hunter's surgery

Poor little huntie needed surgery again.  First one was in April to get tubes in both ears and a dermoid cyst removed from her brow.

All went well with that surgery but she’s still sick all the time.  Basically, if she’s not on antibiotics, she’s sick.

I woke Hunter at 5:15ish this morning and put her right in the car in her p.j.’s.  Curt is traveling, so Taylor slept in my bed for when Piper & Wynter woke.  Granny was coming over a little later in the morning to take them to school.

So it was recommended to remove her adenoids.  We had that done this morning (they also replaced one ear tube).

She was so cute (sad to say) in her little hospital gown.  She stayed pretty drugged up for a while, but when she came to, she tried with all her might to get the tubes and cords off of her!

She’s sleepy, but recovering well ...

otter creek

What a weekend!  We took the girls out of school on Thursday and Friday and drove to Wheeler, Wisconsin for a 3-day horse event that Taylor was competing in.  Granny came along for moral support and to help with the girls.

Taylor did an awesome job, and I couldn’t be prouder!  You can read all about it on the Racine County Pony Club website ...

The weekend required a lot of patience from the girls.  The weather was icky ... cold in the mornings.  The hotel wasn’t the greatest ... I know the girls are getting too comfortable, expecting luxury accommodations when we walk into a room and Piper looks around and says, “This is it?  This is small!”  Lord help me!

Click here for more photos of the event.

australia

We are exhausted!  I was awake in bed last night when the girls got up, none of us could sleep (except Curt), so we made popcorn, lit a fire and watched a movie.

We had a really great time together.  It was difficult traveling that far with 5 kids (Taylor’s friend came with), but what an experience for them.  And really, when all was said and done, they were very good for being so far out of their element.

The weather was rainy when we got into Melbourne.  We bathed and changed clothes, slept for a while and then went down to the huge mall attached to our hotel.  We walked around and had some dinner.

It took everyone a good couple of nights before were on Australia’s time zone.

When we finally made it up to Bamaga for fishing, the weather was much better up there and we were sleeping through the night.  Bamaga is way on the northwest part of Australia.  We’re told many natives don’t even make it up there.

We stayed on a houseboat for 5 days.  Parked in a tributary river.  And then took smaller fishing boats through the rivers and onto the ocean for some reef fishing.  We all caught a lot of colorful fish.  A highlight was ‘chasing tuna’ ... we would watch where the birds were feeding and then following them for tuna.  Tuna are fun to bring in!

The trip home was ... well ... A LOT of travel!  The kids did great, and it was exciting having Cate Blanchett seated behind us!

We’re glad to be home and hope to recover from this jet lag soon ...

Click here to look at photos of our vacation.