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True Terrill Tales

I am in need of a lesson on how to post more than 5 pictures on a blog! JEEPERS!

Anyways, Mark and I went to Canmore last weekend for his cousins wedding. It was a lot of fun! We dropped the kids off at Keri and Nick's house and then continued on to Canmore. We got in when it was pitch black and had to try and find the hotel. Mark has a little trouble getting directions from his Dad and it has been many years since I have been in Canmore....let alone in the dark!

When we woke up in the morning, this was the view we had out of our hotel.

Each room was a two storey condo type suite. Three couples stayed in one room and two in another. Canmore really has changed over the years.

We had a lot of fun....minus the ten kids! I'm pretty sure it has been since Scott and Kelly's wedding that we did that! We all hung out Saturday morning, had a soak in the hot tub and then started the few hour rally to get ready for the wedding.

Here are the couples, minutes before we left.

Mom & Dad Terrill

Scott & Kelly

Shaun & Terina

Greg & Dawn

Jaimi & Cory had there wedding and reception at the Stewart Creek golf course. The wedding was short, sweet and to the point! It was five minutes late (was to start at 2:00pm) and we were walking out at 2:20pm. Jaimi looked amazing in her dress! Very pretty girl.

This was the view from the deck where the wedding was held. We all had a little itch to grab some clubs and go for a round!
The happy couple!
Jaimi and her girls

The cake.

It had a few issues I guess. For some reason the icing didn't want to stay on the cake. I love the colors.....and the leaves.
Jaimi, being an only child, pretty much thought of the Terrill gang as siblings.
It's not often that we get dressed up and the back drop was amazing!


We all had a pretty good time and had a few laughs on Father Bill's expense, some interesting dessert options and Mark's smart ass comments on the shuttle ride to the reception!

Jaimi and Cory headed off to Hawaii for their THREE week honeymoon and we all headed back home, back to all the kids. Can't wait to do something like this again!

Carter's Hand

Well, it has been three weeks today since Carter had his surgery. Two weeks ago, he had his follow up appointment with the surgeon and we got to see his fingers. I wish I could have seen his face (he was sitting on my lap) when he moved his fingers apart for the first time. I think it was a bit scary for him.....the colors that he saw, the weird feeling of having his fingers 'free' and then the disappointment of having them wrapped back up.

I think this 'trauma' has been a little more difficult for me. I have shared many tears with Carter and shed many more all by myself. I really can't wait for everything to be back to normal.

I was having a few concerns about Carter's fingers, so yesterday I got to talk to the doctor. I was actually hoping to have the doctor SEE Carter, but I'll take what I can take. My concerns were dealt with and we now have a couple more things to work with.

My client last night gave me some valuable advise........she told me to make sure and explain to Carter that his hand will soon look just like his other one. I never thought of that! When we changed his bandage before bed I asked him about it. He DID think that his hand was going to be wrapped up and 'scary' looking for 'ever and ever'. Hopefully now he will work with us instead of screaming.

Carter and Dr. Cassar.

WOW!

This week went by surprisingly fast! We were just getting home from the hospital this time last Tuesday. Carter has done pretty good. I only had to replace the tensor bandage once! I also found that since he really can't do anything, he's not burning off any energy during the day so we have cut out a few naps during the day....just so bedtime stays the same. He has missed going to school and really enjoyed going to Lisa's house yesterday. Mom is fun to hang out with, but come on, a change of scenery is good!

We are really looking forward to Thursday to see what his 'new' fingers will look like.

It has been a challenge to eat, play, color and even pee with his right hand. Poor stinker.

Logan has been a big helper and has really shown how to be a great big brother. He has been our eyes watching Carter while playing downstairs and in their rooms. He is also thriving at school this year. I was worried about him being in a grade 1/2 split but it seems to really be agreeing with him. He will be reading in no time!!

The results with the glasses are in: with only two votes.....the pick has been NOT the ones he has been wearing. We have now gone back to the favorites, now that they have been fitted again. I think we could be making a weekly visit to the glasses store for adjustments!

Carter's Surgery Day

September 16th, 2008. A day that I will remember for a long time. I really feel for parents that have children that are in need of many surgery's. Not sure how they hold themselves together.

It was an early morning for Carter and I. We needed to be at the hospital for 6:30am to check in. Surgery was scheduled for 7:45am. Carter had his little pre-admin check up and then we got taken to his room to change into the cute little gown and just wait for the call.

The pediatric unit at our hospital is pretty impressive. They have a couple play rooms that are full of toys and activities. Carter took full advantage of the waiting time!


