Weekly Essential

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Summer Fun

My family and I are blessed and thank God everyday Patrick is alive and still here with us! It has been two years on September 26, 2016 since Patrick's heart attack! Here is an update from the last three months to where he is this year compared to last year!

The beginning of June the kids got out of school, one more month of baseball and Patrick is worried about the kids being home for the summer. The kids do not want to do summer school like they did last year, that was fine with me. I am looking forward to being at home and there are plenty of projects around the house to keep everyone busy! I knew if I got us on a good summer schedule it would work out.
Then I did something a little crazy and we got a puppy. A sweet female German Shepard, Patrick named her Stella! She is awesome!

A puppy, what was I thinking? What an amazing addition to our family and such a perfect time. Another Guardian Angel to take care of us. Our sweet black lab Alex is 11 years old, she needed a companion.  Alex still hikes 1-3 miles and she is super happy.  I am super happy that they like each other. 

June 2016 Walking the dog
I made a schedule, 2 hour shifts for the puppy. It was great for all of us! The kids learned that those two hours, they were responsible for Stella. The schedule worked great for about two months. Then the excitement wore off, school would soon start and other things were on their minds. It was good and taught my kids a lot and Stella got to know everyone and everyone had there private time with her. It was great, the kids no longer complained about who was hogging the puppy.

June 2015 in Yellow Stone 
Patrick is amazing and surprises me everyday with little things, sometimes big things. He still walks the dogs and he works out daily. I got him all fat and happy after he got home from the hospital and he has dropped 20 lbs and he looks great and physically he is doing awesome. 

Unfortunately this summer we are unable to travel for many reasons, so that is why I figured it would be a good time for a puppy. I really wanted to take the family camping but the thought of it was just to overwhelming. Last year in June we were able to go to West Yellowstone for the weekend. It was great and our first time away. 


Baseball!




This year it was two boys in baseball on two different teams in two different directions with one driver. We loved watching the games, but the travel did take its toll on me. It was hard on all of us but we love baseball, the boys love to play. 


 Fathers Day!
For fathers day we went golfing as a family again, that was wonderful. We did break the tradition of going out to breakfast, I made a wonderful breakfast instead. Then he went for a bike ride with the boys. They wanted to take him on the path, so I dropped them off at the top and picked them up at the bottom. They had so much fun, they did it twice. 

Fathers Day 2016

Father's Day Bike Ride

Fathers Day 2015
Fishing with the boys
Last year I took the kids horse back riding  a lot, Patrick was not allowed to ride yet. Since last fall we have been riding a lot. It is quiet and serene. 

It was super hot last summer and we did a lot of fishing. The boys would get so mad at Patrick because he would always catch fish and they wouldn't. We would drive lake to lake to fish so the boys could catch something. Last year we spent a lot of time fishing, this year we spent time, horseback riding, at lake kayaking and swimming, and hanging at home swimming in our own pool. 


Check Up Time

This June Patrick also had a check up with his Brain doctor and he is impressed as always. Patrick is really doing well. He is still unable to work, he still takes naps, but he helps me a ton around the house and with the horses and he got the okay to Roller Blade and go boating. Physically he is great. The doctor tells us not to rush it and that Patrick is doing great! He can't do activities for too long and things still over stimulate him. He does keep active and he is happy. Patrick always was very active. Sometimes it is exhausting for me, he always wants to go do something fun instead of work and things that need to be done around the house. Well who wouldn't.

Thanks to Steve and Jolena Childs, have arranged for someone to come and pick up Patrick every week for golf with the guys! Patrick loves it, it means so much to him. It is a nice break for both of us and so good for Patrick! He even bought his first pair of shoes on his own. I am so proud of him. 

The Dali Lama

Also this summer Patrick and I were able to go see the Dali Lama, what a treat that was. 



The Rodeo

Rodeo 2015
Rodeo 2016
Both this year and last year we went to the Rodeo. It was fun and good for us to get out. It was a little overstimulating. When he does have activities that are too much or long, he is tired for a few days after so we don't do them too often but it is also good to get out. 
Rodeo 2016










Hiking, Horseback Riding, and More


When we hiked up the hill and down the trail last year, Patrick would have to stop and take a break. This year no breaks and he started running down the trail. So proud of him, he gets frustrated but he is working so hard, he won't give up and he does believe he will remember someday! Our whole family does. Will will not give up, his brain just needs time to heal.


