Vacation: Sunday and Whale Watching

One of the things I love about our church is that you can go anywhere in the world and find a congregation where you will feel at home.  They have the same meetings and formats and even Sunday School lessons.  It was great to visit the small congregation in Plymouth.  Everyone was friendly and I was even needed to play the piano in Relief Society.  I am so grateful for our church, for its doctrines, its organization, its wonderful members.  Yep, we enjoyed church away from home.  After church we went on a family walk on some of the trails right next to our rental house.  While the rest of the country was roasting, we enjoyed pleasant weather.  The scenery was so different from Iowa, it was so enjoyable.

The kids on our walk

Anna and I

Lizzy on our walk

The view from the trail


On Monday we got up and headed to Plymouth Harbor.  When we decided we were headed to the NorthEast for vacation I knew I wanted to go Whale Watching.  I have always wanted to do this and I was not disappointed by this experience.  It was a beautiful day.  We enjoyed just being out on the ocean (we may have enjoyed it more because I made everyone take some dramamine).  Seeing the whales was awesome.  We had a great location on the boat and were able to see quite well even though there were so many passengers.  I think the boys enjoyed the boat ride more than the whales, but the girls and I loved it all!  I am so glad we were able to do this.

Getting ready to go

  

 

 

 

Notice the mist from his spout.  Pretty cool

 

 

 

Anna stood almost the entire trip, several hours.  She did not want to miss a thing.  We also spotted some seals, but they were much more difficult to see.  Anna is definitely the animal lover in the family.

Another great day on vacation!

Vacation: Swimming and the Aquarium

When we finally arrived at our rental house,  the kids were not too impressed with the outside.  They thought it looked like a haunted house.  Go here to see pictures.  I thought it was great because it had 4 bedrooms and was right on a little lake (Long Pond).  We even had our own little private beach.  

After we got settled Greg turned right around and headed back to Boston. (We had just spent several hours in Boston traffic earlier that afternoon).  Greg just started some remote classes at MIT, but he has to be on campus at certain times.  It fell during vacation and since our other vacation plans fell through we decided to head east for vacation.  So this was Greg's view:

And this was mine:

While Greg was gone the kids and I swam and went grocery shopping.  There was a great floating dock out in the water.  At first the younger kids were afraid of it because it moved, but then it became the favorite spot.  All of the kids, except Jacob, could touch the bottom all the way out there.  The kids were awesome at helping and taking care of Jacob.  I only swam with them the first day.  The rest of the days Greg or I would sit on the beach and just watch.  Greg couldn't swim because of his arms otherwise he would have been in the water with the kids.  I thought it was too cold!  I couldn't believe the kids were so content.  It was amazing to have that available to us anytime we wanted.  It was definitely one of the favorites on our vacation.  Yeah for Long Pond and the Apley House!

Adam and Anna on the floating dock

Jacob coming up to the beach

What a view!

Lizzy helping Jacob

 

 

The 5 Finches who turned into Fishes

Greg came back to us Friday night.  Saturday morning we got up and headed back to Boston.  This time we opted to park and ride the "T" into town.  We headed to the aquarium right on Boston Aquarium.  I don't know if it was the week we were there or what, but it was so crowded!  You would of thought we were going to an amusement park there were so many people in line.  We did not love the aquarium.  It was difficult to get a good look at most of the exhibits because there were people everywhere!  We generally do not love big crowds.  Also, I was expecting a lot more.  There is a great aquarium in Chicago, and even the zoo in Omaha has a pretty nice aquarium section with a shark tank and everything.  I just thought the New England aquarium would be the aquarium to beat all other aquariums, but it fell short for me.  I did really enjoy seeing the sea turtles and Anna loved the seals and sea lions.  It was also sooo expensive.  We really could have went to an amusement park instead.  Not worth the money for us.  Crazy!

I love this picture!  We were trying to get a picture for Anna of her and the seal, her favorite animal, but Jacob kept getting in the way.  She is trying to smile and still get Jacob out of the way.  So funny to me!

