Keeping Up With the Dennis'

It's hard to believe that almost a month of summer has gone by. We've been having a great time here in Lind. The 14th was the annual Combine Demolition Derby in Lind. The kids decorated up their bikes and rode in the kids parade for Junior Grange. They were so excited. Then they got to catch candy and watch the "big" parade. It was a very good parade. My favorite part was the Viking group from Poulsbo that threw candy at the kids and then rushed the kids with their wooden boardswords drawn. Ben spilled half his candy and the girls latched onto our legs very quickly. It took us a few minutes to convince the kids that it was all just for "fun" and they weren't really "bad" men. Oh, how I wish I had a video of that!!! Here's a couple of pictures of the kids getting ready for the parade and a picture of my boss' wife with the Vikings.



We also had a trip to Seattle for another post surgery visit with Ben's surgical team. They took x-rays and examined his mouth. The graft looks good and he got the go ahead to eat corn on the cob! He was a happy boy! We made a fun day of it and went to the zoo after Ben's appointment. A good time was had by all at the zoo. Some of our favorite things were the birds and the butterflies. We got to get up close and personal with them. We also got to see the lions mating. Talk about an educational fieldtrip!!!
The last pictures on the slideshow are from one of our visits to the Ritzville pool. We went ahead and got season passes for the Lind and the Ritzville pools. I think the kids are part fish. They are so happy when they are splashing around in the pool. Emma is doing really well in the water. She still likes to have her tube float most of the time but has actually been jumping in and diving for things in the pool. She even got up the nerve to go down the slide at Ritzville by herself. Of course, Ben talked her into going down backwards and she tipped over and got a bit anxious but she dogpaddled out by herself. She needs to learn not to listen to big brothers. That is a lesson I learned pretty early in life. Probably the reason Dot & I are still alive - we had each other for back up against the boys!!!

Long Time No Blog

Whew! Forgive me readers for I have sinned. It has been almost two months since my last blog. To catch everyone up: Ben was released from activity restriction after 5 weeks and has been constantly on the go ever since. He was able to play T-ball the last two weeks of the season and really enjoyed it. The kids finished school this last week. They will all be going to summer school this summer. Hopefully it will help them retain all the knowledge they have gathered and it will give them something to do so they aren't always bored. They will also have swimming lessons during summer school - something cool that the school does for them. They will probably spend every afternoon at the pool as the babysitter now lives in town - just two blocks from the pool. Rod is going to get a bike rack fixed up for my van so we can take their bikes to the babysitter's every morning. They are really bike riding fools.
Emma had a very momentous day today. Her top two front teeth were very loose and she asked me to pull them out - so I did. She only cried for a minute when she saw the blood. She just went outside with the boys and got out Ben's old bike. It is smaller than her bike and is a little easier for her to control. She got on it and rode it to the end of the street and back - very straight and controlled without training wheels!!! So two teeth out and riding a bike without training wheels - can't get much better than that.

Since I have been promising Aunt Melanie that I will post new pictures, I have put together the following slide show. It shows the kids helping Dad drive the Terragator, T-ball photos, our camping trip where the kids had a ball rolling down the hill and playing in the river, the spring concert at school & riding bikes. Just another normal month at the Dennis house! Hope you all are having a good spring and are as ready for summer as we are.

1 Week Down!

Well, its been a week since Ben's surgery. I keep forgetting to take pictures of him - will have to get something tomorrow. His swelling has gone down - he looked like a lopsided chipmunk for most of the weekend. He is still showing some bruising - I'm sure it would look lots worse if he had light skin tone. Right now he just looks kind of green. He is eating really well - I had to send Rod back to the store the other night because we were running out of his special soft snacks! He is walking lots better and hasn't even been asking for any pain meds. Now it will be hard to keep him from over doing stuff. Bailey, Ethan & Emma are going to start T-ball next week. I'm sure that is going to be hard on Ben. We will have to think up something fun for him to do while they play. Only 5 more weeks of restriction for Ben!!! Hopefully they will go by quickly.

