My Vacation... The Details

Even though I've already posted the pictures, I figured I'd go into some detail about my awesome holiday.
Gotta tell ya... I really had doubts about whether I was doing the right thing by leaving my husband for a week. We've only been away from each other for that long one time and it was kind of a disaster. I was 10 weeks pregnant with Sam and had awful morning sickness, and to top that off, both Elias and I got influenza while we were there and we were SO sick! I vowed then that I'd never do it again, but I'm so glad that I did. It was totally a spur of the moment trip. I was talking to my Mom that morning and mentioned that I really wished I could go with her and she said that I should! My sisters both called me and told me I had to go and so I did... I decided about 10 a.m. to go and Mom picked the boys and I up at 3 p.m.! If you know me, you know this is not typical Beckie behaviour. I am anal about making plans well ahead of time and I am not in any way spontaneous!
The first 2 nights with the boys were kind of tough... Sam had night terrors the first night and the second night, he was up until midnight and then awake every 20 minutes until 4:30 a.m.. I walked down the stairs on Thursday morning and burst into tears as soon as I saw my Mom. Mom and Christi promptly sent me back to bed and watched my kids for me while I got a little bit more rest. I can't tell you how much I appreciated this. Mom was supposed to be helping my Grandma get ready to move that morning and she called Grandma to tell her she'd be late since I'd had such a rough night! So kind of them to help me out. I have a huge problem asking for help with my kids... I feel like they're my responsibility and mine alone, but I really needed their help. Thank you so much!
Christi and I had so much fun the first few days just relaxing on the back deck with our lattes, watching the kids play. I brought 4 books with me and I think I read about 2 pages of one of those books... We just never ran out of things to chat about!
Friday was a funny day... Mike had the day off and Mom finished helping Grandma early in the afternoon, so we decided it would be a great day to head out and see Mom & Dad's new acreage. Everyone was being so indecisive that I decided to take the bull by the horns. I headed out to the backyard where Mike & Dad were working and told them that they needed to come in and get ready to go so we could be back at Christi's for supper. Dad took Mom downstairs to talk about something and came back behaving very strangely. They were saying that we should just go out another day and we told them they were being wacky. Dad kept saying, "Joyce, we have to tell them." and Mom kept saying, "Bob, don't you dare. You can't!" So they headed outside for another talk and by this time, we (meaning Christi, Mike & myself) were getting frustrated and trying to figure out what the heck their problem was. Finally, Dad came in and told us what was up... Sheri was in the city to surprise us! Christi and I were absolutely shocked... Christi could hardly stop herself from crying and I did cry (come on, I'm still me, aren't I?) The sad thing was that Sheri showed up ten minutes after Dad told us... If he'd only been able to stall us a little longer... Too bad, but he had no idea when to expect her and he did what he had to do. Anyway, best surprise ever! I started crying again as soon I saw her... The turkey told me on Tuesday that she was so bummed that she couldn't be there and even then, she was making plans. Sheri kept the secret from everyone but Dad!
After Sheri's arrival, we headed out to see the acreage... This is the most beautiful land I've seen. Mom and Dad, you made a wonderful choice in property! I can see our family having tons of fun there together in the future!
Friday night, Mark and Danielle came for supper and Sheri got to surprise them... Fun reaction... Mark just said, "Shut up!" We stayed up late chatting and playing a game... Which I won, by the way, even though Mark cheated so I would lose a hand;) I really enjoyed talking to Danielle that evening about her new teaching position and her experiences teaching a grade 5/6 split.
My boys loved seeing their uncles... especially Samuel. He followed Mike and Mark around like crazy, cuddling them every chance he got! I'll include a video of Sam talking about 'Mikey' and 'Marky' at the end of the post.
Saturday afternoon, Christi had a birthday party to go to, so Sheri and I headed out to Stony Plain to check out Grandma's new digs. I haven't seen Grandma in 2 years and I was kind of surprised at how different she was... I keep remembering her like she was when I was a kid, but she's getting older. She sure was happy to see us though! I also got to see a few of my Aunts and Uncles from my Mom's side of the family... I haven't seen them in years! My Uncle Dwain saw Eli walk in and he said, "Oh look! Mark is here... Wait, I guess he's a bit older than that now." Funny.
