Can You Say...Cryptosporidium?

Last Wednesday I took my kids to the Tempe Town Beach Park for a few hours of fun in the water. We had a great time and Taryn was so cute playing in the water. I even thought it was so cute when she tried to drink the water that was spouting out of a little whale's head. Little did we know that the water was contaminated with a feces-born parasite called cryptosporidium!!!

Friday evening on the news it was reported that the park was shut down because of the parasite. Great, I thought, I hope none of us get sick.

Saturday around 5:00 a.m. it hit me. I was running to the toilet and it's been my closest friend even up until today.

I called the City of Tempe and they were very kind, sympathetic and apologetic about what had happened. Apparently, I was the first one to call and report an illness. My kids have been o.k., thank heaven! Taryn has a bit of diarrhea but seems to be acting just fine.

We're supposed to leave on a vacation this Saturday. I've lost two days of preparation and I still don't know how much longer it will be until I feel like myself again. I get a little stressed when I think about everything that needs to be done before we go. Steve is a huge help, though, and I know he'll do everything he can to help us get ready.

Lesson: expect the unexpected when you go to public recreational swimming venues, make sure kids have clean swimming diapers, don't drink the water, maybe just don't go at all :(

Holiday Weekend

We had a great weekend that began with a ward breakfast party. We sang patriotic songs, said the pledge of alliegance, listened to a patriotic story, had a bike parade and enjoyed a pancake breakfast. It was a great way to begin the 4th of July weekend. Whenever I say the pledge I get a little choked up. As a child, you just said the pledge out of habit at school. As an adult, I think about its meaning and I am filled with gratitude for our great country.

I stayed up late the night before the parade in order to decorate the girls' bikes. I thought they turned out pretty good. Although, our tissue paper flowers remind me more of a Mexican Fiesta than an Independence Day Parade. Oh well, the girls and I had fun making them.

After our ward party we headed up to my Mom and Dad's cabin in Pinetop. I must say, though, this is more of a home than a cabin. Instead of quading we watched cable. Oh well, the kids were happy. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, tooks lots of walks, ate way too many sweets (I did at least), enjoyed a contentious game of Settler's (at least there was no cussing this time) and enjoyed my mom's delicious cooking. What is it about being up north that makes me so hungry. I'm always snacking up there. It was a little hard to come back down to the heat, but at least we can look forward to other get-aways.