Parasite Infestation

We had such a good time playing at Sand Hollow a few weekends ago that I got the bright idea it would be a fun weekday outing. So we invited a friend and her kids to go along with us. It sounded like a good idea at the time!

The kids were having fun playing in the water and building sand structures while Allyson and I sat under the big umbrella talking and distributing snacks. Allyson is a gal after my own heart, she likes to get going super early so we had been at the lake for a few hours before it was even time for lunch. Then our nice peaceful escapade went wrong – very wrong!

Bella and Laurin were playing in the water close to the shore when Laurin came frantically rushing out of the water. She began crying and it quickly escalated in intensity. While Allyson was trying to discover what the problem was, her youngest daughter fell off the picnic table into the water and I rushed to the rescue. She was then crying and at this time I noticed that Bella had gotten out of the water and was quietly whimpering. Bella said she itched all over. We hollered at all the kids to get out of the water, removed the girls swimsuits and poured our drinking water over them. Nothing seemed to help and they were getting more upset by the minute. We decided Allyson would take the girls to the restroom and try to wash them off while I gathered our stuff that was scattered all over. Pretty soon everyone thought they were itching and saying how they never wanted to come here again. Not fun!

Bella stopped crying once we got in the van, but she did say on the way home she was not doing so well. We got home and showered then I asked her to tell me where it itched. She systematically pointed to numerous spots. There were so many spots I just covered her with cream. The rest of the day the kids talked about being itchy and I would often catch them scratching. Poor things!

When Chuck came home for lunch, we talked about it and knew it had to be swimmer’s itch. Sand Hollow has this problem every year, but somehow we’ve avoided it until now. I didn’t do myself any favors by reading about it on the internet. It made me itch and all I can say is nasty! A little edited section from Wikipedia:

“A number of different flatworm parasites are what cause swimmer’s itch. During one of their life stages, the larvae of the parasite, leave the water snails and swim freely in the freshwater, attempting to encounter water birds. These larvae can accidentally come into contact with the skin of a swimmer. They penetrate the skin and die in the skin immediately. The larvae cannot infect humans, but they cause an inflammatory immune reaction. This reaction causes initially mildly itchy spots on the skin. Within hours, these spots become raised papules which are intensely itchy. Each papule corresponds to the penetration site of a single parasite.”

Yep, not something you like to read about!

I was really hoping they wouldn’t develop the rash since only a small percentage of those infected get the rash, but no such luck!

This is what poor Bella looked like the next day. She was definitely the worst, covered from head to toe with spots. Isaac’s legs were covered. Samuel had a few spots on his legs and belly. Isaac could not keep from itchy his legs so they actually look the worst now. Supposedly once you’ve been infected you shouldn’t get the same reaction, but I think we’ll be hard pressed to talk the kids into making a trip to the lake again. And quite frankly after reading about the little parasites and then Chuck showing a video of the flatworms to the kids I’m not sure I want to make another trip! Always an adventure around here!

 

Made Me Smile This Week

I LOVE when the kids sit down at the piano and try to play. But this was too cute – Isaac and Jenna bright and early still in their pajamas pounding out a duet. As I watched them, I could picture in my mind several years down the road hoping they are still sitting together on that bench playing beautiful duets together.

Bella is the little mother of the family. Kambree is just about as big as Bella, but Bella was packing her all around the pool when Kambree was a little scared to get in. 

Samuel wanted me to take a picture of him sinking under water like a rock. After each picture, he would examine my efforts and it took several tries before he was satisfied with the outcome.

This week for “Experiment Day” we tried our hand at chemistry. We first learned about Diaper Science. Yes, that’s right the science behind disposable diapers. Very interesting I must say and since disposable diapers make my life easier why not learn about the superabsorbent polymers that make it all possible. We cut up one of Jenna’s diapers, put it in a ziplock bag and shook it to release the little white powder inside. Then we collected the powder, the polymers, and added water. It was amazing to see the polymers expand to hold the water.

