The 2-Year Break

We learned by sad experience this month that it is very, very, very common for 2-year olds to break bones...by doing nothing other than being a 2-year old!

A week before her birthday, Lily was running, tripped, and fell on our kitchen floor.  The end.  No big deal, right?  Except she wouldn't stop crying and wouldn't put any weight on her leg.  And when she wouldn't even watch a show we knew something was really wrong.

We took her to the urgent care center and sure enough, she had fractured her right shin!  Prognosis: 4 weeks in a purple (waterproof) cast and she should be as good as new. 

This is the first time ever she's fallen asleep while normal life proceeds around her.

The first 2 weeks were pretty rough.  She wouldn't put any weight on her cast and got frustrated quickly with not being able to move around like she was used to.  We were both very, very, very happy at the beginning of week 3 when she finally realized that her leg didn't hurt anymore and first started hobbling, then walking, then running around.

Lily the Casted Cowgirl

This week, when the cast finally came off, she barely noticed anything had changed.  Now I just want to wrap these girls in bubble-wrap for the next few weeks.  Because as fun as hauling around a crippled toddler in my 8th month of pregnancy was, I can only imagine how fun it would be during this last month!  Anybody want to help me cover my house in pillows? 

The Super Friends take New Braunfels by Storm

July started with a BIG bang.

(Almost) the entire Ellis clan congregated in New Braunfels, TX for a week of relaxing on the Comal River, playing games, and lots of crazy cousin time.  (We missed you, Aup, Mark, & Spencer!)

Super Friends in a Super Family = Super FUN

On many days our itinerary was as follows:

1.  Wake up, eat breakfast, put swimsuits and sunscreen on.

Tubing with Papa Stan, Rob/Lily, Christa/Savannah, Mama KK

2.  Grab tubes, walk down to the river.

3.  Hop in tubes, leisurely float, observe the wildlife, and let all of your cares drift away

Stress?  What stress?

4. Walk back to our rooms to play games, do crafts, eat, take a nap, etc.

Doing crafts in the main lodge

5.  Rinse.  Repeat.

And in case any of us were getting TOO relaxed, we had a few day trips planned.

The place we were staying was right down the road from Schlitterbahn water park, so one full day was spent playing playing playing at the park.  

Savannah, Lily, and Mauri bonding in the water

Mostly Lily and Savannah spent their time in the shallow kiddie pools.  But Rob discovered that Lily has the heart of a daredevil when he took her on a not-very-lazy river ride....and she LOVED it.  She had no problem sitting in her own tube and holding on for dear life through all of ups and downs and rapids. 

Plumb tuckered out

After we left New Braunfels we spent a day at Sea World in San Antonio.  It was beastly hot (especially for my poor pregnant self), but the girls have been asking to see "the animals" every couple of days since we got home.  So I guess it was worth it. 

And when we got home we discovered a sweet-potato in the pantry that looks EXACTLY like a sea-lion (one of the BIG hits at Sea World).  The girls keep petting, kissing, and hugging it.  I'm definitely not going to have the heart to actually eat it now...

This year the theme for the reunion was Super Friends so many of our crafts/activities were superhero themed.

All the cousins made their own super-hero capes

Each family made a Super Friends movie to show at our Oscars Night

And Kit made everyone AWESOME shirts to wear to remind us of our true identities.  

7 months pregnant, carrying two 2-year-olds.  Just another day for Super Mom!

By the end of the week everyone was pretty partied-out, but that is to be expected when you are a part of one of the most funnest families around.  We're excited for the next big reunion b/c the girls will be old enough to really enjoy all of the cousin time, instead of being mostly shell-shocked at all of the action around them.

Tribe 6 is turning out to be pretty super indeed!

And this picture just makes me smile...