waiting for baby!

Here's my profile picture at 9 months. I can hardly wait for this baby to come! Spencer is now on the mend--finally, so I've been able to think about having this baby again. We are all excited and hope that he shows up this week. Unfortunately, all the kids except Anna started in with sniffly noses today. It seems like that is much more easily dealt with than meningitis, but I'm still passing zinc lozenges all around.

Not such happy news

Well, it turns out that Spencer was not on the mend. I took him yesterday to the emergency room because his fever spiked to almost 104 and his neck was stiff and his throat was killing him. And, they finally diagnosed his virus--viral meningitis or encephalitis. They are testing to see if it is from West Nile Virus. The only good news was that they said he is not contagious. Also, it is finally nice to have a name to put to the misery he's been in. We're hoping that since he's already been in the battle for a month that it won't be much longer. Meanwhile, I'm hoping that our little boy won't make his debut until Spencer will be well enough to attend his delivery!

Summer photos

Our family has been busy, busy, busy with 4-H projects. One of our favorites has been photography. It's been fun to use my new digital camera and figure out the macro feature. The kids took some great photos. I was lucky to also get this shot of a hummingbird at my Aunt's home.

One last summer fling

We had an unscheduled Tuesday this week, so we took the opportunity to visit my cousin in her new home and to visit the dinosaur museum on $2 Tuesday. We had a fabulous time at both spots--it felt like an extra vacation we snuck in. We loved seeing Marilyn's designer home and wonderful neighborhood. Adam was glad to see his friend Abraham again. We hadn't been to the dinosaur museum for awhile, so it was a real treat. By the way, there are 88 teeth on the bottom of the shark--and probably 88 on the top. Munch!

Spencer on the mend

Spencer is feeling much better. He is still not 100%, but he is getting there. Hurray! He did not test positive for mono or meningitis, and the doctor didn't believe that he had West Nile Virus. So, he had some unknown virus. It's been very hard on him, but I think the worst is over. He even went on a field project today with his students, although he came home totally exhausted.

Sick!

Spencer has been sick, sick, sick since Monday. We all thought he had a sinus infection--including the doctor. However, he just got worse and worse. Yesterday he was tested for meningitis and mono. The results for meningitis are already back--he doesn't have that. However, we won't know on the mono until tomorrow. There's also a possibility of West Nile Virus. Time will tell. Meanwhile, this is not that much fun!

Summer Vacation

We had a fabulous time in Logan, Yellowstone, and Island Park. We enjoyed seeing friends and family in Logan. It was especially fun to see my happy and newly-married friend Jenni and her husband Mike. Then, we headed north and met up with Spencer's family. We enjoyed 4-wheeling in Island Park, braved the rapids (or so I called them) on the Snake River, and Yellowstone was an entire day of adventure and beauty. We were especially excited to see two bears (from a safe distance). The whole area up there was covered in wildflowers. We enjoyed so many breathtaking sites that no one minded too much that we ran out of time to go see Old Faithful! Oh well, we'll just have to go back...