Ryan's Accident

Yes, we are moved in and trying to settle in but first I wanted to update everyone on what happened to Ryan last week. Hopefully I'll be able to post again tonight or tomorrow on the move and the new place (which we are loving!!!!).

Last week Wednesday, Ryan was supposed to meet his mother for lunch so he dropped Kaitlyn and me off and took the van to work. At about 12:40, I happened to be at the court clerk desk at work when the phone rang. I could see on the call display it was Ryan and I picked it up and asked him how his lunch was going with his mother. He said he didn't go because he was in an accident. Of course, I right away started to panic and showered him with questions. After dropping me off, he was travelling down Chilliwack River Road which is quite curvy. When he was turning a bend in the road, a vehicle was coming straight at him in the wrong lane. He swerved to avoid a collision and ended up in the ditch. 3 hours later he woke up to 19 missed calls on his cell phone from Colin and his mother wondering where he was. There is only $30 damage to the van (bent hubcap) and Ryan was taken to hospital by his mother once she got a hold of him. He was diagnosed with whiplash and a concussion. The following night involved waking him up every 3 hours and making sure he was coherent. He was ordered not to drive for 10 days. He was checked out again a couple days later and failed the light/sight test and the cognitive test. He is definitely on the mend now but it made the move a lot harder for everyone since he wasn't allowed to drive or lift anything too heavy.

He went back to work for half a day today and hopes to work another half day tomorrow.

We are so thankful it wasn't any more serious. He narrowly avoided a tree and could have easily ended up in either a collision or in a ditch full of water if conditions were different. Just 400 metres from where his accident happened another man passed away in very similar circumstances the next day.

Anyway, that is just what is happening in that department. Ryan is definitely improving every day and is even driving again, despite the 10 day restriction since he is very anxious to return to work and return to normal life. Again, we are so thankful it wasn't any more serious.

My New Favourite Song

Less than a month to the big concert!! Woo hoo!!

Alone in the Courtroom...

Today two court clerks were booked off for vacation and another called in sick. So guess where I am? In the courtroom, running it, by myself. Totally unprepared... Totally don't know what I'm doing. I have a very gracious judge who is doing most of the work for me thankfully...

Anyways, back to work...

Update On Us

Well, since our cruise we've all been hit with a bit of a cold virus. Kaitlyn had it pretty bad for a few days and was running a temperature of about 39 so I took her in to see the doctor to make sure she didn't have another ear infection. (I was also forced to call in sick to work on Thursday when I realized she had a fever. I was not expecting to get sick days already but my manager said I do qualify already which was nice.) The doctor did not see any evidence of an ear infection on Thursday. Friday and Saturday night Kaitlyn woke up multiple times screaming. Finally Monday after work I took her into the walk-in clinic to check her ears again and she indeed has another double ear infection. Because the amoxicillin took quite a while to work last time, the doctor prescribed a different antibiotic which is much stronger and is only a 3-day round. Of course the doctor mentioned the word "tubes" again which scares me but since she has had about 7 ear infections and is not even a year old, is really not that surprising. Other than that, she has adjusted so well to daycare with Krista and loves going there. Krista's 2-year-old, Parker, came running up to her this morning when I dropped her off and gave her a big hug so I think everyone is enjoying the arrangements.

Work is going well. I'm still doing my online training and usually spend at least half a day in court to watch the clerk. Some days are interesting, some days it's hard to keep your eyes open because the cases are so boring. All in all, they seem happy with me and say that I am catching on quickly and am intelligent (it's always nice to be called intelligent!).

Ryan is working like crazy but hopefully it will slow down a little bit as some days I hardly see him at all. But he loves to be busy! He also wants to start carpet cleaning again on the side but before that can happen, it's my job to find liability insurance for him.

Last week we also welcomed a new niece into the family - Alyssa Marie Aikema. She's a beautiful girl - check out Katrina's Blog and Andrea's Blog for some pictures. Rebecca and family are all doing well and baptism will be on Sunday.

And of course we move in 2 weeks! We're so excited and cannot wait to get out of the old house we are living in. Sometimes it seems like we're always sick and seeing the mould on the inside of the bathroom walls makes you want to leave asap. I'm in love with our new house and cannot wait to move in!

Well, that's it for now. Sorry I've been so bad at keeping in touch with a lot of you. Until we're moved, I expect I won't have much time but hopefully things will slow down soon and I'll adjust to our new pace of life.

Back to Work After Our Cruise

Well, I am back to work after having a fabulous time on our little cruise to Oregon and back. Kaitlyn did beautifully (if I believe everything my sister and brother-in-law tell me) while I was away and even slept through the night 2 nights out of 3. She was a little whiney the first day when she realized I abandoned her but then was apparently a joy the rest of the time. And I only called once to check on her - aren't you proud? (don't ask how many times I called and there was no answer though...)

I took about 120 pictures and our software is not working properly so my apologies for some of the red eyes and bluriness on the photos. We had lots of fun getting to know my parents' friends better as well as their children and had a blast. Who knew my Dad had some dancing skills? And who knew Greg could sing like that (definitely not me!). Great times were had by all, except poor Matt who caught a bug on the trip.

Work is going well. So far I am just in training and have to complete an online course (while at work) before they will allow me into the courtroom on my own. So far I am petrified by the idea as Provincial runs at a much faster pace than Court of Appeal (where I used to work as a Judicial Admin Assistant) does so it's a little intimidating. Today was my first day in the courtroom job shadowing and it was very interesting. I'm sure I'll get a lot more out of it when I realize exactly what's going on, but in the meantime, things seem to be running smoothly.

Kaitlyn has adjusted to the sitter (a girl from our church until Rebecca is back on her feet after baby #3) so well. Krista (the sitter) cannot get over how easy she is and says it barely feels like she has another child for the day. She naps great and babbles and smiles all day. And the last two nights at home, she has been in bed before 9 and slept until past 7!!! Smiles all around in our home.

Anyway, here are a few pics from our trip. Enjoy!

Ryan getting ready for the lifeboat drill:

Leaving the Vancouver Harbour:

Dad showing off his moves while Greg (completely oblivious) sings and thinks the crowd is cheering for him:

The girls, Mrs. L, me, and Ellen (and half of Mom too!):

Ryan and I enjoying our dinner (and wine obviously too since my face matches my shirt):

And Tomorrow We Cruise!

I am so excited! 4 days of relaxing and eating and just recuperating from the past few weeks. Perfect timing I would think! The hardest part will be leaving my daughter for 4 days but I'm sure she'll do well. If not, we're not that far away and we'll have the cell on at all times. Andrea will hopefully enjoy having a daughter for a few days. Kaitlyn is honestly a total joy during the days and the nights are a work in progress. I won't be surprised to return from our trip to find out Kaitlyn is walking on her own though. She is so close! Today she let go of the table and made an attempt but quickly lost her nerve and dropped down to a crawl.

So I will be back Sunday and hopefully will have some great pics to share with you all! Have a fantabulous weekend everyone!

Want to See Our New Home?

I don't know how long this will be up for, but if you go to this site: http://www.ehomes4sale.ca/ , click on "Listings", scroll down and right now it is the second listing (described as "better than a townhouse!).