Super fun water park!

We found this amazing little recreation center with water slides, diving pool, splash pool area, and a splash pad. We had some friends tell us about it and that it was cheap!

If we were residents and could prove it by bringing a piece of mail it was only $3/person. SOOO we gathered up some mail and took it along with us to the water park. Turns out you had to be a resident of palm beach gardens... 

Alas we are not!!! So it was $10/person!!!! RIP OFF, but we were already there and the kids wanted to play and it took us like 45 min to leave the house for this little excursion and so we stayed and paid the moolah.... Good times.

Anyways it was actually really fun. On Mondays there are a group of special needs young adults that come to the park for a few hours and we were able to meet them. Savannah ha a never had so much fun! She met many friends that hopefully the stars align and we will be able to see them again.

The girls has fun going up and down slides playing in the splash pad, and meeting new friends. Good times ;)

Two hours and we were done for. Worth the $60? Maybe not, but if we can go next time for $18? Then totally....

The Everglades!

An exciting update on savannah! Her leg is up 33 mm in this picture. This is the actual PRECISE lengthening device in her femur! Crazy. Sooooooo crazy. If you look close you can see the shaft that is lengthening on the actual device.

It's actually quite remarkable. Really. The bone is growing around device and new bone... It will be a much stronger bone than it is now. Wonderful! Double bonus.

I think it's a requirement to go to the Everglades if you live in or visit Florida at one point or another. It is also a requirement to visit disneyworld. I knew that Florida has a lot to offer. More than just those two things but when I think of Florida I think of alligators, beaches, and the happiest place on earth. 

So there you have it. When we brought Jannae out here her one request was to see or visit an alligator. As we are a very pleasing people, we have obliged on many occasions this request. You may recall Jannae kissing an alligator. If you don't I will remind you nary you worry. 

Anywho, visit the Everglades we did, see and alligator we did, and HOLDING A BABY ALLIGATOR?!?! DONE! I would say we filled that request if you asked me.

We went down to Westin Florida by Fort Lauderdale. It was a pleasant drive with all the children. Snacks, coloring books, and iPads... We kept them busy for an hour. Then they started to get mighty restless. Luckily it was time to get out of the car and into the sweltering heat! Not sure which I prefer but at least one was cooler than the other! Even if it was a cramped space in the car.

The air boat ride was not a disappointment though the other riders may have complained that my screaming baby, who was very much opposed to wearing her life jacket, may have bothered them slightly. Thankfully the airboat was extremely LOUD!  

We held baby alligators, saw real life  alligators, and took pictures with and next to alligators. It was awesome. We melted into little puddles of sweat but managed to survive. Luckily! 

Fun day all around ;)

Goings on

Savannah has been making great progress.  She is now over half done with her lengthening.  Our appointment with Dr. Paley on Monday went great.  He was very happy with the progress that she's made.  If all continue to goes well we could be finished with the lengthening the beginning of August.  We would then have therapy for two more weeks here and then make the trek back, so we may be able to get home before September!!!!  

Therapy is also going great.  She is now able to bend her leg to an 82 Degree angle which is right where she should be.  As we continue to lengthen it will get harder to bend it because the muscles will be so tight but the Dr will be OK with us leaving if she can bend at around 80 degrees when we are finished with lengthening.  Therapy is every day in a therapy room with a bunch of other kids.  Usually at least one of the kids is screaming in pain during therapy, especially at the end when the therapists are trying to measure the max bending angle.  Savannah's therapist has told us a couple of times that she is one of the best patients she has ever had because she doesn't scream when it hurts and she helps bend her leg when her therapist is trying to bend it where many times the kids will fight it because it hurts so bad.  She also knows all of the therapists and much of the hospital staff and has many of them wrapped around her finger.  The lengthening technician, Tony, is a guy that the PA's warned us was very gruff and he say's what he thinks.  Tony is one of the few that gets a hug from Savannah every day, and he obviously loves the attention from her:)

Today after therapy we were setting up appointments for the next few weeks.  Savannah had a conversation with some other parents in the waiting room that went like this:

Savannah:  Cute Baby, what's his name and how old?

Mom :  Sam, he is 9 months

Savannah:  What happened to his leg?

Mom :  He broke it?

Savannah:  How?

Mom:  Pause....not sure what to say

Savannah:  HOW?

Mom:  he fell off the bed

Dad:  It was only about this tall (showing a height of about two feel off the ground)

Both parents obviously felt terrible

Savannah:  WHY WEREN'T YOU WATCHING HIM??????

Mom:  We were.......

That's when I turned and told Savannah to be nice and quietly stand next to me. So, she has made a lot of friends but not everyone she talks to becomes her friend:)

Yesterday we went to the beach around 10:30 am and it was so full they were turning away cars, so we drove about 5 minutes down the coast and went to a different beach that was still pretty empty.  We played there for about an hour, right up until Mikenna and I cut our legs on some rocks while swimming back after the current pushed us a bit further than we wanted to be.  We then went to our friends house from SLC that were here for their daughter and in our ward... what are the odds????.  We swam and ate at their house and then went and watched the fireworks with them.  Glad we can have some friends that know what we are going through and can relate.

Friday after therapy is always Costco and Sonic day so we enjoyed cheap hot dogs, pizza, and sandwiches at Costco and then the best ice any soda can offer at Sonic....and since they are next door to each other double bonus.

We have two giant frogs that hang out in our back yard whenever it rains.  We caught one of them and put it in a bin because Scarlett LOVES frogs and will chase them around the back yard as long as they will hang around.  The non-captive frog must have some seriously strong feeling for the frog we captured because it would not leave until we released her buddy.  Scarlett is hilarious as when it rains she will watch out the back glass door until she sees the frogs and then starts jumping up and down and screaming.  It is pretty funny.