McNeils of Mesa: Lake Knoll 2010

McNeils of Mesa: Lake Knoll 2010

Here are some pictures of our only camping trip this summer. We went to Knoll Lake in Arizona with family. It was so much fun, thank heavens KayDee had her camera. Otherwise we would have no record of this trip.

This is a trip we wont forget. We almost ran out of gas, lost the canoes off the trailer, drove there in a rain storm, and drove home in a deluge. Thank heavens we had one great rain free day on the lake. Kids caught a KFC bucket full of crawdads that we cooked up, and ate.  I even tried them, much to the surprise of my husband.

I Love My Smart Kids!

My kids are so smart and talented. Of course what would you expect with Marlin and I as their parents.

First, last month Kelly competed in the Science Olympiad, and MESA competitions. In Mesa Kelly was on the Lego Robotics team. In districts, her team came in first place. Unfortunately her school team didn't win enough points to go to the State competition. But to get first was a big accomplishment. In Science Olympiad, Kelly and her friend competed in the Wright Stuff competition. Where they had to build and fly a rubber band powered glider plane. They were able to overcome challenges of their plane breaking, fixing it, and then flew it into first place in the State in their division. Go Kelly! She is so smart. (Also she has topped 5 ft 8 in now. I don't know when she will stop growing, but it should be interesting to see how tall she ends up.)

Second, Ian was able to letter in swimming as a freshman. He really enjoys swimming. He competed in the 200 IM, the 500 Freestyle, and his favorite event was the 100 Backstroke. He didn't qualify for state this year, but he impressed his coach. At the Swimming banquet, the coach made a comment that he felt by the time Ian was a senior he would come close to breaking the records set by Jake. That is a huge compliment. Jake was the NM male high school swimmer of the year, and almost unbeatable in everything. That is quite the challenge for Ian to rise to that level. He can do it. It is fun to watch him swim.

Erin, Kenna and Andrew are all doing well in school. It is nice to have good kids. Very few problems to have to deal with.

Don is still Don. He keeps me on my toes. I have to lock the door to the pantry. He gets all the chips and drinks that are for lunches, and if I am not careful, there are none left. I think he ate 8 bags of Doritos and drank 4 Capri Suns. It is a good thing he moves around a lot. He didn't even get sick. I can't turn my back for longer than 10 minutes or crazy things happen.

Richard is starting to talk. His favorite thing to do is holler "Mom!, Mom!" over and over. It sometimes takes work to figure out what he wants. But he will say "please" in sign language when he wants something. He also is good at yelling "Ian!" and "Don!" and "Kenna!" and his new word today is "STOP!" He knows the names of those who bother him most. Kenna just gets close and he yells Stop. It is quite funny.

I am so grateful for family. I wouldn't change my life at all. Many people think 7 kids is too many, but I have to disagree. My kids, even with their fighting, are good friends. It is fun to be in the van when they are laughing and joking with each other. They challenge each other, help each other, and love each other. I was worried about Ian and Kelly last year when they would be in middle school together, but it was so nice to see that they got along and were good friends. I hope it will be the same next year when Kelly goes to high school. We have a lot of laundry, a lot of dishes, but a lot of love to make up for the work.

Today's Donism

I just love my kids. Don is at the age where he says the greatest things. Saturday night I went to Wal Mart and bought a cantaloupe. It is on the kitchen counter. Last night before bed Don said "Mom, tomorrow can you cut open the envelope?" I wasn't sure what he was talking about until I looked and he was holding the cantaloupe. I corrected him, but this morning he still called it an envelope.

Also, yesterday he and Ian were sick. Don couldn't keep anything down. Finally towards the end of the day he ate some Jello with whip cream that Kelly and Kenna had made. It stayed down. This morning he told me that "his throw up was afraid of the Jello with cream and it went away." I love this kid!

Crazy Life....

I need to post more often, but seem to have the knack for putting off good things.

Ian swam in the Boys Metro Championship meet last Saturday. He did fantastic. He swam the 500 yard freestyle, and the 100 yard back stroke. He placed 14th overall in the 500 and 12th in the 100 back. Not bad for a freshman. He really likes swimming and does well at it.

He also will be performing in the All-State Jazz concert this Sunday. It is fun to watch the kids do well.

Kelly made the honor roll again with a 4.0, and Ian had a great report card too. They are in hard classes, but doing well.

Too Much for Catch Up!

There is too much to catch up on for one post. I will just have to post a few things that have happened in the last few months.

Richard finally got his cast off on November 3. He got pretty good at moving with it on, but he was glad to get it off. I took him a week or so to start walking again, and now he isn't hampered at all by his leg. Occasionally he will limp. I think it is just a matter of still needing to redevelop the muscle. We went to the park right after getting his cast off, and he enjoyed burying his legs in the sand.

He is such a happy little guy, and talks all the time. We just don't understand much of his language. He does end every statement with "yeah". He sure is cute.

