sick, sick, sick!!

We have been sick for two solid months. In our family we have had the flu, colds, ear infections all around for the kids. Joss had three of those in two months. Pneumonia, bronchitis, upper respiratory infections, salmonella poisoning (that resulted in a 5 day stay for Laurie in the hospital), and a virus that caused ulcers in the mouth. It looks like we are finally starting to heal! So, if you are sick, stay away for a while! :)
Through all the illness, we were still able to have an enjoyable Christmas and spend a lot of time with the kids.
Here are some pictures and some video for you to enjoy.

long talk with Bethany on the potty

Melody jumping and counting squares

rotating Joss

playing doctor

Joss wary of dog

Joss learning how to walk

Joss blowing raspberries

Joss pushing Melody on train

three year olds way of making bubbles

Joss unplugs monitor

Melody cleaning her nose

Melody so tired

Christmas discussion with Bethany

Christmas morning

stockings

stockings 2

Bethany riding bike

Joss plays with latch board

learning to ride bike

dancing with daddy

go fish

daddy riding girls bike

Joss opening his present

getting around on the bikes

Melody rides her bike

Joss plays peek a boo

Joss chasing laurie

girls feeding Joss cereal

girls feed Joss 2

Joss walks to bath and yells at water

Christmas is just around the corner

Is next week already Thanksgiving? Where did the time go. The girls are already in full swing Christmas mode. This year will be an awesome Christmas! They tell me everyday things they want Santa to bring them....

just sit down
Joss plays with train
girls feed Joss
J does not like his veg.
crazy kids
Joss pulls camera string
halloween party on base
Joss playing in pillows
Joss blowing raspberries
carving pumpkin
carving pumpkin2
Joss plays with girls candy
Joss mad at vcr
The way Melody does the bean bag toss
Bethany feeds Joss play food
Joss loves to play with blankets
what Joss does every night at bedtime
Joss getting ready for bath time
another smart Hinson kid

Joe... arrested??

There has been so much that has happened since the last post. We went to Colorado to see Laurie's sister get married, the girls turn 3 on Tuesday. We had a birthday party for them today, we went on a family fun pumpkin patch trip, Joss is starting to try and walk, and Joe got arrested. See bottom of blog for details.

Here are a few pictures taken of the girls birthday party earlier today. Laurie made each of the girls fairy outfits.

Here are a few of the pictures we tood while outside the Denver Temple for Laurie's sister Michelle's wedding. Laurie will eventually scrapbook it. Three kids under three takes up a lot of her time!

 

 

 

Look fast... all the flower girls are together in the same picture, and it is NOT photo shopped!

 

Here are some of the scrapbook pages Laurie has put together.

And some video enjoyment.

mommy workouts

drums

duck duck goose

Joss eating puffs

Joss eating puffs 2

daddy stuck at work

give me food now

Joss with beach ball

kids on carousel

Melody on toy truck

Bethany playing boo with Joss

feeding giraffes

feeding giraffes 2

feeding chickens

Joe biking in Colorado

beautiful Colorado

mirror fun with Joss

Bethany asks Melody if she is going poo or pee

playing flower girls

Joss playing in the hotel room

playing ball with Grandma

Joss loves bath time

Joss plays with beads

bouncing on horses

swimming in corn

Joss sneaks corn in his mouth

corn angels

playing in corn

dumping corn on head

Joss plays in corn

Joss happy to see daddy come home

Joss playing in dishwasher

Joss pulls down decoration

blowing out trick candles

girls hitting pinata

unwrapping pinata

picking up candy

Bethany claims to not be tired

 

 

 

Here's how I spent my Labor Day weekend 2012 - by Joe

I was looking forward to a nice 4-day weekend for Labor Day, but leaving work that Thursday night, I started feeling some body aches and a headache.  When I woke up next morning, I felt nauseous, had fever and chills, a cough, and felt miserable.  By Saturday night, Laurie and Mom had convinced me to go to the doctor.  I called the on-call doc at base and he advised me to go to a 24-hour primed nearby rather than an ER. 

 

I got in around 9 or 9:30 PM, and of course the place was busy.  I sat near the door, shivering and trying not to cough on anyone, thinking I probably had the flu.  After a few minutes, in walk two police officers (okay, nothing out of the ordinary)...and a US Marshall (this could be interesting).  They went to the counter and asked the staff if they had seen two males and a female, one of which had been stabbed.  They were federal fugitives, known to be in the immediate area as their cell phone had been traced nearby.  With the injuries, it was believed they were headed to the primed for treatment.  The staff said no, but that they'd keep an eye out.  The officers and Marshall left, but said they'd be very close.