In August of last year, Patrick got the okay from the doctor that he could horse back ride as long as there were no rocks? I had to laugh, it is rocky where we live. Thanks to Beth and Jolyn who got together, got horses and trailers and took our whole family on a horseback ride up by Strawberry Reservoir. It was beautiful, it was so wonderful to ride together as a family. 

School started shortly after the horseback ride together. Then we were preparing our trip back east Labor Day Week 2015 to see Patrick's family. I was so hopeful that he would remember something and he did. 

He remembered Lake Sunapee and standing on the dock. It wasn't much but it was something. This year in August, 2016, we watched the movie On Golden Pond, as Audrey Hepburn uncovered the furniture at the Lake House, Patrick remembered that him and I rented a boat at a lake. We did twice, we rented boats when we went back to Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire where he grew up. 

We were unable to get back there this year. It is really expensive in the summer and my oldest son started 7th grade and he has a goal to get perfect attendance. Plus missing a week of school last year was really hard on him. We wish his family would fly out and see us, but they don't fly. I get sad sometimes when I think about why family won't come see us, everyone is so busy and it is awkward and hard. I understand and have learned when I don't get what I want it is usually a blessing. 


I love him so much and so do the kids, last year we went on our first date since his accident. We love having Patrick around all the time. He was always gone working. We miss the old Patrick, but he is so much the same, we all love the new Patrick and that he is around all the time. We feel bad he is not doing his thing, but we sure do enjoy him being around. He is really positive and doesn't get frustrated too often about not remembering. He is happy and enjoying life.
First Date 2015
Patrick cooks himself and my mother breakfast every morning. He just started making my mom lunches. He has no idea what a huge help that is. He does help me a ton, some people ask if he can work, he can't. But he can sure help me and when he gets tired, he rests. The brain is amazing and we have our good days and bad days. We defiantly have more good than bad, we are so blessed and grateful everyday. What a gift life is, how precious it is. I see all these people, who are running kids around, working harder than they should. Wait that used to be us. Now, we have more family time, less activities, we still live in a low stimulation environment compared to most. We enjoy each other and the actives we do together, even if it is unloading hay for the horses or a simple walk after dinner. We do love our evening yoga together before bed.

We had a lot of fun at the lake this summer, we tried paddle boarding and then decided to buy a 2 person inflatable kayak, I have to say we love it. It is folds up into a bag for storage. 


The fence came loose and I got the right tool in Patrick's hand and with a little guidance he knew what to do. I am so proud of him. He felt so good knowing he fixed something. 



The Wrong Decision 
I should have known something was wrong when I tried to rescue this horse. Boy did the owners pull one over on me. Luckily he found a new home after taking out two hitching posts and a broken ankle to a ranch hand. When you think you are helping someone out, it was a good lesson for me to learn. Thank you to all who helped me through those three days.


This decision made me aware that I was not making good decisions. So I paid attention, that is one thing Patrick always said and did. He paid attention, he knew what was going down before anyone else. He was and still is amazing. So I forgot my smarts on this one and lucky I was able to give him back. My awareness brought me to some realizations with myself and my children. 

Family Time

We had wonderful summer of family bonding with hiking, biking, fun at the lake, horse back riding, swimming and just hanging out at home with each other. 



Patrick went on a few hikes by himself this summer, that felt so good to him. 
We also hit a few local baseball games. 
Baseball night, Orem Owls it was Mascot night

Enjoying Baseball!

A special Treat from the Overtons, AquaZone water park. It was a great way to end the summer, kids and Patrick enjoyed!

He survived and had a blast. 

I know right? I don't think I could do this. Amazing!

We had a wonderful summer, things are challenging but we continue to stay positive, have faith, believe he will remember again someday! He is progressing in his healing. It is slow but he is progressing. Pray for those who have hardships and send them love. Thank you so much for reading our blog. I will continue to try to do better about blogging. Enjoy and don't take life for granite, be grateful, kind and enjoy life.

Kollette and Patrick