Friday, July 31, 2009

Yellowstone Bound

We're pulling out tomorrow and heading for Yellowstone. (We'll be spending tomorrow night in Salt Lake City.) I'm pretty sure Yellowstone doesn't have wireless Internet, plus bringing my computer just didn't seem like a very Yellowstoney thing to do. Now you might be thinking, "Oh no! Jan won't be posting her blog each day!" Well, not to worry, dear friends. Starting Monday a new post will appear each morning. (I love technology.) I've written some posts about our time in Beijing to entertain you while we are RVing it in the great outdoors.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Whew!

Yes! He came home injury free! I was sweatin' it too because today was rock climbing day (and that would be climbing real rocks on the mountain, not a rock wall). But I guess since JR didn't get hurt, it made watching other people get hurt all the more enjoyable. Every Wednesday night you'll find all the Ingersoll men watching their favorite show, Wipeout. Even the babies love it...they "Ohhh" and "Ughhh" right along with Jason and JR, as you can see.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Day 2, Injury 2

Camp day #2. JR injury #2. This injury wasn't visible when he got off the bus, but one of the high school counselors came over and said, "Um, JR kinda got hurt today. We cleaned it up, but I'm not sure if he needs stitches or not...it's still kinda bleeding, but I don't think you can put a band-aid on someones hair, ya know? He was upset for a few minutes, but he's cool now." And then Mountain Camp Counselor Dude shows me the top of JR's head. It really looks like a puncture, but you could probably classify it as a small gash. I'm still at a loss of how he actually hurt himself, but he insists he was "upside down on a rope ladder that was on a tree" and "the tree got him". Like Camp Dude, I also couldn't tell if he needed stitches or not. When we got home I did all the things one would normally do in a first-aid type situation: I emailed Jason a picture of the injury, I called my mom, then I asked my Facebook friends for their advice on stitches. But Hallelujah, just as my Facebook friends were weighing in, my across the street neighbor/pediatrician pulled in her driveway (from their family vacation....oh yeah, I'm sure she totally loves me). I ran JR outside for a driveway appointment. She said that if it was on his face he'd need a stitch for cosmetic reasons, but since it's in his hair, not to worry about it. What a week...can't wait to see what new body part I'll need the Neosporin for tomorrow!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Serious Sliding

Last week our Houston friends, Kevin and April, were in Durango for a family reunion and came over to have dinner with us. As we were eating I noticed that all the skin was missing from patches of Kevin's arms. I then heard the story about how Kevin and his brothers had raced the Alpine Slides at Purgatory (the ski mountain in the winter). After learning that all of them had "burned" the skin off their arms, I was a bit nervous about trying the Alpine Slide myself. April assured me that if you "went at a reasonable speed" your arms wouldn't look like this:


So while my parents were here I got up the nerve to try the slide with JR. JR beat me by a mile since I was determined to stay injury free. (Which we both did.) I don't have any pictures of us on the track since I was busy trying to keep my arm skin, but here's JR at the start.


This morning was JR's first day of a week long camp at Purgatory. When he got off the bus from the mountain I saw the tale-tale sign that he'd been on the Alpine Slide. He said that the girl in front of him had gone so slow (she must have been trying to keep her arm skin too) that he ran into her...then the boy behind him ran into him. So it's not hard to guess what JR's arm looks like now. Yep, check it out.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Landscapers Extraordinaire

Check out how great the flowers in our front yard look! Yeah, we've got this "mountain landscaping" thing down. Now after seeing this pretty yard, I know you'd expect me to be charging for our vast flora knowledge. But since y'all are such a great, loyal audience, I'm going to go ahead and share our gardening tips with you:

1. Let 5 feet of snow cover your front yard all winter.
2. After the snow melts discuss, "Wow. We don't
really have any grass. Huh."
3. Ignore your yard all spring.
4. Get lots of rain showers in June.
5. Voila! Pretty flowers pop up in the middle of July.

HGTV Producers, just send me an email. We'll be happy to negotiate a contract for our services.