Children's Hospital

Ben came through his surgery with flying colors. The surgeon said everything went very well. He is getting some antibiotics, steroids and some pain meds through an IV so he is still tethered but he is ready to get out of here. He is really sore. We were able to get him up last night and he made several laps around the hospital wing. He was really hungry and ate almost all of the dinner that they brought him last night. Then when we stood him up, he lost it all on the floor of his room!!! After he walked around, he was starving again so I made a few trips to the nourishment room. They have a little room on the hospital floor where they keep things like jello & pudding cups, soup, juice, ice & ice cream. He ate two single servings of chicken noodle soup, two jello cups, two pudding cups, a couple of cups of apple juice and two ice cream cups. The surgery certainly didn't slow down his appetite.
Bailey & Marjie came for a visit. They had a good visit with Chris, Becky & Sarah. Bailey looked worn out. I'm sure she didn't have trouble falling asleep last night. We also went to visit Paul's brother Tom yesterday before Ben's surgery. He is at Virginia Mason. He has been in the hospital pretty much since January. He didn't look too bad. They are hoping that he will be able to go to the hotel close to the hospital in the next week. I'm not sure what his exact diagnosis is but it has to do with his pancreas and the way that the bile is draining. He also has been fighting some infections. I know it is really hard for him to be there - he has always been really active and the farm must be weighing on his mind pretty heavily.
Ben will be getting out of the hospital sometime around noon today. We just have to wait for some prescriptions to be sent in and the doctor needs to sign off on the discharge papers. There is a really cool playroom here and Ben is looking forward to trying it out. The nurses are also looking for a portable game system for him and his roommate. There is a little boy in the other bed here that had some kind of operation on his leg. They have been asking for a game system all morning!!!
Bailey & I took some pictures around the hospital yesterday. They have some really cool sculptures and decorations around the hospital. It doesn't really look that much like a hospital, which is a good thing. It is really welcoming and bright. Not scary!

Seattle

We made it to Seattle. We left Lind at about 2:00. I had a message on the answering machine to call the hospital to get Ben's surgery instructions - it took awhile to get ahold of a real person. His surgery is scheduled for early afternoon tomorrow. That will make for a long morning. He won't be able to eat anything after midnight tonight. He will be one hungry boy!
We are staying at the Silver Cloud Motel next to the UofW campus. It has a pool and vending machines. Both those things are fascinating when you are 6 & 7!!! The kids got in some serious swimming. Sometimes I wonder if they are 1/2 fish. Marjie's friends Chris & Becky are going to come visit tomorrow with their granddaughter Sarah. She and Bailey will have fun in the pool.

Recipes

Ok - I haven't posted any recipes in quite awhile. So here is a link to a whole slew of Weight Watcher recipes. I read these several years ago for the first time with my sister Marjie. I think we were both rolling on the floor by the time we made it through the last recipe. Enjoy scrolling through the pictures!

A day of driving

Ben & I spent Thursday on the road. He had his pre-surgery appointment at Children's Hospital in Seattle. The weather wasn't too bad, just a little snow on the pass. The appointment went well. The surgeon said that Ben's mouth looks very good - perfectly ready for the bone graft. The surgery is in two weeks and he will be on restricted activity and diet for six weeks after. That is going to be way too much fun. He won't be able to run and play - participate in recess or PE at school. He will be on soft food only, no chewing!!! Really looking forward to that.
I always get a deep reality check when I take one of the boys to Children's. I fuss about the kids at times and then we go there and I see the parents with the 1 or 2 year old child that has a bald head from chemo and is on oxygen or has a feeding tube and I think - wow, I really have it easy. It really puts everything into perspective. This surgery is just a little bump in the road. Ben has had his share - lip repair in China, two hand surgeries at Seattle Children's, a rhinoplasty at Seattle Children's and double hernia surgery at Spokane. It will be over soon and hopefully there won't be anything else for along time.