Our weekend was a little sad- our Lucy being gone, but we know she is in heaven and we are trying to be happy that she is not in pain anymore and we are still living our lives and trying to have fun.
    I was signed up to run a 50K in Columbia, SC so on Sunday we left at 5:30am to drive to Columbia. The run was held at Harbison State Park- two 16 mile loops on various Mountain Biking/ Hiking trails. There were around 50 runners total. The run started at 8am and it took me 6 hours and 25 min to run the total 32 miles. Chris and the kids met me at different check points around the course and It was so motivating to them and to hear them cheer for me!
   It was a beautiful day, sunny with temperatures in the 70's.  This was the 2nd 50K that I have run, and I hope to do a few more over the summer.
   Today as I write this I feel like I have been run over by a truck. My leg muscles are in a lot of pain and my knees are also very sore, but nothing that I know won't go away in the next few days.
 

Lucy passed away this morning. She was 6.5 years old. She led a good and happy life with us. Lucy's nickname was "The Brown Bullet" because when we went on walks she would chase the birds and run so fast she looked like a little brown streak!
       Chris and I bought her in Jacksonville, FL and she has lived with us in every place we have lived. - Though she hated the cold winters in Michigan, she made all our different houses and apartments our home. She would always be waiting at the door for us when we got home. She would always warm your lap when you sat down at night to relax.  Lucy kept me company while Chris was deployed for 5 months and was there when I brought every baby home from the hospital- and greeted each one with a nuzzle and a lick. Lucy was with me every day I suffered from horrible morning sickness. She was the very best snuggler in the world- she would lay next to you and keep you warm. If you moved Lucy at all while she was sleeping she would groan at you like it was such a hassle for her to get comfortable again.
    Lucy loved to go for walks and was so excited when you would get her leash out. Every summer she went with us to Perkins Pond and ran with the Big Dogs- she was very much the Alpha dog and even though she was tiny in stature she made up for it in heart and strength. She was a good watch dog and would bark at anyone coming to our door. As I write this my heart is broken. I miss my girl. The house feels so empty without her presence. Her usual spot on the couch is now empty. Her food and water dish have yet to be put away and her leash hangs in the usual spot, but will never take Lucy for a walk again. Her favorite purple sweater will never be worn and her stuffed squirrel lays lonely in her crate. 
   Lucy was not herself for quite some time- for the past few months she has not been her usual happy self, she has not been excited about walks or jumped on you when you walked in the door. Lucy had a bad neck and back. The pain she felt everyday was sucking the life from her and I am just glad that she is not in pain anymore. We truly believe that Lucy is in a better place. Her big and lovable soul is now free from her pain ridden body. She gave us so much love- we will never forget her, and she will always have a special place in all our hearts.

Hello everyone. Yesterday was a sad day here at the Schmitts. Lucy Schmitt is very sick- she has a injured disk in her neck and back. She was been acting very unusual the past 2-3 weeks, I thought it was because she was stressed out about our move. She was been laying on the couch shaking a lot- not moving much at all. Also she has had accidents in the house- she never used to do this at all. Yesterday she didn't look good at ALL- so I rushed her to the vet. I had the girls with me- Joey stayed at the neighbors house to play....  We waited for about 2 hours to be seen- but I was just glad they could work us in on such short notice- Once we got back in the exam room it took the vet about 5 minutes to locate the problem- Lucy's back and neck were very sore and she cried out it pain. The vet took some X-rays- Lucy definitely has a badly hurt disc in her neck and another less severe discs in her back.
   Lucy is on pain medicine and will be going back today to get the most aggressive non-surgical treatment- she get an IV of anti-inflammatory and steroids. Hopefully this will reduce the inflammation and allow her back to heal itself. We should know if this works in the next week.  The vet told us her neck looks pretty serious and she has a 50/50% chance of recovering.  Lucy is in so much pain right now, she is definitely not herself and we just want her to not be in any more pain. Please send a prayer out that we make the right decisions in her treatment and that she feels better.