 

I was soon called back to the exam room.  After the nurse took my vitals and left, there came a knock at the door.  The marshall quickly opened the door, looked around the room and seeing I was alone, left.  A minute later, a staffer opened the door and asked if I drove a silver Taurus with TN tags.  I said yes.  He (very quickly) left the room.  The marshall reappeared in an instant. 

 

"Do you drive a silver Taurus with TN tags?" he asked.

"Yes" I replied.

"Are you from Tennessee?"

"Yes...but don't arrest me for that!" I quipped.

Now, to those from Tennessee or Alabama, that's enough reason for a good laugh, and a good way to put both parties at ease, showing him that I'm probably not the droid er, person he's looking for.  Him being a federal marshall, he's not (I'm guessing from his unamused reaction) from 'round here.

"How long have you been here?"

"Two years, I work on the base."

"What are you here for tonight?"

"The flu, I think."

"You don't have any cuts or lacerations do you?" he asked.

I'm sure I looked out of place on a warm night wearing a dark long-sleeved flannel shirt.  I waved my arms in an 'I'm okay' manner and said "No sir."  He left.

 

The nurse came back in and we talked about the excitement.  She said that they were looking for someone with a silver Taurus and TN tags (oh, I didn't realize it was that bad...I thought it was just that I was from out of town, not a perfect match) and she said how nervous she was to walk to her car with so many police cars in the lot.  I told her she should be afraid only if they weren't there.  The doctor then came and examined me, proclaiming that I had a respiratory infection (hooray, much better than flu).  I got some steroids in the hip, some prescriptions, and was on my way.  I walked out of the building unchallenged, but stopped outside the door.  I looked around hoping to see loads of police lights and a scene right out of the movies, but there was nothing out there.  Oh well, I thought as I headed around the side to my car. 

 

I then noticed that there was one cruiser left, sitting quietly across the parking lot pointed directly at my car.  Pulling out, I noticed him following me, not unexpectedly.  I figured he would just follow me home to see where I went.  I headed onto the main road with my hands at 10 and 2, signalling extra long (for good measure) but was surprised when after only a quarter mile, he did a U-turn and headed the other way. 

 

"That's the end of that," I thought, but after another quarter mile, my car lit up in the light of a dozen high-powered blue strobes.  Looking back, there were three cruisers close behind.  I guess the one car called them in to follow and then headed back to watch the primed. 

 

Pulling into a dark and empty parking lot, I figured it was the same guys.  They knew I'd been talked to at Primed and they'd just walk up to the window and ask the same questions just to see my response out here in my car.  I was surprised to hear one officer yell over the loudspeaker: "Turn your vehicle off and put both hands out of the window!"

 

Okay...sure.  I complied.  One came over to the passenger window and after scanning the interior and me with his flashlight, made a show of trying to open the door, which was locked.  I spent a few seconds trying to figure a way to hit the unlock button without pulling a hand back in through the window.  Not coming up with any ideas, very slowly unlocked the door and stuck my hands out.  He did a more thorough scan with the door open and nodded across the car.  My door was quickly opened and my hands were pulled up while I was told to stand and put my hands on the roof.  A hand grabbed the back of my belt and hiked it up to "this is a wegie by which if you move, your feet will leave the ground" position.  The officer then pulled me to the rear of the car and instructed me to put my hands on the trunk.  They kicked my feet out past shoulder width and then...one frisk, two frisk.  Having learned from my quip earlier at the doctor's office, I kept my mouth shut except for the occasional yes, Sir.  I was confused at the rough treatment, but rather than anger at the inconvenience, I was doing the math in my head on the sheer amount of coincidence it took that night to get me here, coughing and shivering with my feet spread and hands on my trunk.  I placed the answer at somewhere between epic and appalling. 

 

I'm rarely sick, even rarer enough so to go to the doctor.  I went to this particular office at this particular time.  There happened to be known felons nearby needing medical attention and driving a car and tags almost identical to mine.  Good day to buy into the lottery maybe?

 

After being satisfied that I was not a threat, one (of the six) officers told me that the reason I had been detained was because they ran my plate and it came back as switched.  With a confused look, I glanced down at the plate and told them no, this was the same plate I'd had for 5 years or more.  They asked "oh, uh, do you have the documentation to back it up?"

"Yes, in my glove compartment"

"Can you show us?"

"Can I take my hands off the trunk?"

 

After checking my IDs and registration, they mumbled something about a glitch in the system or fat-fingering had shown my tag to be on a Ford Explorer.  Riiiiiight.  Still, I left laughing to myself about the coincidence and thinking up one-liners from The Fugitive.