No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Beware, the pictures get ugly.

So, 2-3 years ago, the Stake got ahold of a bunch of 50 gallon drums that had held some kind of punch.  We bought 5 of them for $3.50 a piece.  Now the good intention was to clean them out and give one to each of our kids and one to us.  We even bought the pumps to go with them. WELLLL, they sat next to the shed for the last 2-3 years collecting rain and snow water and all kinds of dirt.  Keith and I have been trying to get some emergency supplies together.  Since there was no UTAH game today and the weather was nice, we (or rather I) decided today would be a great day to clean them out.  We went to Walmart and bought 5 gallons of bleach, one for each drum.  Then we went to work.  First we had to dump the water out of each drum and then we got the power washer and proceeded to clean the gunk out of each one.  After they were pretty well cleaned out, I poured a gallon of  bleach in each drum and then Keith would put some water in.  I then sealed the tops, rolled them on their sides and let them sit and then I would turn them and swirl them, over and over again.  Well on the second drum, water and bleach sprayed out of the drum into Keith's eye.  He went into to wash it out, came back out.  I told him to go to InstaCare, but he kept on working.  Then he went back in the house and took a shower to try and flush it out and since it was still burning, he agreed to go to InstaCare.  Just as he was getting ready to go, Trav came by and he took Keith. I stayed behind to finish cleaning out the drums.   Picture of drums all cleaned out.

He's a lovely picture of Keith's eye after it had been irrigated and cleaned.  He has to have antibiotic eye drops and Pain meds.  The yellow stuff is what they put on him in the Dr.'s office.  He can't stand bright lights and it is burned.

Well, back at home, the cleaning was going pretty good. I figured out a system where I could rinse out the bleach and get all the rocks out and then rinse and rinse again.  I got to the last drum and my last rinse when the power washer slipped out of the hole and the end of the wand was 1 inch away from my gloved thumb and sprayed my thumb.  You would think no big deal right? WRONG!  Pain as I have never experienced it before went shooting down my thumb.  Blood was coming out through the glove.  I ran into the house grabbed paper towels, changed clothes and drove myself to InstaCare.  Now, I've cut myself a ton in my life, but nothing like this.  I've even cut through my tendon in the same thumb.  NOTHING like this.  By the time I got there, I was shaking and starting to go into shock.  As the receptionist was taking my information, out walks Keith and Trav.  So, Back Travis goes with his other parent to get helped.  Keith sat in the waiting room.  He felt like he was going to faint.  Now, Travis says I was Hysterical.  I say I was in more pain than I ever remember being in and I was being rather brave.  I did cry harder when the Doctor gave me shots to deaden my thumb.  She said she had never seen anything like this before and there was a lot of soft tissue damage. I got 4 stitches.  the cut runs from the middle in the front of my thumb to the back. I got x-rayed and found out I also have air in the thumb and may need to see a hand specialist. I also have pain meds and antibiotics.  So, I'm typing this before the numbness wears off.  Another ugly picture.  Notice also the bruise on my cheek.  That came from the dentist on Monday and is 5 days old.  Believe me, it was worse.

So, with the money we had to pay to the docs and meds, we could have bought 3 new drums.  What drama.  All my Thanks to Travis.  He was our angel today.  It's neat to see him in his element.  He's a great nurse.  

Yep, Keith and I are going to be fun to be around.  Someday this will be a REALLY funny story.

Merry Christmas -Already???

Last year for Christmas, I took my kids on a cruise. (Except for Nat and Trav. Too close to Addison's birth.)  I loved giving them a memory instead of more stuff.  So I wondered what I could do this year.  Adam and Keith are always talking about going to a Pro football game and how cool would that be.  So I mentioned it to the girls and they thought that would be a great Christmas gift. (Darin couldn't get any more time off, so they couldn't go.)I gave them the airfare and the girls bought the tickets to the game and the hotel rooms.  We planned in July to take them to a 49ers game because they love Alex Smith.  We about died when he was injured and couldn't play, but, oh well.    

We told many lies and had all kind of stories.  We got really good at it at the end.  Keith was told we were going to breakfast with Trav and Nat and he was really upset that he didn't get to eat at his favorite cafe.  Then he didn't  relax for a whole day worrying about what he was missing and could church and work really go on without him.  It was really interesting to watch calm and cool Keith sweat stuff out for so long.  In the end he figured everything out and had a great time.  I did pack his lap top and he did several hours of work a day, but it  made him happy.

Nat knew they would want to watch the U of U game and found a a great sports bar where they had the MOUNTAIN and we could watch it.  It was great because they gave us our own room.

Sunday was the game, and as much as I don't love football, it was really a kick.  We got there really early and were able to walk all around the stadium, high and low and get a view at everything.  We spent extra money to get seats in the lower bowl.  We were behind the goal posts, which was a weird angle to view the game, but we got use to it.  
Don't worry, we even got to see Alex Smith.  

That's him in the red warm up suit.  Hard job to earn millions of dollars, isn't it.

Lots of excitement to get the team on the field.  They had a big blow up helmet the team ran through.  That was right in front of us, so we got to see them come out.
Here's the happy faces, enjoying their Christmas gifts.
We got really good at taking public transportation.  It was a rocky start at first, but kind people helped us.  Adam and Jess get the award for figuring out the whole system the best.  

Addison was the best baby ever.  I loved getting to see her everyday and playing and holding her.  What a sweet blessing from heaven.
Did you know you can walk down Lombard Street?  The boys ran down it with the video cameras.  But Nat and I ended up walking down it because the stairs were too hard for the stroller.
This is Addi before our big bike ride.  She loved it, and didn't cry too much when Trav took a turn too sharp and dumped her on her head.  Good thing she's strapped in.
My favorite day. I loved riding the bikes to the Golden Gate bridge and walking on the beach.

We only ate ate Giradelli twice.  Yummy.  There was a big air show this weekend and Fisherman's Wharf was so crowded, but fun to watch all the people.
It was a great time.  Tuesday night Keith told me he had a great time and it was a great surprise.  Do you think he'll be able to top it?  Probably not, but it was a great Christmas.  

Just remember this on Christmas morning kids.  Love you all tons.