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. We Schmitts are doing great.  Let me tell you about our neighbors who just moved into the campsite next door.... They are trying to sell their house so they are living here in their travel trailer for the next few months.... The dad is a Senior Chief in the Navy- the mom is a Stay at Home Mom who home-schools her NINE!!!!!! Children! The Children range in ages 1-14. They are very well behaved and the family seems very sweet and nice and I am very glad they have moved in. I just know that Sophie, Joey and Vangie are going to make some great friends.  I have to admit I don't know HOW she does it- NINE kids! There have been moments when I have felt so overwhelmed with my three! I am excited to see how this family operates- I bet I can learn a lot! I officially will no longer feel overwhelmed- if I do I will just look next door!

   also I wanted to add on a side note- Sophie is a bike riding maniac! Yesterday she and Joey rode their bikes with me to the Library and back- a 2 mile round trip. She rode the whole way without one complaint. When we got home she told me that today she wants to ride her bike to the Mall!!! lol!!!!

Tonight is Friday night and so the Schmitts had some fun! First we went for a long bike ride around the base and through the woods- it is SO BEAUTIFUL here. I cannot express that enough. The weather was in the upper 70's and sunny. The trails go under trees and over rivers, the kids love riding around and exploring. Then we stopped at the mini-mart so the kids (and mommy and daddy) could pick out a snack for MOVIE NITE! ( a new family tradition that we started making Friday  night always family movie night!) We pile all the pillows and blanket in the kids room, pop some popcorn and snuggle up to all watch a movie together. It is very cozy, comfortable and wonderful being all together. The movie we watched was "Night at the Museum" With Ben Stiller- It was a great movie that we all liked. 
    The kids are finally in bed-  hopfully so exhausted that they will sleep in until 8:30am tomorrow instead of getting up at 7 like they usually do....

Tuesday was an exciting day here at the Schmitts. We made our first emergency room visit. Joey is now the proud owner of 6 stitches in his chin.
   Joey was riding his bike out in the driveway. We had just gotten home from the gym and I was inside making lunch. Suddenly he comes in the door "Mommy, look at my boo-boo!" He has a bloody chin and blood on his hands- I sat him down by the sink and washed his chin off with some antiseptic soap. Sure enough, he had a gaping hole- I immediately new that he would probably either need stitches or at least some heavy duty tape to close it.
     What exactly happened?  In his own words: " I was riding my bike with one hand, and almost ran into the van, so I turned real quick and went over the curb and feel on the ground!"  Thankfully Joey and Sophie ALWAYS wear their bike helmets while they are on their bikes so he had his helmet on.

Luckily Chris was also home- at the moment of Joey's accident he was taking the girls for a walk around the block. I was able to leave the girls home with him while I took Joey to the Doctor.  I drove to medical and they were able to get us in between appointments- they is not an "emergency" room here, just the medical clinic, but they were very nice and we only had to wait about an hour- 
    Once we were back in a room the Doctor was able to confirm that Joey would definitely need stitches. The wound was too gaping and deep to heal efficiently on its own.  The Dr. We saw was AMAZING, he was very nice and talked with Joey to calm him down and stitched Joey's chin flawlessly. The only hard part for us all was when the Dr. had to inject the wound with some painkiller- Joey saw the needle and immediately freaked out. Two nurses and myself had to help hold him still so the Dr. could numb his chin- Joey was SCREAMING, I am sure the entire building could hear him. After that the Dr. Let him calm down for a couple minutes and then he was fine-  he was able to put the stitches in with no problem. 
    Joey has been a bit of a celebrity, showing his stitches off to our neighbors and his classmates. He will get them taken out on Monday.
    

There is a little creek right next to the RV park. You go over a little bridge and then down some steps... and then there you are, right next to the water-  this is where our Alligator lives.  We have spotted him for a few days now so we think he lives in the area. The kids have named him "Tiger".  I make sure not to let the kids swim when he is within 20 feet of th beach. - Okay, I need to put "just kidding" right here before I get some frantic phone calls.  I make sure that he is at least 50ft away. 
       It was been a bit cool here the last few days- Saturday was very windy and highs in the low 60's. We took the kids to downtown Charleston- we walked through the "market place", saw the carriage rides and walked down to the Ocean where we saw a cruise ship just setting sale. Downtown Charleston is definitely beautiful and full of history. We will take the kids back again when the weather is nicer for some more sight seeing.