Day 57 - Goodbyes are never easy.

Today was pretty gloomy here although the sun poured out heat and the kids & their friends lived in the pool all day long! David & I puttered away at the packing all the while feeling that little tug of not wanting to leave and not wanting to say goodbye to our sunny Arizona.

HOWEVER- we did have a little birthday celebration for our sweet Sarah.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!

So hard to believe she is already nine years old!!

Sarah could hardly wait to dig into those presents :)

Great Excitment - and someone pointed out to us that the plant in the background just adds to that excitment! ☺

Daddy was a little prickly on the face, so she opted for the head smooch! :)

♥

We were at the urologist this afternoon and it looks like the stone has settled a bit, but could reactivate at any time. Not very reassuraing for a 30+ hour drive home, but we figure we can't wait here forever. David needs to get to Alberta and see a doctor who will take another scan and see where the stone is and then will make a decision as to what the next step will be. At this point our goal is to make it back to Alberta without the stone moving. The urologist did give David a prescription for some stronger pain medication to take as soon as he feels the pain come on so that is a little reassuring (although then he can't drive so we're in another prediciment - but we'll cross that bridge if that should happen - one thing at a time! ☺). He's been feeling pretty good the last few days, so we'll see.

The kids continued to play in the pool for the afternoon/early evening while we packed up, loaded up and hooked up the trailer.

It's 7pm and we're *ready* to go. (No one is really ready but we knew the time was coming)

We'll make a stop at Walmart to pick up the prescription and then begin our during back. Not sure how far we'll get, but we'll try to update as we find internet along the way.

As this adventure ends, we know it's the beginning of another!

Pray for safety in our travels, good health, easy access to find & see a doctor for David & of course finding a suitable home as quickly as possible.

God is faithful. We are truly blessed!

☀

Day 56 - Packing Up & Preparing for our Goodbye :( ... and a little Birthday Celebrating!

Everyone was pretty heavy hearted today knowing it was {for sure this time} our last day in our Havasu house. We were just saying today that over this past year we've been in Arizona more than anywhere else... I guess that's why it feels like home. ☺

After "morning math", we started to get all packed up. *sigh*

Megan & I left the gang and got some much needed haircuts! The hairdresser was so nice and actually pregnant and due the day before me!

That is actually the FRONT of Megan :) See what I mean? - she needed a haircut! ☺

Once we got back and had a bite for lunch, Sarah & Daddy went on a birthday date to Starbucks. She was pretty excited about this!

And yes... she drank that WHOLE thing. David said the lady held up a small cup and asked her if that was a good size, to which Sarah responded, I'd like the large one! :) Once they got back home the kids spent the afternoon playing with Emily, basketball and then went in the pool for a few hours!!

Tyipcally the kids get to pick their birthday dinner {Sarah's this year was ham}, but seeing as we'll be traveling for her birthday we let her pick what restuarant she wanted to go to tonight. She wanted Chinese Food, but wanted to eat at home. So off David & I went to pick up some supper and a birthday cake! Emily was over for the afternoon and stayed for Sarah's birthday dinner. After dinner {and very full bellies} we went for an evening walk {or waddle, depending who we're talking about ☺}

Cake time! A Butterfinger DQ Log... YUM.

It was now nearing 9pm and the kids all wanted to go for an evening swim/hot tub. So they spent the next hour enjoying their last night together. They're going to miss Emily!

We had a good day!

Also wanted to say thank-you to everyone for your prayers for David. We still haven't seen this stone that is traveling through his body! We go and see the urologist tomorrow afternoon and hopefully we'll get some direction as to where we go from here.

Goodnight,

☀

Day 55 - Hanging out in Havasu

Today was a good day for David. He went for his morning walk to see if he could bring on any pain and had a bit of discomfort that seemed to subside fairly quickly. Strange how he tries to bring on the pain, but he's thinking pain might be movement therefore pain is good!?

