Oh For Heavens Sake!

Another eventful week in the Hill household. On Sunday morning, Bruce, Colter, Jon and Taylor met at Snowbasin to ride the gondola up the mountain, then ride their bikes down the trail. Emma and Mason went with Grandma, Jeni and Nikki to the aquatic center, so I headed up to meet the boys and Darci and Abbey for lunch and an outdoor concert. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Good food, good music and good friends....

Silly Abbey....





The rest of the week: Hair cuts, dentist appointments, just the usual day to day stuff. Thursday Justine posted her senior portraits to her Facebook. She had been so excited to get them taken, so I was eager to see the finished product. So I was sitting on the porch when it came up on my phone. The pictures turned out great, with the exception of one pose. I just about fell off my chair. Let me first say that I never had senior pictures done. It just wasn't a big deal to me. If I did, I would have probably had a hiking scene with me in my favorite Nike hiking boots that my parents bought. This was no hiking scene. I seriously wanted to call the photographer and ask him/her when did taking senior pictures turn into a provocative endeavor? Why do we have to turn our teenagers into sex symbols? Justine is a beautiful girl, why did they feel the need to exploit her like that? Of course, Justine loves the picture. When I went to comment on Facebook, all of her friends were gushing. Sexy is cool. What are we doing to our girls? They already grow up too fast. Can't we just slow it down a little? All I can say is that we're not paying for it and I doubt her mother will either. Jumping off my soap box....Here is the one I like the very best. Excuse the copyright across her face.....

Now for the yucky stuff. Friday morning I woke up at 4:00, feeling the "oh my gosh I'm going to throw up" feeling. Of course I did. And I did. And I did. Until 6:00 Friday night. I thought I had food poisoning until the leg cramps and fever started. Since I couldn't keep anything down, Bruce ran me to the after hours. I was so sick I had to lay on the chairs in the waiting room! When we got in, the doc looked me over and said I had the flu. I asked him if it was H1N1 and he said "probably". Just great. Of course they don't give tamiflu to healthy people, so he gave me a prescription for some anti-nausea meds and off we went. I haven't been sick since 2001. I'm not kidding. That time Bruce was out of town, so my Mom and Dad had to come rescue me. It was horrible. The medication worked, and I was actually able to take some Advil. I slept until 3. More meds and a hot pack (thanks to my wonderful husband!) on my legs had me sleeping the rest of the night. When I posted on my Facebook, everyone was freaking out. I seriously think my friends must think I'm making this up. I'm not kidding. So today Bruce is feeling sick, Colter returned home from Bear Lake sick (he had gone up with his friends on Friday morning). Both are sleeping as we speak. Luckily, Mason (the one who cannot get sick) has been on an extended sleepover at Grandma's, but poor Emma has been just walking around bored. It breaks my heart that I can't hold her and play with her! Oh, here's my Mom. Be right back.....My Mom(the most awesome Mom in the world!) just left. She took Emma (SOB!)and brought some food. Typical sick food. Cream of Broccoli soup(which I am enjoying right now), more canned soup, popsicles, ect. Being sick sucks. I couldn't go to the first day of Farmers Market with my Mom and Mardee and my friend Kasey is having a pool party as we speak. I walked outside to water my plants and I could see (and hear!) everyone was having a great time over at her house. I had to tell her we wouldn't be there. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow so I can do what I usually do, take care of everyone else when they're sick. Thanks to Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Vern for helping with Emma on Friday, Mom, Jeni and Nikki for taking Mason and Emma for the night, and to my friends who have been so supportive and loving. I love you guys:). Going back to lay down now and watch more CMG shows (Crime, Medical and Ghost).

*I forgot one thing. Thanks again for all of your kind words about Maggie. She's doing really well and adjusting to her new situation. I love the "Pirate" cat idea from the Alvord family. Does anyone have a cat sized peg leg?

Poor Mags Rags....

