Wipe Out!

Henry had his first big scooter wipe out last Wednesday. Chandler and Henry were riding scooters down a small hill by our house. At a high speed, Henry lost control and fell. Wade came to rescue, to find Henry on the ground and Chandler circling him in a panic. (Not sure if he learned that skill in Cub Scouts!)
Henry was surprisingly okay since the fall forced the cover to his helmet to crack and pop off, good thing he was wearing a helmet. He also had a few big cuts (not boo-boos, according to him, cuts sounds more manly) and moved slower for a few days.
Friday he was asking to return to the hill, back on the horse so to say, which is totally out of his character. Maybe he has matured since turning eight.

Glad you are okay Henry.

Before, During, and After!

Today, after over a year, Chandler's braces were removed!

He did a wonderful job keeping them clean and avoiding "bad" foods. He never had a wire POP or a bracket fall off. The ortho did a great job of rewarding him for the removal, he even received a bundle of balloons.

I let him pick a few of the "forbidden" foods to eat. His first choice...bubble gum; next a Snickers bar; and tonight corn on the cob. He is even looking forward to eating raw carrots.

You look fantastic Chandler. Way to go!

PS May I acknowledge myself for driving him to all those appointments, reminding him which foods were forbidden, and lending a hand with the tiny, scrub brush!

Life is a Beach!

Early May, the whole family went to the west coast. It was the first sunny, weekend day in a while. (The last being the day of my garage sale) It seems like the weekdays are nice and the clouds wait for Saturday.

One thing we weren't prepared for...the cold. In Arizona, sun=warm; May in Oregon, sun=you never know. Wade and the boys wore shorts and I had my capris (or half pants, as Wade calls them). TeddyGram and Grandad taught Chandler and Henry well in Galveston...when going to the beach a tropical shirt is a must...so they both broke out the floral.

Our first stop was KB Toys in Seaside for beach toys. No, I didn't lose them in the move, like my camera and garden tools, just weren't worth packing. We then headed south to Cannon Beach. The first stop was Ecola State Park. It was an awful drive through beach forest and cottages, a few custom homes. We couldn't understand why anyone would live there...at least that is what we are telling ourselves! Once in the park, we drove to the higher view point. Just amazing!

Ever since my first visit to the west coast in 1993 with Wade's parents, I am in love with the Pacific Coast. From Seattle to San Diego, I am humbled by the pines and cliffs meeting the beach and water. This visit did not disappoint me, after 15 years, the view still took my breath away.

Next, after a drive on a small road, twisting around tall pines, we found the beach front. The tide was in so sand was scarce. The beach was mostly smooth rocks and driftwood. We looked like dweebs caring the sand toys. But not for long, we found a small sand area and shortly after that the tide receded and we had tons of sand to play in.

The boys had so much fun playing. Wade and I enjoyed relaxing on the beach, not needing to chase a toddler in Swimmers.