You Might Be a Redneck If...

As soon as The Lime woke up from his nap yesterday, he asked if we could go outside and play golf.

We had to improvise...

a lot.

When the stick didn't quite cut it, we substituted a miniature plastic bat.

Surprisingly, The Lime has quite a swing and launched the bouncy ball much farther than I could.

The golfing quickly turned into an inning of baseball with said yellow plastic bat and a racquetball.

Which then turned into a game of football.

And we finished it all off with an icy cold Pop Up (I've been calling them Push Ups...when did they change their name?!).

Bernie Lean

We were at Target last week, checking out the A's gear, and The Lime asked if there was a Coco Crisp shirt. Unfortunately, Cespedes was the only player they had but I told him we'd check online to see if we could find one.

While he was napping today, I decided to see if they even made Coco Crisp shirts in a size 4T. Amazon provided me with a child's XS but I'm afraid that would be too big.

I noticed a link at the bottom of the page that looked inquiring so I clicked it and found this website:

I just about died. I immediately pinned this shirt onto Pinterest and giggled at all the other ones they had.

Fast forward to tonight, when I went into my bedroom and noticed an amazing glow coming from outside. I walked into our front yard and saw a majestic sky, immediately ran back in to get my camera, grabbed The Lime, and headed across the street to the dog park to take some pictures.

There was a border around the parking lot of medium sized rocks that The Lime was stepping on. They were a bit slippery so he asked me to hold his hand as he walked along them. He accidentally slipped, and while I was holding his right hand, he sort of leaned back, trying to catch his balance with his left hand. He paused for a moment and said, "That rock just made me do the Bernie Lean!" Again, just about died. That kid cracks me up.

So now I'm back to t-shirt hunting, this time for a Coco Crisp/Bernie Lean ensemble.

Gold Rush Days 2013

LaVor's parents planned a visit to our place this weekend but before they could make it to our house, we met them at Gold Rush Days. We thought The Lime would really enjoy it this year since we'd be seeing lots of cowboys.

Decked out in his hat, keys, boots, and radio, we visited the Pony Express exhibit first. The Lime gently pet a horse, pretended to ride a horse, and jumped on several bales of hay.

The Mormon Battalion tent was our next stop, where we learned lots about the early Saints who settled in California. The Lime got to check out some old keys and found a ranger badge in the tent next door.

While walking along the shops, we caught a glimpse of a Pony Express reenactment. It really is amazing the things people did in the olden days. A plaque we read noted that only one piece of mail was lost during the entire Pony Express existence. The USPS could learn a few things from those guys.

We overheard some people talking about a shoot out so we parked it along a dirt road and waited for the show to begin. Unfortunately, it was a ridiculous shoot out and we cut out early. It involved the following...

Some prostitutes on the balcony of a building doing things they shouldn't have been doing (we couldn't see them, they were above us). So the teenage Sheriff went upstairs to arrest them.

Then the men started hootin' and hollerin' and the women marched around saying, "Sin no more!"

One of the ladies went crazy and began shooting into the crowd of prostitutes.

That apparently didn't stop the prostitutes from doing their business because the men went back to hollerin'.

Soon after, a man in red underoos came out of the building carrying a bundle of smoking dynamite. The Sheriff followed with two prostitutes handcuffed to him.

The building ended up catching on fire and all the prostitutes came rushing out, and then began fighting each other.

Once the drunk lady passed us, crying over her empty bottle of booze, we decided to check something else out.

It seemed as though the actors put the show together that morning and crossed their fingers it would go okay. And it didn't end there...The Lime continued to ask questions about it for the rest of the day. We had to remind him that it was pretend, just like when we play Peter Pan and Captain Hook. I can't let him see these pictures or he'll start questioning again.

We walked around a few more blocks and decided we needed to take a break and get some lunch, which then turned into just calling it a day. On the way home, we realized we had missed several things we wanted to see/do.

Once the weather cools off (which it's already starting to do...lots of rain today!), we'll most likely be taking a trip to pan for gold.