On Wednesday, our sweet kitty Maggie was seriously injured. Remember how I said a few posts below how the cats love to go to the garden? Well that's exactly where it happened. Emma wanted to help me water, so with her pink watering can in hand, we headed out for the garden with Maggie in tow. Maggie went to her usual spot by the back fence, not Lulu the Weimaraners side, but the small portion of fence of the neighbors we don't know. I looked over into the yard of these neighbors and noticed 3 large Boxers. I had never noticed dogs there before, but I didn't think anything of it. Emma and I started watering. Suddenly, I heard Maggie start to hiss. I immediately turned my head to see these two large dogs trying to pull Maggie through the fence! I yelled at Emma to stay put and ran over to the fence. I started beating and screaming at the stupid dogs to get them to let her go. Finally, I got her loose and she took off running. I grabbed Emma and ran her to the house to get Colter. The three of us searched all of the bushes and other cat hiding places in our yard. No Maggie. I wasn't sure how badly she was hurt. I saw fur flying, but no blood, so I wasn't horribly panicked. Bruce was on a bike ride, so I called my Mom. I was talking to her on my cell, while I noticed some people in the neighbors yard. I didn't want to talk yet, I just wanted to find Maggie. I hung up and went to search the field (I did find a little pink ball for Emma), Carters yard, and the garage. I walked in the house to get a drink, and the door bell rang. She introduced herself as Marie, and the house was hers. She was crying and apologizing. Apparently, the dogs belonged to her visiting Mother-in-law and it had been a source of contention that they were even here. She wanted to help in what ever way she could, so we set out searching again. No luck. Just then Marie's Mom(who lives with her and saw the whole thing happen) pulled up with a towel. She was also crying. She asked if we had found her. We told her no. She looked a Marie and said"did you tell her that we found her foot?". At that moment I totally freaked out. I ran in the house to get Colter to help (Bruce was home by now). I peeked out to the porch. Guess who was just sitting there. Maggie! I started to cry. Her leg was totally mangled. Bruce calmed me down, grabbed a towel and Colter and I wrapped her up. Marie drove us to the closest Vet, who told us that they would have to amputate her leg. I was still crying, but Maggie was surprisingly calm. The Vet said that she wasn't even in shock. We gave her a love and left her to heal. We visited her everyday and this morning we brought her home. Marie and her Mother couldn't have been nicer. They paid for her care and have kept in contact to make sure she was ok. I can't say the same for the dogs owner. I haven't heard (nor do I expect to) from her. I certainly hope she has the decency to pay Marie and her Mom. As for Maggie, she's resting comfortably under my computer desk. She has been trying to get around, but it's been very challenging for her. We've all been taking care of her, even Bruce (not really a cat guy) has been giving her loves. We'll do what we can to help her heal. I know people say "It's just an animal", Like they're disposable. But the truth is, animals are a big part of our lives. They're companions. They're friends. They love us unconditionally, and that's how we should love them. While Maggie was at the Vet, everyone loved her. They said when they would pet her, even when she was in pain, she would purr. That's what a loving pet she is. We're going to continue loving her right back. Thanks so much for all of your loving comments. I'm so grateful for all of my great friends and family and so is Maggie. After surgery....

Maggie's home!

Happy Fourth of July!

What a fun weekend! On Saturday, Bruce and I took Colter on a bike ride at the Riverdale River Parkway. It was a very cool ride. Well, Bruce was hot, but that's another story! The trail is mostly paved (we road further after the pavement ended), and actually pretty shady. It winds along the river behind the city. I was surprised to see that it goes right by my first house. We lived in the Trailer Park that's across the street from Target when I was a baby. It wasn't even a double wide, but my Mom and Dad sure had great memories of that trailer! It was such a neat trail. There was even a dirt bike trail complete with jumps. Of course, Bruce and Colter had to try! Not me. I'm not a jumper. I did, however, enjoy the ride after the pavement ended. It was pretty rocky, but not too bad. The one hairy moment came when we had to ride right along the train tracks. I kept thinking "There probably won't be a train. It's the Fourth of July and maybe trains don't run on holidays"...Well about two minutes after we went down the hill away from the tracks, we heard the familiar rumblings of a train. Wheeeww!

This bend of the river is on the other side of Highway 84, a road we travel often but have never seen it from this side. Notice the beautiful Canadian Geese on the bank. It's amazing the things you see when you're biking....
Here is yet another example of living in a town your whole life and finding something cool that you never knew about. Look at this neat dolphin sculpture on the side of the trail. After we were done with our ride, we stopped by Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Vern's. While we were there, we were thrilled to see the whole Brenn Hill family, including Briggs! He was so cute. He even played baseball with Bruce. They took turns pitching and hitting, and I even got to play a little catch with him. Well, I didn't know I was until he threw the ball in my direction and called my name! Luckily I was paying attention:). Every day he gets a little stronger. It's truly amazing how far he has come. People who don't believe in miracles haven't met Briggs Hill. What an inspiration he is. Watch this and be sure to press the "play" buttons to hear him play and laugh. It will make your day.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Isn't that neat? What a sweetheart! After our visit, we headed home, where we met up with Grandma Sue, Mardee, Jeni, Nikki, Emma J, Mason and Justine (whew!) at our house for a BBQ. Not our usual blowout, but really nice and mellow. After a great meal of burgers and brats, it was time to light fireworks~

As "Safety Mom" this makes me soooo nervous!

Cute Justine:)
Mason and Emma love glow sticks, glow bracelets, glow necklaces, even glow earrings! If it glows, they love it!
There were so many bugs while we were lighting fireworks, Bruce had to bring out the bug zapper. Juss and I sat and watched while literally thousands of bugs flocked to the light. Justine decided to challenge Colter to (what else?) eat one! The prize? 10 bucks. Bruce upped the ante to another 10, so of course, Colt did it! Yuck! Aunt Nikki has the picture, so I'll post it ASAP.

On Sunday the Ivins invited us over to swim, then BBQ. The kids had so much fun swimming and the adults had a great time visiting. It was a beautiful afternoon, just perfect for the pool. The water felt wonderful:)

Here's Mason, Juss, Emma, Payten and Raygen...

Emma loved this float of Kaseys....

What a little fire cracker! Emma in her "Keeni"...Sweet Swimming Sisters!

Mason was really brave this year and jumped off the diving board and went down the slide. He had to wear floaties, but the only ones left were pink. I have some pictures of him, but he wants me to Photoshop blue floaties on him! Stay tuned for that! Thanks so much to the Ivins family and Nicki 's family for a great afternoon.