Okoboji 2011

We spent last week at one of my favorite places...Lake Okoboji!  As always, we had a great time full of fun, food, and family time!  The crazy heat and humidity dealt us some fits, so Delaney and I spent a lot of time inside.  We thought Delaney had recovered from her ear infection before we left, but she rapidly became a crabby, clinging little girl.  We attributed it to the heat, lack of sleep, and teething.  By Wednesday she was getting progressively worse, so I decided I should have her checked out.  After being turned away by two different doctor's clinics, we headed to the ER.  Twenty minutes later we left with a double ear infection diagnosis and a prescription for antibiotics.  She didn't make a miraculous recovery overnight, but we slowly started down the road to recovery.  It was an exhausting trip, but I would go back tomorrow if I could!   Thanks to my wonderful family for a fabulous family vacation...can't wait until next year!

   Delaney took a couple of boat rides on Uncle Nick's boat!     Nick even let her drive!

 

Here's the whole Bryant clan lakeside after breakfast one morning!  

 

 We took Delaney swimming one afternoon in Aunt Leah's hotel pool!  It was crazy steamy in there, so this is the only picture that turned out!  D had quite the time swimming with her Daddy, Papa, and cousins Jacob & Trevor!  She sure is a water baby!

 In our attempts to keep Delaney happy, we offered Fruit popsicles!  Obviously, she enjoyed them!

 Of course, we have a few Baby Chase pictures!  Isn't he such a cutie?!?

 He's getting so big and changing so fast! 

 Here's Chase and his Mommy hanging out at the Barefoot Bar! 

 Delaney and I had a little fun at the Barefoot too, even though she wasn't feeling the greatest!  We got out of the house for a little while!

 Everyone getting a little cozy (and punchy) on the couch!

 We went on a Sunset Cruise with Jess and Nick Thursday night...Craig refused to take a nice picture with me...isn't this cute?

 Here are Grandma & Papa with there two grandbabies!  I'm sure they got home Saturday night and just collapsed after a week of helping us so much with these two! 

 We did an impromptu family photo before we left Saturday.  It was a little steamy hence the haze in the picture, but we'll take it! 

I spoke too soon...

We are now dealing with another first at our house...Delaney has her first ear infection, and it's not just an ear infection...it's a double ear infection! This lovely condition was caused by all the drainage that she's had since last week...which is also the same virus that presented like pink eye, even through it was likely just part of the virus. After not sleeping through the night since Sunday, and waking up yesterday with goopy eyes, a faucet nose, and a nasty cough I decided to call the doctor. It was one of the few random days that I absolutely had to be at work and Craig couldn't get away, so I sent her to Holly's with severe apologies and guilt. Holly was very understanding!

After a conversation with one of the nurses, we decided we better get D into see one of the doctors to figure out what was going on. I had to trek clear across town to get the last appointment available yesterday, but after we saw the doctor I'm so glad I did. She said that the right ear is really bad, and the left is getting there. We have 10 day of Amoxicillian ahead of us, and a re-check of her ears scheduled for next Friday since we are leaving for the lake on Saturday! If it's not better we will have to go with a stronger antibiotic and ear drops...fun stuff! Luckily, so far Delaney seems to tolerate the Amoxicillian, she apparently like the taste of it which has helped tremendously! She also has not shown any signs of allergic reaction to it...I was a little worried since she hasn't had any real (non-OTC) medication yet and her cousin is allergic to penicillin. Let's hope that the meds help, and our little girl is good as new by the time we leave for vacation! I'm tired of sickness!

Catching our breath

It's been a crazy few weeks around here. This coming weekend will be the first (and last) for quite some time that we will actually be home in Lincoln without any major plans. We are all looking forward to it. We have had many fun (and some not so fun) times lately, but all the running around and traveling is starting to take a toll. We have made numerous trips up North to Tekamah for various family events and visits. Craig's grandpa has had another bout with illness, but is not doing much better and recovering in Tekamah. Delaney has held up pretty well with the constant business, but she did have a run-in with pink eye last week! Nasty stuff! We spent Thursday and Friday home doing drops trying to get un-contagious before the big weekend! I think we have successfully gotten rid of the bug, and managed to not get anyone else sick! Phew!

I have been continuing with my running program. After battling nasty shin splints for the first few weeks, I am finally starting to feel better when I'm running! I think my new shoes definitely help! I about 3 weeks away from the 5k, I'm not as scared now as when I started the program...it seems doable now! Considering how anti-running I have been more whole life, this is quite an accomplishment!

We had a great Fourth of July weekend! We started it off by celebrating a friend's recent marriage at a wedding reception in Gretna Friday night. Congratulations Grant & Maria! Delaney spent some quality time with her Uncle Brent, Auntie Buff, and crazy cousins Sydney, Jaiden, & Tyler while we went out. She had a big time!

Saturday, we headed up to the farm. We all managed to take some much-needed naps Saturday afternoon, so we were ready to take in the festivities at Northridge Saturday night. They had live music, kiddie games, and awesome fireworks! I think this is going to be a great, new tradition for Tekamah! After the fireworks in Tekamah, we headed back to the farm for Craig & Brent's show. It was actually fairly impressive! (Delaney wasn't too into the firework this year, so she went to bed before the show at the farm!)

Sunday we celebrated Chase's baptism! It was a wonderful day for everyone! I was honored to become his godmother! Craig did a fine job standing in for Nick's brother, Brandon, as godfather. Brandon is serving in the US Air Force in Afghanistan right now, so obviously he couldn't be there with us on Sunday. Everyone did get to visit with him via Skype Sunday afternoon, which was nice! Chase did wonderful throughout the ceremony. He didn't even cry when the water was poured over his head. We may have another water baby on our hands!

Monday was the annual 4th of July parade in Tekamah! As opposed to last year, Delaney was far more entertained by the parade this year. She loved the candy, people watching, and floats! She even stayed out of the street, which I consider to be a huge victory! We enjoyed a family lunch in Tekamah and then headed home to Lincoln Monday afternoon. We made it home to enjoy some dessert with our new neighbors. We also discovered we live in a neighborhood full of pyromaniacs! Our house was actually shaking with some of the fireworks! We could feel vibrations in our bed! It was a little nuts! I suppose we were annoyed because we had already done the fireworks thing twice, and were pretty much zombies by Monday night!

I hope to get some pictures posted from the weekend soon! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!