Our First Cast

Well, it was inevitable, I suppose. For as many years as we've been playing sports, and for as aggressive as these girls play, we're probably lucky it didn't happen sooner. Last Saturday, right near the end of Emma's second soccer game, she took a hard fall, coming down on both wrists (but she'd made a great play just seconds before!). I could tell immediately by the way she reacted that this fall was different than others. She left the field in pain and began icing her wrists. Then we went home to continue to ice and monitor them. Within a couple of hours, her right wrist was sort but had full movement. The left, on the other hand, began swelling and bruising ... 

We took her initially to the pediatric after hours clinic for an x-ray. The doctor there was great, but said we needed additional care and sent us over to Children's Medical Center.

The care at Children's was wonderful. Even though we were there for several hours longer than we would have hoped, the staff was fantastic and Emma made it through multiple movies in our ER room.

She was in a ton of pain, but seriously was so brave. Once in a while she would say, "it hurts", but no tears or screaming. Pretty incredible. She was tired, of course, and hungry since she hadn't eaten anything but a little snack between morning games. 

After more x-rays and exams, the doctor determined that the break, right at her wrist and forearm, would need to be put back into place and stabilized with a split. They gave her laughing gas and numbed the wrist area with shots, then pushed it back together. She did NOT enjoy that process, but did so well. I was so proud of her.

Emma was sore but feeling a lot better once the splint was on one hand and she had a popsicle in the other.

We walked out of the ER just past 10:00 that night with instructions to rest, give ibuprofen as needed, and to see the orthopedic doctor later in the week.

On Wednesday, Steve took Emma to the Andrews Institute to see the orthopedic doc. We were *sure* that the splint that went above her elbow would be replaced with a smaller cast. She was disappointed to hear that the cast wouldn't be smaller than the splint - but even bigger. Ugh. The doctor said the break appeared to be healing well, but because it impacted her growth plate, he wanted to provide even more stabilizing to the area. The longer cast keeps the arm and break as immobilized as possible.

The silver lining was being able to pick her cast color and obtaining many signatures on it once back at school! She goes back on May 11th for a re-eval. Ideally, the cast will come completely off. Realistically, it'll probably just be a smaller one. We'll see. Emma has been such a trooper through this process, even while she's dealing with tons of disappointment in not being able to play soccer or softball, participate in PE and field day, etc. As a friend told me, a break is like a childhood rite of passage for a sporty kid!

Spring has Sprung

 We've had a busy start to spring (really just a continuation of regular life/all the other seasons!). Lots of soccer with these girls ... and some pretty cold practices, even in March and April.

A couple of weeks ago, Sara went to a Bat Mitzvah at the W. Pretty fancy! After we dropped her off, Steve, Emma, and I stayed downtown for dinner. When we came out of the restaurant, we spotted the top floor party room with pink lights. Sara had a blast! Of course I didn't manage to get an actual picture of Sara, but she was all dressed up and looking great.

Emma's softball team went to the Plano West softball game, and Emma wanted a picture with the catcher (who also happens to be the daughter of a school counselor I know). She loved watching the older girls play!

Sara ran track this spring. The season is very short and over now as they begin cross country, but she had fun attending a couple of meets. She ran the 100 and 300 hurdles. This is the only picture I have of her at a meet...

Patio dining with my girls❤

One day last week, Steve sent me this picture of ducks visiting our pool. Made me smile.

Both girls enjoyed filling out a bracket for March Madness, and both picked Kansas to win. They came in #1 and #2 in our annual Phi Kap bracket challenge!

Of course, spring has meant plenty of severe weather in North Texas, even resulting in some time in the closet. During this particular event, Sara was at cheer (they waited it out in the foam pit), and Steve was at HH. Luckily it passed by us mostly without incident. 

Sara's cheer season came to an unexpected and disappointing early end due to a coaching change (followed by lots of drama) at the gym. The team had to withdraw from the final three competitions, and most girls have left the gym. On the bright side, Sara has gotten lots of gym and coaching time almost entirely to herself! Not sure what our next steps are on this front; we have some decisions to make. She wants to keep cheering competitively, and also has school cheer to look forward to starting later in the summer.

Emma's sports season has also run into a big obstacle, unfortunately, because she suffered a fractured wrist at yesterday's soccer game. It's been a long and exhausting weekend for her (and all of us). More to come on that. In the meantime, though, we're getting the slow-down we'd been wishing for ...

Wordless Wednesday

Spring Break

Well ... spring break was nearly a month ago, but it kind of feels like years ago. We had the best, most relaxing week in Florida - we needed it so badly, and even though the effects of the R&R wore off quickly, these pics still bring back all the beachy feels!

Right away we hit the pool, and then spent our first full evening listening and dancing to the Tap Monkeys. Always have to hit a gig while we're there!

We loved spending a few days on Sanibel. Our weather could not have been more perfect. We played in the sand and the waves, took beach walks, indulged in fru-fru bevs, read books, and soaked up the sun.

We also spent a day taking the ferry to Fort Myers Beach ... touristy shopping and lunch on the beach!

Our week truly couldn't have been better and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time ... we were all barely hanging on by the time spring break rolled around. I'm so thankful to have a great place and people to visit for a get-away from reality!

Reality came back into check quickly when our flight home was cancelled. We had an unexpected road trip that took just about twenty hours (non-stop thanks to the full hotels at every exit in Louisiana). It was exhausting, but we made the best of it ... and finished with a good story to tell!