Laid back vacation Friday

Yesterday was a bit of a more laid back day. Evan started with a little toe snack before breakfast. I think he just likes showing off his flexibility.

Shannon took the big kids to the breakfast buffet, which has been fantastic for options. Eggs, hasbrowns, 2 kinds of sausage patties, 2 kinds of bagels, bread, English muffins, fruit, yogurt, waffles, oatmeal (with brown sugar, raisins, walnuts), 3 kinds of muffins (our favorite, of course, has been the cream cheese chocolate/chocolate chip), 5 kinds of cereal, juice, and milk.

While Shannon got the kids ready for swimming, Evan had breakfast in his new travel high chair. I quickly ordered this 2 days before we left for vacation and we have used it a lot. My cousin Emily always has the coolest stuff that I then steal her idea and buy one for myself. I think we will keep it in the trunk at home, as well. Have you ever looked at how filthy wood high chairs are in restaurants? It really is disgusting. 

Evan finished breakfast and then headed for pool time with Dad! He really loves the water, especially the lounging part. He has a killer froggy kick!

After swimming for a bit I took Sara for her ultrasound. The boys did an early lunch and relaxed with some quiet time while Evan took a nap. When Sara and I returned mid-afternoon, Evan was just waking up. Adam had been dying to try out his new sling shot so he took his handmade target and we headed outside. He really surprised me with how good he was!

Sara is always on the lookout for various nature finds and celebrated success with this clipping from a bush and a feather.

For dinner we drove to a local family farm that was doing a Brick Oven Pizza Night made fresh from the ingredients they had harvested that year. It was delicious! And the kids had fun, too.

All the animals were friendly…sometimes a little too friendly! We decided maybe this cat kept visiting us because it was Oreo’s long-lost relative.

The big kids were very confused why there were chickens roaming around. And then this goat wandered by. Apparently he is 1 year old and still escapes thru the fence opening he discovered last year. But then he snacks on too much grass and his belly gets too fat to fit back thru!

These geese kept following us and begging for food.

Adam thought the bearded goats were neat. They look deep in conversation!

We topped off the evening with some pony rides. Sara had a hard time choosing which horse to ride on until she heard this one was named Princess! She had quite the hair.

Adam rode on Spike. I liked his white eyelashes. Every now and then Adam would take his pointer finger and give him a little scratch on his mane. Apparently that was Adam’s version of petting him. Spike was a little stubborn and kept stopping for a break.

Everyone went right to bed when we got back. Sara got up at 7:45 and said, “Mom I can’t sleep any more.” Okay! Evan didn’t wake until 4:45 and then went right back to sleep until 8. That was the best sleep I have gotten in a month! He has slept thru the night since Christmas but the past number of weeks his sleep was interrupted and I was getting up 1 or 2 more times in the middle of the night with him. In Minnesota he has been up every hour or 2. I was so thankful for a good night of rest.

Another test added at Mayo

"Good morning, JoLynn. This is Dr. David Sas with the Mayo Clinic nephrology department. How are you today?"

Communication is so simple, yet so powerful. It's like a breath of fresh air.

Dr. Sas wanted to discuss some of Sara's test results and information he has for us so far. First, her bloodwork was unremarkable, which was good. It is very difficult to accurately measure kidney function and the best they can say is if the kidneys are functioning at a level of at least 75% and Sara's are, which is great. Her phosphorus level was low at 3.9 but not suspiciously low. They like to see it around 4.3.

As for the urine sample (not the 24 hour urine test), it came back with blood in her urine, which is typical for her because of the stones. But there is also protein in her urine. This really really surprised me. She is on the low dose of blood pressure medication to keep the pressure in her kidneys down so it does not spill protein in her urine. I told Dr. Sas that her urine was tested in June and there was no presence. He compared the results and it is because her Peoria nephrologist (Dr. Gordillo) ran a simple urinalysis and this one checked a protein to creatinine level. A normal level is less than 0.2 and a severe level is greater than 2.0. Sara's was 0.81. This means she is at risk for a progression of her kidneys diminishing, but we already know that and that is why we are here. I wonder if we are going to need to change her meds because of this and tell Dr. Gordillo he needs to be running a different urinalysis.

