October 22, 2011: ASU Homecoming

Gabby and Alexandra

It's Homecoming Weekend at Appalachian State University.  Alexandra is part of Mini-Mountaineers Cheer-Leading Squad. This allowed her to be part of the Homecoming Parade.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Tuesday, October 25, 2011: Watauga Medical Center... again

One month ago today, I watched as they wrapped Brian's right leg in a cast.  Today I watched as they wheeled my husband, Adam, into surgery to operate on his left severed Achilles Tendon.  He came back with a cast on his left foot.

I now have 2 boys with casts on opposite legs.  I have told Alexandra that know matter the attention they get, under no uncertain circumstances is she allowed to break her leg!!!

We hope that Brian will get his cast off on Friday, Nov. 11th 2011.  Adam's will remain on for a bit longer.  He will have some sort of contraption on his leg until January at the earliest, or it could be until March.  We will know more on Nov. 7th.

We are hoping for a very mild winter.

Monday, October 17, 2011: A sitting President visits Boone, NC

History happened on this day for the Town of Boone, NC. As many of you know we are a small town about 2 hours from anywhere most people know.  I frequently tell people "Boone is about 20minutes East of Tennessee, and about 60 minutes south of Virginia."  Even then most people just nod their heads with a blank stare on their face. So its really a very big deal to have any talk of a presidential (past, present or hopeful) visit.   So when they announced they would release school early today, there was a ton of buzz... President Obama's motorcade might drive through Boone on its way to Wilkes county.  The early release was to ensure that children would not be stuck on buses tied up in traffic. It was a great decision!!!  

Back in 2007, former President Bill Clinton came through while campaigning for his wife Hillary to win the Democratic Presidential Nomination.  Alexandra was very lucky to have her picture taken with him.  This time, I was just hoping to have a glimpse at the motorcade while on our way to dance.  I knew we wouldn't get much more than that. After all we are a small town, tourist destination and university town yes but small none the less.

The children of Boone was more than rewarded for their early release.  President Obama actually stopped his motorcade in Downtown Boone.  He got out to visit a few shops and take some pictures.  His visit to Mast General Store made the BBC -A Day in Pictures.  Occasionally, Boone makes national news for the weather but I don't think we have ever made INTERNATIONAL news Day in pictures .  WOO-HOO!  Alexandra, Brian and I weren't close enough to downtown to see President Obama outside of the bus.  We did see him standing at the front of a black-campaign style bus waving at people.  I was thrilled to see a sitting President.  Alexandra was a little under-whelmed.  I'm not sure she understands what a big deal it is.  She is only 6 years old and been within 30 feet of 2 US Presidents.

October 16th, 2011: The most expensive tree removal ever...

So earlier this weekend, I asked Adam, his father and his brother Josh to cut down a 2 trees for me.  The first took a little longer to clean up that we had hoped.  So on Sunday afternoon, Adam decided to cut down the 2nd tree by himself.  Unfortunately, the tree did not want to cooperate. At some point the tree seemed like it was going to come down so Adam jumped out of the way.  In doing so, he severed his Achilles Tendon.  After 5 days of walking on it, he finally visited the doctor who sent Adam immediately to the Orthopedic Surgeon.  After an x-ray (and later an MRI) it was confirmed that the tendon is entirely severed and will need surgery on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011.

October 15, 2011: Woolly Worm

After sitting in traffic for 3 hours to drive all of 15 miles and a lot of kindness from a few sheriff's officers, we all managed to arrive in Banner Elk for the Woolly Worm Festival. The Woolly Worm Festival is a fundraiser  for local non-profits.  Alexandra's dance studio, High Country Dance Studio, performs at the event.

The Woolly Worm is actually a caterpillar.  It is believed that the severity of the winter can be predicted by the intensity of the black on the Woolly Worm.  If the woolly worm has more brown on its body than black, then it will be a fair winter.  If the woolly worm has more black than brown, the winter will be harsh.  I have no idea which worm "worm" won the contest, so I don't know how harsh the winter is suppose to be.

Here's the highlight, a video of Alexandra doing her dance.

October 13th 2011: Out of the mouths of babes...

While driving home today, we passed some Occupy Wall Street signs and members.  In response to my explanation, Alexandra said 2 things of greatness:


1. "We should just take back the money we gave them, plus a little of theirs.  We can give it (their portion) back to them after 10 days.  This way they will know how it feels."


2. "We should put them on Time Out for 10 days."




I just love how smart my daughter is!!!

October 11, 2011: The Broken Leg Follow-Up

We had a follow up appointment for Brian's leg.  The xrays show that the bones are healing nicely.  The earliest he will get his cast off is November 11.  They will take off this cast on that Friday and then re-xray his leg to make sure it has healed properly.  If the leg has not healed properly, they will recast it.

The cast has not slowed Brian down at all. He has been scooting around all over the place.  I had hoped that  this cast would keep him still for a little bit.  My hopes have been well and truly dashed.  This last weekend he navigated a set of stairs all by himself. Today he was WALKING on this cast.

September 26th, 2011: Brian Jumps.... end result a broken leg

So Alexandra and I returned home from Ginger Cascades,  Adam went off to work to finish a project. I started cleaning the house and sent the kids out to play on the swing-set. The next thing I heard was screaming, Brian in pain and Alexandra crying for help and to come quick.  I arrived outside to see Alexandra trying to soothe Brian.  Brian was on the grass by the swing-set's picnic table. I picked up Brian and tried to calm him. When he wouldn't let me touch this legs, I called Adam and told him that we were headed to the Emergency Room.  Adam said "I will meet you there."

Adam grabbed Brian from the car and took him into the Watauga Medical Center's ER.  After a few moments we were whisked off a room so that he could be given 3 shots of Fentanyl (more potent than morphine but lasts a much shorter period of time) to dull the pain and allow the Orthopedic Surgeon to set the leg and put on a fiberglass cast.  Brian really like how his finger would light up when the pulseox monitor was on his finger.  After being discharged, we took Brian out for ice cream. Its a rule in our house, you get a shot, you get ice cream. Then we went home.

September 24-25, 2011: Daisy Scouts to Ginger Cascades

It was an exciting day for Alexandra and I. Alexandra recently joined Daisy's (Girl Scouts for 6 year olds).  This was her first overnight camping trip.  We met up with the entire troupe at 7:30 am  to carpool down to Lenoir's Ginger Cascades Girl Scout Camp.  My car had to make a quick stop for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, especially since the "hot now" sign was on.  When we arrived, we started a fun adventure learning about how to be good campers while the visiting the woods= Leave No Trace Behind.  ASU Recreation Management class members were our teachers.  Alexandra and my favorite session was fire safety, where we got to make Smores' YUMMY!!!  We spent the night (3 moms and 4 girls) in a cabin with ELECTRICITY, WOW!  The next morning we had breakfast, cleaned up the campsite and headed back home to Boone. All in all it was a great first camping trip.