee ended up getting stung. Kiera almost right away. After that, she wanted nothing to do with the playgrounds. So, it was off to other attractions.

Of course, the kids saw the photo op places...



Then it was time for a train ride.



Next, a trip to the carousel!!



They had just a slight amount of fun on the carousel:



We then went to the mini-zoo. The kids enjoyed looking at the animals, and their tour through a bear cave!!



Finally, it was time for the trip back home. Everyone except Dawna and I fell asleep, and we were trucking along having a good time until Kaylee threw up. Poor baby. The allergies up here have really affected her, and when she gets too much drainage (and we forget the medicine at home) she gags on it and lets loose. Aunt Laura took the brunt of things, but it could have been worse. Oh well, next time, we'll remember the children's Musinex!

North Carolina Vacation: Post #1

Finally took another vacation from work. We'd been trying to get out and see my sister and brother-in-law out in Winston-Salem, NC since they moved there roughly a year and a half ago. So, we packed up the Suburban and took a road trip.

18 hours in the car later (broken up by several stops and a night in Mobile, AL), we arrived in Winston-Salem. I have to say that the kids did FABULOUSLY!!! There were a couple of true sibling moments, but nothing I had to pull the car over to deal with. Yeah!!!

The weather hasn't exactly been all that great. It's cloudy and misty today, so we decided to go to the Natural Science Center of Greensboro about a 40 minute drive away. The kids had a blast.



Even the exhibit at the door caught their attention.



Surprisingly, so did some big rocks.



Not surprisingly, the dinosaurs really caught their eyes!



Then it was time to head out to the outdoor exhibits. The museum is really a museum/zoo combo. Even though it was misting, the kids enjoyed looking at monkeys, lemurs, snakes, and tigers.



It was really cute to see the girls walking hand in hand as we got ready to leave.



After finishing up at the museum, we headed to a nearby pizza restaurant. The food was really good even though we had to deal with some really tired, cranky kids. In fact, four out of the five fell asleep as we headed back to Laura and Scott's (Payton was the only non-conformist). We'll be hanging around at the house for the rest of the day, and we'll probably have an early bedtime.

Weather permitting we plan on going Dan Nicholas Park tomorrow.