Dustin joins the glasses club

In our family, it's only a matter of time before things start to get fuzzy. I'm afraid the genetics are just too hard to fight. Dustin's time has come.

Derek and I took our contacts out to snap a picture in honor of the occasion.

Injury update

I've been trying to take regular pictures of our burns so I could see them heal over time (I'm sick, I know). They actually seemed to get a little worse before they really started getting better. Dustin's leg was showing signs of infection, so he was put on an antibiotic and instructed to keep his wound covered longer. Unfortunately, he was always wrapped up when I remembered to take a picture, so there aren't as many of him (sorry!). Overall, we're both feeling MUCH better now, though. Here's the last couple of weeks or so in pictures....

Day 5

Day 7

Day 8

Day 11

Day 14

Today (Day 15)

A few random August pictures

Kaylee & Brandon heading to the bus stop on the 1st day of school. I forgot to get one of Derek & Dustin when they left!!

Flowers Roger gave me for our 14th anniversary

The evidence that Kaylee has been borrowing my camera. It's a pretty good shot, considering the quality of my camera and how short her arms are!

Quick Trip to Jacksonville

The kids and I wanted to make a visit to Jacksonville to see our friends The Hawthornes and their new home. Since school is starting NEXT WEEK, time is limited and we decided to make a quick trip this week. Those plans were almost derailed due to our unfortunate burning accident (see previous post), but in the end we decided that there was no better way to rest and recover than to sit around doing nothing and visiting with friends. Jodi took good care of us and we had a wonderful time!

A Very Stupid Thing to Do

Apparently my brain wasn't functioning properly this week. The kids and I were in the backyard attempting to burn a pile of brush. The fire wasn't cooperating, so I very wisely suggested that Dustin get me a little bit of gasoline to help encourage the flames to spread. Not quite sure why this didn't strike me as a dangerous course of action, but I honestly didn't even pause to consider the potential hazards. I casually tossed a little gas into the fire, and the next thing I knew, my arm was on fire, too. I can only guess that the flame followed the source and the fumes back to the small can in my hand and that I subsequently splashed the remaining gas onto my arm. Once I realized I was on fire, I tossed the can and proceeded to "stop, drop, and roll." Meanwhile, the tossed can (and accompanying flames) landed beside Dustin and caught his leg on fire. Apparently he didn't remember the stop, drop, and roll routine and ran instead. Now that things have calmed down significantly, we are both just thankful that our clothing didn't catch on fire. I can't begin to explain the pain, the regret, or the stupidity I have felt over the past several days. Some lessons are learned the hard way. This is one I really should have figured out without experiencing it, though.

Here are the pictures my family has been begging for. We didn't think to get any pictures before we went to the ER - go figure. These were taken the next day. My arm and Dustin's leg...

On day 3...

This is us today (day 4) - still in a good amount of pain. We're hoping that we will heal quickly without infection or permanent scarring. It's definitely not fun.

A short visit to South Carolina

My mom is turned 60 this year, so we decided it would be nice to surprise her for her birthday. Emily and her kids came, too. It would have been great if we could have all been there, but Adam is stationed in the United Arab Emirates, and Sara is on her mission in Italy, so they obviously couldn't make it this time!

The traditional picture of Kaylee & Brian - they are the same age, but the height difference gets more dramatic each year!
We went to an auction with Nate and watched him buy quite a few bunnies. I think this one will be a keeper. Fun memories!

Nate's chicken coop - there are 19 hens here that he raised up from chicks. Several of them are going home with us - hopefully to provide us with lots of great eggs!

This is a seriously dangerous swing that my dad put up. Really fun, but just not smart! The platform is 24 feet off the ground. I let the boys do it a couple of times each and then decided we better stay away. Better safe than sorry! This is Dustin taking the plunge.

Our trip to the park
Kaylee & Kate playing dress-up
Mom's party
Too much excitement...

She finally did it!!

When Kaylee turned 8, we told her she could get her ears pierced. She had begged and pleaded for quite a while, but got scared when we went to the mall and saw a baby getting her ears pierced. Finally, after about 5 months of contemplation, she decided she was ready.
This is her when we arrived.Pondering which pair of earrings to use....

Getting prepped and feeling very determined.

Kaylee told me ahead of time that she would feel more comfortable if she sat on my lap for the actual piercing.

They decided to do both ears at once since there were two people working. I love how Kaylee pinched her eyes shut so tight. She was mentally prepared this time and very brave!

All done!

A couple of trips to the beach

It has been fun to be a little closer to the beach. We've gone a couple of times so far. Grandpa Leckie took a break from working on the house to enjoy a few hours with us, too! (This is Dustin, Andrew, & Kaylee with my dad)

Caitlyn, Derek, Dustin, Jeffrey

Brandon wanted a chance to be buried in the sand since he had seen his brothers do it before. This picture turned out really funny since Dustin's shadow was under Brandon's head.

Unfortunately, the "Emerald Coast" has been especially green lately. There has been some floating slime that takes away from the overall appeal. We often find it hanging around on us after we get out of the water. This picture was taken before Kaylee knew that she had a piece of slime on her face.

This picture was taken after I told her!

More Free Food

Another year, another Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A. We never get tired of free food!

Outside Adventures

We have been spending a decent amount of time outside since we moved. The kids aren't avid fishermen, but they have tried a couple times in the pond out front.

These are some critters that we found after Dad cut down a tree for us. We THINK they are squirrels. The kids fed them a little milk and wanted to keep them, but we decided to put them back out in the yard so their mom could find them. It was a little creepy.

With all the trees that have come down, there have been a few days of brush burning. One day the kids decided to take advantage of the huge pile of coals and roast some marshmallows. This nasty swing (left by the previous residents) was apparently an inviting retreat for the kids. Unfortunately, all I had on hand were mini-marshmallows!

This is a tree in our front yard. The boys ride the lawnmower out there and use it to boost themselves up (I think they just want to drive something). Their climbing makes me quite nervous, but they have taken up residence in the upper branches. In the second picture, you can see Derek standing in the top of the tree.

I guess I haven't been taking pictures of our main activity, swimming in the pool, but you can find a few pictures of us enjoying the water at home and at the beach (along with random documentation of my first gray hair) on my sister Emily's blog.