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At the beginning of the summer as a fun "flip" project, Andy purchased a 1981 Boston Whaler 13 Sport - pretty much his dream boat from when he was a kid. I'm told he got it for a steal and it made for a fun renovation project that even the boys helped out with (a full renovation post will come later). The plan is to sell it - because, well, we can only tow one vessel at a time, lol - but in the meantime we figured why not enjoy it a bit. So one weekend in August, with the kiddos spending quality time with Grandma and Grandpa, we hooked up the camper to the truck and hooked up the boat to the Merc and off we went to Lake Anna State Park for a weekend of camping and boating (and snakes!) Oh my!
We had so many wonderful memories of going to Lake Anna with our first boat, Wally, and so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane to be back out on the water with Wally Jr. Andy was definitely in his happy place captaining the boat and I promptly found myself back at the bow enjoying the breeze on my face. We quickly found our rhythm as boat people and enjoyed lots of rides around the lake and even a few dips in the water as well - that water is still the perfect temperature!
The docks by the cabins remained the best place to take the dogs swimming and boy did they have fun. Liddy of course was jumping in before we even threw the ball and Sadie took a bit of warming up but by the end of the swim session she was jumping off the dock as well. The lake remains Liddy's happy place and I think it's becoming Sadie's as well.
So after a really fun first evening and then full day out on the lake - enjoying our time being sans kids - we decided to go for a night time boat ride and this is where "the wheels fell off" so to speak. After our cruise we got the boat tied back up to the dock and had to make about a 40 yard walk on a path through the woods back to our car. Instead of digging for the flashlight in our bag we (or rather, Andy) decided we could simply "walk with purpose" - so as to avoid tripping on tree roots, etc (which was honestly the reason I wanted the flashlight) and so off we went - walking with purpose when all of a sudden I felt a terrible pain - or puncture- in my toe. I immediately stopped and told Andy a stick had just popped up and punctured my foot. I quickly got my phone out and used the flashlight to show that indeed my foot was bleeding - ouch! So we hobbled me to the car and I just wanted to get back to the camper as quickly as I could so I could get some ice on it for relief - because boy did it ever hurt. After about an hour my foot was getting pretty swollen and black and blue but we both had just settled on going to the ER in the morning - certainly the pain would subside and maybe I had just sprained it somehow.
Cut to the morning after I was up most of the night in horrifyingly terrible pain and a foot, ankle and now leg (up to knee) that was swollen and it was for sure time to go to the ER. Though I'll admit we both still assumed I had a sprain of some sort. So off we went - after I hopped to the car as there was no way I could even consider putting pressure on my foot - and after the 40 minute drive we arrived at the ER. Luckily an ER tech saw me hopping in on one foot and quickly grabbed a wheelchair for me. I proceeded to tell them all about how a stick jumped up and punctured my foot and how I was probably at about an 8 now for my pain (a solid 10 in the middle of the night for sure) and so I got wheeled to a bed and within a few minutes I had the ER doc coming to check me out. After telling her the stick story she promptly corrected me saying "You mean a snake not a stick." To which I adamantly responded - "No, I mean a stick." To which she more adamantly responded "No no, it was a snake." Cue my horrified response of "What!? OMG! No! What?!" and all the tears that followed - lol. Learning you've been bit by snake will legit make you cry like a baby - of this I can attest. And furthermore when someone comes in to ask why you are so sad and you tell them you were bit by a snake - the guaranteed response is "OMG I'd be crying too." So we've got that part figured out.
So a few xrays, blood tests and a tetanus shot later we find out that it was a copperhead that got me - and luckily it only fully punctured my foot in one spot - the other fang (omg, just typing fang makes me want to weep) simply grazed my foot - and thank goodness as two shots of venom could have made for a far different story. The only other poisonous snake in that area is a timber rattler which would have caused much more damage and would have affected the way my blood was clotting - so that's how they were able to determine that I got, I guess, the good kind of venomous snake.
Since more than 8 hours had passed and because my blood work was looking favorable I did not need to have the anti-venom administered - which I think was a blessing as I'm told it is $$$$$ and had some pretty funky side affect possibilities - so I left the ER with crutches, some pain meds, and an explanation that I should think of this like a concrete brick falling on my foot as far as the amount of damage that venom causes - so recovery was going to be slow but eventual.
So yes, flashlights in the dark are a must - though let's think about that for a moment - would I really have wanted to see the snake bite me? Because I'm almost certain that would have led to full on cardiac arrest - so you know, perspective folks.