Last, he said he went thru all of the images Sara has ever had taken with some kidney stone experts in the urology department. They feel she may benefit from having them removed surgically again. We will discuss that further with Dr. Granberg on Tuesday. Dr. Sas deals with the prevention side and urology deals with the improvement/removal side. They would like Sara to have a CT scan in order to get the most clear picture of the severity of the stones at this time. He understands the level of radiation that puts her thru. However, Shannon and I feel that if this would help provide the most clear picture to determine next steps on our journey, then there is no hesitation. So Sara will have a CT scan on Monday morning at 8:30.

Sara and I loaded up her large orange container of urine and rode the free shuttle to Mayo Clinic for her 12:45pm ultrasound while Shannon stayed at the hotel with the boys. We arrived early enough to grab lunch in the cafeteria. Sara's selection of cheese pizza was no surprise but the cherry jello was something she doesn't usually ask for.

We were back on the 16th floor, the same as for her blood draw yesterday and were finally able to drop off that big orange container once and for all. Even though we were 15 minutes early they took us back before I was able to sit down and pull out some reading material.

Sara thought the groundhog pattern on the floor was really funny. Or prairie dog or beaver or whatever it was.

Sara has had quite a few ultrasounds in the past 3 years but this is the first time she had to lay on her tummy for part of it. Part of the test she had to lay on her left side and she looked at this fat cat artwork on the wall.

She is quite observant of her surroundings and points out different things she thinks are pretty. Throughout various areas on this floor are random tiles of artwork drawn by children. It is a neat way to incorporate a youthful atmosphere.

After the test was done we had a little time to kill before catching the shuttle back to the hotel. So we chose to sit outside on this little veranda that was behind the piano player. Sara was telling me all the flowers she liked and I think eventually she picked them all!

We get the weekend to catch our breath and do some fun things.

Shannon was able to talk to the coordinator of the class he was supposed to teach next week. He was prepared to teach a few days remotely via webcam but all of the attendants agreed to just push the class back a few days. So at this point we will leave for home Tuesday after our appointment with Dr. Sas. I expect that will be after dinner and put us home sometime in the middle of the night so Shannon can teach on Wednesday and I can return to work, as well, after missing a week.

Swimming, Swinging, Speedway, and Special Treats

After Sara's blood draw we came back to the hotel so Evan could get a much needed nap. Shannon stayed in the room and caught up on some things while I took the kids to the pool. They thought it was so neat they had the entire pool to themselves.

The loved going down the slide and having a splashing contest.

Sara went down the bigger water slide twice but I couldn't get Adam to go down. Hopefully before we leave. After we swam for an hour we went outside to warm up and dry off.

Apparently Sara was leading some kind of exercise program but Adam got bored with it and just started running laps around the basketball court!

I love my little man with the deep brown eyes!

And this little pillar of strength and goofiness and princess rolled all into one!

After swimming we had a picnic lunch in the hotel room and then left to go to a huge playground. And this photo is only about half of what was there!

Adam quickly made a friend and spent the next hour running all over pretending they were good guys on the train, fighting the bad guys who had set the train on fire!

Sara found a group of girls, as well.

And Evan got some play time on the blanket with Dad.

We packed up and headed for dinner at a great burger joint and came back to the hotel early so Evan could go to bed. Shannon took the big kids to a go cart place to race around the track a few times. They thought that was pretty cool. Then they topped the night off  with stopping for ice cream. I think we thoroughly wore them out today and will be taking it easy tomorrow.

Evan fell asleep at 6pm but was up an hour later. It took us about 2 hours to finally get him all the way calm to stay asleep. Please pray I get more than 3 hours of sleep tonight! He is really struggling with being away from his normalcy of home.