Ba-da-bop-bop-ba...

Jaymeson, Jayah, and I had sort of an incident recently at McDonalds.

Here's how it went down:

Jaymeson has just moved into his brand new apartment. There was nothing, and I mean nothing, in his kitchen. So before church, we took Jayah to McDonalds for breakfast. We ordered our food, and then Jayah and I went to the bathroom. We did our thing, and on the way out I stopped and said "On hold Jayah, I need to wash my hands." Half a second later, she screams and the door bursts open. I rush around the corner and see blood everywhere, and the tip of her finger is literally hanging off.

I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. I sat there for what felt like minutes, holding Jayah's head to the left of me and her hand on my right so she couldn't see anything, and then yelled for Jaymeson. He came over, saw the situation, and very calmly said we needed to go. I, like a zombie, followed him out the door to the car.

Meanwhile, everyone around was freaking out. And one genius McDonalds worker was considerate enough to ask if we needed a bandaid. No thanks, I think we'll go to the hospital.

Jaymeson quickly searched for the nearest hospital while I talked to Jayah and tried to keep her calm. The funny thing is, she was much more concerned about my shirt and whether or not I liked it, then anything that was going on with her hand.

We went to the closest medical facility around the corner and they informed us that they couldn't help. They did however give Jaymeson some gauze and tape and allowed him to wrap Jayah's hand to stop the bleeding. We then went to the Hospital a few exits down, which also happened to be the hospital where Miss Jayah first entered the world three weeks shy of four years ago.

To back up a little bit, there were a few rather crazy things leading up to the situation.

First, that weekend, the topic of most of Jayah's conversations was blood and death. She asked us all day long, if the laundry basket was dead, or if the tv was dead, or if her hair was dead (which, by the way, it is), etc. She even told me herself that as long as something had blood in it, it's alive. Weird.

Second, as Jayah and I were headed to the bathroom on that fateful day, Jaymeson imagined something crazy happening. He said he turned around and saw the man who happened to be the one to push the bathroom door open to free Jayah's hand. He imagined that as we were leaving the bathroom, that man was going to knock jayah out and run off with me. He was in the process of imagining how we would have reacted when he heard jayah cry and me yelling for him. Even weirder, right?

Turns out, Jayah and her poor little finger are going to be fine. She lost the tip of it. They had to shorten it just a little bit, but the doctor said her nail would grow back and it could definitely look mostly normal in time. She was such a big girl! I think we were all proud of how strong and brave she was from the very beginning.

The very next day, I got to spend some time with her and she was pretty normal. Still a little loopy, but also her crazy upbeat self. And one week later she's still going strong! She was even in her very first play this weekend, "Annie Get Your Gun." She was the cutest little towns person and piglet you ever did see. ;)

After this little incident, all of the sudden lots of people were telling me stories of where this exact thing happened to them or someone they know. Apparently it's not an uncommon thing to slice the tip of your finger off! All of them have very normal looking, almost scar free fingers. So that makes me feel better.

For the first couple of days, I received phone calls from some of Jayah's family members, and some of my friends asking how I was doing. For a while I was unsure of why anyone would ask how I was doing, since I didn't lose a finger... but I slowly started to understand when I started having my own little series of nightmares about McDonalds. I think the blood all over my shirt, and the initial sight of it all really got to me. I think about the situation all the time, and every single time I see a McDonalds, I have a small panic attack. I've sworn to myself that I will never step foot in a McDonalds again.

(Side note: Jaymeson and I went back to the very same McDonalds to play out the situation again. There was still blood on the floor and on the bathroom door. 11 hours later... and they had not yet cleaned up the blood. We took pictures of the mess and also videos of the door closing, you know, for future reference. Sad thing is, Jayah probably didn't have a chance. That door was heavy, and although against their regulations, it didn't have a stop on the door to slow it down. Lucky for them, they agreed to pay her medical bills without a fight.)

One sweet friend at work noticed that I was having a hard time and talked to me about it. She told me that she sincerely believes that everything happens for a reason, and that maybe we can't even imagine a reason for it now, but there is one.

I thought about that for a long time. (Very unproductive day at work.) I've come to the conclusion that she's right. This did happen for a reason. Whether it be a small reminder to Jayah that we all have our imperfections and she's still beautiful and perfect to those that matter even without the tip of her finger, or that maybe one or both of us may have one day suffered from obesity as a result of McDonalds. But it did happen, and for a reason. Only time will tell.

I'm grateful to that friend for so sweetly reminding me that accidents happen and that God is in charge. How grateful I am to know and understand the Gospel.

Moral of the story: Don't let your kids out of your sight in any public restroom.

Happy Valentines Day!

Meet the Parents, Part 1

It started on a cold and dreary Wednesday afternoon in Draper, UT. We (I) spent a few hours packing and preparing snacks and lunches for the long 24 hour trek to Houston, TX, while Jaymeson spent a few hours primping, (yes, primping) so he'd look good when he pumped the gas every couple of hours.

After the preparation was complete, we got onto I-15, and started driving south. Twenty-Five minutes into the drive, we missed our exit. Made a short detour, and got on our way.

Okay okay, I won't be that ridiculous about it. :)

Jaymeson and I had seven goals to accomplish on this trip to Texas. One: Eat real Mexican Food. Two: Eat real BBQ. Three: Eat Blue Bell Ice Cream. Four: Wrestle with an alligator. Five: Not get any tickets. Six: See dolphins. And Seven: Spend time on an island.