I don't remember ever enjoying just being with my sisters as much as I did this week. I can't think of anything really profound about being together, but it meant the world to me. They were wonderful with my kids, both of them helping to enforce rules and bedtimes, both of them soaking up every minute they could with the boys. While Eli loves his Aunties, he was so busy playing with Madi and Logan that he didn't stop much to cuddle them. Sam was another story. He'd play and play and then he'd stop and need a cuddle from an Auntie. He'd reach out of my arms to go to them all the time! What a wonderful break.
Two heart-stopping moments...
Saturday, Madi came inside and asked us where Eli was. We all thought he was playing in the backyard with the kids and since it's totally fenced in and safe, we assumed he'd be fine. So, we looked through the whole house and out in the yard and didn't find him. I looked at the back gate and my heart sank. If Eli wanted to, he could easily have crawled under the gate to get out. I took off one direction and Christi took off in the other while Sheri stayed with the other kids to look and pray at the house. Both Christi and I talked to neighbours, one of which actually started to look too. Our voices grew more and more frantic as we shouted his name. I started to have visions of him going to the main road and getting hit or of Eli getting picked up by some madman. I just kept praying, "Lord, please, please let me find him. Please let him be OK." over and over and over. Christi met me and said she felt like she needed to search the house and yard again and I headed inside to call the police. By this time he'd been gone at least 10-15 minutes, although it felt like a lifetime. Just as I was walking to the phone, I heard Christi call out that she'd found him hiding in the corner of the yard between the house and the fence. I collapsed in tears. I've never felt so relieved in my life. Praise God he was safe and sound. Turns out that Eli thought he was in trouble because Logan told him he was going to tell on him, so he hid. Turkey.
Second heart-stopping moment came Sunday morning. Sam was playing with the kids in the bonus room and we heard this sickening thud and a cry. Sam had fallen (I didn't see it, but Sheri said it was from the first or second step.) I got to him and quickly checked his neck and I picked him up. He was grey/pale and completely limp. Sam's eyes kept rolling into the back of his head and he kept passing out. I tried to sit him up to wake him up, but he had no muscle tone at all. His eyes were glassy and it looked like he couldn't comprehend what was going on or who I was. Everyone took a turn trying to get him to snap out of it, talking to him, blowing in his face, touching his arms and legs and nothing helped. Finally, after 15 minutes (maybe less, but maybe more) Sheri suggested taking him out in the wind to see if the coolness would snap him back. It worked, although it was still about half an hour before he as ready to walk and play. Sheri told me that Amaris does the same thing after a head trauma. It's a kind of seizure, a post-traumatic seizure to be exact. Scared the crap right out of me. I'm going to take him into the doctor tomorrow just so that it's charted in case it happens again.
So we came home yesterday and totally surprised Trevor. Mom told me yesterday morning that she was thinking about coming home a day early and I decided it'd be fun to not tell Trev and just show up. I talked to him throughout the day, telling him that I'm still not sure when we're coming home, and that it was totally up to Mom. Just as we were pulling up to the house, I called and asked Trev to poke his head out the door to see if my perennials were purple or yellow because Christi wanted to send some plants home with me. He told me he was sure they were purple and I told him I was sure he was wrong. He finally agreed to go look and just as he said that they were indeed purple, I rolled down the window and yelled, "Are you sure honey?" I wish I'd taken a picture of his face... It was priceless! He met me on the lawn and picked me up, hugging me as hard as I can ever remember him hugging me! Best homecoming! The boys were of course thrilled to see Daddy, although Eli said, "Dad, I want to move in with Auntie Christi, but only if you can move in with me too, kay?" Cute.
All in all, this was a wonderful vacation. I feel like it was healthy for me to be away for a while and it was definitely good for our marriage. I missed Trevor, but I felt ok with being apart. I expected to be a crying mess the whole week, and I actually didn't shed a tear over missing him... Just too busy! I'm glad to be home, but I'll do this again... Maybe when Sheri and Jeff are in Canada in July or August... Gotta make the most of opportunities to spend time with family.
Love you girls and I miss you so much already. I wish we could live closer, but I'll take whatever time I can get with you!