Friday, July 24, 2009

On Patrol 3

Boy, Look at all the "happenings" I missed out on while I was in Texas. It's been quite a summer here in Durango....
Monday, June 22
9:51 a.m. -A man in a red sweatshirt was yelling at people in the north City Market parking lot, 3130 Main Ave
Tuesday, June 23
11:43 p.m.-A portable toilet was placed in the middle of the road near Ninth Street and Main Avenue
Saturday, July 4
11:18 a.m. -A man was bitten by a cat in the 1800 block of East Third Avenue
Saturday, July 11
11:47 a.m. -A bicyclist who was supposed to race in Durango Mountain Park was missing. The cyclist - found later - had decided not to race.
Thursday, July 16
4:51 p.m. -A llama was loose on a woman's property in the 100 block of Lower Road in Rafter J subdivision.
Tuesday, July 21
11:31 p.m. A bear was eating trash near Delwood Avenue and San Juan Drive, and a woman wanted someone to take it away.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

My Turn

After all the Ingy rafting that's been going on this summer, I finally got to experience some myself. That's my cousin, Quinn, in the front with the hat, and you'll find JR and me in the back. I was happy to learn that our rafting guide does not live in a bus behind the rafting store (like Jason's guides on his trip), and that he hadn't had anybody thrown out of his raft in quite awhile.
The highlight of the trip for JR was when they let him hang on the front of the boat while we "surfed". Squeals of delight were heard all around.
So now that I've rafted the lower Animas River I'm trying to figure out if that makes me more of a local or more of a Texan. I'm thinking Texan....pretty sure locals do this in innertubes and their own kayaks.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Extreme Water Sports Part 2

I've finally got some pictures from Jason and JR's extreme water weekends. First is Jason and Jay's rafting trip. These are the pictures Jay put on Facebook and I'm just going to use his commentary.

Day 1- getting psyched up...


Day 1 during a stretch break


Over the falls they go. The No Name Rapids, Class V.


I'm going to break from Jay's comments for a moment to add my own. Look at my husband jumping off that bridge. I'm way impressed! But now not so excited after the fact since he told me he hit the bottom of the river when he landed...Agh!


"Surfing" the current. It was hard to snap a pic while the boat was going under. They weren't supposed to grab the handle unless the guide commanded... (Jay, I would have been grabbing the handles the whole trip!)

One last picture with their guide Andy. He has a BS in Physics which Jay thinks must translates to being a heck of a guide.



Now for JR's pictures from Lake Livingston. I'm still not sure which was his favorite...tubing or rope swing, but one things for sure. He LOVED them both.






Sunday, July 19, 2009

We're All Here...Hunter Too

Thankfully, today's ride was noneventful. Although Kyle never closed his eyes and Reed slept 20 minutes, the DVD player never stoped, and my mom kept feeding them juice, goldfish crackers, and vanilla wafers. So the only squeals we heard were for more fishy crackers. After Hunter's little shenanigans yesterday he was booted to the other car. (My dad and cousin, Quinn, followed us so I could have lots of help getting here.) But actually, the only nonscheduled stop we made was because of Hunter. According to the guys, Hunter was farting so bad they couldn't stand it any longer! So he had to make a few laps around a rest stop before he was allowed back in the car. We pulled in about 5:00 and my neighbor came by and said, "Ugh! You're home just in time for the heatwave!" We started laughing since we had just been talking about how nice and cool it was. It was nice to be in Texas, but it's nice to be back too....I'm not bicoastal, so does that make me bistate-al?

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Of Course I've Got a Story

I'm coming to you tonight from Amarillo, Texas. Home of the "Free 72 Ounce Steak" (if you can eat the steak, side salad, roll, shrimp cocktail, and baked potato in less than an hour). The drive was pretty decent. The babies really like Handy Manny so the HM DVD was in full rotation. Of course it wouldn't be a trip if I didn't have at least one good story for you: So we decided to eat lunch about an hour outside of Ft. Worth at a Burger King. It was a BK inside a big gas station/convenience store so there was a crowded parking lot with lots of cars coming and going, and it was right there on the interstate. My mom and I got out of the car and both left our car doors open. I got Reed out of his car seat and started changing his diaper (I change diapers in the car because I really don't like bathroom changing stations.) As I was changing his diaper, my mom was still struggling to get Kyle out of his car seat. About that time I looked up and said, "Where's Hunter?" At this point I've got a half diapered 18 month old, a furious 18 month old that's half strapped to a car seat, and a 6 year old screaming, "Hunter's my puppy! I love him! Where is he?" My mom grabs JR by the hand and they start looking for him (leaving Kyle half straped to the car seat). She's asking everyone if they'd seen him, and I'm starting to plan my story on how I'm going to break it to Jason that I lost our dog. Finally a man rolls down his window and says, "Are you looking for a poodle? It went that way." As my mom rounds the corner to the store entrance, she sees a lady coming out the door holding Hunter. I'm telling ya, ever since we left him with Crazy Dog Lady he has been so weird. He basically jumped out the front car door, ran around the store, and went inside! Luckily we have him back, although I thought I better get the story out there because my mom is already retelling it...with embellishments!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Scenes From Windy Hill Farm

Or as we say in East Texas....Pictures from Mama and Daddy's house.

Here's Kyle's Little House on the Prairie picture. And BTW, guess which family member is a huge LHOTP fan (hint: it's not me or the kids!)


Windy Hill is an official Texas Historic Farm...100 years in the same family.


trying to stay cool in the house


chasing roosters


petting Honey


PawPaw and Kyle


Big Wheeling it


dogs and birds


The day it looked like it would rain...but it didn't.


Almost all the boys...Reed wouldn't picture pose that day.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Updates A Bunch

So we'll start with a Kyle update. He continues to act perfectly normal, although an Ingy child eating watermelon isn't what I'm used to as normal! Jason talked to our Durango pediatrician that lives across the street from us, and she said the exact same things our Houston pediatrician said, so that makes us feel really good. Hopefully this was just a big, scary incident that turns into nothing!
I am at my parents house for the rest of the week and JR is finishing up VBS staying at Granny Sherry's. They went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch today so all is right in World JR.
Jason and Jay had a great time on their rafting trip. Jason said it wasn't something he'd want to do every
year, but it was an amazing experience and something he'd like to do with JR when he's old enough. I think there was some pretty serious rafting going on. Jay posted pictures of the trip on Facebook and they are so cool! I'm not able to copy them to my parents' computer, but I'll be sure and post some when I'm able!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

My Sweet Baby, Kyle

Okay, so here's the full Kyle story. Monday, the babies and I dropped JR off at VBS at 2nd Baptist (main campus). We stayed on the 5th floor for a little while so they could play on the "soul train", so it was about 9:15 AM when we walked out the main door. I was carrying Reed, and Kyle was walking, holding my hand. All of a sudden he started acting like he couldn't walk. I looked down and said, "What's wrong, Baby?" and he continued to fall and stumble. I picked him up, (putting Reed down) and he went limp on me. He just doubled over like he couldn't support his body. I walked inside the next door and an older lady and man were standing there talking. She looked at me and said, "Are you okay?" I said, "No, I think there's something wrong with my baby." She came over and when we looked at Kyle his eyes were twitching back and forth in his head. I think it was then I started saying, "Come on, Baby! Don't do this to me, Kyle!" The eyes were enough to scare the lady and she said, "I'll go get the nurse!" and ran off. By the time she returned with the nurse (and a muffin and a glass of water) Kyle was back to normal, and even wanting the water and muffin. The nurse said, "Take him to the emergency room, there's a St. Luke's right over there on San Felipe." The nurse helped me to the car with the babies and off I went. We literally drove around the corner to the St. Luke's Emergency Clinic and walked right in. There was nobody in the waiting room and they took us right back to the examination room, they did blood work and gave him a CT scan (yes, a CT scan right there at the emergency clinic!) So let me stop for here to give my praise report, and show how God's hand was in all of this so far:
1. Kyle was walking when it happened. If I had used my stroller, I would have never even known it had happened since he would have recovered before I got to the car.
2. We were in Houston, at 2nd Baptist, less than a mile from a fabulous ER clinic. We could have easily been at my parents' house, 30 minutes from a hospital with a "questionable reputation" to put it nicely
3. I was alone. You wouldn't even have known it was me I stayed so calm. Even the nurse at 2nd Baptist commented on how calm I was staying. If Jason had been with me, I totally would have fallen apart...since I basically would have expected him to make Kyle stop.
4. St. Luke's Emergency Clinic is amazing. Having a CT scan right there on site was priceless.
5. 2nd Baptist couldn't have been more helpful. The nurse told me she would bring JR to me after VBS, they sent a pastor to the ER to check on us, and the Children's Minister called last night to check on us again.
6. I left the house that morning without their diaper bag thinking I would return in 15 minutes. Let's just say it was a true miracle I didn't have to change any diapers until I got home that afternoon.
Okay, so back to story...In the ER, Kyle was still acting perfectly normal. In fact, Reed was in one of his clingy moods so I had to keep telling the nurses and doctors, "No, the patient is the one running around the room." He so didn't like the blood work (they couldn't find a vein on him...just like me), but thought the bandages were pretty cool. Look how cute and sweet he is!

