We Have Our House Back

After hosting family for the past 3 weeks, we finally have our house back and we are all settled back into our routine. It was nice to have family here and it was great seeing everyone, it really was! We had a great time visiting with grandparents and cousins. Hosting for a long stretch of time is definitely exhausting though. We were wiped out every night! It was nice watching the kids play together and it reminded me so much of my own childhood when all of the cousins played together during the summertime. It was a nice time for them and I hope it's something the kids will remember. The kids had a very hard time saying goodbye to my folks at the airport. They didn't want them to leave! As soon as we said goodbye and got into the car, the kids were crying. We talked about it and I asked them to tell me what their favorite part of the visit was. I think that by sharing and talking about it, helped a bit. I do wish we all lived closer so that we could see each other more often. We may try to head up to Vermont in the Fall or next Spring. We'll have to wait and see.

We received a letter from the local school letting us know that Lauren has been accepted into the Pre-K program! Yeah, no more weekly preschool payments!! When we received the letter and explained to Lauren that she was going to be riding the big bus with Jack and Caroline, she went upstairs and put on her Princess backpack and was ready to go! She is so excited and ready!!! She doesn't even want to go to her preschool anymore and wants to go to the big school! too cute.... Hard to believe our little one will be off to school this Fall.

Six weeks left of summer before the kids go back to school.... We've had a great summer though - camping, summer camp, visits from family, pool, the Zoo, Kings Dominion, Thursdays with Pops and Gigi, movies, sleepovers, kids first triathlon in Aug., and our annual family trip to OBX in August. We've certainly created some memories this summer.

Below is a picture of my folks with the kids at the Fair. I really like this one!

Family Visit

After almost two weeks of having family in town, we will begin our first round of goodbyes tomorrow. My parents were supposed to arrive last Friday (7/8), but their flight never left Burlington due to the weather in the DC area. My brother and I were nearly to the airport when our older sister called to inform us the flight had been canceled and they were resecheduled on a 5:45am flight the next morning. My brother and I literally spent 5 hours in the car only to have my parents not arrive. I got up the next morning, with Jack and Caroline in tow, to head back to Dulles to greet my parents for what will be a fun-filled week. Unfortunately, the time has come to say goodbye. We have enjoyed the visit and spending time with them for sure.

I know my parents have enjoyed seeing the VA and CA grandkids and spending 8 days with us. It's been a nice visit and we always hate to say goodbye. The visit seemed to work out pretty well and I think easier for my parents. My brother was initially going to spend a week in Vermont, but with airfares and rental costs, it just didn't seem to make economical sense; so my parents came here. I feel badly for my sisters who were unable to see my brother and his family this time around, but hopefully they will have the opportunity to see them soon because they haven't seen baby Julia yet and I know they wanted to see her.

We took my parents to the local fair, the National Zoo in DC, spent time locally in Frederickburg, had a sleepover, got a chance to spend time with both sets of in-laws, etc. As parents, we find ourselves saying "it's all about the kids" and for this trip in particular, I tried my best to get the kids together as much as we could. We wanted to be as flexible and seize the opportunity to hang out, because who knows when the next time will be. So, I hope the kids have had fun (I think they have) and it's been fun for me watching them play and interact with one another. Jack looks up to Noah; the girls LOVE playing pretty much anything; and Lauren tries to keep up with the big girls!

Hosting for a long stretch of time can definitely be exhausting.....both mentally, emotionally and physically. Routines are off, stress levels start to increase, etc... My brother and his family are here for 2 more days and I hope the kids will get to play together a bit more before they leave. I know Monday night will be emotional for the kids and I hate to see that. Saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow is going to be hard enough.

California Cousins Have Arrived

My brother and his family arrived safely on Monday. After a very long day for them, they were pretty tuckered out by the time we arrived at my sister in law's parents house and were just going to lay low for the rest of the evening and try to go to bed early.

We came back home and hung out for the evening with our LSV friends and enjoyed some good food, conversation, and fireworks. It turned out to be a great evening.