We went out to IHOP for brunch and have come to the conclusion that US food portions are much, MUCH larger than ours in Canada. It's either that or we just don't eat out very often and have forgotten how much food they give you at restaurants - WAY more than you need!

We got word that the rental we're in is being rented out Thursday so we have until Wednesday afternoon which had us doing a bit of packing this afternoon. Kids played outside most of the day/afternoon with the neighbor kids.

We put our feet up for a family movie night and then worked our way to bed.

The goofy gang acting silly at IHOP as we waited for our food.

Day 54 - A rough night

David has been off the painkillers trying to see if he can manage without (and therefore able to drive), but he was pretty uncomfortable throughout the night and he was hurting most of the day. This stone seems to really enjoy it in there as it seems to be taking it's time to slowly, painfully make its way down! Megan & I went out and bought tons of fluids and fruits to try and flush it out, and although his pain levels have increased there's still nothing to show for it.

The pain subsided a bit late afternoon (he did take the painkillers again this morning) so we decided to go check out the local old fashioned ice-cream & soda pop shop. Very cute! The kids were delighted to pick out an ice cream treat {as was I, let's be honest!} and David had an old fashioned cherry soda float (more fluids!!). It was nice to get out even for the 1/2 hr and give David something to look at other than his pillow or the hot tub! We feel so badly for him, it's such an unbearable process!

We knew we couldn't go out for dinner with David in this condition so we ordered in from the locals favorite restaurant, Angelina's. It was good, but we ordered way too much food, so we'll enjoy it for lunch tomorrow :)

Kids played with Emily again for most of the day - they're going to be basketball pros at the end of this trip!

What do you do with all this fruit?....

You make a delicious fruit salad!!

I loved the little message on the chalkboard...

"ice-cream makes you pretty"

☺

Sarah enjoyed an orange, hand-mixed "old-fashioned Phosphates" - which is soda-pop!

It was a darling little shop with pink & brown striped walls. Megan enjoyed a double-scoop ice cream cone down to the last drip!

Megan has always wanted to try a Cannoli so when I saw these on the menu at Angelina's I knew we HAD to order a couple! :)

Joshua's dessert pick was 7 layered chocolate cake.

No, he didn't eat it all ☺

Day 53 - More waiting.....

David slept really well last night which was great. We're still trying to organize everything with the insurance company and make sure we've got everything in place to head home. The major decision now is if we head back to Canada prior to this kidney stone showing itself or not. We've done lots of reading online and it seems these stones can hang around for awhile. David tried lots of walking, even a number of laps in the pool to get the discomfort levels back up (which worked) but then it fizzles out again once he's not active. So now he's thinking perhaps he should lay low in order to drive home & then finish dealing with it all once we're back in Alberta. Hmmmm. Decisions.

It was a nice day though and if you have to be "stuck" somewhere, we'd choose here! :) Megan took some time this afternoon and baked some cookies (she wanted to make cookies with Smarties to share with friends as they don't have Smarties here). Emily came over for the afternoon again and the kids had loads of fun playing together in the pool. David was feeling up to going out for dinner tonight (and our insurance covers meals right now) so we enjoyed a family dinner out at Red Robin's tonight. It was a real treat and I wish I had taken my camera to capture Joshua's face when his Oreo Milkshake arrived to the table. YUM!

We got home fully stuffed, kids quickly had an evening basketball game with Emily & her brother and then it was time for bed.

☀

Hoping to see a Kidney Stone tomorrow!!

Thank-you for your prayers.

Mmmm, Megan you make gooooood cookies!

Day 52 - a day of waiting.

David slept on the couch as he struggled to find a comfortable position. He did sleep off and on though and felt the pain medication was helping. He was still uncomfortable, but nothing like the excruciating pain he was experiencing yesterday! The kids did their math and that's it. I have packed up all their school stuff and only left their math out so they were done "school" very quickly. Kids are out of school for the year here in Havasu so they were happy to hang out and play with Emily most of the day. She came over for an afternoon swim in the pool and even stayed for dinner.

