It's been a long week full of ups and downs. I was telling James today that I don't know why things have hit me as hard as they have, but I can't sleep and I'm just blah. Obviously hearing about the death of a friend in Iraq was a big deal. Suddenly the whole deployment thing is REAL. I mean, he's deployed before. Once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, and he's possibly heading back to the desert again this fall. I've never been scared about him deploying before, but now as it approaches I find myself almost paralyzed with fear.

I'm in a lot of pain right now. I wish that the military healthcare system was just a little bit faster. I am so very grateful for the care we receive and the benefits we are given. I still think it sucks that I am in pain, with the pain getting worse, and yet I have to wait until Sept 30th for my surgery consultation. Who knows how long it'll take after the consultation to actually schedule my surgery.

Trey had a milk exposure Saturday. My friend brought me a drink that had milk in it, and it wasn't until I'd had a few sips and remarked about how good it was that I realized there was milk in it. I'm pleased to report that the rash on his face, while it has returned, doesn't look as angry as it did before. He has been so fussy though. We had a stretch of about 3 hours where he just cried and arched his little back that night, and he's still not quite back to being a happy baby yet. I think James finally understands the difference between a non-dairy diet, and a Trey that has been exposed to dairy. I am hoping that he will outgrow the intolerance. We won't be testing any dairy products any time soon, and I'll be sure to be more careful in the future of what I eat and drink.

Saturday I spent the day bargain shopping with some friends. We had a great day, and I didn't spend very much money (always a bonus!). I scored a Darth Vader helmet that has the voice box. The boys absolutely love it. I also got Trevor a halloween costume. He will be a teddy bear. Jacie was awesome enough to send the bigger boys costumes last week. Josh wanted a Knight costume, and she was able to find one for him. He wore the costume for 3 days straight, and is asking about 5 times a day if it's halloween yet. Seth got a King Arthur costume, but he isn't too thrilled (or at all willing) to wear it quite yet. Thankfully Halloween is still a little bit off. They have had so much fun sword fighting though. Here are some pics of Teddy Trey and Knight Josh.




We went for a really nice hike on Monday up to Thunderbird Falls. Unfortunately the viewing deck for the falls was closed for construction. We did walk the creekside trail, and try to get up close to the falls. It was a bit too treacherous to do with the boys in the packs, but we had a great time anyways. I absolutely love waterfalls, and it was such a nice peaceful outing. The mosquitos were evil, and poor Sethers came home with about 10 bites on his little head. We used OFF, but apparently the mosquitos here in Alaska are immune to the repellant. James had Seth in the backpack, and I had Trey in my moby type wrap. Josh did great hiking the 2 miles. We were so proud he was able to make the whole thing on his own. Here are a few of the better pictures from the hike.