Aiken Steeplechase 2013

This would've been the 4th year that we've been to the Aiken Spring Steeplechase. Unfortunately, Mother Nature held us back in more than one way this  year :(   And with Daddy being out of town, it wouldn't have been the same.

After a week, YES! A WEEK!, of being confined to our house, we needed to get away! Cabin fever to the MAX had set in! Stryker woke up with a considerable fever Monday AM, so no school for him, which meant no work for me. I had heard a small fever virus was going around & most of the class had caught it. I just assumed it was our turn to stay out for a few days. Monday's fever turned into Tuesday's fever and by Tuesday evening it was knocking on 105, which is too high for me. I loaded him up and went to Health First.

Poor baby! He was so pitiful I tell ya. Nothing rips at my heart strings more than my baby being sick. They got him right in started some tests. Flu Test: Negative;  Chest X-Ray: Clear;   Blood Work: WBC a little high, but not too bad ... HMMM. So it WAS just a virus, go figure. We were given antiboitcs & sent home. We started the meds and followed up with Tylenol & Motrin every 4-6 hours. He cuddled in my bed every night and slept pretty soundly (there was a couple night neither of us got any rest). Still that pesky fever stuck around Wednesday & Thursday, too! By Friday, it was back to his pediatrician in hopes of a solution. She couldn't find anything abnormal either, so it was a higher dose of antibiotics and we were sent on our way again. This time, however, it was to Nana & Poppa's house. We had both been out of school & work for 5 days and needed a break from the Hearthstone.

We arrived in Aiken early Friday afternoon. We waited on Nana & Poppa to finish with their work weeks and then we headed out to dinner. We had a yummy dinner at the Chinese restaurant. Stryker didn't eat too much, he still wasn't a 100%, but he had lots of fun throwing all of our change into the fountain and making wishes. Once we got back home, we decided to dye some Easter Eggs for their house. Nana was at Stryker's very first Easter Egg Dying back in 2009 and now 4 years later they got to do it again! What a special tradition!

 

The next day the weather was YUCK! Storms, rain & just gloomy all around. We headed to North Augusta for some bowling. If there's one thing Stryker is all about right now, it is bowling! Boy, did he have a blast (as well as us adults!)!

Yep! Chicks dig you dude!

Little man is really improving his bowling skills. That ball was like 6 or 7 lbs and he handled it like a champ! 

And while we waited our turn, we took silly pictures together! Love this boy with my whole heart!

After two hours of bowling fun, it was my turn to have some fun! Mom, Stryker & I went over to the Augusta Mall for some shopping. We should've thought better of this plan and had Poppa take Stryker back to the house with him.... I was in shopping mode while Mr Man was not! Thank the good Lord for Nana to keep him busy! He got to ride the train around the mall, she took him to Chick-Fil-A in the food court for lunch & they even played on the indoor playground. THANK YOU NANA!

We had a quiet evening Saturday night with some pizza, wings & a movie. On Sunday, Mom cooked us a very delicious home cooked dinner (lunch). Aunt Katie & Uncle Logan joined us.

Stryker is all into karate right now. While he hasn't started yet (this Momma can only handle one sport at a time!), he is excited to give it a try later this summer. Uncle Logan let him try on his karate garb for practice :) What a cutie!

We packed up in the early afternoon and headed home. We had a lot of fun this weekend even if we didn't get to see the horse races. There's always next year!