David took walks and tried to get things moving as we await the arrival of this kidney stone! Nothing. He was even starting to feel a lot better which we weren't sure was a good or bad sign. Does that mean it's snuggling in somewhere and no longer moving?? It's a wait and see sort of thing.....

Makes me think of labor... all that walking around trying to get things moving! LOL

Going in for a dive off the highest level!

Missing his pool....

Dinner with friends after a day of swimming :)

Day 51 - The Unexpected

We started the day with delicious chocolate chip belgian waffles, complete with fresh strawberries and {hand-whipped} cream out on the deck in the warm sunshine. We made our plan of attack for the day to get packed up and ready to go.

As the work began though, David started experiencing excruciating pain. He took some medication and carried on thinking it would pass. It didn't. It worsened to the point that he was unable to do anything and I knew I had to get him to the emergency. It looked to be up in his kidney, and we suspected a kidney stone, though he's never had one before. He just knew it wasn't muscle or bone. The staff at Havasu Hospital were wonderful and even though 4 ambulances had just come in he got in rather quickly. The pain would come and go much like contractions - he can't believe we women go through that kind of pain! He'd be okay for a wee bit and then the pain would come on so terribly strong. He was hooked up to an IV with fluids and pain medication. They say kidney stones are the second most painful thing to child birth and I believe it! After a lot of blood work and a CT scan it was confirmed that he had a high kidney stone. He stayed in the hospital all day and then by about 7pm they gave him the choice to stay or come home with pain medication. He decided to come home, but I'm not sure he was happy with that choice when the pain came on and he didn't have it directly in his IV. Megan was such a blessing holding down the fort while I was with David, keeping the kids busy, fed and working in the house as we didn't know if we'd have to move to a hotel or what was going to happen. The owners of the vacation home were wonderful and have allowed us to stay until David is feeling better. We will be staying until the stone passes, he is off his meds, has seen the urologist and feeling up to a 30 hour road trip! They say it can take from 2-7 days so we are praying that it is on the lower end of that scale. We would certainly appreciate your prayers. We are thanking the Lord for his watchful care over us as we were planning on leaving yesterday and could have been in the middle of the desert when this began.

So... the adventure continues for a little longer --

Day 50 - hot, hot, hot

Sarah was able to get a bit more schoolwork done today thanks to a half a teaspoon of Dimetapp!

☺

With only a couple days left in Havasu, school has been pared down to the minimal. A bit of language and some math and we're good to go. We can catch up when we're back in McMurray. Actually the kids are nearly all done their school for this year so it's really nice to be able to do less these days.

After lunch Megan and I went out to do a little shopping while the others played outside and in the pool. We hit 37+ today and I think we're due to see 40C tomorrow so it is hot. Feels awesome, we are loving the heat!

Kids spent all afternoon outside, playing with friends and in the pool. Everyone came in when they were hungry for leftover supper and then back out. It really is amazing to have such consistent weather. Something we've never experienced other than here and never tire of! David and I did a number of laps walking our "loop" while the kids played basketball next door. Hard to think that was more than likely our last sunset walk, we're feeling pretty glum with having to leave a place that feels so much like home to us.

Kids were called in as the sun went down and the streets were dark and headed out back for an evening hot-tub & swim.

One more day....

☀

Cheesy grin Sarah enjoying an afternoon swim.

The new game - Jackpot!

Although it's after 5pm and the chairs are in the shade, this is usually David & my sunny spot to sit, chat & sip cold drinks!

A random photo on our walk. I get a kick out of the "fence" built with cinder blocks and old logs.

Typically where we find the kids - across the street playing basketball with Emily.

The man cave.... ahhhhhhhh.

Another fabulous evening swim.

Cheers to a great day!

