Sweet Home Alabama

Ahhh, finally a post. Sorry for the blogging hiadus. My family and I have been sick and then a trip to Alabama and well, life. So, here is an update on our fantastic, fabulously fun trip to "Sweet Home Alabama".
Phillip and I decided to drive down to the deep South to Alabama where my sweet sister, Liberty and her family live for Spring Break. We went there last year and had an absolute blast and decided we wanted a repeat performance...and boy did we get one. We left early on Thursday the 13th of March...there were some bumps in the road...called health. Phillip (who NEVER gets sick) was throwing up and had a fever, was a trooper and drove and little Grey had a fever and had just gotten over the ickies...then Ella started with a fever. So we were the Sick Patrol coming to spread our germs all over Alabama. Nice. Don't worry, I had made sure with my sister that it was alright that we came-health issues and all. In fact, while we were there we picked up a lovely case of the pink eye--sickness just comes with family. We finally made it 14 hours later and we were so grateful to be there.

We started the next day with a celebration. My 28th birthday!! I got some really fun things and money to spend!! Yay!! I love SHOPPING!! We really took the day easy and let the kids play in Lib fantastic backyard. Kit then treated us all to an out-of-this-world cheesecake that he made from scratch. It really was incredible. Thanks, Kit!

We took the weekend easy went to the park and attended their Stake Conference. It was wonderful attending an actual church house as we have been out of ours for three years. It makes you grateful for pews.

Mommy and Ella at the Park

Grey and Ella...hmmm, could they be siblings??

Coop and Grey having fun at the park...gotta love that warm southern weather!

Little Gunner at the park. Isn't he beautiful?!!

We started our week at the beach at Daupin Island. It is so beautiful there. The beach is so white and the water is gorgeous. It was a little chilly...not too chilly for the kids to swim. You couldn't have caught me in that water...brrr! We enjoyed a picnic on the sand. The only problem that we did encounter was that Ella had a hard time breathing. It was very windy and the the wind swept her breath away. We put her in the stroller to cut down the wind. The boys had a total blast.

Josiah, Cooper and Greyson enjoying lunch on the beach.

Cooper feeding the seagulls. The birds would hover above him and catch the food he would throw them in the air.

The next day we took the family to a favorite-Blu Rabbit's Paridise. It is a pizza/playland. The boys have a great time...there was the occasion we had to pull them off the walls. They were literally climbing the walls. Funny.

Greyson enjoying lunch at Blu Rabbit's Paridise!!

Greyson and Cooper outside of Blu Rabbit.

We took a day trip over to Peniscola, Florida. It was so much fun. We went to McGuire's Irish Pub and Grill. They have over 1/2 amillion dollars hanging from the ceiling and stapled to the walls. We had to remind the boys that taking the money would be stealing...it was so tempting to them. You could literally reach up and grab it. The whole atmoshpere was neat. They even have bean soup dor 18 cents! The food was way yummy, too. Huge, huge burgers. Here's the family at McGuire's...Phillip's taking the picture

Here is the dollar that is currently hanging at McGuire's..."Humphrey Applegate Spring Break 2008"

We then went to the Naval Base to go to the Navy Airspase Museum. Can I say super neat...and free?!! Yay! There were planes and jets hanging from the ceiling. Models all over, if you ever have a chance to go...go!! My boys loved it.

Cooper and Greyson in the cockpit of a jet. They totally loved it.

Greyson and Cooper on a fighter guns from WWII. They had an actual flight deck off of an aircraft carrier. That was especialy neat for me to see because my Grandpa Holyoak served in the Navy and shot guns similar to these.

On Thursday we went to Tanger Outlet...yay for birthday shopping. It was great. The guys took the older boys while Lib and I shopped. It was quite relaxing and a wonderful break. Thanks, Daddies!!! On Friday, the day before we left, we decided to have a pre-Easter egg hunt. Lib and I filled plastic eggs with candy and hid them around the house. The boys had so much fun finding and eating the candy. You gotta love loot that you can eat!

Auntie Libby helping Greyson find an egg that was hid in her hurricane vase.

Cooper searching for Easter eggs. We used Wal Mart bags...classy, we know! :)

Gavin showing me his "loot"!

The boys after their hunt.

After their hunt, dinner and baths we let the boys decorate eggs for that coming Sunday's hunt. We took home 36 eggs. The two older boys were really into it and it was so fun to bring them home to MiMi to see.

Cooper showing off one of his favorite eggs.

Josiah dying eggs. Gotta love those jamies!!

After we tucked the boys into bed the adults had dinner. It was so yummy and a first for me. Kit prepared California Rolls (never had them!), spring roll and a fruit salad. It was all so wonderful. Kit really has a talent for cooking. We ate and savored the last few hours of our vacation. All in all it was so fantastic. We would do it all again...and we probably will. Thank you Applegate's for your hospitality and love. We miss you!!

Sesame Street Live...nearly

Well, we were off to "Sesame Street Live" tonight. We gave the boys tickets for Christmas and then they moved the date 'till tonight. So, it has been long wait.
We were nearly to Guthrie when Cooper started itching his face. Actually, a side note before I get too far...Cooper came home from school today w/ a bit of a fever and headache. So, I gave him some Tylanol and Motrin to kick it so he could enjoy the night.
Anyway, we were off and nearly to Guthrie when Cooper started to itch. His throat and face were itching and he was rubbing his face. Then he decided that his mouth was itching. I told Cooper, which I now really regret, that your mouth (his gums) can't itch. We pulled over in Guthrie to get Subways and I ran it to grab them. When I came out Phillip was on the phone w/ my dad getting his advice on Cooper...whose lips were now nearly 2-3 times their normal size and his eyes were swollen w/ hives. I nearly lost it. I couldn't believe my eyes. More poor little boy was so swollen. The only thing we could figure could have caused this was the Tylanol and Motrin, but we are still unsure what caused the reaction. Phillip quickly got off the phone to let me know what happened. I guess while I was in Subway Cooper quickly started to swell. Phillip and I decided that we needed to rush Cooper to te nearest ER. So, we headed a bit more down south to Edmond. We checked him into Edmond Memorial Hospital and they took him back shortly. They were all great w/ my kids. Thankfully, Phillip had packed the Leapster and LeapPad. It was very helpful for Greyson who wanted to "explore" the ER...not a great idea. Shortly after Cooper was admitted they told us that Cooper would need a IV to get Epi meds right in him. If you know Cooper....he HATES needles. He freaks. Well, I tried to prep Cooper and let him know what was going to happen and he decided to crawl the walls and freak out. Thankfully, the nurse calmed him down and he actually did quite well. It was so sad though, they had to stick him a couple of times, but he really did fantastically...considering. After all the meds they gave him , his swelling finally came down a bit, which was the direction they were looking for. The whole time we were waiting the boys were watching the clock hoping to get to "Elmo". There really was no way. So, Phillip was on the phone trying to get the tickets moved to tomorrow. Long story short, no luck. So, we will either have to purchase the tickets...again, at a higher price or wait until they come back around. Jury is still out on that one.
Anyway, when they were finally checking us out, the nurse gave me the prescriptions and was letting me know what to do. She said with Coop's reaction we probably needed to take him to an alergist to see what caused his reaction. (sound familiar, Whit?) She also told us with the severity of reaction I probably needed to carry an Epi pen. I was surprised at that. So, I guess the next step will be to get a referral to an allergist from his ped. Then we will go from there.
Cooper is doing fine now, we are extremely grateful for that. "Elmo Live" here we come....almost. Maybe next time.