And there better not be a shoot out planned.

The Verdict Is In

The Monday after The Lime's cashew incident, I called his Pediatrician to get a referral to an Allergist.  The soonest appointment the Allergist had was a month out, and our anniversary, but we took what we could get.  The appointment time was also during The Lime's nap and they said to plan to be there about 2-3 hours.  I.could.hardly.contain.my.excitement.

I didn't mention anything to The Lime until just a few days ago, and I only told him we were going to the doctor.  When we pulled into the parking lot today, he asked, "Where's my other doctor?"  The kid is so aware of his surroundings.

We walked in, presented the receptionist with all of the paperwork, sat down, and waited our turn.  I could not believe how many kids (especially boys) were there for allergy shots.  The Lime kept hearing the word "shot" and kept asking if he was going to get one.  I didn't know exactly what our appointment would entail but I reminded him how brave Sister Bear was when she got her shot from Dr. Grizzly.

Finally, we were called back and The Lime had to take off all his gear so the nurse could get his weight.  Thank goodness the nurse brought in some blocks that helped us pass the time as we waited and waited and waited for the doctor.  (Just as a note, since working in a dental office, I totally understand that professionals get behind, and I do my best to be patient and understanding.)

The doctor finally came in and I told him why we were there (cashews) and he explained when someone has a cashew allergy, they're more than likely allergic to pistachios, too.  Strange, since The Lime has had pistachios and nothing happened.  He went ahead and ordered a seasonal allergy panel as well as tests for cashews and pistachios.  Another nurse came in a short while later and wrote on The Lime's back what tests would be done.  She then applied a very tiny dot of each allergen and said if the dot resembled a mosquito bite after the fifteen minute waiting period, that meant The Lime was allergic.  Also, The Lime couldn't touch his back during that time, which proved to be the hardest part of the test.

It took less than a minute for The Lime to start reacting and he began sobbing because it itched so bad.  Thankfully we had episodes of Daniel Tiger to keep him distracted and I blew on his back to help relieve some of the itch.  When I'd try and catch my breath, he'd immediately say, "Keep blowing!"  He didn't quite understand what getting lightheaded and dizzy meant.

When the nurse came in to read the results, there was no doubt what he was allergic to.

Grass (knew that), cashews, and sure enough, pistachios.

So, we got a prescription for EpiPens and are now one of those families that will have to tell everyone wherever we go to not give The Lime certain nuts.  I hate worrying about things (I wouldnt be surprised if I have ulcers or am on the verge of getting them) and now I've added one more thing to my list.

But at least we know and knowing is half the battle.

Lucky #7

My favorite number has always been 7, and not necessarily because I feel like it's lucky.

When I was in 8th grade, I had an assignment where I had to explain why my favorite number was my favorite. My reasons were that I was the seventh person in my family and I liked channel 7 news. I kid you not.

Let me add another reason to the list; I've been married to my sweetheart for seven years today.

Before taking the plunge, we sat down with the man who would perform the ceremony and he inquired a little bit about us. He asked each of us why we wanted to marry the other person. While I can't remember LaVor's response (whoops), I do remember my simple answer, "He makes me laugh."

I've been e-mailing my mom's cousin and her husband for several weeks, gathering family history information. We finally spoke over the phone last week and they said, "Well, you sound like a very happy person." My response was, "I've been blessed with so much, I really have nothing to be but happy."

I like smiling, I like being happy, and I especially love laughing. My main source of all of that is LaVor.

Like when he brought home In N Out for dinner last night, or when he rubbed my back last Sunday, or when he encourages me to fundraise for the walk, or when he makes funny faces, or when he fills my car up with gas without me knowing. I could go on forever.

What makes me extremely happy, though, is knowing we're a team forever.

When we got engaged, someone asked us where we were going to be married. I was sort of taken back because there wasn't another option besides being sealed in the temple. My heart aches for people who utter the words "til death do us part" and who don't know about the wonderful opportunity to be an eternal family.

While marriage is hard and a constant learning experience, it is also wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm one lucky girl.