So, on a free night in California, Mark tells me we have to go eat at In-and-Out Burger and that the Android statues for each operating system were on display at the Googleplex. Lo, and behold, Googleplex (Google’s headquarters) were right near an In-and-Out Burger. So, off we went with a slight eye roll from me.
But then, we got there. They had all the statues in a back lot. But they all looked so cool! And, yes, even I got excited on the Nerd Tour.
Emmie fell asleep on the way to the statues and was not in the mood for pictures or giant statues.
The day after we landed in California, we headed to meet Dr. Steinberg and then Emmie went for her eleventh MRI and as an added bonus, an angiogram. The angiogram helped the doctors to see just where her occlusion was and to make sure they knew which arteries they were going for for the bypass. It also helped ot make sure she didn’t have any more areas of concern and to make sure she continued to show no signs of a stroke or TIA. Praise God! She didn’t show any issues. The angiogram showed that just the middle left cerebral artery was occluded and pretty much at 100%. There were still signs of collateral vessels and Dr. Steinberg told us that the collateral vessels were what was keeping her alive. It’s our understanding that the moyamoya vessels are really weak and eventually stop working which is what leads to a lot of people having strokes or TIAs.
This was a hard MRI for mama. They wouldn’t allow anyone but a parent back with her. Emmie chose Mark and I got to stay with Tobin. It broke my heart but she did wonderful with daddy.
Tobin was able to sleep while we waited on Ems to get done. And then mama was able to go get her girl.
Emmie was still sleeping off the anesthesia when I got to her in recovery. Because of the angiogram, she had to keep her leg straight for four hours. So, we had to stay for awhile in the Short Stay Unit. Anyway, I took her hand when I got to her and she wouldn’t let go. She squeezed it every time I moved. Then her nurse said, “I have a popsicle for a little girl once we see some eyeballs.” Emmie smiled the biggest smile and finally opened her eyes.
After I took the picture above, she told me to show it to everyone. I think she was super proud to be able to have not one but three popsicles! (Note: Emmie’s Horner syndrome tends to show up pretty strong after anesthesia and gradually gets better. That’s why it looks like she’s winking 🙂 .)
She loved the Short Stay Unit because she had her own personal tv/movie channel. She gets really goofy coming off of anesthesia and I have a few doozy stories that I just had to write down so I don’t forget.
–I eventually had to keep my hand on her leg because she kept wiggling it. At one point, she looked at me in all seriousness, “Mama, there’s something on my leg!”
“Yes,” I told her. “It’s my hand. You won’t keep your leg straight so I have it there to remind you.”
“Oh.”
–At another point, she wanted to argue with me that she had her undies on. They placed the angiogram at her groin and I knew for a fact she didn’t have any on because they handed them to me. But she was insistent that they were on because they were when she left and her daddy had told her they were.
–Last one: Emmie had had nothing to eat since the night before and I can only imagine was starving. The way their meal system works, is that a patient can choose anything they want and they can get as much as they want as long as it fits on a tray. The patient can also order every thirty minutes. Well, once we found that out, Emmie looked at the menu and announced, “I want EVERYTHING!” She was starving and ate so well once she could get some food.
While Mama and Daddy prayed and fretted for our super hero and her super siblings, Emmie was plotting and planning for her first plane ride. I’m grateful she had this “fun” distraction for the tough week and half that laid ahead.
As soon as we were seated she began, “Are we flying? Are we flying? Hey daddy! Are we flying yet?” She must have asked us at least twenty times.
Tobin did good. He slept for a couple of the hours going and the whole way back. We were hoping to get him a seat but we got our tickets so late that another ticket would have been terribly expensive. So, he rode in our laps and it worked out fine.
Emmie managed naps at take off and landings.
She also made sure she knew what to do in case of an emergency.
We were so grateful to be able to have our tickets provided by Miracle Flights. This organization was great to work with and Southwest was a great airline to fly with.
For Ace’s birthday this year, we gave him a unique experience: A scavenger hunt through Operation City Quest. Groupon has several options and companies to do city scavenger hunts. It just so happens a local city was on Operation City Quest’s website.
We finally decided to do the hunt in November. And oh my! It was so much fun! We saw a side of the city we had missed in so many other visits. The kids loved acting goofy and we all enjoyed just spending time together.
Clucking like a chicken?!
We all would highly recommend a scavenger hunt for a fun family outing!
We broke up our long drive to and from the beach with pit stops. On the way down, we stopped at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and park for lunch. We got attacked by ducks and practiced our performances on the outdoor stage and checked out the fountain.
On the way back, we stopped in Tuskegee. We gave the kids a choice between the Airmen Museum or George Washington Carver’s home. The kids had just finished listening to an audiobook on George Washington Carver but didn’t know much about the Tuskegee Airmen. So, they voted for the Tuskegee Airmen museum. Ya’ll, if you are anywhere near Tuskegee, Alabama GO! It was a great museum that honored the men and women who worked and trained there. We were all so impressed. Once again, the kids didn’t want to leave! They loved reading all of the information. My heart was so happy.
We spent an hour plus in the intro hanger before we actually made it to the real museum. We had no idea we weren’t in the real museum until we ventured to the other one!
Mark and I have never been to the Naval Aviation Museum and made this a top priority. We also made sure we went on a day the Blue Angels were practicing. The kids have never seen them fly. It was a very, very hot day but the kids persevered and enjoyed the show! They also really enjoyed the museum. This was the first time my kids have been to a museum and were sad to actually leave because they didn’t see everything and read everything! Progress!
We took the kids out for an afternoon at the race track and arcade. We had almost the whole place to ourselves (homeschool advantages!) which meant a lot of family versus family races! I would just like to note that despite Ceili Rain’s fear, I did not wreck and actually pulled ahead of everyone!
Plenty of time was spent at the actual beach! I borrowed a lot of Aunt B and G’s pics since I was back and forth with Tobin.
We had to do our traditional “arrival” beach visit. It just happened to be at the same time as the sun setting.Emmie and A loved the sand.Well, so did Tobin!There was a little water space that was perfect for the littles to play in. It was their own kiddie pool.Tobin and C loving their kiddie pool. Zoe, ever the leader, organized a big sandcastle build.
What are cousins for if not for burying each other?!
Of course, T wanted to swim in the ocean.The DadsThe water was so calm, the kids were able to enjoy the boat but alas, chasing waves were not as exciting.I am so blessed to have a wonderful sister-in-law that I can chat with! We had a blast watching the kids and catching up.Cousins a week a part!My one special shot at sunset the last night!
In September, we traveled to the Gulf of Mexico. Now, I grew up going to this beach every summer but our kids had never been. Actually, Zoe had been but she was six months old at the time and tells me she doesn’t remember a thing.
Aunt B and I convinced Papa that we all needed to go. That would be twenty kids and six adults.  Â
And thus, begins a photo chronicle of our family get together on the beach. It was such a fun time. I think we all had a blast! So, these next three, four, or ten posts are going to be all about the beach! Up first, our family posed pictures.
All the kids!The other bunch.All twenty-six of us! Papa & Grandmere, the patriarch and matriarchAunt D and Uncle S, Papa’s sister and brother-in-law ventured down to spend some time with us!My favorite picture of all of the kids in age order!
These two girls were pretty close to inseparable the entire trip. Naturally, when I found matching dresses, I had to grab them up and they made sure they wore them for pictures! Â