Day 49 - Family Movie Night

Sarah seems to be sniffling & sneezing today and we're hoping it doesn't become anything for our long journey home. School went well, but Sarah had a shorter day with not feeling great. Once school was done and lunch munched down, David took Megan & Joshua out quadding for the afternoon. Sarah laid down for a rest and I actually had some quiet time to put my feet up and relax - it was lovely!

Kids played outside while dinner was being cooked and then we ate supper and watched the Duggars. The sun began to set so we went out for a nice family walk before coming back for our family movie night. Everyone was sleepy after the movie ended, but Joshua had his heart set on an evening swim so while the girls got ready for bed, he and David went out for awhile and swam under the stars!

We've extended our stay here for a couple of days, so that's a treat. We pull out Friday instead of tomorrow. We'll have to soon start to think ab0ut packing....

not today though.

☺

Megan took a couple pics of Josh at their favorite quad spot.

Day 48 - School & hanging at home kinda day....

Monday morning. David was out for his early bike ride and after such a late night the kids all slept in... even Sarah slept until 9am!! I can't remember the last time she did that. School was a later start and Sarah even hung out in her PJs a little longer :) We worked until about lunch time and then splashed in the pool and hung out at the house. David BBQ'd for dinner, we went for a family walk and then Daddy made drinks as Sarah wanted to have a dip in the hot tub before bed. Joshua then went for an evening swim while we were out on the deck. A nice quiet day ---

✪

School time....

Megan's favorite spot for Silent Reading... she's going to miss her hammock!

Afternoon pool time!

Some K'Nex building time with Dad!

I thought this was so cute. When Sarah knew Mike, Leslie & Isabella were coming over she made this poster and taped it to the garage door.

The bump continues to groooooooooow!

A little orange julius this evening by the hot tub.

Day 47 - Sunshine, Friends, BBQ & Pool

We were off to church this morning in the sunshine. Our friends came over for the afternoon today and we BBQ'd, had some time in the pool/hot tub, kids played with Isabella... and we had a great time. We will miss them!

The kids were up late tonight as we let them stay up and watch the Survivor Finale. I wasn't sure if Joshua & Sarah would make it as there heads dropped now & then, but they did. ☺

Sarah could have stayed here all afternoon and evening playing with Bella!

Isabella kicked back & enjoying the hot tub!

Joshua dives over and over as he tries to dive in one end and glide to the other with one breath (and no kicking) :)

Our favorite spot to eat :)

Day 46 - A lazy Saturday :)

Everyone (except David) enjoyed sleeping in after such a late night last night. I don't think David got to bed until 2:30! Insane. David was still up early and off on his morning bike ride... he's going to miss that route! After breakfast David was out to do some errands and decided to stop in at Food City for donuts. We heard they have the best and Megan was REALLY wanting to try them out! The size of them were INSANELY huge and, of course, *only* 55 cents. We are seriously going on a no-sugar diet once we're home - need to detox! :)

David took the kids to family day at Chase Bank for a little bit and then we spent the afternoon pool side. It was 38 degrees today - lovely.

We enjoyed a late BBQ dinner outside, boys had an evening swim and everyone was ready for bed nice & early :)

Chocolate iced cinnamon bun - Check out the size of that thing!

Joshua sporting his tattoos from Family Day.

Sarah concentrating as she swims in the deep end :)

