Quinn-tessentials: August

August was full of excitement.

The month started off with my first trip to the ER. I was having some really sharp pain in the abdomen. So after the weekend, I headed to the Doctor's office on Monday, where the Doc told me I had a trapped umbilical hernia, which could "get really bad, really fast," and that I should drive myself to the ER immediately. Sigh... Instead I went home, nursed the baby, did a little research, weighed the pros and cons of going, and then finally went in.

It was pretty nice to have some quiet reading time, but going without food for 10 hours, having to run around the circus of the hospital, and having one doctor try to painfully shove my hernia back in for an extended period of time, and then not end up with surgery, was less than fun. They gave me the option to stay over night and then have the surgery done the next morning and skip our trip to Utah, or schedule a consultation for surgery when we got back. The thought of paying ER bills, having 3 doctors tell me I needed surgery, and needed it soon, but having to give up our vacation was a bum deal. I opted to wait, and fortunately the pain subsided and didn't bother me at all during our trip. Yay!

Here are my cute visitors. We could use this as a Christmas card.

Best donuts after a long day.

As I'm writting this (Sep 29), it's my first day of recovery after surgery, and I'm SO glad we waited. This isn't the walk in the park some people made it sound like it would be.

Robin

Robin's as cute as ever. His motor skills are getting better, and he's starting to grab toys.

Ira's first Scout Day Camp. He liked archery the best, and the masses of poison ivy the least.

Utah!

Our trip started off with a hike around Wall Lake.

Cousin Bodie!

The boys took a polar bear plunge into the Lake, and were pretty proud of themselves. Even Eliot, who was less enthusiastic about it, decided to take the plunge.

Esther getting to know Leo

Tea time with Valley

Hazel, Norah, and Valley

The Outlaws. I never realized how relatively short I am!

Robin, George, and Leo

And Ira

Quinn cousin lineup

Dear Friends

Amber Taylor

Ruth Adophson

The Thatchers!...who recently left us in Michigan.

The Church History Museum

We were very impressed. We also had a lot of fun with the cousins at the Family History Museum.

Puzzles with Grandma Arave and Addie

The neighbor, Sharon, let the kids ride Brownie. Esther was the only one who picked her up on the offer and she was in HEAVEN!

After a couple hours of fishing, Esther caught something!!!

Mckay's graduation!

Camping at Wasatch Park

There ended up being a crazy storm that rolled in. I was planning on sleeping at the house with Robin regardless, but Ira and Eliot decided to join. Esther stayed with Dad and camped in the rain.

Ira catching up on sleep the morning after.

Trying out Grandpa's spider ropes.

Beautiful view of Midway

Blanket Fort

Board Games

Saying bye to Grandma Arave before she headed home to Idaho

Arches National Park

The Quinn men are optimists. Paul and Anthony took a look at the clouds and heard the thunder, and said, "We'd better get this hike started!"

Fortunately, no one seemed to mind the rain, except Esther. She wasn't moving like the rest of us, so got pretty chilly.

Petroglyphs!

We stayed at a hotel, then hiked Little Wild Horse Canyon the next day.

Ira was really excited to test his abilities.

Eliot, Robin and I explored other parts of the canyon.

Goblin Valley was magical!

It was a blast! Oh, except for the throw up. The kids finally caught the some crazy virus the cousins were passing around, so unfortunately Esther lost her lunch in the car.