Just some pics

 These pics aren't in any particular order; the 2 above are pics of Al and Ash showing their enthusiasm for fireworks.  Ash could have cared less while waiting for the fireworks, and after all the hoopla, Al wanted a snack but decided he was too tired so pushed two chairs together and fell asleep.  Cute how they both have their thumbs in their mouths!  Al bites his when he's tired and Ash is a thumb sucker!

Here's a cute pic of Josh blow drying Oak's hair after a bath.  He sure has been good through all this with Cali.  He does most everything for Oak (unless she wants someone else to do it.) and he has been understanding that Mike and I need to help and be at the hospital, too.  He probably is getting sick and tired of us, but we sure appreciate the time he is letting us have.

Our neighbors were out of town, so I went to water some flowers in their yard since it's been so hot and dry.  Their cat always comes over for a cuddle, but this time just stayed in the same spot.  When I walked over to her, I noticed she had a little playmate.  Yup, that's the cat at the top of the picture and a mouse in the center.  They just laid by each other and if the cat moved, the mouse moved with her and if the mouse wandered away, the cat picked it up in her mouth, laid it down gently and sat by it again.  Weirdest thing I ever saw.

Another fire here in Utah.  This time in Alpine.  This is the view from our front yard.  It was amazing how powerful it was even from this far away.  Beautiful to watch, but sad that so many fires have started this year.

...and again...and one more time!!!

Cali must really like the emergency room because she's been back, again!  This time for bleeding issues.  She has had this trouble on and off throughout her long hospital stay and started bleeding again the day after getting home from the hospital with the blood clot.  The next day she started passing clots, some as big as my thumb.  By the next day the clots were so big you could hear them splash in the toilet (sorry for the graphic details, but they were huge!!)  so off to the ER again she went.  They found a hole / tear in her vaginal wall that at first they talked about cauterizing closed, but then after getting some more opinions they decided to let it heal itself.  So 6 hours later she was home. 

It's a good thing, too because the 4th of July is my kids' favorite holiday!  Yeah... even before Christmas.  We do the same thing year after year, and if I try to change it up I get an earful.  We relax throughout the day, then have a BBQ for dinner and I'm expected to make a potato salad.  Then off to JHS to watch the city's fireworks where we meet up with the neighbors and more extended family.  Then we come back home, do our own fireworks in the street while eating homemade ice cream.  That's it.  But the relaxing day, the family, the fun and tradition have made this day special for all of my kids. 

But not before we had to get Cali to Instacare!  She woke up with a really bad lower back pain.  Sure enough, she has a urinary tract infection!  Pop her some pills, give her a heating pad and prop her up in the jeep to watch the fireworks and she was good to go.  It made her really tired but since then she's doing a bit better everyday!!

When Cali went to the ER for bleeding, the gentleman that came in to start an IV looked her up and down and said, "You look like you've been in a battle!"  It took 4 pokes before he finally was able to get a line in.  He left, but came back in a minute later.  "I know who you are!  You're Jo Nolast!  I sat with you during your CT scan the first time you came in.  Do you mind if we talk about it?"  He then told her how he had been eating lunch on that Sunday when the charge nurse came in telling everyone they had a trauma coming.  He said he really gets excited for traumas because it gets his adrenaline going and helps the time fly.  The charge nurse knows this and said, "Don't get excited this time.  This is a 24 year old pregnant woman that is 20 weeks pregnant and isn't going to make it."  "And now here I am sitting here talking to you!!!"  She truly has baffled the medical world, and we are so grateful.

We had all our kids with us, a few extra dogs, good food and our 4th of July was awesome!