Cincinnati feels like home to all of us!
The first morning we were in the states I took Emma to take her driving permit test. She passed and was excited to drive. After driving with me for one day we both agreed that John would be a better teacher. Thankfully Uncle Rick drove with her a little too.
We had a great time with the Edwards! Cousins are the best. We went to Coney Island, a Reds games and had fun celebrating a few summer birthdays. We all love Rick’s cooking. One night he made gluten free calzones for James. We got a YMCA membership. Emma, Marcia and I took a few classes there, but because of the rain we could only go swimming once. We spent several nights at the park and walking through the cemetery where mom is buried. My dad visits there often and he even sprays for weeds and tries to keep mom’s plot looking the best.
In Cincinnati Tessa had 17 doctor’s appointments and one surgery. On one those days she had a 9am appointment and a 2pm appointment. The Zoo is two minutes away from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, so Dad brought Emma, James and Eliza and met us at the Cincinnati Zoo in between appointments. The weather was cool and the zoo was empty. It was a perfect afternoon seeing the animals, riding the carousel and train, and eating lunch (the cafe had gluten free hamburger buns — I love America!). It was a fun surprise when we heard three Reds players would do a Q&A at the Peacock house. James got in line to ask them the question, “Do you have any pre-game rituals?”
Tessa age 9 with "Tessa the Giraffe" age 7. We visit her every year!
On July 3rd, Tessa had a repeat surgery for her webbed neck. The surgery was 2.5 hours. The surgeon said he was more aggressive with her neck this time and he hopes Tessa is happy with the results. He warned me that her neck will be very sore for a few weeks. It would feel like someone was strangling her.
Now that she is older she got to "manage" her own pain while in the hospital. She had a green button that she could press when she felt pain. She asked very intelligent questions about how it all worked. She could get medicine (Morphine) every 7 minutes by using the button.
She was pretty nauseous until the next morning. We were able to leave the hospital right after lunch. Tessa is such a brave patient.
The first picture is before surgery, the second picture is after.
Emma, James and Eliza stayed home with my dad during those 2 days of surgery. They made this welcome home sign for Tessa. We also used it for John when he got back in town that weekend!
James and Eliza participated in the community 4th of July parade. The ward had a float with members and missionaries.
It was nice to have John for the weekend. He arranged a Ford manager lease vehicle for the month. He worked Monday - Friday in MI and would drive down to Cincinnati on the weekends. He ended up putting almost 4000 miles on that car this summer.
I spent some time with my best high school friend, Tiffany Davis Texter. One evening the kids swam in her parent’s pool. Tiffany and I drove her dad’s “cool” car to pick up pizza for dinner. We felt 16 years old again. Poor Tessa wasn’t allowed to swim all summer because of her neck surgery. She wasn’t happy spending pool time on the steps.
On July 7th James turned 15. Since rain was in the forecast he celebrated a day earlier. As soon as the gates opened, I dropped off Adam and James at King’s Island amusement park. They rode every roller coaster several times. James used some of the money I gave him for lunch/dinner to win this giant gorilla. When I picked them up at 11pm it could barely fit in the car. I wan’t happy with him winning this and he just kept saying, “Memories Mom, Memories!” He said it was a perfect birthday.
A few months ago Marcia’s ward was having an auction for a youth fund raiser. She bid on a “gluten free dessert” and won. She asked if she redeem it when her nephew from China came this summer. It was the most beautiful and delicious homemade gluten free cake! Thanks Marcia!!
Cincinnati was hosting the All-Star baseball game. The week leading up they had a few big events. We attended the Demi Lovato concert on July 11th. I was surprised how many of her songs we knew. The crowd went wild for Frozen’s “Let it Go."
Summers are hard for me because we don’t have any consistent schedule or routine. Plus I hate living out of a suitcase. We filled our days with fun but I tried to get the kids to practice the piano, read, and do a few chores too. James was good to cut my dad’s grass. Eliza and Emma helped me in the kitchen. I also don’t love all the shopping and stock piling for the coming year. We must have made a dozen trips to Target, Kroger and the mall — filling up 5 medium U-haul boxes and several suitcases to bring back. One of those trips to the mall Eliza got her ears re-pierced. She had them pierced years ago but we let them close up because of infection.
