Eye Dr.

During the summer, Aaron's OT talked to me about having Aaron's vision tested.  She said he was having difficulty tracking the ball when she threw it to him, and wanted us to take him in for a developmental eye screening.  I told her he had just had an eye appointment in May and his eyes were fine.  She explained that this was a different kind of eye exam.  It tests for tracking.  As she told me about it, I exclaimed, "This is what Josh needs!".  Josh for years now has turned his head completely to one side to read and do homework (like he's trying to block out one eye).  We took him to the eye dr a few years ago, and they gave him glasses, but it didn't fix him turning his head.  As Rachel told me about this special eye exam, I knew it was the answer to Josh.  So, I made an appointment for Josh and Aaron to get their eyes tested.  Ironically, Aaron tested fine.  But Josh had major problems.  His eyes don't track and work together, which makes reading extremely difficult.  The good news is that it is fixable with vision therapy.  The bad news is that vision therapy is not covered by insurance and is a half an hour away.  But, we were so relieved to finally have an answer.

As we talked with the eye dr, I brought up Sara and her amblyopia.  He explained that she could benefit from vision therapy too.  And he strongly suggested getting the other kids in to test their eyes (since this condition is hereditary). 

So a few weeks later we got the other 6 kids in to be tested.  Scott took care of the older three in with Dr. Johnson, and I managed the younger 3 with the pediatric eye dr.  

Savannah walked out with a prescription for occasional reading glasses.  Sara was told she really needed vision therapy.  And Nate was told he is borderline having Josh's eye tracking problems, and we get to take a wait and see approach with him.  But the biggest shocker was that Kate needed glasses. 

So, we paid a visit to a cute little glasses shop close to our house, where her new best bud Jay helped Kate find the perfect frames for her cute little face.  And a few weeks later (the end of September) we went back to get her glasses. 

Coeur d'Alene

Scott and I got the opportunity to attend the Governor's Cup in Coeur d'Alene.  It was toward the end of the first week of school, so we had to do some kid juggling.  Megan Leifson stayed with the kids at night, and Shauna took my little kids during the day while the big kids were at school.

Scott and I had a fantastic time.  We stayed at the resort.  Scott golfed each day, and I hiked each day.  It was perfect.

The view out our room window.  That's Tubbs Hill you can see.  I hiked that hill every day I was there.

Pictures from my morning hike.

That afternoon I had a massage, spa lunch, and a manicure.

Scott with the Governor.

After Scott finished golf, I took him out for a hike too.

 We saw a wild turkey.

We stopped at a cute children's book/toy store and got souvenirs for our kids.

Then we got some dessert.

Scott hanging out with the giant fish in the lobby.

Me with the other wives at dinner

The next day Scott headed out golfing again and I headed out hiking.

The day before when Scott and I were hiking, this bridge was totally fine.  This morning when I hiked it, it had a tree fallen down on it.  So glad it didn't happen when we were on it!

Looking across at the golf course, where Scott is somewhere golfing.

I ended on a beautiful tree lined street with beautiful old homes.

After Scott got back from golf, we treated ourselves to more dessert!

That evening we got dressed up for dinner.  We loaded the boats and rode over to the Hagadorn event center.  It was stormy sky, which made for the most magnificent sunset.  We had a fabulous dinner and ended with a fireworks show over the water.

The next morning, I drug Scott out on one more hike, where we found the coolest sand castle.

Then we went back to the resort and got packed up.  We had Sunday Brunch in the resort restaurant (every kind of food you could want, buffet style).  Then we hopped on our plane and went home.  It was a fantastic few days away, that were much needed and appreciated.