On Tuesday, my brother and his kids came over to spend the afternoon with us. We all went up to the pool and had a great time. It was great to see the kids playing together. The last time the kids saw each other was Thanksgiving 2009. Boy..... have the kids grown! Noah is going into 7th grade; Kirby 5th, and Leia 3rd. Although we miss having my brother and his family closeby, it appears that they enjoy living in CA. Hopefully, someday they will find their way back to the East coast. I had the luxury growing up of having family and cousins closeby and I have SO many wonderful memories of family reunions, holidays, birthdays, etc.... I always wished the same for my kids. Unfortunately, our socity has become so transient that the family has become spread out, from VT and ME, all the way over to CA. I just fear that the kids miss out on some wonderful opportunities to grow up with their cousins. We just have to make the most of the time we do get to share together.

For now, we will enjoy the time we have with them during the next 10 days. My parents fly into town tomorrow and will stay until the 17th, we will all be busy going to and fro.

Lots of memories will be created and photos will be taken at every opportunity.

Blogging versus Facebook

It is amazing how quickly technology and social media changes. We started this blog 4 years ago, after the death of my childhood friend Jenna. I experienced firsthand just how connected people became to Jenna through her blog. People really connected to her, especially while she was battling her illness. We had no idea how many people were reading the blog, who she impacted, etc. I found it amazing that her blog affected so many people, some of whom she didn't even know! When we returned from Jenna's funeral, Stacey and I decided to start our own blog to keep family (near and far) connected and up to date on our lives. We really got into it and loved blogging on a weekly basis. However, we admit that we have not been doing a great job at keeping up with the blog; mainly because of Facebook, which launched about 3 years ago and has pretty much overtaken the world of blogging. Has blogging died?

I even look back at the blog sites of our friends who's last entries were easily over a year ago! Some still update periodically, but not nearly as often as they used too. No one seems to blog anymore because Facebook is so easily accessible and you can update what you are doing at the exact moment of any given day and time. It's crazy! I even find myself checking my Facebook app on my blackberry at least every hour to see what the latest updates are with my friends. It's that sense of being connected we crave. We have become technically wired in so many ways.

I like to keep this blog active and will continue to do so. I enjoy keeping folks up to date on what's going on with us (assuming people still follow this? Are you still out there?!). Who knows what the next big social media outlet will be after Facebook, but I think Facebook will be around for a while longer. I can do both blogging and Facebook! I do this for the kids in the hopes they will read the entries someday. I guess I should look into how to save this blog and the posts. I would hate to lose 4 years worth of our moments. I guess I should get on that. Anyone out there know how I can save the blog entries, print, create a book, or put them into a file? If so, let me know, thanks!

Here's to more blogging.....

What in the World is Going on?!

I am not sure if many follow the news anymore because it is just so depressing, but lately, it seems to have gotten worse! What in the hell is going on in this world? There is so much political unrest, turmoil, devastation, riots, war. It's just constant and it makes me feel that there is no hope for any type of peace whatsoever. It truly is scary to see pictures of the violence that is going on in this world (Libya, Greece, Syria) and the devastation that the current wars have not only on people, but the Earth (fires, death, famine, massacres, etc.). The intent of this post is not to be negative, but it certainly has become an eye-opener.

Yes, living in America definitely has its benefits, but we also have our own troubles here too - homelessness, natural disasters, political instability (Republicans and Democrats in their constant schoolyard antics). I have truly lost faith in our government system and have come to realize that many of them have forgotten the 'people' who voted for them and are only out for their own personal political gains.

Seeing what is going on makes me speculate and worry what life is going to be like for my three children. We all want to create better lives for our kids and I hope the future holds a tremendous amount of promise for them. Right now, I am not so optimistic of what is ahead. My only hope is that nations around the world are able to find a common peace and we are able to have a government that we can trust again.

I recall growing up my grandparents and even my parents reminding us 'how easy we have it'; I now find myself saying the same exact thing to our kids. But, I then stop and think about this and question...... do they really have it easy? Sure, life's common conveniences have gotten better... but overall, I have to say that I believe life has gotten harder. I just have to remain optimistic that things will turn out okay in the end (I guess I should start praying more!), and that our kids will be okay. Is the future as bright as people say? Who knows..... I hope it will be.

