You Never Listen!

Sounds like something I would be writing about my kids, huh? Well it's me, ALL me.

I asked my doctor if it would be OK to go ATV riding while I'm pregnant. They said no. I didn't listen and went anyway. Ive been riding ATVs all Summer, and nothing has happened. I thought if I was careful that I would be just fine. Not the case.

The last day we were in Luna, Luc wanted to go for an ATV ride. We had had lots of fun with them and he wanted to check out one more spot before we headed back to the Valley. The sites were beautiful and we were having an enjoyable time. It was past lunch time and the storm clouds were rolling in, so we figured we should head back. Luc mentioned that if I was comfortable with it that I could go a little faster. I did. There is no speedometer on the ATV, so I don't know how fast I was going, but a curve in the road surprised me and I could feel the ATV tipping. A cousin of mine was killed when an ATV fell on him so I figured rather than taking the chance of rolling, I would straiten out and take my chances going through the trees. I made it through an opening in some saplings, but the branches hit me in the face and knocked my glasses off. I was disoriented and not thinking, so I didn't hit the break and I didn't clear the trees. I drove over another sapling and hit a tree. I had Auralee on the back with me and we both went flying off. I must have hit the handle bar with my leg, because I ended up landing sitting up facing the opposite way I had been with Auralee just in front of me. We both started crying and I scooped up my girl all the while telling her how sorry I was and that I had made a bad choice. Then, so Luc would be able to find us, I started screaming. It was all very traumatic. Auralee complained that her arm hurt, but when we asked her to wiggle her fingers she could. We thought she might have sprained it. Luc spent some time locating my glasses which were thankfully intact and then he got the ATV back on the road. He was able to straiten it out enough so that I could drive it back to my grandparents house. We were about 15 miles away and there was no phone service. The baby hadn't moved in a while and I got really worried. I cried most of the way home and prayed that everything would be OK. When we got to my grandparents, I asked my aunt Lorraine to take Auralee and me to the hospital so we could get checked out. It was an hour away, so Luc stayed behind to pack up our things and then meet us there later so we could just go home from there. I got a full work up and all was well with the baby and me. I was so relieved that my baby didn't have to suffer because of my stupidity. Auralee, on the other hand, was a different story. After some X-rays, they found that she had indeed broken her arm. They put it in a splint and a sling and told us to make sure it was casted within the next 5 days. My poor baby! The doc that was looking at us asked if I was wearing a helmet. When I said no, he said "I say that people who don't wear helmets don't need them because there's nothing up there to protect." Talk about a little dose of humility. When we told him that Auralee was wearing a helmet, he said "good, then I don't have to call CPS." All in all everything turned out well, but thinking about what could have happened scares me. I will do my best to be smarter about my decisions in the future.

The Cabin 2009

Memorial Day weekend, we went up to Payson and stayed at Luc's grandparents cabin. We had tons of fun. Luc brought his dutch oven and made some yummy chicken. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, and spent lots of time with family.

We went ATV riding all over the back roads.

We went fishing and Luc caught several fish. It was nice and relaxing.

We explored a little and the girls played in the water with their cousins. Taryn loved her grandpa John.

I took some cute pictures of the girls by the water.

I had to post this one just because Taryn is so cute!

Happy, Happy Birthday Baby

Six years ago, I woke up early to help Luc get ready for work. I thought my water might have broken, but I wasn't sure. I called the hospital and they said to come in and they would check me out. I packed Luc's lunch (which I never do any more since Ive had children) and saw him off, then I took a shower and went to our rental office and paid rent. I drove myself to the hospital where they checked me out and found that my water had indeed broken. I had to stay there because of it, so I called Luc and told him what was going on. When he asked if he should come, I told him nothing was going to happen for a while and he could just stay at work. His boss disagreed and sent him on his way. Needless to say, I was there all day and didn't start having hard contractions till around 5pm that evening. I dealt with that for about an hour and then I was ready for my epidural! Lots of family were able to make it and, after driving 7hrs, my mom was even able to make it on time. I wasn't prepared for my baby to come. She was 15 days early and I didn't even have any onesies or receiving blankets for her. Regardless, at 23:23 on 3-3-03 weighing in at 7lbs 15 1/2 oz, there came my beautiful baby girl, Auralee Rose Engstrom. My grandmother, Frieda Rose, had died 5 years before to the day, so everyone thought it was appropriate that Rose be my little bundles middle name. I like to think that it was my grandma who brought her little spirit here to earth to us.

My sister, Mechelle, made a yummy, yummy, yummy chocolate mint cake with chocolate ganache and whipped frosting. It was so good, my mouth waters just thinking about it. She also did a fabulous job decorating it. The theme was the Princess and the frog.

She got lots of great presents, all of which she loved. Her dad and I got her a bike. Thanks to everyone!

After-wards, her grandparents took us all out ATV riding. On our way there, we were met at the cattle guard by a herd of cattle intent on not letting us pass. It was pretty funny. We all had a great time and it was a nice top off to a good day. Our friends, the Dodges, were able to come with us.