The drive wasn't too bad. Jaymeson was determined to stay awake the entire time. I drove most of the way there, and he drove most of the way back. We didn't have bad weather either way, which was nice. On the way there, I took Jaymeson on a surprise detour to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium! He was so excited. Jaymeson is the biggest Dallas Cowboys fan you will ever meet. We did a tour around the stadium, and bought a few souveniers, and had a good time making lifelong memories.

Jaymeson's now 2nd favorite Cowboys hat. (I bought him the 1st at the stadium.)

Here is Jaymeson, just working, at the Cowboys Stadium.

After our Dallas detour, we went on to Aggieland! College Station, TX, home of Texas A&M University. Four out of Six of my siblings, plus three spouses, one niece, and one set of grandparents live there. My mom, my littlest brother, and one of my uncles happened to be visiting at the same time as well. We spent the night hanging out with my family, telling embarrassing stories, and being competitive with one another. It was fun! Jaymeson really enjoyed hanging out with my family. Goal number one was accomplished here. (As well as a few other times on this trip...) We went out to dinner with the fam. to Pappasitos! My favorite Mexican restaurant.

Welcome to Aggieland!

The next day was Friday, and also my birthday! My brother and sister in law made a really nice breakfast for me and Jaymeson and we spent the morning with them. Then we went off to have lunch with my mom and my grandpa, where we accomplished goal number two! (and also goal number three) My grandpa took us to his favorite cute little BBQ place. Jaymeson was shocked at how good the BBQ was there, and he has been craving it ever since. We also had Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, which is my favorite, and the best ice cream in the world. It is only available in Utah at Carabbas and Outback Steakhouse, where you can order a 1/2 gallon for $50. ...right. Then my grandpa took us on a tour of the Texas A&M campus and stadium. Jaymeson learned a lot about the Texas A&M traditions and I think he fell just as in love with the school as I am. Maybe someday I'll get to go there. :) Then we headed off to Houston, (Just an hour and a half away) where my dad, one of my little brothers, and my little sister were. (Shannon was also in College Station, she just loves me so much that she followed me to Kingwood :) ) We spent the evening with my dad, going through old pictures and telling stories, and checking out some fun Christmas lights around the city. And then my dad took us to see the new Sherlock Holmes. We went pretty late... and I warned them I would fall asleep, but they didn't believe me. Needless to say, I'll need to see that movie again.

Heaven on Earth

Us at the A&M Stadium

Us at the famous "Santa's Village" in Kingwood

The next morning, we ate breakfast and headed off to Galveston. Which happens to be the place where I was born, and also an island! Check off number six and seven off our list. We walked along the shoreline, toured the city, and then I ate my first real seafood at Joe's Crab Shack on the seawall. It wasn't as bad as I thought either. There is just something about eating food that still looks like its alive that just gets to me. Afterwards, we toured more of the city, including the ship that I was named after (The Elissa), and took a few rides on the ferry. We rode it a few times looking for dolphins, and just as I was getting discouraged about finding some, Jaymeson goes "Watch, right before we get there, we'll see some..." And right as he said that, there they were! Swimming next to the ferry. It was so fun. Jaymeson was so excited to see dolphins, it was so cute! That night was New Years Eve, so we drove down Moody Gardens to see the Festival of Lights. We also toured the "Rainforest Pyramid" and watched a 4D movie. :) It was fun! Then we went up to the Kemah Boardwalk for a firework show. I had never been to the Boardwalk before, so it was kind of fun. Carnivals, and restaurants, and shopping. It was a pretty foggy, and humid night so the fireworks weren't that great, but it was fun to see the reflections of the fireworks on the Gulf.

On the beach

On the ferry

Crab Legs

"Gotta go eat at Joes"

Us at the "Elissa"

Me and my Dad at Moody Gardens

Next day, Jaymeson and I decided to see if we could accomplish our fourth goal: to wrestle with an alligator. We headed off to Lake Houston and scoped the area. Kingwood is a cool little community. It's nicknamed the "Livable Forest" because it is just that... a livable forest. Trees everywhere! There are also fun trails throughout the city called "green belts". We walked along the shore down the side of the greenbelts, and searched for alligator eyes. We saw some snakes, and a bunch of turtles out on the logs, but no alligators. As we were walking along side of the shore, Jaymeson saw "little teeny feet", as he likes to say, swimming underneath the leaves, he reached in and pulled out a BABY turtle. Seriously, it was TINY! It could fit into the palm of a brand new babies hand. He was so excited about it, that we decided to take it home to surprise Jayah. We headed off to a pet store (where we did see baby alligators) and got the right supplies so this little turtle could survive the trip home. That night, we spent time with my dad, visited the Houston Temple, had more real Mexican food, and watched the Dallas game. We headed off late that night, back to Utah.

See that teeny green circle in the middle? That's Rafael.  :)

Me and my Dad at the Houston, TX LDS Temple

Overall, it was a short and simple trip. It was good to see my family, and good for my family to finally meet Jaymeson. Everyone got along really well, and Jaymeson was sad to leave. He even talked in a Texas accent the whole way home. :) We're both excited to go back again sometime this Summer, and bring Jayah with us. Every time I see her, she asks me if it's time to go to Texas yet. Haha!

Here's Jayah, very excited about her turtle! :)

The bad news is, we failed to accomplish goal número cinco: to not get any tickets. Monticello police snuck up on us just after getting gas, and we got a ticket, just a few short hours from home.

Dang.