#1 Brother

Summer is flying by!! With baseball, dance recitals, playdates, late nights, baseball, gardening, picnics at the splash park, deep cleaning, baseball, dates with Mom and Dad, fun times with grandparents, summer walks/drives, and more baseball, we have definitely been keeping busy around here!

A couple of weeks ago, we passed around the stomach flu. Graci was the only one that didn't get it, and boy is she lucky!! It was miserable, and I am very happy to be done with not only the flu itself, but the clean up from others having the flu!!! It took almost two weeks to pass through all of us. UGH!

The day that I had it the worst, Jesi had it as well. She ended up in my bed with me and we were there all day and night. I could tell she was getting dehydrated, and knew I was as well, so I would tell her, "I'll drink a sip of gatorade if you drink a sip." It was the only way I could make myself drink! At one point I realized she hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and told her she really needed to pick something to eat. I called Taylor in (the big kids were taking care of the littles while Jeremy was at work) and told him he needed to get something for Jesi. He asked her what she wanted, and her reply was, "spaghettios." Well, after a thorough search of the pantry and food storage room, Taylor found that we didn't have any. He suggested every other food imaginable, but her heart (or stomach) was set on spaghettios. He asked me if he should go to the store and get some, and I said, "Whatever..."

What was I thinking?

I'm not sure-- just know that I wasn't really coherent. In my normal state of mind, I would never have let an 11-year-old go to the store by himself. Especially when it meant crossing a busy street. But I was in and out of consciousness and so miserable that I didn't really think about what I was telling him.

So this sweet boy got his own money and jumped on his bike. He rode to the nearest store, Smith's, and bought Jesi her spaghettios. Over a three mile roundtrip by himself on a hot summer day, just to help his sister. He came home, warmed up the spaghettios, and brought them to my room-- expecting a happy sister, I would imagine. Jesi brought the spoon up to her mouth, then put it down without so much a nibble, saying, "I'm going to be sick!"

Poor Taylor. Poor Jesi. I still think he wins "brother of the year." (: