The Jordans- Cherish, Sean, Autumn and Emelia

Autumn's fever finally broke yesterday. I am assuming the antibiotics are doing their job. I'm completely exhausted now as is Autumn. Still having a hard time getting enough fluids in her, but she is coming around. This is the first time Autumn has ever been this sick. I mean, we've dealt with a few colds here and there and even a stomach virus, but she has never run a fever before and the IV/catheter was very traumitizing to me. I feel very fortunate because the second visit to the Emergency room, there was a toddler just a bit younger than Autumn who fell in the pool and died. His family was completely distraught and if I thought I had it bad, it was nothing compared to what that family was going through. Sean-I miss you terribly and I honestly did not think I was going to get through this trip without you. You have no idea how close I was to begging you to try and make it here. I hope that your work trip to Neveda is going good and that you are not suffering from...

Today was a rough day for Autumn. She ran a fever through the night, I took her to the Emergency room and the ER Doc said that she had probably caught a virus and to give her Tylenol and Motrin around the clock. We were doing that until finally around 3 pm today her fever hit 104.8 I decided she couldn't go on any longer like that and took her back to the emergency room. They had to draw blood, give her IV fluid, take x-rays and catheterize her. When they put the catheter in, I was holding Autumn in my arms and my mom, dad and the nurse had to hold her down as well. Autumn screamed out for her dad and it nearly broke my heart. Some of the bloodwork came back and the doctor said there was a rare bacteria in her urine and they would need a few days to determine exactly what it is. He sent us home with antibiotics and more Tylenol/Motrin. The fever has not broken as of yet, but it is much lower. Please keep my little Savage bug in your prayers. I'll update in the morning.

Why on Earth would someone chose to sit on an airplane with a 16 month old from Alaska to South Carolina is beyond me. I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment! These are the undeniable truths about Autumn. 1. Autumn is a savage- I'm not sure I need to elaborate much more on this. We all know it. 2. Autumn is nosey- she needed to know what the pilots were doing, the flight attendants, the old lady in front of me. Why was the man next to us covering his face with his blanket like she does (he was trying to sleep in peace- with NO help from Autumn). 3. Autumn is incredibly smart- Autumn pointed to the aircraft we were on like she does when she is on the ground. I could tell that she was a bit perplexed that the noise of the airplane was so close, but she knew we were in the thing she always stands on the ground and points at. 4. Autumn loves dogs. By the end of the first full day here at my mom's and dad's, she had figured out how to let the dogs out of their crates. At eve...

I got the letter I have been waiting for today. Unfortunately, it said that "We regret to inform you that were not selected to participate in the Fall 2009 Radiology Program at the University of Alaska." It doesn't say why. I am pretty disappointed right now. I try not to be, but truth is I am. It makes me feel like I failed myself and more importantly, my family. Not sure what I will do next.

I figured it was time for an update. I went to the board yesterday for entrance to the Radiology program at the University of Alaska and overall I thought it went pretty good. Looking back at it, I wish I would have said a few things a little bit better and I wish I would have spent a little more time answering one of the questions, but it is out of my hands now. Professor Wight (Director of Radiology at the school) said that they would be making their decision same day and then they would mail out a letter either way today, Friday June 5th. I could know as early as tomorrow. I cannot say for sure that I made it, but I gave it a good shot. It looked like there were a lot of applicants and if I don't make it, I will be doing A LOT of traveling. As soon as I know something, I will let you all know. Now on to more interesting things: Autumn loves home made whip cream. Thank you Sean- Now if I even think about using the stand mixer, Autumn is right under my feet looking for the...

After our visit to Homer we decided we needed to roll back towards Skilak WMA. The day started off rainy and dreary (typical Alaska weather for you) and I was wondering if it would clear up or not. On our way back to Skilak, we stopped in Kenai and ate at the McDonald's and let Autumn Savage around. Sean gave Autumn his gigantor cup of Hi-C (which by the way has ZERO juice in it). You should have seen her walking around with that cup that looked bigger than her. She had the hugest smile on her face and at first it freaked me out because I thought she just grabbed some random strangers cup and was drinking soda or something. The other parents were giving us that how dare you, you terrible parents look which only made Sean happy, but I was relieved she was drinking from his cup and not a strangers!! On the way back, Autumn did this: I guess McDonald's and Hi-C wore her out. On our way back, we ran into this lady: She seemed pretty nice. Once we got back to Skilak, we decide...

Day two started off early and as I stated in the previous post, we were tired and cold. Sean started the propane stove inside the A-liner to get breakfast going and the heat coming off of that was quite welcome. We decided that since it appeared there would be nice weather, we would go for a walk. We decided we would go to: Burney's trail (named after a biologist who studied the importance of the Lynx in this area and who later tragically died). It was a short hike to the top. I think it took about half an hour, but that was because we let Autumn down every opportunity she wanted. She likes to pick up stuff off the trail and hand it to Sean (like pine cones and rocks). She watches him to make sure he keeps it. Look from the Burney trail. Pointing out the river. Teaching Autumn about the importance of being quiet while enjoying nature. Toss a baby. Psych!! Autumn spent a lot of time falling. After climbing back down from Burney's trail, we headed over to the Scenic view of...