Houston, We Have a Flat Tire

My husband and I had it all worked out. I dropped the kids off with a friend and was on the freeway, on my way to the dealership to drop my car off for warranty work. My husband was about twenty minutes behind me and was going to meet me at a restaurant where we could have some alone time before getting the kids. I pulled up close to a semi and began to hear a loud noise. After a brief moment, I realized this noise was coming from my car and it suddenly became difficult to drive. I maneuvered to the shoulder and got out to see that my front passenger tire had blown out. I got back into the car and pulled my phone out of my purse. Just then, it began to ring. Looking at my caller ID, I saw my husband's face. When I answered the phone, he asked what's happening. I explained my problem and he said he would be there soon. Shortly after, he arrived, changed my tire and sent me on my way. We continued our evening as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. After all, no one had to visit the emergency room.

My Broken Head

Our family hosted a yard sale on Saturday. We did well considering the wind and my husband and I considered the many ways we could spend the extra cash. Towards the end of the sale, our four-year-old was jumping on the sofa. I was busy with a last-minute customer and not really paying too much attention. This level of activity is normal for my girl. So is the stunt she pulled when she jumped off the couch and landed head first in the dirt next to the couch. I heard no screams so I continued with the customer. A moment later, the screams came from my older daughter when she saw the blood running down her sisters face. I yelled at my husband and he came to see the problem. He carried our daughter into the kitchen and pulled out the peroxide and cotton balls. Under all of that blood was a fair-sized cut, not too deep, under her bangs. Ironically, she and I decided last week that we would let her bangs grow out. While I looked on and held tightly to my child, my husband cleaned the cut as best as he could. An uncertainty about how clean the cut was and a concern for scarring, we decided a trip to the urgent care clinic was necessary. Upon arrival, my husband was told that because she landed on her head, they would need to go to the emergency room. Fast forward to the two of them sitting on a bed in the E.R. hallway talking to the nurse. The nurse asked my daughter what happened and my daughter replied, " I broke my head." Later my daughter asked her daddy if there were pieces of her head laying all over the place.

Thankfully, she got through her ordeal (third hospital visit for a head injury for the record) and is healing happily. She got ice cream on the way home and shared with the teddy bear the hospital volunteer gave her. She proudly wears her hospital bracelet and is excited about picture day tomorrow with her forehead glued shut and bandage protecting the wound. I, on the other hand, am mourning the fact that I will be sending my "extra money" from the yard sale to pay the hospital.

Refreshment in Amboy

Our family went to beautiful Amboy for a few days of relaxation and refreshment. Anyone who knows Amboy is probably thinking I am crazy, but it was a wonderful weekend. Driving through Amboy, you see the remnants of a small but liveable town. There once was a restaurant, hotel, gas station, school, and other unrecognizeable buildings. Now, only a few residents remain but no businesses. My husband works just outside of Amboy and stays in a travel trailer on a coworker's property during the workweek, along with several other coworkers. The girls and I joined him for a quiet time in the desert. While he worked, the kids enjoyed digging in the dirt while I caught up on my reading. Wen he got back to camp on Friday, we ventured down a long dirt road to see a ghost town (remnants of houses and a mine) and sand dunes. When we arrived at the point where vehicles must stop at the sand dunes, we got out of the car and found nature at its finest. The ground was peppered with white flowers that looked like poppies. At closer glance, giant caterpillars, 3 inches long, were munching on the flowers. The kids were enthralled with the sight. On the way back we found a lemon grove where we picked enough lemons to make lemonade when we got back to the trailer. The following day we slept in, leisurely packed up, and headed home, stopping at Dairy Queen for ice cream on the way. We ended the "vacation" with pizza and movies at home. I doubt we spent more than $100 (gas being half of that cost) but we all had a great time.