August. really?

Friends

How did we get to August? I mean, really - what happened to June and July? Time is just flying by. Two weeks of that time was our vacation in Norway/Sweden/Iceland, but before getting to that....

Back in the beginning of July, Daniel had another seizure. Yes - it had been about 10 months. Yes - we thought we might be done with them.

It all worked out fine in the end, but there was some additional drama when the doctor at Children's Hospital screwed up the dosage of the antiseizure medication, giving him 500% of the correct dose. So that bought him an overnight at the hospital while he worked it out of his system. The effect on Daniel was as if he was very, very drunk - he lost enough control of his muscles that he couldn't really stand, but he could still ask the pretty nurses to dance with him, and tried to impress them with his knowledge: "Did you know....that.....I....can count to...........40?"

By the 4th of July, he was back to normal, and we got to see the fireworks show and that made a big impression.

Then it was time for our summer vacation. The flight to Norway via Minneapolis and Iceland went without a hitch - we have some of the best little travellers ever. It was considerably easier than 2 years ago when we took the same route and there were delays. Once in Norway, we rested up for a day before zipping on over to Stugan - the family cabin on the Swedish coast. The weather was kind of bland for the first couple of days, but quickly got nicer. As usual, the boys spent their days catching crabs, while Rachel was much less certain that she wanted any part of that. Rachel did, however, have a complete crush on her hero Jacob, and wanted nothing more than for him to play with her (which he did - showing himself to be a very mature 9-year-old).

Daniel and Leo really bonded on this trip, and played wonderfully together. There were trips in Grandpa's boat, strawberry picking at the local farm, but otherwise just a lot of hanging out and having fun.

From Stugan a quick trip back to Oslo, then onwards to Iceland for a 4-day stopover. Iceland was a fantastic experience this time around, and defied a lot of stereotypes. It was warm enough for shorts every day and due to the economic meltdown there, it was cheap.

We got to see puffins this time, got to go whale-watching, see the sights from last time in sunshine rather than rain and have a relaxing soak at the blue lagoon. Equally nice was the municipal pool 3 blocks from our B&B, where all of the outdoor pools were maintained at very pleasant body-temperature water, thanks to Iceland's access to geothermal heat. The highlight from the last day was the Reykjavik zoo and park, where the kids play area was simply fantastic - Daniel just about peed himself when he found the Caterpillar sand scoops that used real hydraulics to lift and move dirt. Daniel got a viking get-up, and Rachel got a puffin, which she insisted was a penguin, so his name became "Penguin the Puffin".

Back in Denver, we've had the local city summer celebration day (slides, carousel rides, and Daniel got to paddle a kayak), which was nice.

The local HOA party where we met some new neighborhood kids, and otherwise a number of get-togethers with friends. I hate to skim over these, because they were a lot of fun, but that's the price of updating so seldom.

And that's the historical timeline update. Next, some anecdotes from the last 6 weeks.

Love, ADRE.