Flashback Friday - Max

In an attempt to 'catch up' with the blog I will designate Friday's as my Flashback Friday!! Today we are going to focus on MAX!!!

Here are some highlights from this spring.

Max turned 5 and had his first 'friend' birthday party at Bounce U! He was so excited...
...can you tell?!
The little ladies table in the corner. Cute Hannah, Claire, and Charlotte.
One table with his friend Blaine, and sister Ella with cousins Ashley and Lauren.
Two table with Friends Ethan, Andrew, Drew, brother Jack, sister Nora, and Nora's friend Natalie.
Blowing out the candles!
Opening the presents on the throne while Paul is talking to the dad of one of the kids. They were like this the whole time. A few weeks later Max was even talking about his party and saying Dad wasn't there...I had to set him straight that he was there...in body.
A birthday picture with Mom. Doesn't this kid have the best smile ever?!
Max shares a birthday with none other than Dr. Seuss so here is a picture on his very birthday at school!Before school Max got to spend the morning of his birthday with Grammy making his cake. He loved it! They then went to get Max his birthday present at Payless. He wanted his first pair of 'Tie shoes' as he calls them. Yes, I am a lazy mom and bought slip on Vans, Converse, or better yet...flip flops and/or Crocs!!! He was thrilled and I began my journey of tying shoes daily.

Last (for now) but definitely not least, I got this letter in the mail about Max......and of course cried.Here he is receiving his award.Grammy came over to congratulate him.She sure was proud.And so was he!

That smile....

Because private blogs are a pain...

I have set up a blog purely to notify you when I post on this blog!! All of you who read blogs via Google Reader or some other RSS feed system will thank me. Not that my blog is the highest priority in you life, but I know that I forget to check the private blogs for weeks/months at a time. So, click HERE and it will take you to the new blog. You can then add it to your reader/feed! Every time I post something new here I will put a little reminder there that will have a link back here! Get it? I think you'll have to read the last few sentences a few times really slow. Oh well...at least I've tried to make your blog surfing a little easier!

Field Trip Catch Up!

At the end of last school year (so this past spring) I was able to go on field trips with each of the kids classes. I had a blast each time.

With Jack's first grade class we were able to go to the new Phoenix Children's Museum. It was AWESOME!!! It had so many fun and innovative things. I loved that the kids were encouraged to touch and play with everything.
They had a art/craft room where there were bins and bins of random 'recycling' that the kids could put together to create anything they wanted. Jack made this adorable robot and all the other kids were quite impressed.
They had this really fun set of tubes where the kids could put colored scarves in various opening and watch the vacuum action pull them all around the tubes and shoot them out the top. This was a hit and had the kids squealing, running and jumping to catch the scarves.
The pretend ice cream stand was very popular and was completely surrounded the whole time.
They had lots of rolling displays where the kids could see the progression of the balls.
This one was fun and easy to duplicate at home. My friend Erika actually did this for a birthday party and was so much fun.
By far my favorite part was the 'noodle forest'. They had hundreds of pool noodles suspended from the ceiling in a giant room where the kids could run through them to the other side. It was a blast. I will admit it became a little nerve wracking at times when we couldn't find some kids, but it was really fun to navigate those noodles!

The next adventure was with mister Max. Seriously...isn't that smile to die for?! Anyway, we were able to go to Superstition Springs Farm with his Preschool class. It was PERFECT! Really...it was. We were the only visitors there, the weather was mild, and the staff was very hands on.
Max loved holding/touching the animals and got the biggest grin on his face each time.
Nora got to come along and really did enjoy herself despite her face in the picture. The faces of Claire and Cole crack me up too!

Nora was in heaven on the hayride with Mrs. Gleason. She was Max's AMAZING teacher and will be held up as a hero in our house for years to come.
These looks of sheer delight just make me happy.
I love how Nora is holding the Rooster like a baby!
I just happened to catch this picture of Max's friend Ethan and I LOVE it.
Can you tell that he's a little smitten with Charlotte? She is such a sweetheart and I couldn't let the photo opportunity pass.

