Family, Sun, Water Slides, and another ER Visit

“The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.” -Erma Bombeck

Our annual Doane Family Reunion was this weekend. We went to Rupert, Idaho to the Sunrise 'P' River Ranch. Some friends of ours took their dairy farm and turned it into a resort. There are two barns, one with a kitchen, lots of lounging and sleeping room. They have several small cabins with beds and one tent/house with about 12 cots in it. The big barn is HUGE. They had it torn down from another site, then rebuilt it at their farm. (I wish I'd taken a picture.) There's a lot to do. They have a rope climb, tire swing, slides for the kids, a frisbee golf course, volleyball net and big obstacle course. Then, there's this......

The big attraction is the water slilde. It's about 100 feet long and goes right into the Snake River. I went down twice. Yeah, I'm a sissy. It's not the slide, that was fun, it was the water. COLD! That didn't stop the kids, though.

Everyone had so much fun. The log roll was great. Jake (with his natural balance) was a champ.

I was mostly worried about the water, of course. Being right on the river with all those kids is a bit unnerving. The river is very high this year. Rexanne (owner) told us this is the highest they've seen it since they started the ranch-which is 10 years. We usually sat where we could see the water, even if no one was on the slide. Personally, it gave me a sense of security, knowing they couldn't go in without someone seeing. I wasn't too worried about anything else. It was nice to let the kids roam and play with their cousins. Then, Friday afternoon, we heard someone crying. I didn't recognize the cry, but went to see what was up. Max came around the tent with one of his cousins. Max was crying. He said he wanted me to pick him up. I asked him if he was hurt. He said his arm hurt. I looked at his arms and his right one was hanging by his side and something about it didn't look right. I walked closer and picked up his arm. You know the second Harry Potter movie, where Harry breaks his arm and his teacher makes the bones dissappear? They lift his arm and it flops down? Yeah, I'll never be able to watch that movie again, because that's what happened to Max's hand when I lifted his arm. There was a flurry of activity as we figured out how to get to the hospital (my mom came with us, since I don't know my way around) and had my dad and brother give him a blessing. Poor kid, he was in so much pain. When we got to the hospital, the nurse looked at it and said he needed an IV and morphine. The ER doctor took one look and asked who our bone doctor was. Do people have their own bone doctor? Anyway, they called in their ortho dr. and an anethesiologist. I had to laugh to myself when they came in. I knew I was in a small town hospital when I watched the two of them take care of Max in their street clothes. (Hawaiian shirt, shorts, very casual.) They did a great job, and I'm soooooo grateful they have an IHC hospital in Burley.

(The red is paint, not blood.) Looks as painful as it was.

This was the hardest part for him. So much to do and he couldn't do any of it. It made me sad to see how different his personality was. He was so down and frustrated. (He's doing better now, though pretty bored. Anyone have any ideas of how to keep a very active 6 year-old occupied for 6 weeks?)

Despite the injury, the fun continued. We had great food and laughed so much. All of my siblings were there with their families. We did a little tour of the area and went to the cemeteries where my grandparents are buried. It was amazing to listen to my dad talk about his dad. He died when my dad was on his mission. I've never heard him talk so much about him. We wanted Sadie to lay on the ground by my grandma's headstone (her name was Sadie) but she didn't want to do it.

We had so much fun, we decided to have our reunion there every year. I don't think the kids will complain.

Oh, there was a kareoke night on Saturday. My pictures didn't turn out, so when my sister sends me hers, I'll post them. This was sooooo much fun. Pretty much everyone sang, which for my family is a big deal. My mom has a beautiful voice, which she didn't share with her kids. We put our pride aside and sang our hearts out, it was great.

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” -Jane Howard