Another little boy (six years old) was waiting for his surgery, so they played the Nintendo game cube. Carter had a great time playing this. Do you have this game Uncle Nick? (Super Mario cart.)

When we did get the call, Carter was a brave little guy. He got to ride on a bed with wheels and thought that was neat. A lady in the surgical suite gave Carter a stuffed 'bear witch' and kept Carter's attention by asking what he thought he might like to be for Halloween this year. My baby has grown up a lot, but to see him laying in that big bed, he looked so small. Poor kid didn't know what was ahead of him........nor did I. I had a hard time holding back the tears when Carter looked at me and told me that he didn't want to fall asleep here because he was afraid to have a bad dream. At this point I handed him off to a very nice lady with really pretty eyes and a soft sensitive voice. That is all I could take in with her mask over her face.

I slowly made my way back up to peds, pulled myself together, and wet and grabbed a coffee from Timmy's in the lobby. I started to read a book but my concentration level was non-existent. Lori came up and sat with me, which was really nice to see a familiar face. We talked, walked, paced and thanked our lucky stars that our kids are healthy and that we didn't have to spend anymore time there.

The surgery took just over two hours. Seemed like five! They wheeled the little dude back down to the day surgery room and I got to see him. He was very groggy and very sleepy.

He woke up every hour or so and I could tell that his throat was sore from the tubes. I kept giving him little sips of water. After the glass was all gone, the poor little monkey vomited everywhere!! He was soaked, his blue blanket was soaked and the entire bed was wet. Nasty anesthetic.

He needs to keep his hand raised, dry, clean and intact. Here he is showing me. Still very sleepy!
Here he was having just one more nap before we headed home. I even snuggled up with him for awhile. Too bad I couldn't sleep.

We left the hospital just after 3:00pm.

Our night was a bit tough. We had to fight with him about not eating to much and to leave his hand still and not to pull at it. Poor daddy ended up getting the boot out of our bed and Carter got to sleep with me. Not sure how a 4 year old can take up so much room in a queen bed!

This morning has been pretty good. I'm still having to remind him not to move his fingers and I think I have said 'be careful' in every sentence. We go back next Thursday to see the doctor and to get the splint off. It could be a long eight days!!

The 'Babies'

This past week my newest baby and Carter had some changes. With Carter's surgery right around the corner it worked out well to have Hemi go in for his surgery. I explained to him that Hemi couldn't eat anything before and that we needed to be really careful with him for a couple of days. Not sure how much of that stuck, I'll guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Here is poor Hemi looking really impressed to have to wear his new piece of jewelry. He healed really well so he got to take it off a couple days early.

As for Tooter his glasses came in on the weekend. I was a bit disappointed that he got them when I wasn't here. I was pretty excited to see him. He got two pairs. I am now taking a pole as to which ones he should wear 'all the time'.

Here are the choices:

#1

#2

I'll be sure to post the results!

Summer '08

I realize that this is waaaaaaay over due but I guess it is better late than never!!

Hard to believe the summer went that fast. And it wasn't just at our house.....everyone I've talked to said their summer went by just as quick.

July started out with me taking another BodyTalk course and then writing my exam to become a BodyTalk Practitioner. I passed with flying colors and I am now the only CBP in the city of Medicine Hat. I am really excited about this and I have already seen great results from clients.

After that stressful week, my girlfriend Jodi and I had a trip planned for Great Falls for a girls get-a-way and to do some shopping. The purpose for me was to reward myself for all the hours and hard work I had put in for my exam. However, what is a mom to do when she sees a ton of cute clothes for her boys at prices that were ridiculously cheap! (I did get my self a few things ;o). ) We did have a good time, and putting aside the fact that we really could have been arrested at the border on the way home*, I think we will try to make it an annual trip.

*FYI - Always tell the truth when coming back across the border and be sure to have your own passport and not your husbands!!

Those sunglasses could have passed for windshields!

The boys then started their two weeks of swimming lessons. Didn't get any good pictures to share, but little kids and goggles sure are funny! Logan passed with flying colors and poor Tooter didn't get his sea turtle sticker this time. He was a bit disappointed but we are going to work on it over the winter and hopefully he'll be back on track next summer.

This year we took on the family vacation with most of the other Terrill's and headed to Dickey Lake, Montana. We rented a trailer and off we went. The boys had a blast with all of their cousins, tubing with Uncle Sheldon, cray fish fishing with everyone and getting to sleep in the trailer. Mark and I golfed in the annual Dickey Lake golf tournament and had some much needed R&R. I also Found out that the Bud Light Lime beer is pretty spectacular! (Only available in the States.......will be sure to get some whenever we go.)

