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| Ready to cheer on the pack |
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| Matching jammies "Take my picture with Caroline mommy" |
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Eating an apple, in jammies and a tutu, in the bathroom- keeping
me company while I clean |
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| It's -30 outside, so we car bring the cars inside! |
7 days into the New Year, I got into a car accident on my way to work. All the schools were closed that Monday and Tuesday and our office actually closed on Monday as well, but was back open on Tuesday. It was still over 30 degrees below zero. I was driving down the freeway in the far left lane and all of a sudden a car was coming horizontally across all three lanes and was just there in front of me. I didn't have time to react and there was a semi on my right and the median on my left. So I think all I could do was hit the brakes and brace myself. I hit the car and spun into the median and came to a stop facing the opposite direction. In the middle of it, I seriously thought to myself that I was going to die...I just kept hearing/feeling the car hitting things and because I wasn't able to see much during it all- it all happened very fast and the air bag was in my face- I had no idea when it was going to stop. I was SO unbelievably lucky that I wasn't hurt at all...not even a scratch. My entire body was shaking, but I was OK, which I'm still amazed by. I couldn't exactly comprehend how this car came horizontally across traffic, but I did find out from him that he was merging onto the freeway (going the same direction as me) and a semi wouldn't let him in, so he hit the gas to try to get in front of him and the rear end of his car kicked out (it's rear wheel drive) and he lost control and came across all three lanes of traffic and was just there sideways in front of me.
Within seconds of coming to a stop, my passenger door was open and people were asking if I was ok. All I could say was "I think so". I could move everything, nothing hurt (yet). I looked around the car- my glasses had been knocked off my face and were in my lap, there was coffee everywhere, my purse was upside down on the passenger side floor, the key was still in the ignition, but the rest of my keys were sitting in the passenger seat. The guys asked if I was ok just to sit in my car for a minute until the police arrived. I looked around and asked if they thought it was ok that I stay in the car- it was smoking and there was a lot of dust from the air bag as well. They looked around and saw that it was leaking a lot of fluid as well, so another (very nice) guy that had stopped asked if I wanted to come and sit in his car and wait. So that's what I did.
Traffic was going to be REALLY backed up in the direction I was coming from- which is the direction Dan would have to come from to get me. I called him and he ran the girls over to Beth's and started his way down. It was over an hour before he would get to me, so I had a police officer take me to a gas station away from the freeway that would be easier for him to get to. I intended on going to the Dr. to get checked out, but didn't need the ambulance. I was pretty sore for a few days after, but that was it. I feel extremely lucky for so many reasons. Things could have been so different. I could have been seriously hurt, or worse, the other driver or I could have been hit by other cars coming down the freeway, and the girls could have been with me. The outcome from this was the best that it possibly could have been in my mine and I'm very thankful for that. It was a very good reminder for me as to how fast things something can happen that can change everything.
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| The Camry did a good job and all of the damage was exterior- nothing came into the car |
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Reagan's side- so thankful they weren't with me.
You can also see the mustang in the background- he spun and ended up back in the far right lane. |
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Cleaning out our belongings...good-bye Camry. We had other plans for this car,
but cars can be replaced. |
On a brighter note, the following weekend we celebrated cousin Brady's birthday. He had a sledding party, which was such a great idea. Everyone had a great time. Rylie the little daredevil kept flying off the jump. She also got to take a ride with her big cousin Michael on their snowmobile.
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| The two littlest "cousins" |
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| Swinging in the snow |
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| mid-jump |
Rylie also received ice skates from Grr and Grr Mom for Christmas. We went to test them out with them as well as Carpenters. Rylie loved skating- she was able to shuffle along on her own and did a couple of little spins. She has been obsessed ever since. She's been watching the figure skaters in the Olympics and we also took the girls to see Disney on Ice.
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| Reagan all bundled- it was a pretty chilly night |
Dan decided to go up North with a couple of guys for a snowmobile one of the last weekends in January, so the girls and I took the opportunity to go see Gamma and Papa in La Crosse. I have been wanting to take them to the Children's Museum and thought with how cold it has been, it was a good opportunity to do so. Weekends are probably not the best idea- the kids were all crazy and there seemed to be a major lack of parenting in many cases. We made the best of it though. Rylie enjoyed the bank and Reagan loved playing with the boats in the "Mississippi". Any time she can splash in water, she's happy.
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| I rode in these little boats ad Myrick Park as a kid |
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| Lounging together |
