4th of July weekend with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Bri

We were lucky to have Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Bri make the drive up here to help us celebrate the 4th of July.  They usually come around Izzy's birthday, but there was something going on around that time (can't remember what it was though :) but this actually worked out better.

We had a tremendous amount of rain in June (over 13 inches!!!), which ended up moving the annual Taste of Minnesota (typically held on Nicollet Island) out to the Carver County Fairgrounds.  I thought this would be a whole lot of fun, and that we'd get a chance to sample some of the local restaurants downtown, but I think that the move caused a lot of restaurants to back out, and we were left with your typical county fair fare :(  We made the best of it, though!

There were a few carnival rides there too, which Izzy had to sample.  You can't tell, but she WAS having a good time :)

And then that evening, our friends Jessica and Blake offered to host us at Blake's parents house, which is right on Lake Waconia.  This is usually a fantastic spot for fireworks, with them normally being set off from the island in the middle of the lake.  However, due to the rain again, they had to have the fireworks launched from the far side of the lake.  Our view wasn't as great as it could've been, but it was still lovely, and we had WONDERFUL hosts!  Plus, when we were leaving, the fireworks from The Taste started going off, so it's like we got a two-fer!

 It had been unusually chilly the night before when we were watching fireworks, so I was relieved when we woke up on the 5th to warm, sunny skies.  Perfect day for a boat ride!

The boat ride was followed-up by a yummy steak dinner on the deck

And then our own fireworks that Grandma and Grandpa brought with them :)

Later that same evening I was able to get this great shot of the moon.  I don't have the best equipment for moon photos, but I'm pretty happy with this one :)

Grandma's Birthday

This year, on January 18th, was my Grandma's 80th birthday.  She's an amazing woman and has been through a lot in her life, but she's never had a real birthday party, so my aunt and I decided to surprise her with one.

My Aunt Nancy had the FANTASTIC idea of telling Grandma that we were having a going-away party for Joacim, Izzy and me, so it was easy to get her there.  I love surprises...

Here's Izzy playing around when we got there.  She was spending the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's, so they met us there with her :)  Funny how much I miss that little bugger after one night...

Here's Grandma's expression when we told her.  I think she was VERY happy and VERY surprised...SUCCESS!!!!

Grandpa LOVES Izzy...and I think the feeling is mutual

Here's Grandma's cake

She didn't have any problems blowing the candles out.  Now if I had actually put 80 candles on there...might've been a different story :)

Here's my sister and Grandma making sure Izzy doesn't go home hungry.

Here's Izzy playing with my cousin Jared.  High-five is apparently a hilarious game :)

And here is the most amazing 80-year old out there.  Happy Birthday, Grandma!!!  Love you!!!

Update on Grandma

I went and visited Grandma again today, and she was looking great!  They had already moved her out of ICU and into a private room. She had been up walking already (which I can't even imagine I could do so quickly with THAT kind of surgery) and when I arrived, she was sitting up in a chair.  She's hoping to go home on Friday, but it's more likely that it'll be Saturday.  I didn't stay as long as I had intended, but Grandma was getting tired and starting to have some pain, so we decided to go so she could get some pain medication and rest.  I'll visit her again tomorrow on my way home from Lafayette.  I'll have Izzy with me this time and I know that'll make Grandma pretty happy.

Andrea and Taylor also came to visit at the same time, and after we left Grandma, we went to the Pediatric ICU to visit the nurses who had taken care of Matthew last year.  This was a BIG step for Andrea, and I'm VERY proud of her.  One of the nurses was there, and I think it did a lot for Andrea to talk to her....someone that she shared that experience with her. 

While Andrea was catching up with the nurse, I saw a child in one of the rooms....probably not much older than Matthew was.  His parents were covering him/her with a blanket, and it was just such a tender moment to witness....like being a fly on the wall, but I almost felt like an intruder even being on the same floor.  His/her head was wrapped up in gauze, and there was a breathing tube...I'm guessing he/she was in a coma.....not sure, and it's really not the point.

The point is that I'm sometimes amazed at how emotional I am now in regards to children.  I've always been sensitive to it...no one wants to see a child hurting.  But seeing that child lay there, with the parents....I could just imagine for a second what that would be like if that were Izzy....my throat started to clench....my eyes filled with tears....I swear it made my heart hurt to think about it.  How do these parents find the strength to leave the bedside for any amount of time?

We can't, and won't be with our children 24 hours a day for the rest of their lives....and even if we are, we can't always protect them.   I understand why this has been so hard for Andrea...dealing with Matthew's death.  I think I was so disconnected from it then that I didn't fully comprehend the impact, or all of the emotions.  I understand how parents in that situation will hold on to the tiniest shred of hope that their little one will be OK, even in the most dire of circumstances.  I get it.  And I'd do the same for Izzy....without a doubt.

Went to visit Grandma today

Grandma had her surgery today, and she's currently in the ICU at Methodist.  Everything went well, according to my uncle, so I'm very thankful!  She was a little out of it when we saw her, but they had given her morphine not too long before we arrived, so no surprise there.

I don't know a lot about the surgery....I know that she was cut from her hip all the way to her ankle....she thinks that they might have taken the vein out, cleaned it, and then put it back in or replaced it with an artificial vein.  I plan on going back tomorrow during my lunch to visit with her, so I hope to have more information after that.

Thanks to everyone at Methodist for taking care of my Grandma :)