tired as poop.

literally....ugh. so, the time up north was fabulous. we had a blast. let me give you a quick synopsis:

get up north. take in the sights of the campsite. talk with kelly's dad. go up and unload car. (and some boring unpacking). then we took the lawn mower/tractor and hooked up the trailer to it. put the kids in the back and drove up to the dam. the kids LOVED riding in the trailer, and it was fun for me b/c i didnt have to walk. :) now, dont get me wrong, i like to walk, but i didnt want any wood ticks getting on me. (okay, so ill admit, i hate bugs) sampson was with us. he, too loved his new area. he could roam free. we went 'hiking' on the rocks down by the dam-which was beautiful. sam proved to be quite the animal, he was stone hopping-i was scared a couple times that he'd get whisked away in the current-hes only 8lbs...but he made it. then we went for a boat ride down the river. the river is fairly shallow in lots of spots-so shallow that the boat would rub against the bottom, but it is also quite deep in several spots. so we are careening along, sampson climbs up on the seat next to me at the front of the boat (just a little fishing boat-nothing special) and was taking in the sights. and all of the sudden, he takes a FLYING LEAP off the front into the river. i screamed 'sampson!!!' and then, 'KELLY!!!! jump in, save him!' so kelly dives off the side of the boat, into what we then found out was about 5 feet of water. but the river is really clear, so we thought it was deeper....the girls were laughing hysterically. i could not believe he just jumped in! like it was nothing! it was funny....then the kids swam with kell. i like to swim, but there are approxiamtely 500 thousand crawfish in that river-and i HATE those things. hate. them. so i watched. sampson went swimming as well. we decided that after his little boat fiasco, we needed to see if he could swim. the little turkey! he was holding out on us all along! im talking olympic swimmer. (well, not really, but you get the gist of it) we went in the hot tub and then did regular 'camp' things. like cooked out, roasted marshmallows, watched the stars. a great time.

Warning: those with sensitive stomachs, may not want to continue....this is where it gets, well, kindof stinky.....read on...


so.........friday we got up early to go home. said our goodbyes. about 7 minutes into the trip, kelly says 'i think emersyn just pooped'. naw. i said. its just outside. a couple minutes later, jaelynn screams 'aggggggghhhhh-sampson pooped EVERYWHERE'. i turned around to a waterfall of diarrhea cascading down the middle seat in the back. kelly whips HIS car to the side of the road and we both fly out-yelling for samspon to get out. oh.my.god. ***GAG***. peww. it stunk soo bad. and it.was.everywhere. 20 minutes later....we were ready to venutre on again. sam was quarantined to my lap and the floor. kelly was not very happy. ( i couldnt blame him) sam was acting really wierd. i was worried about him...he started licking his lips like crazy and.....began PUKING poop out of his mouth. all.over.my.feet. and kellys front dash, shifter, etc. oh dear. puking poop. what the hell is going on?!? you mean? waaaiiit. that 'poop' we saw in the back seat-didnt come from his butt....he was puking up stool. well, you all know i am a nurse. and in people, when humans do this (and yes it happens) more than likely they have a bowel obstruction. and this is serious stuff. like life threatning. so we get it all cleaned up and now kelly is seeing red. he doesnt realize how sick sam is. i do. so after driving in silence for about 5 minutes, i told him that this was serious-like he could die serious. and then he started puking again. this time, i got him out the car door in time. i called the vet. we took him to the emergency care place. i was hysterical the whole way home b/c i dont have money to pay for bowel obstruction surgery for my dog. i was fairly certain that should he need surgery, there was a good possibility i may have to put him down.....the emergency care place requires that you pay the cost in FULL on that day. well. most of you know i have been having financial issues. so-i was torn. b/c i love my doggy. but there is no realistic way i can pay for him to have $2000 surgery.....

long story short. sampson is still alive. :) $225 later, and some xrays, they said he does have a questionable bowel obstruction, but hadnt puked anymore and was perking up. he wanted to eat and drink and was his almost normal self....so, i proceeded to take him home and 'monitor' him to see if this blockage can 'un-block' itself. so far, so good. he seems to be feeling better. poor little guy. but who knows what the terd got into.......eh.

we went to my parents shindig and then to watch the fireworks in our town. i was exhausted. so was kelly. i just wanted to go to bed. i spent all day at the vets, unshowered, braless and in my pj's. and on hardly no sleep. the fireworks were supposed to start at 9:30. we got there promptly at 9:30pm. and then we waited. and waited. and waited. 10:15 rolls around and all of the sudden, everyone starts to leave. huh? what is going on? come to find out, they cancelled them b/c of the wind. WHAT?! now i was mad. so we packed up the kids and started walking the 3 miles home. and as we were just about out of the park....the decided to start the fireworks. grrrrrrrrrr. so we stopped in the middle of the road and watched a spectacular show. the girls loved it. when we left, a trumpet was playing an acoustic version of the star spangled banner....and i teared up. i looked at kell, and he, too was teared up. what a day. but you know what, i have my family to come home to, i have a house over my head, and i live in a country where i am free.

i felt upset with myself briefly for being so selfish and whiny. i thought about all of our soliders fighting for us in Iraq and other parts of the country. i couldnt imagine what a day in the life for them is like. and their families.....everytime the phone rings, or someone knocks on the door, i bet their hearts stop briefly. is this it? is this the dreaded phone call?

so, a day late and a dollar short.....to all the troops, fighting so selflessly for mine, and yours freedom. thank you. and a job well done. come home soon.