This is Dickey Lake.

The color is beautiful......but the water was pretty cold this year compared to past years so we were told.

Logan and Mark tubing.Carter and Mark tubing.

These are the ugly little cray fish the boys caught. They look like mini lobsters. If only they were bigger........would have had them every night for supper! YUMMY!

They last week of July was the Medicine Hat Stampede. And it never fails, the day that we decide to take the boys to the grounds and take in the rides and games, is the hottest day of the year!!! The truck thermostat read 38 degrees when we were leaving! You'll notice a picture from a previous post with a statement about how awesome my sister is......are the boys showing off their blue tongues from their second Slurpee of the afternoon. :o)

The first weekend in August we drove to Calgary to visit with Keri, Nick & Jak. I was on a bit of a mission to find a kitty and I also needed Nick and Keri to take some head shots of me. The boys LOVE going to Uncle Nick's house.........he always lets them play video games. In fact we have Nick to blame for their raging addiction to them!!

As you can see the boys are already rubbing off on Jakzen.

I was about to give up on my search for a kitty, but I thought that I would check out one more place before calling it quits. And wouldn't you know it, I found Hemi!

He is a Siamese/Ragdoll cross and is the best mannered kitten I have ever had. This picture doesn't do him any justice. His eyes are a bright blue!! He kept blinking with the flash. I have got a lot of flack from Mark about how much I spent on him.......but he actually was my birthday present. When we were trying to figure out names, Mark thought we could just call him 'food' or 'shelter' since we could have bought either of those on the amount I spent to pay for him!!

(Poor kitty is at the vet as I type getting his manhood taken away from him.)

The middle of August consisted of a garage sale with the Ertmoed's and a golfing tournament for myself. Mark and the boys golfed a few time this year just out at the par three. Again, very cute to see the little dudes golfing.

Then all of a sudden it is Logan's birthday!!

We tried a sleepover for the first time for him. What a mistake! Not that they weren't good and had no fun, it was the exact opposite! On the day of the party Logan was soooooo tired he was absolutely miserable. Once everyone headed out he layed down and was out for three hours!!

Hard to believe that he is six years old.

Logan has always really liked music. To my dismay, he has taken a liking to country music just like his daddy. The boys are always singing and dancing and pretending to play the guitar, so I thought it would be great to get him into guitar lessons. I called around and had no luck with anyone taking him on. They all said that six is too young and to call back when he is eight. I didn't enjoy that answer so I proceeded to look around some more. A client of mine mentioned a fellow that plays in a band here in the Hat, so I called him up and asked if he would teach Logan. He was hesitant at first, again about the age thing, but then decided to take him on. I was so excited for him! So as a birthday gift we bought him is very own guitar.

This is our next Garth Brooks!!

Tonight he has his first lesson. Can't wait to see what he learns!

The last week of August my day home lady took a week of holidays, so Grandma & Grandpa Skerik took the boys for the week. As always they were spoiled waaaaaay too much. They got to go camping and sleep in cool new bunk beds in their new room in G&G's new house.

Mark and I continued to work and also had some free time to look around at some trailers. The boys had such a good time camping at Dickey Lake that we thought it would good to have our own trailer. We started looking and saw a bunch of garbage. We then drove out to Sterling Trailers down the highway and took a look at a few used ones. To make a long story short, we really weren't expecting to buy anything, but this one trailer was in such good shape for an amazing price.......so it now belongs to us!

It is a 1993 Bonair, 23.5" fifth wheel.

We picked it up last Thursday and thought it would be a smart idea to take it out on the weekend to make sure all was good! We just went out to Elkwater........and man was it COLD!! WE did find out that the furnace works real well.

Eating lunch. Mark looking his best again!! :o)
We went with Lori, Blair, Elizabeth and Teagan. Elizabeth is the same age as Logan and Teagan is the same age as Carter. They had a great time riding bikes and playing on the playground. But do notice they all have on their winter coats!! This was when we went on a bit of a hike.

On the hike I felt I should try out my hidden photography talents!! Eat your heart out Nick!

OOOOOHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH
So that was our summer!

The boys are getting back into the swing of things with school and I'm still scrambling around trying to get a million things done. We have a hectic month ahead of us with Carter's surgery next week, new doors getting put in AGAIN and a wedding in Canmore at the end of the month. Hopefully by October I'll be back into a routine!!