Reed missed the blood work hysterics since he was off with cute nurses enjoying a popsicle. After blood work we went back for the CT scan. I was worried he wouldn't be still (and none of us wanted to have to sedate him), and as we laid him down in CT machine I prayed that God would send His Angels to hold Kyle still in their arms. Oh how sweet little Kyle looked lying there. He just laid perfectly still sucking on his pacifier as the machine moved back and forth, it was like he was enjoying a ride at Fiesta Texas...or Angel arms! We had to wait about an hour for the results as Texas Children's read them. I really believed they were going to come in and say nothing was wrong, so I was quite shocked when the doctor said they had found "something".
Now yesterday the words "tumor" and "brain" were said to me in the same sentence. The doctor also said things like "don't worry, this doesn't require radiation or chemotherapy." Okay, so I had kept it together long enough. Needless to say, I lost it when I got in the car. I went back to Jason's dad's house to basically stare at the wall and wait for the doctor to call me back after she had talked to the pediatric neurologist. After talking to the neurologist, they say he has an "arachnoid cyst", and the neurologist said that the cyst is so small he doesn't even think that's what caused the seizure. Which is kind of good news/bad news...so if it didn't cause it, what did? So this morning I went back by the ER to get a referral so we can take Kyle to a neurologist in Albuquerque (Texas Children's is a minimum 6 week wait). FYI: ER doctors don't write referrals...which I didn't know. Luckily, our Houston pediatrician was able to see him this morning. After looking at the CT scan she also agreed that the cyst probably didn't cause the seizure. Although she said that it's location might have caused it, but the size, no. She also said that these cysts are totally common and that if we did CT scans of everybody tons of people would have them. She also validated my feelings saying, "I would be worried sick if it was my kid, even though as a doctor I know better." She seemed to agree with the specialist that the cyst is tiny, but we do need to see a specialist and have an MRI just to check everything out.
So to wrap up, I feel good about everything. Of course I'm nervous, but feel better about the cyst after talking to the 2 doctors...although why he had the seizure is still a concern. You'd actually never know anything was wrong with Kyle. Yesterday, after we got home, he was quite content carrying around 2 purses and wearing 3 sets of Mardi Gras.
I want to thank all of you for your prayers, kind words, and support. The Lord's hand is definitely upon Kyle, and was certainly with us on Monday. It will probably take us awhile to get in to to see the neurologist, but I will certainly keep you updated.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Extreme Water Sports

So 2/5 of the Ingy family has been having an extreme water sports weekend. (BTW, is 2/5 right? Y'all know I don't do math, much less fractions!) Here's JR proudly showing off his elbow battle wound from his trip to Lake Livingston with Granny Sherry. From what I've heard, JR (and Granny Sherry too) spent the last few days jumping off a rope swing and tubing behind a ski boat. I haven't quite gotten the full story over the "injury" since he's been on such a high. In fact, he's been so happy he's completely forgone his usual dramatics over such things...and hasn't even asked for so much as a band-aid!
Jason is also living extreme this weekend as he's rafting from Silverton to Durango with his best friend Jay Parker. This rafting trip is actually pretty serious. They had to go Friday night and pass a "water test" to see if they could survive if the boat turns over. Basically the test was for them to "ride the rapids" without the raft. They both passed their test, but Jason said the water was so cold it took his breath away (and he was wearing a wetsuit). They left yesterday morning and camped along the river last night. They'll be back in Durango this evening and I can't wait to hear how the trip went. Jason took a waterproof camera so I'll have pictures to share later!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

JR Jr.

