Friday, May 22, 2009

I'm Back!!!!

(I have lots of pictures that I will load tonight, but with the move to the basement I can't find them right now.  Hopefully Justin knows where they are.)

Sorry for my hiatus from the blogging world. I like to think that I have been sorely missed by all of my faithful readers, even if that only includes my parents :-) We have been very busy in the Palmer household.  What can be blamed for my absence???  

1)We spent 5 wonderful days in Tennessee
2)We got home and had a lot of doctors appointments (for me and Evan)
3)I planted a garden
4)We moved the office downstairs and changed Evan's room.

To say the least ... we have been busy! I will try to keep this post as short as possible, and I promise to include many pictures :-)

1)Tennessee
We went to Tennessee for 5 days. Before we left for the trip I needed to pack all three of us, and I decided that I wanted to finish all of the laundry before we left (a monumental task)! We jumped on a red eye flight with stops in San Fransisco, Chicago, and then Knoxville. Needless to say we were VERY tired when we got to Tennessee. I always have the worst time trying to sleep on airplanes so I was the worst off. When I got in our rental car I fell asleep immediately. In fact, I don't remember the Knoxville airport at all! I don't remember the rental lot, and I don't even remember the drive. I literally passed out as soon as I sat down. 

After a quick nap we loaded up our car and took a drive to Dollywood. It was really fun, and the best part for us was taking Evan on all of the kiddie rides. He LOVED it!!! I think one of the reasons they were so fun for him is because it is so rare that he is able to be completely independent. If he wants to move around we have to carry him. If he falls over, we have to pick him up. Most of the rides he is flying in the air by himself. The smile on his face was priceless and made my day!  He loves being independent, and I love seeing it. 

From Dollywood we had dinner at the Dixie Land Stampede, which is a rodeo version of Medieval Times. What a show, it was so fun. The food was actually really good, and Evan loved looking at all of the horses and cows. We were in the front row and got a real sense of just how fast they were riding. It was pretty impressive.

The point of this trip was to meet up with Justin's roommates from his undergraduate years. They have stayed close and get together every couple of years. They all arrived that night. Tennessee is GORGEOUS and it was just wonderful to experience this beautiful country with people we love. We stayed in a cabin in the middle of the mountains. All we could see from our huge porch was trees and mountains.  We saw some of the most beautiful waterfalls, some amazing nature, some wonderful hikes, and we even saw a bear.  Driving by the old settlements in the National Park really made me think about how life would have been back then, and about how lucky I am to live when I do.  

2) Doctor's appointments
We got back and starting the next day we had appointments for Evan up at the hospital.  Between Evan and I we have been up to the hospital 3 times in the last week and a half.  They have been really great though.  This last one we had yesterday was to fit Evan for his wheel chairs.  I am so excited for him to finally start to really have some more independence.  I have seen him operate a power chair, but the two specialists wanted to see him in action as well.  They didn't have a child's chair at the hospital for him to try so they put him in an adult chair that went way too fast and had too much power.  Evan LOVED it!!!!  Just like in Utah, his face completely lit up and he had the best time zooming up and down the hallways.  In fact there was one time that he stopped and started dancing with his arms in the air and singing ... "yes, yes, yes, yes".  I wish I had a camera so I could show you, but it really was the cutest thing I have ever seen him do.  It will be a while before we get the power chair, but at least we have a time frame now. 
  
3) Garden
I have wanted to do this since I moved here.  It was a lot of work to set up.  I hope I don't kill it ... but I am so excited! 

4)Rearrange the house
The only place that Evan can really get around in our house on his stander is in the basement, because it doesn't have carpet.  Our basement is unfinished and we decided that since we were going to be spending a lot more time down here we would try and make in more livable.  I can't tell you how many times I went up and down three flights of stairs, but the office is now completely downstairs and hopefully it will be organized soon.  

Evan got his big boy bed ... and he loves it! 

8 comments:

Fred ... said...

I'm glad you're back. I've missed you and I wondered where you had gone. It is great to hear your story and I can't wait to see the pictures.

Peter and Mandy said...

I was wondering where you went. Did you get a picture of the bear? Sounds like you had fun.

Lacy said...

Thanks for the update! We miss you guys already!

The Hall Family said...

Kira! Glad to see your update! Can't wait to see pictures! I have a question- I'm taking Danika on her first plane ride- do you check Evan's carseat or how do you go about that business? Traveling is so much more complicated now!

Linz said...

I missed you, Kira! I am so glad you are back, and it was great to hear about your trip to TN. I spend six weeks in Sewanee, TN in the summer, and I absolutely love it! We leave in a week and a half and I am so excited! Good luck with the garden. And your posts about Evan are awesome. I love hearing what he is up to and the times when he is so happy. Hopefully, someday, Riley and Evan will get a chance to hang out, too!

grandpa said...

Hey !! Grandpa and Nanna missed you. Remember when Rosemary and I were Grand Guardian and Associate G.G. ? Our special project for Sunnyhill Childrens Hospital in Vancouver was a "Seating Simulator" It allowed a child to sit in and operate a regular size unit until their own was available.

Lynn said...

Welcome back! Great update! You've truly been BUSY!

I am SO jealous that you got to go to IL Divo! I was right there in the building next to you at the Round up Center. It was Colby's grad night. I was tempted to sneak off and see if I could hear their music from the parking lot. : D

Lisa said...

When will Evan get his chair? I want to see a picture of his big boy bed.