Chard Update

Hello, family! Thought I'd throw a post up here before Evelyn's 8-month update. That way she'll have top billing for awhile :).

On Thursday Brandon and I went to a wedding in Sandy (south of SLC). Our good friend Pat Brown's daughter Larissa got married and many of our river rat friends were there. Brandon & I opted to stay at Sean & Emily's house in SLC afterward, which meant we would both be away from Gavin overnight for the first time. Grandma Debby came up to Hyrum to stay with Gavin and they had a great time, but on Friday morning when she went into Gavin's room to get him out of his crib Debby discovered that he had thrown up. He also had diarrhea. He spent most of the morning throwing up anything she gave him. Brandon and I got home around 11:30 and by then Gavin was napping. He slept for 3 hours and when he woke up he seemed to be feeling a lot better. Of course by this time I'd called the pediatrician's office. They said that there's a stomach virus going around and assured me that if Gavin didn't have respiratory symptoms and a high fever then he didn't have the 'swine flu'. He's still not 100% but at least he's getting re-hydrated. Anyway, despite Gavin getting sick I think our first overnight away was a success :).

On Thursday morning I went to the orthopedist to have my shoulder looked at. I've been having some numbness/tingling/weakness in my left arm and hand and it feels like it's connected to my broken collarbone. Its been almost 12 weeks since I broke it and it genuinely seemed like it was all better until a few weeks ago. I had an x-ray and it turns out the dang thing is still broken. So now I get to use a bone growth stimulator for an hour or two every day. The doctor wasn't sure why I am having trouble with my arm and hand, so on Thursday of next week I'm going back to have a nerve conduction test. Jeez.

We are really looking forward to Lollapalooza - especially now that Dave bought tickets. We haven't booked our flights yet but I think we'll probably fly in on Tuesday 8/4 and out on Sunday or Monday.

The weather this weekend is so-so. Currently it's raining, but we're conditioned to appreciate what rain we get. Yesterday Brandon installed a trailer hitch on the Toyota (hard to believe it didn't come with one) and planted some bare-root Saskatoon Serviceberry bushes along the west side of the yard (along the sloping hillside). I got them for free from work and they're more like little twigs right now but we're hoping they'll grow into a nice hedge that will offer food and hiding cover for birds and will also screen our house from the neighbor's house. Today's rain should help them to get settled in their new home.

Love to all of you!