Jacob had to have his picture taken by himself, too.  I don't know if we ever even got one for Anna.

We enjoyed watching the trainers with the seals and sea lions.

We did like the touch tank, too.  All of us, except Greg (his arms just couldn't get wet yet), were able to touch a Manta Ray.  That was pretty cool.

Patiently waiting at the touch tank

Jacob having a little fun waiting for the Imax movie to start.

This was the only time we made our way to Boston.  The rest of the time we spent our time in Plymouth.  I really wanted to do some of the historical things in Boston, but I didn't think the kids would enjoy that too much.  I hope I will get to tag along with Greg on one his trips to MIT.  The aquarium wasn't our favorite, but I like the feel of Boston.  The "T" was great and it seems like a really fun town.  I hope I get to go back soon.

Getting there

We made two more stops before reaching our final destination, Plymouth, Massachusetts.


We stopped at Seneca Caverns in Ohio.  It is the only fissure cave open for public tours in the U.S.  It was much different than the other caves we have been to.  It was narrow with really no big open rooms.  It did not have a bunch of stalactites or stalagmites.  It was really just a giant crack in the earth.  It kind of zig- zags down by levels until you reach water level.  When you get to the water they let us drink it.  They said it was clean and pure.  We believed them and took a drink :). When we were there, guests could climb down to Level 7.  When there is a drought the owner of the cave has gone down 13 levels.  There are probably even more levels and they have had scuba divers come and get as low as 16 levels down, but they couldn't go any further.  It was a little bit hard for Greg with his hands.  There was not really a paved path or steps.  It was more like hiking where you have to climb up or down certain areas.  Greg had to do it all with his legs.  It was really tiring for him, but still fun and interesting for us all.  

There were a lot of places where we had to duck our heads

This one gives you a little bit on an idea of what the inside of the cave was like.

The kids posing for us

Our next stop was in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains.  It was a lovely drive.  We stayed the night in Glenns Falls, NY.  For you die hard BYU fans, you already know this is the hometown of Jimmer Fredette.  Jimmer was in town while we were there, but sadly we had no Jimmer sightings.

The next morning we woke up and finished the drive to Sharon, Vermont.  This was the birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith.  This monument is in a really beautiful area.  We enjoyed the scenery very much.  We enjoyed learning about the building of this monument, all one large piece of granite.  We appreciated knowing more about Joseph's ancestors and his own family of origin.  We enjoyed going back into the woods and finding the last remains of Joseph's uncle's home, as well as his grandfather's home.  It was quiet and peaceful and very enjoyable.  We also had a little fun playing in a water pipe by one of the last remaining stone bridges.  We were glad we drove out of our way to make this stop.

Having a little fun at Applebee's in Glenns Falls

The Joseph Smith Monument.  The top, obelisk is all one piece of granite.  (Notice Adam's new favorite pose).

Greg and I

Beautiful Lizzy

The whole family at the monument.  Thank you kind stranger.

The kids are standing on the stone bridge.  Umm....I don't think I would want to drive a buggy or a wagon across that!

Adam was the first to give it a try.

I love impromptu fun.

Wonderful Ben

Lastly, how cool is this chart?  We saw it at the Joseph Smith Memorial.  We had never seen it before.  I  found this copy at this link: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thejoshmeister/1354206860/sizes/l/in/photostream/   Check it out if you want to see it bigger.

On our way

I know you are excited.  It's time for our vacation posts! 


We are not the drive-straight-through-the-night-and-get-across-the-country-all-in-one-shot type of people.  We try to enjoy the journey as well as the destination.  This means that we stop a lot.  Our first stop was in Bettendorf.  We spent the afternoon and evening with our friends the Garners while Greg attended a meeting in Moline (it was a meeting they postponed because he broke his arms).    My kids love going to the Garners!  They know they will have a good time there.  We appreciate their friendship and hospitality.

