Mark the Shark had to "run a few traps" but had taken the day off work. Grandma Freda drove in from Arcadia to go to the lake with us. By the time we got everyone up and at em, packed up, gassed up, and the beer stocked up, we hit the road for the lake around 1 pm. It is like herding cats sometimes when you're with 8 people who have Phelps/Jones blood.
We stopped in Krebs, Oklahoma for a late lunch at Lane's favorite restaurant, Pete's Place. Krebs has a large Italian community who has been there forever and so has this restaurant. It is in an old house, so there are several private rooms throughout the restaurant. We were privy enough to get one. The way it works is you order an entree of your choice off the menu (some favorites are fried ravioli, ribeye steak, LAMB FRIES) and they bring the table family style spaghetti, ravioli, meatballs, salad, cheese, peppers, and bread in addition to your entree. In other words...it is a crap load of food. The best part is taking all the leftovers with you to the lake and munching on them all weekend. Leon was a good sport and waited for us in the car with the windows down and some water. He is a good road dog.
We got to the lake house in time for an evening boat ride. Lane's parents bought a pontoon boat about 3 years ago and it is perfect for our ever growing family. We headed to Paradise Cove where the boys could jump off the boat and play in the sand. The adults enjoyed some cold beverages and cooled off in the water. Even baby G got in on the action.
As we were all winding down for the evening we heard two loud thuds and Desmond screaming followed shortly by his parents' screams. Desmond (who is not allowed on the stairs) had fallen from the stairs (about 8 feet) and landed square on the side of his face on the concrete floor. His nose and mouth were bleeding badly and the right side of his face immediately swelled up. Within 5 minutes Lauren and Brad decided they needed to take him to the Emergency Room in Eufaula. Once there, Eufaula determined they were not equipped enough to handle the situation, so they sent for an ambulance from Tulsa. Once in Tulsa, he had a CAT scan which showed that he had a fractured face (along the nose/eyebrow) and a concussion. (sidenote: when he went in the tube for the CAT scant they told him to act like he was Buzz Lightyear going into the space ship. He loved this. When he came out he yelled, "You've got the wrong Buzz!") They had to admit him for the night so they could see a specialist the next morning who would determine if he needed surgery or not. We all had very little sleep that night as we were all worried about the little guy. Lauren got an hour. Brad got none. At 2 am, Mom and Dad met Brad in Muskogee to trade cars and give him Genevieve. They got back at 4 am. It was all very crazy. The good news is that this will just be a great story we can tell years from now. Besides an awesome black eye, a swollen face and lip, and a sore arm, he is going to be just fine. Since the fracture was even, it will grow back on its own. No rough housing for 2 weeks and some children's lortab for pain if needed. Kids are resilient! Desmond came home so excited to tell us (especially his big Bubba Ben) his adventure at the hospital and in the ambulance. He still had his little hospital bracelets on and his bandaid from his IV. The nurse gave him a little stuffed dog that he named Leon. =)
About an hour after "the fall", Mere made the trek from OKC to hang with us for the evening at the lake house. She is pregnant with twins and is due in September! She will be having a boy and a girl. We are so excited for her and are glad we got to see her in her cute, pregnant state. We were all a little pre-occupied with Desmond, but it was good to see Mere and catch up. She is the best. She even slept a bit in the same bed with Gram. so cute.
Saturday morning the Schatzels were still waiting to see a specialist in Tulsa and they were not expected to be back to the lake until around 4 pm. Jess and Ben kept busy that morning skating on the road in front of the house. Jess on his long board and Ben with his janitor cart (He has had this since he was born, this weekend he referred to it as his skate board. (Pronounced kate board). Lane also took Ben and Leon for a golf cart ride down to the point. They all got out to wade into the water to cool off. Leon slowly walked into the water. Little by little he inched his way deeper. Then with one last pounce he ended up all the way under water and started swimming. He loved it! Turns out he has a bit of water dog in him. After a breakfast of Pete's Place leftovers, Carrie and Trent Tiger came over sans kids. (They have 2 - Grady and Graham who are to die for) They made us a couple of Pineapple Vodka/Sprite cocktails which turned out to be exactly what we needed. If you are not drinking by 10 am at the lake then you are not following the rules. We decided to take the boat out with Benjamin in tow. We headed back to Paradise Cove and soaked up the sun and a few beers. Ben played so well and was in good spirits all day. We love hanging out with our Oklahoma friends. It does not matter how much time passes in between our visits, we always pick right back up where we left off. We made sure to get our first official sunburn of our trip, and then we headed back around 4 to see if the Schatzels had made it back. They did! We got caught up on the hospital story, ate some more Pete's Place leftovers, and Brad (on no sleep!) took Jess, Des, Ben and I back out on the boat. He had promised Desmond. Father of the year. It was a quick boat ride as we were all fading fast. When we got back to the house, Brad lit a huge fire in the fire pit. Daddy Mark had been waiting for the whole family to be together so we could have a Lake House Mortgage Burning Party. He unexpectedly was able to pay off the lake house last January. He gave each of us a document from the mortgage and we took turns throwing it into the fire. It was so fun! It was like a Ya-Ya Sisterhood moment. We then enjoyed some "Mortgage S'mores", shots of Jim Beam (in memory of Papa Joe), and hit the hay. What a day!
Sunday we all gathered around the table as a family and ate a home cooked breakfast. (By Lane and Grandma Freda.) After breakfast we all got on the boat for one last boat ride. Even Judy and Mark came with us this time. We all cruised over to Paradise Cove and hopped in the water. Lane, Judy, Mimi, Mark, Brad and Ben played a little football and Des ran and jumped off the bank over and over. Veevs floated around in her floaty for the first time and loves the water. Jess was too sunburned to get out in the sun so he sat in the shade on the boat. After a while we headed back to put the boat away and get packed up.
We said our good byes, got lots of hugs and kisses, put Leon in the back seat, and headed for Grand Lake O' the Cherokees.
Pete's Place!
Can you believe she is pregnant with twins!
Post fall off the stairs
burning the mortgage!
family breakfast
the whole fam soaking up the sunshine on sunday!
2 comments:
LOVE IT. Sounds like so much fun. A most excellent adventure.
it was definitely a weekend that will forever be remembered. So glad you were there.
Post a Comment