Eric Moody: May 2009

With all the sun we've had in May we have been outdoors every day. Even days that I am working, I make time to at least do something like taking Cam to the skate park. These little hour or two breaks during the day help tire him out and let me get some work done (not to mention they are just FUN!!) He has become the king of the skate park on his scooter and flies through the place, over ramps and up on walls. Most of the time he is scaring me to death as he has no fear and is really moving. One day this week while there, he stopped on a ramp to watch another kid and somehow lost his balance - just standing there!!! He fell at just the right angle and popped his forehead on a concrete wall right under his helmet. When I scooped him up there was that moment of panic from me as I saw a big pool of his blood on the concrete. (Head injuries bleed!)

I rushed him to the ER - only a mile away - driving with him in my arms so I could keep pressure on his eye. I wish I knew the name of the kind dad that was there with his son that day and helped me get loaded in the car and clean him up - don't know if I could have gotten it all if not for him!

Amy met us at the ER and Cam was still quite upset. It was about half past noon as we were just getting ready to leave the park for nap when this happened. By the time the Dr was ready to stitch him up, the poor little guy was exhausted. I was not liking how this was looking either. The doc came in with two nurses and an extra blanket. They laid Cam down in the blanket and wrapped him like a mummy with his arms at his side, and then they turned to us and told us that we could leave if we wanted as this is sometimes not easy to watch - yeah right! They were not going to be able to drag me from my little, best buddies side on that day! We both elected to stay as the two nurses got in position to hold Cam down.

Amy did have to sit down as they started but I stayed right in Cam's face, patting him on his chest and talking to him: "Close your eyes little buddy. Everything is going to be alright, just keep your eyes closed" As the doc gave him a quick shot to numb the pain, I could see him tense up and he let out just the slightest whimper. He was doing a great job of lying very still with his eyes shut. As they started the first stitch he was looking very relaxed and breathing slow and calm. By the time he was starting the second stitch we realized he had now fallen asleep!!

Yeah, only our tough little guy could play so hard that he would fall asleep on the ER table while getting stitches. He was a trooper through the whole experience - more so than I. Whenever I think about that first second when I scooped him off the concrete I still cringe and feel a bit sad. There is not a worse feeling than seeing your own child's blood - and this was just a few stitches. I couldn't imagine having to go through something more serious. My heart truly goes out to all parents who have had to endure more serious matters with their children.

Cam got his stitches out 5 days later without so much as a whimper and life was completely back to normal. So much so, that we took off for a long weekend in Seattle on Memorial day that included a trip to the aquarium with Cam's girlfriend, a Mariners game and a trip up to the blast zone on Mt. St. Helens.

Cam had a great time at the game and held up his glove yelling "Hit it to me Griffey" and he just about did. Ken Griffey hit a homer just a few rows away from us!

We had a great time at the game drinking beers and eating junk food. Cam even got his very own cotton candy.....

that he would shove his whole face into when he took a bit - he was a blue-boy when he finished!

I'm still trying to get in a good amount of riding in for the Mt Hood Cycling Classic stage race in June so on Monday Amy and her family let me get a couple hour head start on them with my bike and I rode from Kelso up Rt 504 to the blast zone of Mt. St. Helens. It was a great ride and even on a busy weekend it was not bad as the shoulder is huge, clear and smooth! It was about 70 miles with some great climbing that started less than 100 ft above sea level and finished at about 4300 ft with two good climbs in the middle!

The views up there are amazing and you can still see the devastation from the eruption even after all this time:

We had a great weekend and are very excited that summer has arrived in the Gorge!!

It seemed like the rainy months just wanted to keep hanging on as we went through April. We had lots of play time outside but things were pretty soggy. The sun came out when we needed it to though - as you can see in previous posts. We had sun for the Cherry Blossom Race and a few hikes. Amy even got in a long hike with some friends from work and managed to stay dry for it:

They hiked up Hamilton Mountain on the WA side of the Gorge and enjoyed some great views of the mountains:

And of the Columbia River Gorge:

A Gorge hike would not be complete without waterfalls. This is just one of many they passed:

As May came in things started to dry out some. We still had some cloudy days but even those stayed pretty dry. Early in the month we went into Portland and had dinner on the water with Amy's parents for Mothers Day.

Amy, Cam and I had spent the day in Portland walking along the river and seeing the sights. Cam had brought his scooter with him so we were able to cover a lot of ground