Needless to say, this threw quite a monkey wrench into the remainder of our weekend. Though, as we always do, we found a way to make the most of it. Andy still got a few more boat rides in - and even took Sadie for her first boat ride - which I'm told she loved! I got to rest and recover and even got to ride around the grocery store on one of those motorized carts - omg the humiliation - lol. I did get one more boat ride in, which I'll admit was a bit of an undertaking but it was nice to get out of the camper and get some fresh air.
It was 4+ days before I was able to walk on that foot and honestly even to this day - nearly 10 weeks later - I still have some swelling and tenderness in top of my foot/ankle - but I have one heck of a story to tell.
We had a double celebration for Uncle Mark's birthday this year. First we partied it up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Gifts were exchanged and his traditional sherbet angel food cake was enjoyed (but a few, lol!)
Then on his actual birthday we gathered again at our house and showered him with more gifts and with strawberry short cake angel food cake - which was enjoyed by more - haha - oh Mark, I kid because I love!
Seriously though - a very deserving double celebration for a very loved uncle, brother, son. Happy birthday Aurelius.
Our home away from home this summer provided us one last amazing weekend at the beginning of August. The highlights of this trip were of course spending time around the campfire, riding bikes, playing at the park, and snuggling up to watch movies when it rained.
However the best part of this weekend was our time spent at the pool. I guess it was a "third times a charm" situation for Harper because this visit he threw all his fear aside and was all about spending time with Adam at the splash pad. It was great to see how much fun they were both having. You couldn't get them off those slides - just up and down and back again.
A happy and brave Harper for sure (and an amazing big brother who kept an eye on him the entire time.) :)
One of my really good friends from growing up who has since moved to Arkansas and now Texas alerted me to the fact that she'd be home for a few days in August and wanted to get some of the old gang together. Well, one group text chain and 15 minutes later we had organized a brunch at my parent's house (central location for everyone) where we'd have six of us girls, 14 children (ages 4 months to 12) and two grandma's. If we'd have had months to plan I don't think we could have been so successful - sometimes last minute is really best.
It was such an amazing morning. The kids had so much fun playing with one another in the basement - and luckily nothing was broken and thanks to the leadership of some of the young ladies in the group everything was spotless before it was time to leave (see Mom, I told you - nothing to worry about!) The grandmas had fun chatting in a separate room while the six of us caught up on years of gossip, laughter, and of course lots of reminiscing of our time growing up together.
We might not see much of each other but there's nothing like the bond you have with the ones who "knew you when." Watching the next generation form friendships with one another was icing on the cake. I hope we don't go so long before our next gathering - but even if we do - I know we'll just pick right back up where we left off. That's just what good friends do.
All summer I was playing the lottery - well, the Hamilton lottery that is - in hopes of winning super cheap tickets to see the show at The Kennedy Center. I could barely believe our luck when Andy informed me that the entry I did under his name had won us tickets for a Saturday matinee. What!? I was so excited to get to bring Adam to see this show - he has been loving the music since I first saw it last fall (here) and Alexander Hamilton was also who he chose to be for the wax museum (see here.)
The tickets were $10 each - which is just crazy. The only catch was the person who won the tickets had to be the one to pick them up from Will Call. So a small hiccup but we made a little family outing of it as well all went downtown together to get the tickets. We were a little nervous wondering what seats we might get - they warn you that your seats might not be together and that your view might be hindered. However upon picking up our tickets we learned that not only were our seats next to each other (phew!) but we were literally in the 2nd row!? Holy cow!
Once we had tickets in hand we still had 2.5 hours before the show so we took advantage of having Andy & Harper with us and did a little picture taking on the rooftop terrace of The Kennedy Center. It was a beautiful day and I was having a flood of memories of times I got to go see shows there with my parents.
Harper was loving all the fountains and admittedly was bummed that he wasn't also going to get to see Hamilton - as he's become quite the fan of the music as well - just ask him what he wants to listen to in the car and he'll quickly tell you Hamilton - and he'll sing along.
After dropping us off for lunch, Andy and Harper headed home and from there it was a Mommy and Adam date for the ages! We had a fun lunch sitting outside at the DC waterfront - we watched the fancy boats pull up and played a lot of tic-tac-toe. Then it was time to walk back to The Kennedy Center for the main event.
Once we got to our seats we honestly could not believe our luck. Turns out everyone in our row was lottery winners. We had an amazing view and the show was unbelievable! I know everyone says it but there really is nothing like this - the music is wonderful, the performances are out of this world, and all the while you're getting this history lesson - I continue to be so thankful to Lin Manuel Miranda for that. Adam was all smiles the whole time (except the kissing parts where he'd cover his eyes) and I know he'll remember that experience for a long long time.
So thankful that we "did not throw away our shot" and got to "be in the room where it happened."