Then we learned about acids and bases. Did you know that red cabbage contains pigments that change color to indicate if a substance is an acid or base? Yeah, me neither but it’s true. We had a great time testing all sorts of liquids to see if they were acidic or basic. Their favorite was testing the orange juice.

Obviously with most of our experiments the kids don’t grasp the scientific concepts, but they sure do love helping and seeing the results. They ask pretty much every day if we can do experiments.

Every weekday morning I do a little “Learning Time” with the kids. It is quite the scene and some days it’s really crazy. Everyone is doing different things and trying to show me their work at the same time. I sometimes just want to laugh and how this must look. I’ve said it so often, but I really, really love teaching my kids. Yes, it can be crazy, but for me there’s nothing as rewarding as seeing their eyes sparkle as they master a new concept or exclaim with excitement that they did it. 

And this is the best part, watching them help each other.

Now this doesn’t really make me smile, but I had to write about it. I sure do like my new table and chairs, but we didn’t realize that the style of the chairs with the bar below would make it easier for Jenna with her short little legs to climb right onto them and then up onto the table. She delights in climbing on the table and tromping from one end to the other. And now the kids have no place to do their projects or puzzles that is safe from her little destructive hands. She reminds me a little of Bella at this age – no fear.

Another Biking Adventure

We’re taking advantage of biking adventures before it gets too HOT to consider such an escapade with the kids. On Saturday, we actually rode 3 miles on a new trail. The kids are getting so they can go longer distances and it was great – for the most part! What would an adventure for our family be without a few bumps in the road!

We stopped at a park and let the kids play. We probably stayed a little too long because when we got back on our bikes it was pretty warm and we heard a few complaints. Mainly from Jenna who did not want to get back in the trailer. Sometimes Jenna and Isaac have a few battles in the trailer. Jenna gets ahold of Isaac’s hair and pulls for all she’s worth making it a miserable ride for the guy. I was in front of Chuck, but I could hear Isaac loud and clear crying, “Baby doesn’t want me in here!”.

 

This was one of the moments when the adventure wasn’t so great. A portion of the trail was washed away during the floods earlier in the year so we had to plow our way for a pretty good stretch across the dirt. On the way back, it proved to be a bit of a breaking point. Samuel and I crossed the stretch and I looked back to see Chuck was loosing the troops. Bella was pushing her bike crying that she didn’t want to walk her bike, but really training wheels and dirt just aren’t a good combination. Isaac was out of the trailer running and Chuck was packing Jenna who desperately wanted to get down and pushing his bike. Also the bike trailer had a flat tire. Once everyone made it across this rough portion we were back in business speeding along.

 

We also stopped on the way back to see the ducks. Jenna was so excited.

Happy Father's Day

Just wanted to wish my wonderful Dad a Happy Father’s Day!


And a Happy Father’s Day to my wonderful husband, who is also a wonderful dad!

Love Jenna in this picture because that baby of ours is a firecracker! Today as I watched her roll around in the aisle at church screaming I just sighed. Luckily she’s the 4th so I’m pretty sure the phase will pass about the time she turns 3. I just chuckle when I tell Chuck Jenna has his personality because it’s about as far from the truth as you can get!

I took the kids to the Dollar Store so they could each pick out a present for their amazing dad. The kids all found something they wanted to give to Chuck and were really excited for the big day to come. It was actually a fun little shopping trip. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. It’s amazing how much life can change with a little passing of time. Samuel, Bella and Isaac for the most part are really great now and yes, Jenna is HARD, but I can handle one screaming kid. It was those days when 3 out of 4 or all 4 out of 4 were going wild that really used to throw me for a loop.



Chuck sporting his Father’s Day picture tie. I couldn’t resist the tie adorned with a picture of our cute kids all over it.

The kids and I sure do love you!

“Redneck” Pool & Other Happenings

Chuck got the above ground pool set up in the backyard. The kids are loving it!

