Awesome Lake Pix by S

I have always enjoyed the photography of my friend, S. But for the past year or so, she's been really focusing (pardon the pun) on improving her photography skills, and she has done just that. Here are some of the photos she took of The Bear Family while we were at the lake. There are quite a few, but they are worth peeking at. You can find her blog here, and she also posts fabulous photos using Instagram. Check them out!

Papa Bear flips.

BooBoo launched.

"Hold it like this..."

Thirsty dog...or narcissistic?

Buddies chatting.

William.

Brother Bear and mom catching up.

Papa Bear casting.

Me. Really. An actual photo.

Michael fishing.

Funny Girl and Brother Bear.

Whose fish is this?

Worm.

Jenny and Jasmin...now lake dogs.

Michael found something!

Michael waiting for a bite.

Jasmin.

Jenny.

Greying muzzle.

Fishing injury.

Right out of the tub....

Day Six at the Lake

Okay, so no pictures for a few days, and a change of plans, some good news, and a break.

Originally we intended to pack up and return home on Thursday because William had his quarterly checkup with the Ped Endo on Friday. But, our gracious hostess twisted our collective arms (right!), so we "adjusted". That's just the way we flow 'round here. So, William and I packed overnight bags, hopped in the truck, and drove home Thursday afternoon, while the rest of the combo-fam stayed at the lake. Honestly, William really needed the break from all the action, activity and chaos of the previous few days. And, well, I kind of really enjoyed the break, too.

So, our Ped Endo appointment went great. Dr. A had the lab results from the previous visit, and they were spectacularly good. Just about everything came back indicating William is wonderfully healthy. His total cholesterol was 125; HDL was 56, trigylcerides was 70, and LDL was 55 (according to Dr. A, that is all rediculously good, even for a kid). And, he'd grown 1.5 inches in 3 months. We'd started our diet shift about two months before his labs were drawn, and I think that had a lot to do with the results we got from the labs. On down side, we need to supplement Vitamin D (not drinking milk), and he needs a bit more water every day (easy fix). And we need to re-do his pee test because the microalbumin came back wacky (Dr. A says that could be because he'd been active that day before the test). The all-important A1c had dropped a bit, to 7.3...still need to work on that. But, overall, I was very pleased with the results and the visit.

While I was home, I did some more research on diabetes apps, and loaded another one onto Thomas' iTouch. It's become clear that I'm just not going to get an app that accepts all the data I want it to, displays or downloads the data in a way that I can easily use, incorporates carb:insulin ratios and correction factors, and has a comprehensive food library. I guess I'm just going to have to find someone to write a comprehensive app for Type 1 diabetics, or stick to written logs.

William and I enjoyed another quiet evening at home, then returned to the lake on Saturday. And, of course as fate would have it, we were battling goofy highs from the moment we got home from the checkup, all evening, overnight, and including on the drive to the lake. Ain't that just the way it goes?

Day Three at The Lake

Mostly just pix of yesterday....

William taking a break.

Michael ready for action (see video below).

S doing her thang.

Unidentified shutter bug. Hey, there were, like, 14 kids in the water...I can't ID all of them ;)

Littleman...how is his hair still dry?!?

The Pirate in his Ship.

Even Jenny considered getting back in...then not.

And, there was a whole lotta this goin' on:

Day One at The Lake

Despite getting up later than I had planned, we managed to get packed up, loaded up, hitched up, and piled into two vehicles in pretty good time.

Babyman and Michael ready to go.

It wasn't a very long drive to the lake, even with multiple stops. David and five cubs went in the Sequoia, and KitMama and I went in her van with one cub and four dogs (two were dropped off elsewhere...only two came with us to the lake). It was definitely hot when we got there, but we got Popper set up and were down at the lake in plenty of time to enjoy the water.

J and Babyman.

David even got in a little fishin' time...

Note the all-important beer...

essential for catching fish.

And, as always, S had her camera out and took lots of fabulous pictures...

The photographer.

This trip seemed like a good opportunity to check out some iPhone/iTouch apps for diabetes management. Thomas was good enough to let me use his iTouch, I downloaded a couple of apps, and started logging data while we were still at home. It is really convenient to be able to load data straight into the iTouch, rather than mess with a written log. There's a fairly decent food library with carb counts, and the timer on-board is very helpful. But, you have to have the ratios, correction factors, etc. in your head to calculate doses. Not a problem for me, but would be for anyone else filling in at dose time. I'll be hunting for the "perfect app", I'm sure...

At The Lake

Thank you, Rachel, for a fabulous day!

We were invited for a visit by a wonderful homeschooling friend, who we sadly had not seen for some time. She and her family, including four beautiful, lively kids, live on a ranch with a lake. As soon as we arrived we were treated to a lesson in horse-shoeing. The ferrier was at the stables and had just started replacing the shoes on Big Guy. Big Guys is a BIG horse, especially for riding. We all got to watch as he pulled off an old shoe, trimmed the hoof, reshaped a new shoe on the anvil, and heated it in his really nifty truck-mounted forge. The only part we missed was the actualy nailing-on of the shoe. It was very cool.

Then, we took a tour of the mountain in the little zip-around Jeep-y cart dealy (I don't know what it's called, obvously). We got a brief lesson on the history of the mountain and surrounding area, picked a few berries, found a turkey feather, and got a great view of the countryside from the top of the hill. Then, back down the hill to the Red Barn (cottage) for lunch, and several hours of swimming, cayaking and fishing.

Wonderful day! Thanks, Rachel.