4th of July and Trifle

This year we had a very fun 4th of July that actually started on the 3rd with a trip to Pike Place Market (I'll post later).

We had a low-key day with an attempt at swimming in a pool with a whale slide; however, the picture made the pool look twice as big as it really was. Not to mention that Lucas was not happy about the cold temperature of the water. He only calmed down after his cousin Sofia came over and stood in the water. He then decided (after a brief temper tantrum) that it wasn't so bad. Ethan decided to have a water fight with me, so I ended up soaked; which was fine since I had planned on swimming anyway.

We then had a fun time with Jana's family and my dad at dinner. We had huli huli chicken and the fixin's to go with it. We topped it off with Trifle for dessert. I decided that it would be fun to attempt since I have never made one. It turned out very yummy!! The funniest part of the evening was Luke. After we were wrapping things up to head out for the fireworks he decided that he wanted to eat more Trifle. At this point he had been put into PJ's and he decided that his outfit wouldn't be complete without his Army hat.

Notice that he has a small child's spoon to dig in with.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of him.

He's so excited to be eating Trifle! Then he figures out that there's a much bigger spoon in the bowl!
Needless to say, there wasn't ANY trifle left. He polished it all off!!

We had a great time watching fireworks from the roof of my building and then we crashed out! The fireworks start so late here, and by the time they are done it's way past my bed time! Not to mention that it was cold!!

Milestone...achieved!

Friday morning I went to get some blood work done. I had put it off for about 2 months...okay 2 1/2 months and it was just time to get it over with. Those who know me know my fear of needles and the things that follow an appointment with needles. I wanted to get there early so I wouldn't have to take much time off of work. I went first to a lab in a building adjacent to the hospital. There were two other gentlemen there before me so I was happy that there wasn't a huge line. (Oh, the lab tech was walking out right as I was walking in and said he'd be right back......15 minutes later! Apparently he needed to get breakfast.) So after the two guys were done I walked into the room to see a chair....no bed. I asked the tech if the chair reclined and informed him of my tendency to get light-headed. He tried, but no luck. (I think he just wanted to eat his breakfast he brought back.) So he directed me to the hospital lab where they would most definitely have a bed. I got there and luckily there was no one in there. I guess no one wants to get their blood drawn at 7 in the morning!! Better to get it over with since you have to fast! So the lady that took me back kindly showed me to a bed and went to verify some of the tests that I needed to get done. She came back in and was really sweet and gentle and really understood my fear of needles. After looking at my left arm she said "you have small veins." Not really what you want to hear, especially when I have veins that like to roll when they sense a foreign metal object approaching. So then she looked at my right arm and found a "good one." As I look away she continued to talk to me and then says "okay, enough questions." I take a deep breath and then she sticks me, and gets it on the first try!!!!!!!!!!!! NO ONE, I mean NO ONE has EVER been able to do that before!!!! I really wanted to jump up right then and hug her, but decided that that might not be such a good idea. So after 3 vials of blood, I was done. Now comes the next amazing part!! I didn't feel light-headed, or nauseous and I was thrilled that I could actually get up and walk out on my own. That was something I was worried about since I was by myself. I only have a small bruise where she poked me, but this is nothing compared to what I have had in the past.

The other part about this is that my tech was so sweet and I really had a wonderful conversation with her. She was very encouraging and things she said to me were things I needed to hear. The other part is that she is from the Phillipines and it made me feel like I was back in Hawaii. She was just so sweet.

I never thought I would be able to say that I had a "great" experience with getting my blood drawn, but Friday I did. I'm so grateful for this lady (who is my age), and for her patience and gentleness!!

I hope I can find her the next time I need an IV for something!

Wow! My first blog entry. I haven't ever had a real desire to start one, but here we go. It took me a while to figure out what to title my blog and I figured that since I have much still to come in this life "Along the Way" seemed apppropriate. I'll try to keep this updated and try even harder to have things to write about!!!