The Anticipation of July

As we get ready to say goodbye to June 2011, we are eagerly looking forward to July. June was a pretty good month for the Broughton family - Caroline and Jack finished Second Grade with Honors, while Lauren continues to do well in Preschool, and I had a wonderful Father's Day, special thanks to my beautiful and loving wife and wonderful kids! I have to say though, June went fast!!!

July will be another fun-filled, exciting month for us --- the kids are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their cousins from CA along with a special visit from my parents. This house will be bustling with activity and people, starting next Monday all the way through until the 17th. My brother and his wife moved the family to CA 3 years ago and the kids have only seen each other once since then. They last time they saw each other was Thanksgiving 2009. We haven't yet made the trip to CA yet as a family, but I have actually been 3 times (for work) since they moved out there. The kids do ask us "when can we go to CA?" I wish it were that easy to just pick up, buy the tickets, and go. Regardless, it is going to be fun and we will no doubt be creating some great memories for the kids. I can't wait to see my brother and his family as well as my parents. It should be a good time. I know after this visit, it will be our turn and hopefully we can make a CA trip in a year or two.

Once they all leave, we will then be welcoming Stacey's grandmother and cousin for a 5 day visit. So, there will definitely be a lot to keep us busy for sure!

It really is amazing, yet scary, just how quickly time seems to be going. I recall as a child, my grandmother reminding us of this fact. She was right! There are times where I wish we could just slow down and for time to stand still for a few minutes. I hate the constant passing of time, but it is what it is and out of our control. Time is but a fleeting moment and we should definitely cherish the time we have here on this earth. With work, schedules, etc.... time slips by. There are so many things that we want to do while the kids are still young and we hope to still be able to do them; but finding the time to do it becomes an everincreasing challenge. I guess at some point we just need to stop, drop everything, and just do it! I know we are creating memories and providing things for the kids to have the best possible childhood; but as a parent, there is always more that you want to give them. I hope they will look back and realize how good they have/had it and they will appreciate all of the things we are/were able to do for them.

Lauren's Trip to the ER

Well, the insurance company probably LOVED us yesterday! LOL...... Per the previous post, we had taken Jack to the Allergist for his follow up appointment. Yesterday evening, we were down at the garden tending to our vegetables. The kids were playing and Lauren was playing with a neighborhood dog. Not too much longer, we heard a scream and see Lauren bent over holding her face and crying. When we got over to her to see what happened, her face is covered in blood. We immediately thought she was either bitten or scratched by the dog which may have resulted in a serious eye injury. I immediately covered her eye to stop some of the bleeding so we could get a closer look at what and where the injury is. (time check: 7:30)

I managed to get the bleeding to stop and there was a small laceration on her eye lid; but also noticed a slit right along where her eyelashes are. It is the weirdest cut we had ever seen. Although the damage was not as severe as we initially thought, we still proceeded to go to Patient First just to have her eye checked out and avoid any potential infection.

We arrived at Patient First (time check - 8:45) to have her looked over and they recommended we take Lauren to the ER because they felt the cut did need a stitch or two. Off to the ER we went. (time check - 10:00). By 11:00, we are finally seen by a Doctor who did not feel Lauren needed a stitch; just some eye antibiotics. We wait and wait..... 11:30 rolls around and the nurse comes in with some Augmentin to help with the pain. We ask where the eye antibiotic is. Nurse went to check..... Midnight rolls around, I go to the nurses station and am told they are still waiting on the Rx. Finally, 12:30 rolls around and we decide to leave. The doctor who saw us had been sitting at the nurse's station the whole time, blamed the nurses, never apologized, sat on his ass, etc. We just walked out! Couldn't believe it!!!!
We have already called the Patient Resources office to complain about our experience. Not sure if it will do any good, but our first visit to this relatively new hospital was not a good experience. Very disappointed in the lack of service we received there. We arrived home at 1am.....

Overall, Lauren is doing great and was an absolute trooper last night. She handled everything well, up until she had to take the Augmentin orally. That didn't go quite as well! LOL.

Below is a shot of her eye. You can sort of make out where the cut is. Not as bad as we initially thought; but we wanted to make sure there was no damage to the eye (cornea) and avoid the risk of infection.