Pirate Dad/Dog/Cow/Mouse

Dad is a silly guy. He thinks he can wear 3 animal masks at one time AND be a pirate.

Emergency Room Visit

Well, I had an emergency room visit last week. There were a few amusing things about it, so I wanted to write down the story.

I had a nasty cold over Christmas. Toward the end, it kind of settled in my chest, but seemed to go away.

Then, last week, I started having trouble breathing. I couldn't seem to catch my breath and I had like a lump in my chest. I had Mom come down to watch the kids and I went over to Urgent Care.

The doctor at Urgent Care told me my symptoms were too concerning to him and he didn't have anything there to try to figure out what was wrong. Apparently chest pain and trouble breathing will get you sent to the emergency room quickly. He wanted to call an ambulance, but I just drove myself over there.

There was NO parking at the hospital. I had to park like 3 blocks away. It took me forever to walk to the ER since I was having trouble breathing.

I was behind 5 people in line. All 5 people were told to go sit in the waiting room. My symptoms of chest pain and trouble breathing got me admitted quickly and I had no wait.

I told the doctor of my virus, but they wanted to rule out big problems first. They were mostly concerned about a blood clot in my lungs.

As I'm lying there, Jeremy shows up. He'd left work so he was in uniform. I started to get strange looks and weird glances from hospital people walking by.

Apparently, whenever a cop is in the hospital with a patient, it means the patient is either under arrest or mentally ill. So on this day, people were not seeing what was really happening! It was pretty amusing to me. They may have thought I was a criminal!

After an X-Ray, blood tests, and even a CT scan of my chest, it turns out I just have some inflammation in my lungs from that dumb virus. No blood clot or lung cancer or pneumonia. I was prescribed some strong anti-inflammatory pills and released.  I was there over 4 hours (each test took less than 10 seconds).

Jeremy said he'd drive me down to the car since he was parked out front. He wasn't kidding. His police car was parked right next to the front sidewalk in a no parking zone. Again, we got lots of looks as he was helping me into the car. I'm sure he's totally used to getting stared at, but I am definitely not! (Well, unless Elizabeth is having a breakdown).

I've been taking the pills for about a week now. My chest and breathing are much better. I still can't run too hard or fast though or I can feel my chest start to tighten up. So slow running for now. I can't wait to get back to regular Bloomsday training!

1997 vs 2012. Not much difference.

I came across the top picture recently and realized it is SO much like the bottom picture. 

Here are Laura and I in the fall of 1997. We are at a cross country meet in Cle Elum. I can tell because it's the only place we ran cross country meets that had trees like that. I was a senior and she was a freshman. This is obviously after the race as we are looking tired and our hair is windblown. 

Another point. Look how much clothing we are wearing. The meet must have been in October. Most normal people would have just run in their uniform top and shorts. Not Laura and I. To stay warm, we needed long sleeve shirts and spandex. We are just always cold! I'm sure people thought we were overdressed. It's the same way now. We are always cold and have to keep our houses at 76 degrees all the time to stay warm. 

Here are Laura and I in the fall of 2012. Look, we're running another race and even standing in the same spots! It's funny because our numbers almost match with the numbers we were wearing in 1997. Back then, I was 322 and in this recent race I was 333. Laura was 324 back then and 327 now. Funny huh? I bet Holly was 323 in the race from 1997. 

We were also cold during this race as it was the end of October. The wind was quite nippy as well. This was before the race as our hair is not windblown. Although over the years, we've both been able to figure out how to tame our hair and work with it better. 

Well, time to start training for Bloomsday! Be prepared to be cold for that race too L! And yes, I know how much you hate it. But who knows? The shirts could be purple this year! 

Pirate Swordfights

The kids have developed yet another bedtime stalling tactic. 

So first we do baths, brush teeth, and put on pajamas. 

Then, they dress up as pirates and have sword fights. They know it makes me laugh and I can't help but let them stay up a few extra minutes because it's so funny. 

Elizabeth started calling herself "Captain Feathersword." Nathan is "Captain Puppy." 

Some great foam sword action

Whoops. They both dropped their swords at the same time. Who won? 

Back in action

Eating Papa Ray's face

Today is Papa Ray's birthday. To celebrate, the kids ate cookies with his face on them! Good job with the cookies Aunt Charlene. 

It's About Time!

Today, something happened that I NEVER thought would happen. 

We only got ONE copy of the Washington State Magazine. 

For the last 10 years we've been married, we have always received 2 copies every quarter when they send out the magazine. One addressed to Jeremy. One addressed to me. Early in our marriage, I called the magazine and told them to please send us only one. What a waste to send two magazines to the same address! After it kept happening for a few years, I called again and told them the same thing. Nothing changed. 

So I just assumed we would always receive 2 copies since they apparently didn't care. 

And today only 1 copy showed up with BOTH our names. Amazing! They are so slow it took them TEN years to figure out we're married and always live at the same address. 

The only other mystery is how they always find us when we move. I've never once called to change our address, but the magazines show up like clockwork! Apparently, the magazine people have their ways. Well, and the fact they are probably sponsored by the alumni association and want to make money! 

Hi February!

Elizabeth decided to wear her "February" shirt today. Pink and polka dots does seem quite like February! We've been having some unseasonably warm weather so we played outside a lot this afternoon. 

Digging in the sand pit. 

Digging a big trench!