✤

Day 45 - Final Day at Disneyland and a 1:00Am arrival home

With the park opening an hour earlier and knowing that today was going to be our last day, we got up early to be there for opening. The night proved to be quite long though..... my foggy mind thinks it was around 1AM that I heard a vehicle alarm go off. Being totally out of it, I didn’t think it was OUR truck alarm and sleepily dozed off to sleep again. At 2AM when I heard the alarm again, I KNEW it was ours and immediately woke up David to go check things out. Sure enough it was our truck, but all looked fine so he came back to bed. Now everyone was awake and snuggled down to return to dreamland. The phone rang around 2:30AM, it was the front desk informing us that our alarm had gone off and we needed to turn the alarm off. I must say that this whole time we thought the alarm was disengaged. We don’t set it anymore when we are at hotels or home to avoid those false alarms. They wanted us to move the truck, but after explaining that the diesel engine would disturb everyone all over again, our only option was to leave the truck unlocked. Wearily, David crawled back into bed only to find himself tossing & turning over the fact the truck was parked and unlocked. So pillow in hand he went to sleep in the truck. By 6AM he was too cold and came back to the hotel room to catch a few warm ZZZs. By 7AM we were starting to stir and everyone was groggy and moving slowly. We still managed to get our breakfast in, pack up a bit and head to Disneyland before opening! WHEW!! We stood in the crowd as they announced the opening of the park. That is always exciting as everyone awaiting bursts into cheers & applause! SO FUN! Our favorite all-time ride is Big Thunder Railroad. This ride has been closed the last couple of weeks and we planned our trip during this time KNOWING it was due to be opened today! So we rushed to Big Thunder only to find it wasn’t QUITE opened. So the boys and Megan went to Splash Mountain ( it was empty so they went through twice) and Sarah and I went to Pinocchio and the Carousel rides. We met up at Big Thunder and everyone went on excited to {finally} be on the “Wildest ride in the wilderness” :) This time round, being pregnant, I had to sit this ride out so I sat and enjoyed some sit-down time while they rollercoastered it! ;) Megan & David were off to Indiana Jones so Joshua, Sarah & I headed over to Dumbo. This was the first time for us on this ride and we all thought it was fun! Again we met everyone back at Big Thunder -- Indy had been shut down due to technical difficulties before they got on the ride, Megan was disappointed :(. Using the fast-pass they avoided the crazy lines at Big Thunder and hopped on again! David & Joshua left the park to check us out of the hotel and pack up the truck. While they were gone, Megan, Sarah and I had some time to check out some rides. We managed to get on Mr. Toad’s Wild ride and then it hit. We thought we’d get through ONE Disneyland trip without it, but alas.... Megan got sick. She began to get hot and so we got a frozen lemonade with raspberries for her to slowly sip.... no luck. We met the boys back at Big Thunder and she was in agony. Poor Megan. I took Megan out of the park to lay down in the truck (we didn’t make it.... ), Joshua, Sarah & David took a final ride on Big Thunder Railroad and then met us at the truck. Megan was feeling a bit better, but so disappointed that this is how her time at Disneyland ended. Joshua really wanted to get on Mulholland Madness (it was shut down yesterday) so while Megan rested, they quickly went to California Adventure so Joshua could get his final ride in. By the time they got back, Megan was perking up a bit, but it was getting late and we had to travel home still. So, we said goodbye to the park and made a stop at Costco for lunch/dinner. Megan seemed to be feeling a lot better, but was really disappointed not to get on her final rides, so we decided to head back to California Adventure for a couple hours. The girls did Mickey’s ferris wheel while David took Joshua on Mulhalland again. We then went and stood in line to do Toy Story one final time. After standing for nearly half an hour, this ride broke down. *sigh* Twice in one day?! So we took a few photos and slowly wandered out of the park. We began to work our way towards Havasu, stopping at Costco for a little treat. I think we finally arrived around 1AM, it was late! Hard to believe we only have five days left on this grand adventure - we shall do our best to savor each and every one!!

King Arthur's Carousel

Big Thunder Railroad... getting ready to board!

They're on the last "car" - can you see them waving?

High up on the Dumbo ride.

Waving to Joshua, our photographer!

Getting Megan a frozen raspberry lemonade to see if that would help her feel a bit better...

it didn't :(

Megan still a little pale, but feeling MUCH better after a little rest.

She was so excited to head back to the park to get on the Mickey Ferris Wheel.

THANK-YOU DADDY!!!

Some great views from the top!

A final family photo - next time there will be more!

We miss you already too!

Never a shortage of sweet treats and baking ideas for Megan.

Goodbye Disney, it has been a blast!