These two girls sure do like each other.  I am glad they get to see each other sometimes.  We got to enjoy Anne Marie's company for a few days after we got home, too.

The Garner and Finch kids swimming in the creek.

Anna is always happy when she gets to play with a pet for the day.  She would really like a pet.  I am happy letting her get her fix in at other people's homes.

The Garners live by this great meadow where we all enjoyed a game of "kick the can" for Family Home Evening.

Adam and I enjoying the evening.  

What a great way to start off our vacation!

June Odds and Ends

Well me managed to pack June just as much as May.  After Greg hurt his arms my life got a lot busier.  Greg wasn't driving and needed a lot of help doing things.  It helped me realize how much I rely on him for things, including getting kids where they need to go.  


Greg thought it would be fun to celebrate his birthday and Father's Day with broken arms.  (Strangely, 3 of the last 4 years, our family has had someone in the family have a surgery in June.  Last year Liz was in the hospital on Greg's birthday. This year, at least, we were home).  We are so grateful for Greg.  He is such a great husband, father, and provider.  He is fun and spiritual.  He is so kind and forgiving.  He is awesome!  Greg turned 38 this year.  He has been graduated from High School for 20 years now!  


One of our big plans for June was to paint our basement.  We hired someone to finish it for us, but wanted to save a little bit of money by painting it ourselves.  Our basement is quite large.  They needed us to have the painting done by a certain date.  When Greg got hurt guess who that fell to.  Me!  I killed myself getting it done.  Adam helped me a little, but then was gone at a camp.  I also had the help of our amazing friend Rebecca Murphy for one day.  I ended up buying a nice paint sprayer.  Man those things are awesome, but the prep work is grueling.  I was so proud of myself for getting it done though.  Yeah, I am glad June is over.


Adam enjoyed a week away at a music camp at Luther College in Decorah, IA.  He loved it!  I was so glad he was able to go.  It was great for him to be with other talented kids.  He really enjoyed having some private piano lessons with college professors.  He also enjoyed his Keyboarding workshop and Chamber Choir.  The food was great.  He got to play sports every night.  He liked his room mate.  He was a happy boy.


Lizzy enjoyed a theater class here in town.  At the end of the week they put on a performance.  It was a little bit of acting, singing and dancing.  She really enjoyed it.  It has been fun to find some new things that she can enjoy since she is not able to do gymnastics yet.  The performance was really fun.


We threw in swimming lessons for two weeks along with several doctor's appointments.  I also got to drive Greg to work and home again.  It felt incredibly busy, just like May:)


The last week of May brought my Auntie Ann and my cousin's wife, Ya-Ping for a quick visit.  It was great to see them even it was quick.  Ann always makes me feel special and Ya-Ping is so kind and left a basket full of handmade hair bows for the girls. Thanks for stopping on your way through.


There you go.  That's June in a nutshell.  Next up... Vacation posts!

Greg with his birthday cheesecake

Lizzy on the right in her theater performance

Lizzy rocking out for her performance

Greg breaks his arms--yes both of them

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a man.  He was a very good man.  This man's name was Greg.  Now Greg was a grown man, but he often found himself hanging out with a bunch of teenage boys.  He attempted to help them and guide them and help them find their way in life.  He also liked to goof off  with them.  One summer, this summer actually, he went on a camping trip with these boys.  It was a survival camp, helping the boys learn survival skills.  


One night all of the leaders, including Greg, (and many of the boys' fathers) decided to play a game of Capture the Flag.  It was dusk and the terrain was uneven.  There were trees to hide behind and a field to run in.  Greg secreted himself behind a tree, patiently waiting for one of the boys to pass by his hiding spot.  The moment finally came and he leapt out to grab the boy who was swiftly running past.  Instead of obtaining his objective of capturing the boy, he found himself on the ground in agony.  In his efforts to tackle the boy he fell and slammed his head and his arms to the ground under the weight of his body.  