Samuel and Bella have all types of races across the pool and spend awhile swimming each day. It’s fun to hear their conversations while their playing in the pool. Isaac was doing great in the pool until he tipped over in the tube and got water up his nose. Now he will occasionally get in. He likes to stand on the ladder and watch the other kids because he doesn’t like them to splash him.

The pool may be a little “redneck”, but I think it’s fun and fabulous!

Our experiments were a little safer this week – no matches, just magnets. We taped magnetos on top of match box cars and had races using the repulsion power of magnets. We’re trying our hand a chemistry this week.

We frequently pass the splash park and the kids ask every time we drive by when we’re going to go. We finally made it this week. Isaac, after much negotiating, eventually got brave enough with the help of Samuel and Bella to walk into the middle and get a little wet. After Jenna finished every ounce of snack we had, she ventured into the water and loved it.

 

Bella and I went to help Trina pack and clean since she’s moving tomorrow. I can’t believe our bad luck. We had only been there about an hour when Kambree started complaining that her belly hurt. Next thing we know she’s throwing up all over the carpet. Honestly, I wanted to run from the house screaming! We just can’t come down with another bout of stomach bug! After too much experience this winter, I happen to know it usually has a two day incubation period. So I’m praying Bella makes it through tomorrow without incident.

I cleaned all of the kitchen cupboards in my sister’s house and I was amazed at how clean they were. She is very tidy, but I could hardly find a speck of dirt. I know the same could not be said about my kitchen cupboards! I try really hard to keep things neat, but sometimes I swear I have tornadoes on my heels. So imagine my excitement when I got home last night and Samuel had a great idea to make this sign and had Chuck hang it above the basement door. It says, “Clean up after you play in the basement” and the picture is of someone playing with the big blocks and then putting them away in the bucket. The basement is solely the kids toy room and I just tend to close my eyes when I walk by because it’s always a mess. We do a good cleaning whenever the kids decide they can’t play down there anymore because the Legos are too deep. It actually really bugs me that I can’t seem to find a good system for keeping it organized. But we’re trying yet another idea and hopefully this time we can keep it at least somewhat under control. I guess that’s the beauty of a basement toy room – it can be a mess and I can shut the door and pretend it’s not there!

Crash, Crash, and Crash Again!

For this weekend’s adventure we decided to take a family bike ride along the trail in Snow Canyon. Chuck thought it would be a good idea to try starting at the top of the trail because then most of the ride would be down hill. Now I know when Chuck rides his bike on the road from the top of Snow Canyon he pushes 40 m.p.h. I’ve seen countless bicyclists speeding down the hill and I just can’t picture myself ever doing such a thing because the thought of extreme road rash is too much of a possibility. Before we made our decision where to ride, I asked Chuck a few times if the beginning of the trail had such steep down hill grades because I was worried about the kids – and myself! He thought we would be fine so we decided to give it a try.

    This was our happy little family getting ready for our bike ride.

And this was the scene literally a few minutes later.

We started off down the first hill and quickly came to a bright yellow warning sign showing a bicycle going down a very steep grade. Bella took a few years off my life as I saw her take off down the hill driving like a crazy mad woman. She was totally out of control, weaving all over the trail and picking up speed with each passing second. All we could do was watch from behind as she finally flew off the trail and landed with a thud in a giant bush. Chuck rushed to pick her up. All I could think was thank goodness she landed in the bush and didn’t get pavement road rash. Then I heard her say, “All that hurts is my arm” and instantly thought, great a broken bone. Her arm was fine and she shed a few tears, but she’s not one to let a little wreck slow her down so she jumped right back on her bike. Samuel walked his bike down the hill repeatedly asking Bella why she didn’t use her brakes, didn’t she see the sign that showed the bike and what he thought was someone flying off their bike. Again all I can say is thank goodness it was Bella because that girl is tough and reminds me of a wet noodle – she can just bend and fly in all directions.

