We're Back!

OK, I'm being lame and not posting again. I've been back from my trip to DC for almost 2 weeks and have been so busy getting back into the swing of things that I haven't had time. Also, I don't have any pictures. Our camera (Eric's camera) is big and scary, with WAY too many buttons and options. I didn't even bother bringing it, knowing I'd just be stressed out about it and never use it. (Lame.) So I'll have to get all my pictures of the trip from Cheryl.

We had a really fantastic time. Riley was so great for me! She did awesome on the flights, and there was always another child being louder/ more annoying than her. My saving grace was the portable DVD player my little bro let me borrow. GENIUS! Also, a family in my ward told me that they go to the dollar store and buy little toys for their kids, and wrap them up like presents to open during the flights. I did that as well, and that was fun. She was great.

We spent the first day just chilling around Cheryl's house- we had got in at midnight and to her house by one, so energy wasn't running high. We metro-ed it into DC the second day and went to the zoo and lunch with Mike, Cheryl's husband. That was fun. The zoo is free out there- how cool is that? Now, if I remember right, the next day was the exciting one. We went shopping in the morning, and to the emergency room in the afternoon! We got the kids home and were sitting them down for lunch-- all four of us were starving. I was talking to Eric on the phone in the living room when I hear a sharp intake of breath from Cheryl in the kitchen. She calmly asks me to come in there. Honestly, I was thinking, "What! I'm talking to my husband who I miss!" Turns out she had mistaken her hand for an avocado pit, and accidentally stabbed it. Pretty deep, too. She obviously needed to go to the hospital, and I swear, my first thought was, "Well, I can't drive that tank out there, we'll need to call an ambulance." They have a Honda Pilot, which really isn't that big- and it's not like I haven't driven my parents Avalanche a bunch- but I was more scared to drive it than about Cheryl's hand. But an ambulance turned out to be impractical, so while Cheryl applied pressure- front and back- I got the kids into the car. Cheryl says I went into "Mom Mode" and handled it all very coolly. Quite frankly, I was impressed that she didn't fall to pieces. Her hand was obviously very painful. So, I didn't kill us on the way to the ER, and then the waiting game started. Honestly, isn't the point of going to the EMERGENCY room that you have an EMERGENCY? After Cheryl had a quick exam from one of the nurses, we cooled our heels for over an hour before she saw the doctor.
Her poor little guy, Zac, was SO tired and hungry, and not used to me enough that he was comfortable with me. I had managed to remember to bring food for him, but he was too upset to find me holding him to eat it. So the poor fellow screamed and screamed almost the whole time. I felt so bad for him. Luckily, Riley was a gem. She had been really good on the trip so far, and she didn't stop that day. She was awesome. Anyway, long story short, Mike got there as soon as he could, which actually was after Zac had passed out from sheer exhaustion, and was able to go in with Cheryl when the doctor finally graced us with his presence. She had an X ray and then some stitches. It was a hard time for all, and I was so pleased to find that I didn't fall to pieces. Maybe I'll be OK being a mom of two.

So that was Friday, the day before Zac's first birthday party. So, maimed hand or not, Cheryl was GOING to be ready for the next day! She was amazing. She and Mike are baseball fans, so they wanted to do a baseball theme. She made this gorgeous cake that looked like a baseball field, complete with graham cracker "dirt", green sprinkle "grass", a marquee saying "Happy Birthday Zac" in the outfield, and little plastic players arranged around the bases. It was a master piece. And since the Ashton's are very, very popular, a cake wouldn't feed everyone. So she made cupcakes, and frosted them with vanilla frosting and red gel stuff to look like base balls. She had Big League Chew to hand out as party favors and everything. Wow. (Martha Stewart has a devoted fan in Cheryl.) I felt bad, because I wanted to help the girl with the gimp hand, but she's Super Woman, and wouldn't accept it. Plus, I had no idea how to do anything, so I had to ask, and she just wanted to do it. Lame. Anyway, the next morning came bright and beautiful... and with a heat advisory... it was 90-something degrees, plus the humidity. Gross. Luckily, it was a pool party! Riley and I had a blast in the kiddie pool, although she did ditch me for some new friends her own age. There was pizza by the pool, and then cake and cupcakes. A very fun party all around.

Sunday we went to church. Cheryl is a teacher in Relief Society, which would terrify me, but she is great. She gave an awesome lesson, and I really felt touched by it. She doesn't get to the front of the room and try to impress anyone- on purpose. More, I was impressed by her admitting her weaknesses and talking about working on them. She was totally real, and that's always impressive. And the funniest thing happened during Sunday School. See, we're potty training Riley- have been for a while. She understands what's going on, but has developed a sort of block to it. It's been rough. But, for some magical reason, she just started doing it there in DC. I still had to ask her almost every time, but she would go and not have accidents. Fantastic! So she made a little friend at the birthday party, Allysa. Allysa is a few months older and going to the potty by herself. I mean, wow. She and Riley were following each other around at the party, so Riley noticed that she went by herself, and wanted to go by herself that night. I let her, and it worked out. So during Sunday School, we go in for a potty break, and she wants to be independent again. I let her go in to the stall by herself, and even let her lock it-- rookie mistake! Sometimes when she goes, she pinches her legs together pretty tightly, causing the flow to pool in the crevices and eventually trickle to the floor if left there. Eric or I have always been there in the past to stop this. Not this time. I'm feeling creepy as I peer between the cracks of the stalls, and I can see her legs closed too tightly together. I frantically issue instructions, "Riley! No! Open your legs a little, just a little! C'mon, Riley!" Nope. I hear her say, "Mommy, some of it is spilling." Hmmm. I hope you're picturing this. Those stalls go pretty low to the ground, so even if I didn't have a massive belly, and even if the floor wasn't now covered with pee, I really don't think I could get under there. I try to turn the lock from the outside- obviously impossible. After about five minutes, I can convince Riley to open the door for me, causing the rest of the urine to splash the the ground. I felt so bad. I cleaned up as best as I could, but if all you've got is paper towels and water, it's not very sanitary. Yum. But at least she went.

Monday was a really fun day. We braved the metro again, and went into DC to go to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It had some awesome "stuffed" animals, but the main attraction for us was the butterfly exhibit. So cool! They have this big area filled with some amazing amount of live butterflies. They fly all around, even landing on you- although you're not supposed to touch them. The big bubble they're in is filled with tons of lush and beautiful plants, and even though it's humid as hades, it's awesome! Riley loved it, and did so well at not touching them. What a sweetheart. Unfortunately, Cheryl's camera was out of batteries that day, so you won't get to see any pictures. Bummer. So that was awesome, and then we had to go home the next day. Sniff.

It was so great to see Cheryl and get to know Mike and Zac a little better. They are such a fun little family, and as always, Cheryl is my sanity. She's always able to make me smile and laugh, and I so enjoy the comfortable feeling we share. I guess when you've had as many crazy and soul bearing experiences as we've had with each other, you never have to have any pretenses again. How refreshing! She's knows it all about me, and I know it all about her- only if you have someone like that in your life can you imagine what that entails. What a blessing!