Look at JR's little mini me. Playing with puzzles...shirtless. Yep, just like big brother.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Ice It Down

My mom has been furious with me since I told her that I bought the babies an ICEE the other day, and horror of all horrors...I made them share! *Gasp!* Since then, she's repeatedly lectured me on how Kyle and Reed are two people and they each need all their own stuff. So today as we were driving home in the 104 degree heat, one of the babies let out a squeal. I was then quickly informed by my mother that the babies were hot, and only an ICEE would make them feel better. Never one to shy away from the dramatics, she also threw in there something about them overheating and sweating. Surprise, Surprise, somehow only an ICEE could cure these ailments. So, yes, I caved under the pressure and stoped so she could get "her babies" an ICEE...but not before she asked them what flavor they wanted. So here they are enjoying their own individual ICEEs on the ride home...and apparently they told her they wanted cherry.

(You'll notice Reed had to have a little help since he wasn't about to let go of his new ball he had just gotten at the mall.)

Fiesta Texas

So I think I'm recovered from Fiesta Texas. We got there before it opened and stayed all day. The babies took it all in too. Reed took about a 30 minute nap, and Kyle didn't close his eyes all day. JR had no use for any ride that wasn't fast, involve big drops, or insane spinning. Needless to say, my 4 times on Tony Hawk's Big Spin almost did me in. Unlike years past, JR hardly had time to pose with the characters. Although he did stop to give Scooby Doo a hug, to which he then told me, "Ah Scooby Doo, I totally love him." I don't have any pictures of JR and me on the 'big rides'. I was way too busy holding on and squealing.

Here's where I spent most of the day.


The Yummy, Yummy Fruit Salad ride for the babies. Check out my mom. She's on the phone!

.
Reed's looking a little sleepy on the carousel at the end of the day.


JR informed us he was "driving the bus" here on Daffy Duck's School Bus.


Kyle's not sure about the bus ride, or JR's driving skills!


I think this is hilarious. Here's JR waiting for the boat to come down the drop on the Power Surge. Be sure and spot the guy in the front of the picture in the red shorts as a reference point.


And here's the "splash".

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

I'm Tired

Oh my goodness am I tired! I didn't realize I'd reached the age when riding every-single-ride JR is big enough to ride at Fiesta Texas actually makes me sore and worn out the next day. I was planning on posting pictures and witty commentary from the big trip, but the computer isn't letting me upload pictures, and I'm just. so. sleepy. I'll be sure and get them up first thing tomorrow!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Road Trip

We're heading over to San Antonio this morning (with a small detour through San Marcos to "check out" the Outlet Mall). We'll be hitting Fiesta Texas tomorrow...which will officially complete JR's list of Texas 'must do' activities. Do you think there's any way it won't be 106 degrees tomorrow? Sigh....

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Food Network Part 3

Look! Look! Look! Look! See my kids eating fruit? Look! See?! And yes, I'm so excited that certain Ingy children actually eat fruit that I will continue to take pictures and post, as it is a momentous accomplishment for me as a mother. All the while, JR continues his insane-ness about what he will and will not eat. At his last parent/teacher conference of the year I got lectured by his teacher about how he's the "worst eater" she's ever seen. She kept going on and on until I finally stoped her and said, "Listen. We've been dealing with this for 5 years. Honestly, I don't care if the boy ever eats anything at school ever again. Now, how's he doing in class?"
So look at those babies of mine just gobbling up those blueberries. (Organic, no less!) Oh, and don't worry, I'm totally not a fan of the 'baby in a T-shirt and diapers look'. Ugh! They had just come out of the pool and were getting close to heading for bed. Not to mention the fact that they're so skinny that shorts hang off of them...Their shorts were hanging between their legs so bad the other day my mom commented that they looked like they were "wearing Pentecostal dresses". Pentecostal dresses or not....look at those boys eat fruit!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

I Love a Parade

The babies loved being in their first 4th of July parade! They were so cute, and I didn't hear a peep out of them...I guess they were too busy waving to the crowd. But you'd have thought JR was a native Coloradoan the way he complained about the heat. Sure it was hot, but that's what 4th of July is all about here in Texas!