The latest game is to get him to say his vowels. I will include a cute video to demonstrate.

Ian is doing well in High School. He ran cross country, his marching band won more awards than they ever have (thanks to a new director, not just because Ian is in it ;) ). Ian auditioned for All state on his trumpet and made Jazz All state. Not bad for a freshman.

Kelly is doing really well in 7th grade. She is now 5 feet 8 or so. She is getting very tall and beautiful. She is playing the French horn in band, and also played volleyball for her school.

Erin is growing up way too fast. She is in 4th grade, and keeps us on our toes. She got her braces off in October and loves to smile.

Kenna is in 3rd grade and keeps all of us hopping. She is still on the jump-rope team and enjoys playing with her friends.

Andrew is in 1st grade. He will be our little ball player. He loves to play ball with his dad whenever he gets the chance. He is doing well in school and loves to rough house with Don

Don is quite the kid. He constantly says fun things. He has a tie that has a zipper in it and he calls it his ziplock tie. He also has a hooded sweatshirt that has a zipper that is his ziplock jacket. I would do better if I wrote down all the funny things he says, but I don't do it and then forget. He keeps me on my toes.

Marlin has been going crazy at work. There is a big job going on that has kept him working very long hours. Thank heavens for the inspiration. Heavenly Father has helped him out many times recently and helped him complete his tasks. Hopefully it will ease off some, but probably not for several months.

Well this is a really long post, and so I will end it with Richard dancing. We got a cd of dance music and the kids were dancing this morning with their cousins. Richard had to groove to the music too. It is too cute to leave out!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our family and friends.

Ian's Summer Surgery

At the end of this summer, Ian had to have a growth removed from his toe. I took some pictures to document it. It cut in to the end of summer swimming, but now it won't bother him for cross country or marching.

This is Ian's toe before surgery. It is hard to see the growth, but it is on the 4th toe. It was some cartilage growing off the end of the bone.
This is at the first check up after surgery. UGLY.
This is getting the stitches removed. Better.
All the stitches out. Now just needs healing.

Now actually the toe looks normal. No more pain, except when Don steps on it. ;-)

Richard's Broken Leg

Life has been different for the last 2 1/2 weeks.

Richard has a broken femur, and is in a spica cast. It makes life a little more challenging.

The Story:

We took all the kids to an Albuquerque High football game to watch Ian march in the band. We had a great time, and were there from just before half time until the game ended. (Ian did great by the way, and you can watch his band perform at http://ahsmightybulldogband.org ) We were leaving the game and walking through the parking lot. Marlin had Richard on his shoulders. Don wouldn't hold on to my hand. He would just pull and pull when I tried. He would hang on to Marlin's hand though. So instead of breaking Don's wrist, I let Marlin deal with both boys. We did great until about 15 yards from the van, and no more traffic between us and the van. Don began to hop or do something (I didn't see it because I was distracted with Andrew opening the van door. We had forgotten to lock it.) The next thing I know, Marlin calls out for help. I turn around and see Marlin leaning over, and Richard laying between his elbow and back barely hanging on. I go over and grab Richard. Marlin said he heard a pop in Richard's leg.

We were hoping it wasn't his knee. He wasn't crying at this point. We put him in the van, and drive home. That drive was miserable. Every bump caused Richard to cry harder. We finally got home. We carefully got him out of his seat and brought him in. We laid him on the floor to change his diaper. We were very careful in removing his pants. Marlin did the first aid stuff, and checked his ankle, and then knee. In the process of checking his knee, he saw movement in the femur. He then knew the femur was broken. He stabilized the leg, and I called 911. The paramedics, ambulance, fire truck, and police came. It was quite the mad house when Ian got home. Thank heavens he had a ride.

I ended up riding in the ambulance with Richard (my first and hopefully last ambulance ride). At the hospital, x-rays confirmed the break. That began our hospital experience. I was there for 2 nights with Richard. Thank heavens for friends and family which stepped in to help us take care of all our kids.

It has now been 2 1/2 weeks. Richard will have the cast for 6 weeks total. He has figured out how to roll around, and is pretty happy most of the time. Nights are the hardest. I don't think he gets completely comfortable. Which makes it hard for both of us. It is amazing how fast little kids adapt to their experiences. He should have no lasting effects from this. The Doctor says occasionally broken bones like this tend to overgrow. So his left leg may end up a little longer than the right. We will have to keep an eye out for that when he is about ten I guess.

All hooked up in the hospital. He didn't like it much, and I was still a little afraid to hold him. Not to mention, it wasn't very comfortable to hold him.

Ricahrd was pretty miserable in the hospital. I don't know whether it was residual pain, or just the medications that made him feel yucky.
Richard was getting the iv removed here. He was so cute covering his face while he cried.

Richard in his special borrowed car seat. He is pretty happy for the most part. It is a good thing that Don has a bunch of shorts. In order for Richard to have pants on, he has to wear size 4.