The Last Two Weeks

Well, we've had a very busy last few weeks. First Grandpa and Grandma Haddock came and visited us. Of course Grandpa and I had to spend a couple of days on the lake fishing. Grandpa really wanted to catch a Northern Pike, so here we go, he caught one. Actually he caught about 10 of these. We also went and picked wild blueberries and raspberries. The last night they were here we had fresh fish, fresh blueberry cheesecake and Minnesota wild rice. Yummy!

While they were here we also spent some time playing around and visiting some local attractions such as the North American Bear Center. Ady really liked looking at the bears. Two of the bears were very active and playing. Then Kasey, Ady and Brock left with Grandma and Grandpa to go back to Utah for Brock's check-up and a couple of family get-togethers. Kasey took the kids to a Clark family reunion in Wellsville. Things seemed to be going well, and then Saturday night someone from work came over to our house and told me that I had a family emergency and that Kasey needed me to call her right away. Fighting off feelings of panic I ran down to the lodge and got a hold of Kasey. Then Kasey told me the kind of news you never want to hear. Kasey's youngest sister's husband, Brandon, had killed himself. We were both shocked. Suicide is one of those things that you hear about, but never think of anyone you know actually doing it. And then to have someone in the immediate family, someone that you actually knew, had spent time with, always assumed would be there at the next family get-together to be dead hits you pretty hard. Suicide is one of those things that you always assumes wouldn't happen to your family. As Kasey and I talked questions came tumbling out, some of them answerable but too many have the answer of "I don't know". Emotions including anger, guilt, shame and deep sadness get thrown together all at once. We decided that Kasey would stay for the funeral, but that I would stay in Minnesota. Then Monday at Brock's Check-up it was decided that Brock would have another surgery and the surgery was scheduled for the following day. Kasey called me, and we decided that I should join her in Utah for a few days. So I got off work, got in the car and headed South. I stopped in the middle of South Dakota for a nap and eventually arrived in Utah 25 hours after getting off work. Brock's surgery went "okay". The doctors said that it wasn't exactly what they were hoping for, but it was an improvement. They don't know if he will need another surgery later, but if he does, they will probably do open heart surgery.

We were able to spend a couple days "relaxing" with family. Don't get me wrong, seeing people is always nice, but I'm not sure I felt that the time was relaxing. We wanted to spend time with both of our families, so it was back and forth a couple times. Juggling multiple family schedules, figuring out priorities and still remembering to smile was hard at times. We went to the new Trafalga with my family and Ady loved it. She must of rode the rides 100 times or more. Wore me out just watching her. With Kasey's family we enjoyed a family dinner and took a family picture. After the funeral we got back on the road and headed for Minnesota.
Being as the funeral was in Blackfoot Idaho, and we had our Yellowstone vacation cut short this last May with Kasey's kidney stone, I asked Kasey if she wanted me to drive through Yellowstone this time and give her an opportunity to see Yellowstone Falls. She thought that was a good idea and a so Yellowstone trip #2 it was.

A very nice lady saw me trying to snap a picture of ourselves and took this photo of all four of us at Artist Point. Of course since we were healthy, we couldn't just do a normal lookout point. Kasey wanted to hike down one of the trails. So we did. We went on Uncle Tom's Trail down to the lower lookout point of Lower Falls. In addition to the path, there are 328 metal steps that traversed the side of the cliff. Of course Ady decided that she wanted to wear her plastic flip-flops and was completely useless on the steps so she ended up on my shoulders. Kasey and I were pretty tired when we were done. Not to worry though, Brock and Ady were as chipper as can be after the climb back up!

The view at the bottom was pretty neat. The roar of the falls was really loud and you could feel the spray. After we left the falls we enjoyed the drive, once again marveling at the beauty of Yellowstone and had fun trying to point out the animals before Ady could find them. Once again we were successful in finding a Grizzly bear with cubs! After it got dark we left and headed East again. Of course, as soon as we left the civilized area, Ady told us that she had to go potty. So we asked her if she could make it to the next bathroom, she replied "No Dad, I need go in woods". I found the nearest pullout and quickly got her out. So there we were, just off the road, in the dark and Ady was doing her impersonation of a squat-which means that she was squatting while leaning back with me holding her under arms keeping her balance and there she was trying to see what was coming out. Well that was taken care of and we were about to get on the road again, Ady was in her seat and she informed us that she had to go again. She was holding her stomach and making a funny noise, so I quickly grabbed her and ran back over to our spot. This time I could tell that we didn't have much time, so I just pulled her shorts and panties off and she didn't even wait to squat. Of course she was impressed that she could go in the woods and wanted to see what was going on back there. The problem was that she didn't think she had a good vantage point so she decided move for a better view. Not to worry, I caught her foot just before she stepped in her mess. Then when she was in her new position pointing at her accomplishment she proceeded to add an additional deposit. By this time I was sure she was done. Just to be safe, I asked her. She told me she was done. Seriously she looked right at me and told me that she was finished. So I walked back to the car, got the toilet paper out again and returned. Then as I was wiping her bum she pooped on me. Freaking unbelievable!!

After driving all night and with no further incidents with the children, we arrived in South Dakota early the next morning. I was ready for a short break so we went and visited Mt. Rushmore. After leaving Mt. Rushmore we spent another day and a half traveling home. Between potty breaks, McDonald's playpens, fuel-ups, and Brock's feeding breaks we finally made it back home at 9pm Monday night. 25 hours to drive from Minnesota to Utah, 52 hours to drive from Utah to Minnesota.