I volunteered at Ethan's field day at school. Always a sign that the school year is drawing to a close.
Ethan woke up one morning with marker all over his hands. I couldn't get mad when I realized it read, "I love my mom."
And the other side was a picture of the two of us.
Then a week later, "Ethan [heart] Mom [heart] Dad".
We love him, too.
Proof that Jason crossed the finish line.
And was still smiling after.
He immediately jumped back in the lake where he started to cool off.
Ethan took off his shirt and joined him.
We ended up calling my parents and asking them to come get Jason's car because he was feeling too sick to drive home. He made it through without too much kidney damage, we think, and never ended up having to go to the hospital. The next one has to be easier, since it's in November and should be much cooler!
I took 3 of the same pictures with the different cameras I had. I thought it was fun to compare. No editing done, and all shot on automatic. This is my iPhone 3GS:
This is our Nikon D40:
This is our Olympus digital point and shoot:
Jason wanted to explore Middle Caicos, which is connected to North Caicos via a small causeway that used to be more legitimate before it was pummeled by a hurricane. I was expecting to hear that it was closed, but I guess they figure if you are crazy enough to drive it in a storm than good luck to you. I had visions of our jeep being swept away by a rogue current, but the road was in decent shape.
The only bank on Middle Caicos had closed down a couple months before, so we didn't have enough cash to buy anything, and of course no one took credit cards, and we had no food except some sandwiches we had picked up that morning. We ducked into a cafe to wait out the rain. The owner's son was super nice and let us hang out reading books about the island and even loaned us some Avon Skin-So-Soft, which was surprisingly effective against the no-see-ums.
We wanted to visit the bat caves we had read about, so we called and arranged to have a guide meet us there. By the time we were supposed to meet him, the rain had cleared and the skies were blue.
There are still lots of bats...
Our guide was a real character. He grew up on the island, and his mother used to farm the area all around the caves. He and his brother would explore while she worked. He had some great stories.
This is the causeway on the way home. Still sketchy looking, but I wasn't nervous. We got back in time to explore North Caicos (it didn't take long) and buy a little food before heading back on the ferry. It was a fun adventure.
Jason left for Grand Turk where he met up with his friend Ryan for several days of non-stop diving. He had a great time and perfect weather. While he was gone, Madeline got sick yet again. I took her to the ER on Sunday while my mom watched the kids. The idiots who saw her said she was fine and I was overreacting to a cold. I knew better. I took her to her pediatrician the next morning, since she was still breathing fast and retracting. The pediatrician said her airways were so tight that you couldn't hear any wheezing. Several treatments later we went home with our own nebulizer, a diagnosis of asthma, and an oral steroid. My mother in law came the next day to stay with the kids while I joined Jason in the Caribbean. Since her "attacks" had never lasted more than 24 hours, we thought we were safe. Even then, I was nervous about leaving her, especially because I knew how uncomfortable Ann was. Ann ended up taking her to the doctor twice and giving countless nebulizer treatments and having a generally miserable time.
My flight arrived just as Ryan's was leaving. Jason and I stayed in a little hotel on Provo. The first night we went out to a great dinner. It started to rain right as we left.
The next morning was clear and gorgeous so we rented a car and drove to the far side of the island. It's uninhabited over there and pretty remote. We had the beach completely to ourselves all day.
Can you spot Jason in the picture below? It's like a Where's Waldo game.
We hiked through the water.
Found some sea creatures along the way.
Found the cave we had read about.
Climbed the ladder.
And found this at the top. It reads: "RIP St. Louis. Burnt at sea. 1842."
Along with a gorgeous view. 
It was a perfect first day. Then it rained for the next three straight days, and Maddie wasn't getting better, and Ann was at the end of her rope. I looked in to flights home but there weren't any until the weekend, so we tried to make the best of it, since we figured Ann wouldn't be babysitting our kids anytime soon.
