I have gone and done it again. I let a month go by with no posts, but a giant accumulation of photos! Happy half-birthday to Brendan and Trevor! Happy real birthday to Ashley (13 on the 13th!)

I have to divide up into sub-posts again.

Sub-post #1: 03/26 – Trip back to the VLA

We went during the wrong configuration last time, so we had to go back!

Wide open spaces, lots of wind!

Flying kites that look like boys 😉

Today, the array had its back to us

Except for the one, with the sun going down

The boys were freezing!

We stayed the night at a hotel in Socorro, NM and came back to the array in the morning. It was still cold and really windy! The boys played with the solar telescope

Today, they were facing us

The repair facility.

It is a little large!

Sub-post #2: 04/01 – Bumblebee Ranch

We had a really amazing HopeKids event at an entertainment/cattle ranch in Bumblebee, AZ.

There was a really tall zipline

Trevor decided he was going to go!

He jumped!

It took a little encouragement

Wheeeeee!

He’s a bad guy and a sheriff

Time for a fishing break

The pond was pretty, but there were so many kids casting lines, the fish were all hiding. Not a single bite for anyone

Horseback riding!

Brendan’s horse was named Olaf

Trevor’s horse was named Chunky – for good reason, he kept wanting to leave the trail for a snack.

It was an amazing day!

Sub-post #3: 04/11 – Brendan’s heart catheterization

I had to scoop Brendan out of bed at 6:30 to check in to the hospital. He was a little nervous.

But he had “Plants vs Zombies” to keep him entertained.

The cath had three entry points, one in each leg and one on his neck. The doctors were looking at the size of all of his major vessels in and out of the heart, as well as the pressures in his heart and lungs, and lung perfusion. Afterward, he had to lie flat on his back for 6hrs. They knew better than to expect a 5yr old to lie still, so he was kept sedated.

He woke up in a pretty good mood, all things considered, and we were discharged that evening. Brendan’s cardiologist called me the next day with the preliminary results. The team was very excited about the progress that Brendan has made; his lungs are so much healthier now. All of the measurements are excellent, and they deemed that he is ready for his Fontan procedure.

We have a meeting scheduled with the surgeon on the 5th of May. After that, they will schedule the surgery. It is expected to have a 2-3 week inpatient stay for recovery.

Sub-post #4: 04/14-16 – 2nd Annual Easter Campout

We are establishing our new Easter tradition. We camped near Stoneman Lake and had the perfect weather! We drove up Friday evening and got camp set up.

Good climbing tree!

Saturday morning, Brendan’s ostrich laid rainbow surprise eggs. (My papier mache was a disaster this year. My eggs literally imploded and could barely be saved)

The boys didn’t notice, they dug right into them. Ostriches lay eggs full of micro nerf guns, mini slinkies, and candy!

Time for some offroading!

Their friend Olivia will not get out of the Jeep until the battery dies. She loves it! So does Trevor!

Jack takes his driving seriously.

Brendan lets Olivia drive.

The boys were both really excited on this trip, they were allowed to shoot a “REAL gun”. It is actually a single-shot, lever-action pellet gun. They felt very grown up.

After a couple of targets had holes, they decided to go exploring

They painted some birdhouses

Time for egg coloring!

Full ham dinner, thanks to Josh and Adrienne. Delicious!

Trevor must have climbed up and jumped out of this tree at least 8000 times.

That face

In the morning, the kids all hunted for eggs and then we all rolled home.

Sub-post #5: 04/22 – Earth Day party at the Dojo

Trevor’s Dojo threw a special party to celebrate Earth Day and invited “Radical Reptile Fun”. The owner, Mike, is a private collector and gives an excellent and informative show about all of his animals. And each child got to pet or hold every animal that he presented. He was well organized! Highly recommended!

Trevor was beyond excited. So was Brendan!

This snake is named Pancake. He is a Woma Python.

Leopard Gecko!

Snape, the corn snake

Bubba, the blue-tongued skink

Slithers, the Dumerils Boa

Smalls, a very juvenille Sulcata Tortoise. Give her 30 years, and she may weigh 100 pounds. They often live to be over 100 years old!

Hopal, the Albino Burmese Python is 14ft long and over 100lbs!

Trevor must speak Parseltongue 😀 😀

Brendan says she is so soft!

I loved the show, but now Trevor is begging for a pet snake or a pet tortoise. As much as I love them, we are enjoying pet-free mode for now. He says when he turns 6, he will get a pet snake. Of course, he also says he is getting a motorcycle for his 6th birthday.

Last week, I suffered an acute case of tonsilitis. Now it looks like it is Trevor’s turn. Last night, he got a low fever and his throat is super sore.
Brendan will not be able to get his surgery unless he is fever/antibiotic free for 6 weeks. So if he gets sick now, it will push the possible date out at least that far. So far, he is doing OK. Hopefully Trevor bounces back from this quickly.

After working on this post for a few hours over the span of a few days, I hope I will learn to get the posts done more frequently!