Last but definitely not least was the field trip I was able to take with Ella and her 3rd grade class. We went to the Museum of Natural History in Mesa, and to an I-Max movie on the Grand Canyon.
Here is a picture of Ella's teacher Mrs. Miller explaining one of the exhibits.
Ella and a few darling friends in front of a life size fossil bone.
Ella and Daisy posing in front of the Dinosaur exhibit.
Of course the kids were enamored with the 'poop' exhibit.
Yes...it was all about poop.
Ella took charge of the camera for a while and actually got some pretty great pictures like this one!
Self portrait of Mother and Daughter on the bus. I sure love this girl.
By far the best part about the field trips is being with my kids one on one. I love seeing them interact with their classmates and get excited at a new adventure. I have to eat up this time I have with them before they are too cool to have Mom come along. Thank goodness they still love me!

It's official

I'm now a private blogger. I'm sure you don't really care...or perhaps your mad because I just messed up your Google reader. I know all about that. My friends that have private blogs get forgotten on occasion! I'm actually trying to come up with a way to remedy that. I'll let you know about it soon.

Anyway, the benefit for you is that now we are private...you can feel free to comment at will. I was surprised at how many of you requested invites. I seriously thought I had about 10 readers. Anyway, thanks for coming on board. I cannot promise anything, but I will really try to start posting again. My soul needed a break, but I'm thinking it's now needing a release.

And the crazy just continues...

I am yet to enter all the email addresses to make my blog private. As usual it's been a little crazy around here. Now that school has just started I will try to get to it. So, if you still want in...let me know. I'll be back to blogging soon!!

Anniversary Weekend Getaway

friday night:

beautiful drive up to the white mountains

dinner

movie: seven pounds

bed

saturday:

sleep in

bike ride...together!!

run

french toast, hash browns, and fresh peaches

pool (a little)

awesome thunderstorm

golfing (with the perfect smell of the afternoon rain)

dinner

bed

sunday morning:

beautiful drive home...

...to the best kids on the planet
a perfect way to celebrate 14 years...love you babe!

FYI

Just a little heads up that the blog will be going private at the end of the month. If you'd like an invite just leave a comment with your email address, or email me.

Because I don't want to assume that anyone wants an invite I really will only send them to those who express an interest. So, even if your family...leave a comment/send an email.

Hope you are all having a fabulous summer!!

Ella is 9

I need to take a break from this blogging hiatus to document my dear Ella's 9th birthday. It was at the end of May, but with the crazy events published about in the previous post, it just got lost in the shuffle.

We ended up being in Utah for Ella's birthday because of Max's accident...and Ella was thrilled. We got together with all of her Utah cousins and had a blast. First we all decided to go and see the Disney Movie "Up". I had low expectations of the movie, so I was completely caught off guard when the first 10 minutes had me bawling my eyes out. I was fine in the middle, but the last five minutes got the tears coming again. It was really cute.

After the movie we all headed to my amazing sister Shauna's house for pizza, cake, ice cream and playing in her fabulous back yard. It was so fun to have cousins from both sides of the family there. Paul even flew back in town just in time for the party. He wouldn't miss it for the world. He and Ella have a very special bond, and I love it.
Isn't she a cutie? I can't even stand how fast she is growing up.
Here she is with her rainbow cake from Grandma Mary. This girl LOVES rainbows. I can always tell when Ella's been around, because she will put everything in "rainbow order" and you find rainbows on everything she colors. She is just a bright, sunshiny, colorful girl.
Ella absolutely HATES getting pictures taken. Therefore, there aren't very many current ones to show you. She has the greatest smile and caramel brown eyes. I don't think there could ever be enough pictures of her, so I better work on her.
I know I've said it a million times, but Ella is the best big sister. I am so lucky to have her as my oldest. She has turned into the biggest helper and is always willing to be Nora's buddy. I'm sure I've said this too, but Ella is the rock star of all the younger kids in the neighborhood, church, and school. This is because she is nice to all of them, plays with them, and includes them in everything. To me that says a lot about a person. She is one of the most genuine people I know, and to me that is the most important attribute to have. There is no maliciousness, calculating, or manipulation that courses through her veins. She is good, kind, and real. I love her so much and could not be more grateful to be her mother. I love you Ella Belle...more than all the numbers!

Family Vacation...We are so blessed to have Max in our family

*written by Paul*

Friday May 22nd 1:30 PM- Family on US-60 still not sure if we will be spending the weekend in Rocky Point Mexico or St George Utah...Responsible parents decide that Mexico is not safe...so we turn north to go to St George.

