Yesterday

Yesterday was one of the craziest days we've had in a while. The girls had a field trip in Bismarck at a little ski hill there. My friend, Amy, and I followed the bus of kids from Dickinson to Bismarck, and enjoyed visiting while our kids watched a movie. I wouldn't have made it to Bismarck without her. (Thank you Jesus for friends.)

Once we got to the ski lodge, I paid for the girls to ski, rented some skis for them, got them to the bunny hill, helped them get on the bunny hill lift, and watched and helped them get down the hill a few times. My friend, Amy, watched her little kids and Saige while I helped Julia and Lydia, and her older boys get comfortable skiing for the first time. One of the other moms at the girls' school let me know that a ski instructor would be coming shortly to help our kids learn more about skiing. (And I kept thinking...MAN! Field trips are in North Dakota are really different than the field trips my girls went on in Houston. Really different.)

Ski Julia

 I didn't see the teen behind Julia until now. Photo bombed!

Sweet Lydia Skier

Stick your booty out and GO! Yay!

Up the Bunny Hill

After the bigger kids were well situated, Amy and I went back to the lodge and started to give our littles some lunch. After a short while, I went to check on my girls. And as I was finishing up with checking on my bigger girls, I saw Amy coming towards me with the smaller kids. Saige was crying, and I assumed she was just missing her mama. But, then Amy told me that the dog that was running around at the lodge had nipped my poor Saige on the nose.

My Poor Sad Saige

(Did you notice she's still wearing pajamas? Yes, I was still getting around to getting her dressed.)

So, after drying Saige's tears, and asking the ladies at the lodge to put the dog up, Amy and I sat with our kids and visited. Then, we lost Saige. While we were doing our thing, she decided to wander off and lay on her blankets in the snack bar of the floor. She often lays on her blankets on the floor at home, but she also usually answers me when I call her name. I was looking everywhere for her, inside the lodge and out, calling for her and trying to remain calm. God answered my prayers, and I found that girl. Whew. Another bullet dodged.

Unfortunately, there were a few more bullets to go for the day. After Julia and Lydia ate a little bit of lunch, they were ready to take on the big hill. (There are only two hills to ski on at this little slope.) So, Amy's son, Connor, and Lydia headed to the top of the hill. We waited for quite a long time, and then saw Connor come down the slope. But still no Lydia. Julia went up soon after, and then Connor went up again. After another long wait, Connor came back down the hill. We still had no Julia or Lydia. I asked several people about where Julia and Lydia were, and everyone continued to tell me that Julia and Lydia were fine, that they weren't crying and they should be down the mountain/hill soon. Finally, finally, finally, I saw Julia come down, and I was relieved. But then I remembered Lydia was still up there. Were was she? What was she doing? About two minutes later, just as I was about to alert ski patrol, one of the older boys in our group came snowboarding down the hill holding Lydia in his arms. I was so excited!!!! Thank you!!! (I made this guy cookies today to be delivered tomorrow as a thank you. He really saved us.) Evidently, Lydia was up at the top of the hill. And everyone who told me they saw Lydia (including Julia), failed to mention that she hadn't started skiing down the hill yet. She was just standing at the top looking down for probably a good 30 minutes. Don't kids know that moms worry?

Lydia was sent back to the bunny hill to ski. Julia was too, but she didn't end up staying there for long. She decided to take on the big hill again, and went up and down several times. She did great! And Lydia did great on the bunny hill. I checked on them periodically while trying to keep track of our ever-defiant toddler. I was really ready for a nap. And a burger.

Just about the time we were wrapping up to go home for the day, one of the teachers at our school told me that Lydia had been hurt. So, I asked Amy to watch Saige and I dashed out to check on my Lyd. She was cold and shaking and her leg hurt. And the ski medic was assisting her and telling me they needed to check her leg for a hairline fracture right above her ski boot. Good grief. That wasn't fun to hear. I could tell that Lydia was being really brave. But I could also sense that she was going to be alright. God gave me some great peace. I think I may have come unglued otherwise.

As I sat on the snow, allowing a cold wet to seep into my jeans, I stroked Lydia and talked to her about how she got hurt until the other ski medics came and carried her off the bunny hill. (She hurt herself on the lift. As she was being pulled up, one foot went one way, and the other leg went the other way. Her little injury occurred when her right leg twisted and her ski pulled her right root in the wrong direction.)

Buckled Up and Ready to Ride

 Doesn't this picture make everything look so serious? Like her leg is really busted up?

Chillin' in the Medics Office

Her Temporary Cast

The ski medics got a lot of information from me and instructed me to take Lydia right to the E.R. But, it was already 5 pm and I knew that trying to find the E.R. in Bismarck, and then waiting to be seen would leave us in Bismarck over night. I could tell that if she was really hurt, that she would be crying and showing a lot more signs of pain. Sure her leg was little hurt, but I didn't think it was rush to the E.R. hurt. I could tell.

So, I left Lydia with the medics for a bit, and Amy and I rounded up our kids and their gear and got in the van. We planned to pull around to pick Lydia up at the back of the medics office. And we did. But first, we got stuck on the side of the mountain. Thankfully Amy was with me to help me navigate the icy/slushy roads. And thankfully I didn't panic. And thankfully we didn't slide down the hill. And thankfully we got unstuck, and got back to where Lydia was. We loaded her up, started a DVD in the mini and drove straight to a drive thru. Thankfully, Saige and Amy's younger kids instantly fell asleep as we drove. Thankfully, they all three slept through the drive thru experience, and thru me filling up my gas tank. (I have a lot to be thankful for.)

But, I was most thankful that we got back to Dickinson in one peice. We had a few bumps and bruises, but we survived. And I was...thankful. I realized after we got out of the van that Saige peed herself and her car seat while sleeping in the car, but oh well. We lived.

Lydia's leg is totally fine. We carried her around last night and she had to miss gymnastics practice, but she was up and walking around this morning. She has no lingering pain. Her leg isn't swollen, and she even went to cheer camp this evening. (More on cheer camp, more back-up blogging and new re-purposing tips are to come.) Please stay tuned and thanks for coming by!!! -Amber