So if you were ever to tell me that I would get in a car accident and STILL that wouldn't be the worst of the things that happened to me that day, I don't think I would have ever believed you.  But it's true.  Let me explain.

On the way home from taking the girls to piano lessons, we started hitting some pretty severe stop and go traffic.  As in approaching speeds close to 50mph and then suddenly slow to stopping.  The first time this happened, I noticed the guy behind me came pretty close to getting our tail end, but he didn't.  Then traffic speeds up, but 60 seconds later the car in front of me hits their brakes again.  I hit mine, pretty hard.  I stop in time, no problem.  But the guy behind me wasn't paying attention (again) and doesn't slow down fast enough.  CRUNCH!  It was loud and felt like a sudden jolt at the end of a roller coaster.  I was so annoyed especially because he should have learned when he almost hit me the first time.  His front license plate holder was slightly mangled, but I was amazed when I looked at our mini-van.  NO DAMAGE whatsoever except one tiny little white scratch on the bumper.  I looked everywhere, opened the trunk, looked at the back wheels.  The other guy even looked underneath.  It looked fine, but I still got his info just in case Sean found something glaring that we missed.  So, no cops called.  No report filed.  Still enough for me to be seriously rattled and full of adrenaline.  And that was the MINOR event of the day.

The weather was gorgeous today and I needed to relax and have fun.  So, when we got safely home, we decided to go to the park with the kids, the cousins, and their dog.  Their fairly newly acquired German Shepherd dog, Cody, is such a nice, fun-loving dog.  Other than him barking at an occasional motorcycle or noisy truck, he's been very well-mannered.  He had never been to the park yet (just walks within the storage facility place) because weather had been not so good and Sean's parents are always so busy.   On the way there, everything was fine.  Cody walks well on a leash.  Keeping an eye on six kids and a dog proved challenging, but everyone was being good.  Cody saw a dog from a very long distance and started barking.  He has this loud, deep, intimidating bark.  We walked him to a bench out of sight of the other dog and Cody was fine again.  I noticed his collar was a little loose so I tightened it just in case. 

We had been there only ten minutes when Celeste has to go the bathroom.  She can't hold it and the bathroom stall is still closed for the winter season.  So Sean takes her in the car to go at home.  It is literally less than one minute after they left that Cody started acting weird and wiggly and anxious.  He started trying to bark, and I was trying to calm him.  I saw a lady walking towards us still a little ways a way.  It wasn't until Cody started acting more berserk that I saw she was walking a dog.  This dog wasn't more than 30 pounds, hardly threatening.  Cody went NUTS!  He fought against me and wriggled so much he flew right out of his tightened collar.  He didn't just go and friendly sniff or even jump the dog.  He instantaneously started savagely attacking this poor puppy.  We're talking horrific, in-the-ring type vicious dog fighting.  The lady and I were both scared to death.  She was trying to pick up her dog while shouting at me.  I was scrambling to wrestle Cody to the ground to no avail.  I got a hold of him for two seconds, but my grip didn't last and he was on the other pooch again.  Some other people started coming to the rescue or at least to gawk and swear mightily at me for bringing such a monster to the park.  My mind was racing, I was so mortified, so angry with myself and with the dog.  And of course it had to be the five minutes that Sean wasn't there.  That infuriated me.  Finally there was enough people standing in between us that Cody stopped.  We quickly put his leash on, tried to apologize, and went to the furthest away bench to wait so we could exchange information. 

I immediately called Sean and told him to get his butt back here.  Cody was anxious but pretty o.k. after that.  The kids were rattled, but thankfully didn't see too much of the fight.  Kinsey, my 16-year-old niece walked Cody back to their house (5 minute walk).  Sean came back and talked to the lady.  Then they came and talked to me.  Her poor dog had been bit pretty bad in at least 2-3 places.  The lady handled things as decently as could be expected, but definitely lectured us about "that dog."  He needed to have a choke collar on, needed to be properly socialized and trained before going to a park.  I was in such shock.  She was right of course, if only that had crossed our mind before we took him out.

Now, tonight after things are all settled.  The other dog got medical attention and stitches, etc.  The cost: $450, with an additional follow-up appointment in the future to pay for.  So, our fun family-filled time at the park to help me unwind after my fender-bender will end up costing us more than $500!  Me, I'm sore with multiple bruises and a little bite mark on my hand from wrestling a 100 pound dog on the concrete sidewalk.  But that's nothing compared to the other dog.  I still can't stop thinking about it.  The whole scene replays in my mind in slow motion dramatically amplifying those feelings of helplessness and terror. 

Yes, I got in a car accident today and that was almost the highlight of my day!  Ironic.

Yes, it's been a while.  February is always a hard month for me (end-of-the-winter Blahs).  I meant to post this a while ago, but had misplaced the camera with all the pictures still in it!  We found the camera a few days ago, and now I'm finally sitting down to tell you all about our fun we had in February!

The first Saturday in February, we decided to take the girls ice skating.  We left Will with the Grandparents because we thought he'd be too little and whiny.  Sean and I were a little nervous because we had only been ice skating once before in our lives, before we ever knew each other.  The girls were all novices too, but the weather was great, the ice was smooth, and our spirits were high.

The girls and I ended up having a blast.  We got fairly confident after a while.  Aspen had been once before and had fun getting even better.  Cautious Kylee went slow and stayed near the edge, but had plenty of smiles.  Celeste soon lost her fear of falling and got very adventurous.  She tested her limits and fell more than anyone, but laughed the most too.

Pictures below:  It's fun to Fall!  (the first four are of Celeste falling, then Aspen, then Kylee)

Sean, on the other hand, couldn't get the hang of it at all.  This southern California boy was like a fish on dry land.  It didn't help that he couldn't get a good fit with the rental skates so they were digging into him and not supporting his already-bad ankles.  He only fell once, but boy was it a doozy!  It was when he tried to leave the safety of the edge, and fell right on the keys and cellphone in his pocket.  Keys and phone were fine, but they punished Sean dearly.  He ended up retiring his skates half-way through and being permanent camera man and cheerleader.  That's my man!

The very next day, Sean found out he won 4 free tickets to go ice skating in Carson City (about 30 min. south of Reno).  This time we promised Will that he could come too.  So, a little over a week later, we packed up our winter gear and went for a fun-filled Presidents Day.

This time the weather wasn't quite as friendly, and the skates didn't fit well, and the ice was very rough from the snow (as you can see by Aspen's big pouty face).  We stuck it out for a while though, after all, it was FREE.  Sean didn't even try this time.  The girls complained about the rough ice, but had fun for a while.  Will did really great for his first time ever.  He'd hold my hand and just glide along with me as best he could.

Afterward, we took the kids to Carson City's Childrens Museum.  No free tickets to this, but it was a lot of fun, and warm, and dry.  There were all sorts of hands-on activities for the kids to play with and learn about.  Aspen especially liked their climbing wall.  Will liked the steam locomotive simulator and space shuttle simulator (which Daddy was TOO big for!).  There were displays that taught about the environment, water, and Nevada geology.  There was a doctor room, a plastic food market room, a Nevada room, and fanciful dress-up corner.  There was even a virtual marble maze that a projector displayed onto the floor, and as you stood on it, it would tilt and move the virtual marble around as you tried not to let it fall into the virtual holes.  Fun Fun!