The boy  noticed Greg in a heap on the ground in obvious pain and called for help.  The doctor in the group came running.  It was obvious Greg had a broken right arm and maybe a dislocated pinkie on the left side.  He had a big bump on his head and was quite confused, unsure even what his phone number was.  Someone found the number for Greg's wife and called the unsuspecting woman at home.  "Your husband has had a pretty good fall.  We are bringing him to the hospital," the voice said to her on the phone.  She quickly got herself together and met Greg at the hospital.


Still dazed and confused (and in a lot of pain) Greg was glad to have his wife there to help answer questions. X-rays were taken, a CAT scan was done.  Thankfully no damage to the head was found.  The confusion and dizziness would wear off.  Right arm--radius and ulna both broken clean through right near the wrist. Left hand--several broken bones.  Pride--severally injured, may never heal.  They filled Greg with pain meds and set his arm the best they could.  "Come back tomorrow and we will do surgery they said."


After a short, restless night, Greg's wife drove him to the surgery center.  They peeked at his chart to see what was going to happen.  It said:
-Right distal radius fracture open reduction internal fixation, possible ulnar styloid open reduction internal fixation
-Left small finger proximal phalanx fracture closed reduction percutaneous pinning
-Left long finger metacarpal fracture closed reduction percutaneous pinning


Fortunately, the doctor explained it better than the chart.  "We are going to put a plate in your right wrist to hold the bone together.  It will be a permanent plate.  Once we get in there we will see if we want to fix the other arm bone, too.  In your left hand several bones are broken.  We are going to pin two of your fingers.  Now we won't have to open your hand up, but the pins will be sticking out of your hand.  It is going to be pretty tough for you do some things for a while."


Greg's wife patiently waited while they put him to sleep and fixed him up.  Greg's children patiently waited at home.  He went home to heal.  


After several weeks of needing lots of help (help with eating, bathing, shaving, driving, etc.)  Greg is doing much better.  He is happy to have the pins out of his hands and appreciates the help he is getting from a hand therapist.  Together they are trying to fully restore the movement in his right arm and left hand.  


Greg has learned to be more careful when he is enjoying games with teenage boys.  Greg has learned that he has a family who loves him and would do anything for him.  Greg has learned to be patient with himself when things don't come easy.  Greg has learned how many blessings he has been given in his life.  Greg is a happy man.

THE END

Here is Greg in the Emergency Room

Here is Greg's arm right after the accident.  The picture doesn't do it justice.

Greg's bump on the head

Greg in the Chinese finger trap.

On the way to surgery after a tough night

One perk--cupcakes from some of the great Young Women in our ward

Seeing the pins for the first time.  The pins drove him batty!

A scar to rival Lizzy's

Convalescing at home

Dream night at the zoo

June got off to a roaring start for us too.  No rest for the weary, you know.  Lizzy  (and her family) was invited to Dream Night at the zoo.  We were invited by the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, but many other area children's hospitals participate also.  It is a free night at the zoo for chronically or critically ill children and their families.  In some ways we were a bit surprised to be invited.  Her condition has improved so much we sometimes forget she was once critically ill and that her Chiari and Syringohydromyelia is something that may need to be monitored her whole life.


 It was wonderful to go.  I think seeing other children who were sicker that she is now (children with cancer shirts or no hair, children in wheelchairs, children with other disabilities) made Lizzy feel grateful.  We were all grateful that we have made it through the most difficult part, grateful that things are pretty good now.  I think she also feels sometimes sad about the things she can't do; it made her happy that we had this fun night, all free, because of her, too.  They fed us and had free crafts and face painting and free train rides.  It was really fun.  They also let all of the kids pick a free souvenir at the end of the evening.  We loved it!  Too bad Greg and Adam missed out on the fun.  Greg was with the older scouts on their High Adventure.  Adam was babysitting for a great family that has only boys.

Here are the kids at homed with their seal souvenirs.  Notice the face paint on Liz and Ben.  What a great night!