High/Low, Up/Down, Joy/Sadness kind of weekend ...

Well, unfortunately, this weekend wasn't all fun and happiness like the one before it. We enjoyed some pretty good times, but also some very sad and scary times. Riley pretty much summed it up when he was explaining it to Corey like this, "Well, it started out really fun and awesome ... and then, it was just horrible." So, here's what happened ...

This weekend in my hometown of Russell, it was a big celebration called Prairiesta. This happens only every 10 years and it just an incredibly fun time for the small town to celebrate its heritage and history and for everyone to get together. Corey wasn't able to join us this time as he was on call at the airport since his boss is out of the country. So, it was just the kiddos and me. We headed out Friday night to stay with my grandma and prepare for all of the fun the next day. Once the kiddos were sound asleep I headed downtown to meet up with some old friends at the beer garden. It was so fun! I saw a lot of people that I haven't seen in person for 10 and 20 years. I love that!
The next morning my mom joined us at grandma's house, then we headed downtown for the parade. The kids loved it. Not only did they get to fill their bags full of candy that was thrown from the floats, they also got to witness a real live longhorn cattle drive right down the center of Main Street! Only in Russell, KS does that kind of stuff happen folks!

Riley being silly on the bricks of Main Street before the parade.

Gage climbing on some post rock.



Grandma and Gage cheesing it up before the parade.



Grandma Galyardt, Riley and Grandma Soukup impersonating a totem pole.

Grandma Soukup and the boys waiting for the action.

Me trying to get my camera back from Riley.

The Longhorns. Such a liability situation. Thank goodness the cattle were on their best behavior!

Still can't believe this!

The boys lined up waiting for candy to be thrown their way!

So, everything was pretty lovely up to this point. After the parade, we headed out to McDonald's to grab some lunch. The kiddos were stoked about this and grandma really enjoys doing anything in public to show off her great-grandsons = ) Once we were all finished, we headed out to the van. Gage and great-grandma were holding hands when he tripped. She tried to keep him from falling but got pulled off balance and fell herself right onto the hard concrete parking lot. After 2 separate trips to the ER in Russell - a total of about 6 hours time there, a trip to the Hays WalMart for pain medication since the pharmacy in Russell was closed, then finally an ambulance trip to the Hays Medical Center, it was determined that she had broken her hip during the fall. She is to have a pin put in Monday then will have a long recovery time. It is just devastating. For an 81 year old woman, she could run circles around many people 20 years her junior. She still mows her own lawn, walks downtown to get her haircut, takes care of her garden, cleans and maintains her own home. I just feel so bad for her and hate that this happened. Even though I know it doesn't help, I keep going over and over all of the what if's and why's - What if we'd gone through the drive-thru? Why wasn't I holding Gage's hand? etc ... I just pray that the surgery goes well, that she heals quickly and this won't be a pro-longed life-changing event. However, I just do not have a good feeling about it.

Riley and I trying to entertain ourselves while waiting in the ER.

Between ER trips, I did manage to get the boys downtown to the carnival that they had been promised they could go to right after lunch. They had been waiting as patiently as they could through the first 3 hour visit in the ER then an hour and half trip back and forth to Hays. They had energy that needed to be released, plus I thought it would be a good idea to get them out from underfoot so grandma could have some quiet and privacy. So, while we were there we had a really good time. The boys loved the kiddie rides and rode on the big Ferris Wheel for the first time. Gage kept shouting at the top of his lungs, "I can see the WHOLE WORLD from up here!" And Riley, our little sportsman, won a couple of little stuffed animals playing the dart game and the mini-skeeball. He was so proud of his accomplishments! I would love to post photos of these happy times, but unfortunately, while trying to entertain the boys my camera was accidentally knocked to the floor and broken during the first trip to ER. Ugh.

So, this was pretty much our weekend. We had some very good times and some very bad times. If you will, please send some prayers my grandmother's way for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Thank you.