Friday May 22nd 9:00 PM- Arrive unpack and go to bed.

Saturday May 23rd 9:00 AM- Fun family hike...photos pending (check for update later)...having a great time with the kids... don't fall or you might get hurt etc...

Saturday May 23rd 11:00PM- Swimming...kids are having a blast.

Saturday May 23rd 2:00 PM - Late lunch at a place called "Marv's", great food...Max eats a full foot long corn dog.

Saturday May 23rd 2:30 PM - I take Jack and Max golfing...photos pending (check for update later).

Saturday May 23rd about 5:30 PM - On the last hole Jack and Max are now more interested in bugs and rock than golf. Jack and Max each found what I remember as a kid as a potato bug, but my kids call them rollie pollie bugs, see photo. They each had a "lava rock" and a "rollie pollie bug" as we entered the golf cart. At some point there was some confusion as to who's bug was who's...which one was still alive etc... Photo of the boys and bugs moments before the fall.
Saturday May 23rd about 5:35 PM - We are cruising top golf cart speed on the cart path with Max and Jack focused on the bugs etc... Max falls off of the cart and onto the cement path. He is a tough kid...and just a sweet boy...I pick him up...brief exam, no bleeding, alert, crying, but still my little Max that I love so much...No big deal right??? Just a fall...right??? After all I'm a doctor with some training in head trauma...I should know...right???

Saturday May 23rd 6:45 PM - Start of Night At the Museum 2 movie... What a fun day for the Kelly Family...Hike, Swimming, Golf, good food, Movie... Max is on my lap and getting a little sleepy...Yet still waking to ask to go #1 about 3 times in a 2 hour show. I re-examine him. Max do you feel tired? Do you feel like you need to throw-up? Can you remember falling? He always answered the questions quickly and correct. No mental changes!!!

Saturday May 23rd 9:30 PM - Kara starts to worry more and more about Max. Should you take him into the ER? She always knows best...the credit is hers. He now has some swelling in his left temple area, yet no color changes... still alert...We decide that I should get it checked out. I had a neurosurgery rotation for 3 months, I should know best right? I got Max into the car thinking...Kara wants me to take him in, and I could not live with myself if I missed something on my own child.
Saturday May 23rd 10:30 PM - Max, myself and a St George ER doc spend 15 min or so talking...nearly direct conversation...(ER Doc) "he is so alert, his eyes are tracking, no nausea, no vomiting...Paul I think you should take Max home and wake him up every couple hours to check on him", (me Paul) "Ya that's what I was already planning on doing...", (little voice inside my head) "Paul ct scan your boy", (me Paul) "Doc you know I think we should scan him..." (ER Doc) "we could?", (me Paul) "I want to..I would feel better about it", (ER Doc) ok.

Saturday May 23rd 11:00 PM - Max in ct scan see photo
Saturday May 23rd 11:03 PM - The scan starts to come up on the computer in front of me...(me Paul) "no way!!! There it was a sub dural hematoma." (CT tech) "I think your right...lets get the ER Doc back in here" (ER Doc) Good call...I'm glad we scanned him...SLC, Vegas, or Phoenix (possible but longer) where do you want to fly into tonight? Not Max's film, but you get the idea.
Saturday May 23rd just before mid night- Max and I had quite moment to be alone... we talked, he was feeling fine and was not scared, still no symptoms...I prayed, he prayed, and I gave him a priesthood blessing.

Sunday May 24th 1:00ish AM- see photo, Max and I flew life flight to SLC Primary Children's Hospital.
Sunday May 24th 3:00 AM- Max is re-scanned in SLC and it shows that the SDH is actually getting a little smaller and not progressing. Still alert and charming the pants off of the nurses...that is Max not me...They could not get enough of his smile.

Sunday May 24th the rest of the day was pretty quiet as family arrived and visited. We have the best family on both the Kelly and Poelman sides. We are blessed!!!
Monday May 25th 10:00 AM- Max still doing well...re-scanned and he continues to improve.
Monday May 25th 2:00 PM - Max is discharged home.
Monday May 25th 10:00PM - I land in Phoenix alone...and have some time to reflect on how much I love my wife and kids...each one of them. We were watched over...no doubt about it!

Monday May 25th 11:45 PM - I'm off to bed after the Kelly family vacation and my couple hours of sleep all weekend...but not without dropping to my knees to thank God for MAX.