Vacation and Update

Saturday we returned from our Canadian vacation! It is always so nice to go away for a while but even better to return. I love coming home because really, there is no place like home. The week was short and the weather was okay but we made the most of it. We arrived on a rainy, windy day and it is always hard coming across the lake to a new cottage in the boat but the guys made it. Good thing we bring our two-way radios. The cottage was clean and homey so we could move right in without me cleaning. I especially liked that. We enjoyed the location, the extras – bunk house and boat house. We did not swim much (I did not swim at all) because of the cooler temperatures and the water was cold. John and Olivia braved the water though. Elliott was banned since his right foot was hosting six stitches. However, he was enjoying all the dock and boat time fishing. He is very content to just fish, fish and fish. The Big Rideau is the place to fish too. Elliott kept a log of what fish were caught, how long they were and what was used (worms, minnows, etc.)

We took time to go to Westport as they have a fudge shop that has delicious, smooth fudge. We bought maple, vanilla and cookies and cream fudge. While in town, we also went to the small bakery, a furniture store, the rock shop and a little tourist shop. Then it was back to the cottage and boat. At night, we played games – Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble. Olivia and John went out for another game and came home with Clue. Olivia won every game we played. She’s quite the detective!

Our last night there we enjoyed a fish dinner brought to us by Olivia and Elliott. Look at their fish! Olivia’s bass was 19 inches long and Elliott’s lake trout (his first) was 23 inches long.

The beach that we like to go to was empty one day. It is a small beach that is located on Colonel By Island but the docks are always busy but one day there was space at a dock so we docked and walked to the beach. Elliott was bored, but John went to get the float that Olivia blew up and Elliott got to snorkel. He was happy and his foot stayed dry.

We arrived home on Saturday and all of us were looking forward to getting Ruddie home as well. After unpacking the truck, John mowed until it was time to go get him. Olivia and Elliott went with him. Ruddie was happy to be home again and we had a nice reunion! After dinner and dessert and some tv time, we went to bed.

Sunday I was up early and woke Elliott at 8:00 am as I wanted to be at the ER by 9:00 a.m. to get his stitches out. After checking in, we were taken to a room and after a brief wait, the doctor looked at his stitches and sent a nurse in to remove them. The wound opened a bit but Elliott is stitch free. He was relieved and yes, the removal hurt at times, but it was nothing compared to getting the stitches. By the end of the week, he will be able to swim and he is cleared to go to football camp next Sunday. The boy is happy!

Socked Feet

Elliott has a habit, a boy habit, of running around with socks on his feet. I feel like I tell him not to go outside with socks on all the time. Yesterday, he was in the basement in his socks. He was playing around the elliptical and his foot slipped and he got pinched. Although his father was in the basement, Elliott went upstairs to check out his foot since it hurt, a little. He went back down to show his father. PANIC. They came back up, washed the large, open wound and bandaged it. I got a call and luckily, I was two minutes from home. Once I arrived, we went to the emergency room. It was there, that I saw the wound for the first time. I huge hole, about the size of a dime, between is fourth toe and baby toe. And the waiting room was packed. However, because of the nature of his emergency, he was fast-tracked. He was called in, then sent to x-ray to make sure no tendons or bones were damaged. Good news - clear x-rays. Then the numbing cream. It stung but Elliott was brave. He said it didn't hurt much. His pain was in not knowing what to expect. Then came the hard part. The novacaine. The doctor we had was great. He said he was going to be honest, the needle would hurt. I told Elliott to look at the ceiling and talk. So he talked about fishing and talked more. He is never talkative but he talked our ears off. He did great. He wanted me by his side (there was no other place I wanted to me) and he held my hand. He squeezed it a little when he had too. He also rubbed his forehead during the novacaine shots. The stitching was the easy part. So Elliott has had his first visit to the emergency room, his first stitches (hopefully last) and he is handling all this with a positive attitude. This morning I took two pictures of his FrankenFoot. It looks pretty good considering.

This injury means no swimming until this heals completely so the next few weeks will be long and hot! Glad he had his socks on - this injury would have been worse. Praising our Lord for protecting Elliott and for the good doctor that took care of him.