We had just gotten back on our bikes when it was time for another hill. This time I started out first and before I knew it Bella was flying by me and she didn’t even have her feet on the pedals. We were all hollering at her to get her feet on the pedals and use the brakes, but she was going too fast.  All I could do was helplessly watch yet again as she flew totally out of control down the hill. This time she flew off her bike and landed on the pavement in a heap. I rushed to pick her up and was relieved to see that her knee was just a little scraped. Again she shed a few tears, but was ready to get back on her bike. It was at this point I decided there was NO WAY we could do this trail! We turned around, walked our bikes up the hills and back to the van. All the time Bella kept asking Chuck, “Daddy, why did you choose this steep hill? Kids can’t do this hill.”

After a disaster of a start, we headed over to our usual starting point in the middle of the trail. We had a fun ride and then Bella decided to join Samuel and I riding the trail out of the park. Samuel and I do this every time while Chuck loads up the other kids and the bikes then meets us outside the park. I should have realized it was not Bella’s lucky day, but she wanted to join us so she came along. We were almost to the end when we started down a little hill. Two other riders were coming up the hill and this caused Bella to forget what she was doing and for a third time she crashed in a big heap as I sat helplessly watching. This time she landed right on her face and I was sure she was going to be a mess, but I helped her up and she only had a little scratch under her nose and a few more scrapes on her knees. Again she shed a few tears, but got right back on her bike and we finished the trail. This Bella girl is one tough cookie! She continually gives me little heart attacks, but she’s tough. 

Fire! Fire! Everyone Run Outside!

Fire! Fire! Everyone Run Outside!

These are the words poor Samuel was running around frantically hollering, while Bella and Isaac stood paralyzed in their chairs after and experiment I was doing with the kids went a little awry.

 

The kids love science experiments and so my goal this summer is to have at least one day a week where we conduct a few fun experiments. This experiment titled “Hungry Jar” sounded simple enough. Basic air pressure principles at work as you fill up a water balloon that is too big to fit into the jar, light a paper towel on fire to remove the oxygen from the bottle and the great finish, the balloon is sucked into the jar!

I love that the science book says, “This experiment uses matches. Make sure you supervise your child during this experiment!” A few paragraphs down it says, “Always have adult supervision and watch what you’re doing when using matches. Make sure you drop the paper towel into the jar!”

Okay first mistake with this experiment that Samuel was quick to point out. It’s a little hard to drop a burning paper towel into a jar. Paper towels burn pretty quick and after I started it on fire I tried to drop it into the jar, but the flames were climbing and almost burned my hand. So I rotated the paper towel and then the flames really took off which caused me to scream and drop the paper towel onto the island. Thanks goodness I have granite countertops or I would have scorched the island! It was at this point Samuel got a little scared, jumped down off his chair and proceeded to run around the kitchen hollering Fire! Fire! Everyone Run Outside!

This was one of those times when everything seems to move in slow motion. I had a million thoughts run through my mind about how to take care of this problem before it got any worse. I wondered if it would just go out by itself, I knew the fire extinguisher was under the sink but wondered if I would be able to figure out how to use it fast enough, finally I realized the paper towel was close to the sink. I grabbed the end, whisked it into the sink and turned on the water.

Samuel jumped back onto his chair and said, “Mom I told you that you should have put the paper towel in the jar and then dropped the match in!” Yeah, why didn’t the people writing the book talk to the six year old first! That’s exactly what we did the next go round and it worked much better.

 

This is an experiment the kids won’t soon forget! And it was a great chance for me to talk to the kids about why they should NEVER playing with matches.

Speaking of fires, this was the scene outside our bedroom window Friday night. A fire was started on the Indian Reservation a several miles west of our home. Luckily crews were able to put it out before any homes were lost. I took the kids outside to see the flames earlier in the day and they were a little nervous that it looked so close. There usually isn’t much traffic around our area, but people were flocking all over the place to catch a glimpse of the hillside on fire. It was pretty spectacular from a distance.