LIfe in Hillsboro

Marc got a call in the middle of last week from the group that he does his contracting through because they were trying to fill a weekend shift in Hillsboro, Kansas. It is only 45 minutes from Wichita and close to the area we were needing to be at on Saturday for a birthday party so Marc took the job. These weekend shifts are always unpredictable, but the kids and I decided to tag along for a few days and hope for some free time with Marc. Marc ended up only seeing one patient all weekend. It couldn't have worked out any better. :)

We stayed in a two bedroom apartment for the weekend that was next to the hospital. It was very dated and musty smelling, but wouldn't you know Eli has asked us all day if we could go back to the "new" house! I have no idea what was so appealing to him but he LOVED it. Marc pointed out to me that Eli's adaptability and eagerness to experience new things are such wonderful traits for an oldest child to have because he will set the mood for how his younger siblings perceive things (I made that plural there because we hope to have more kids at some point). I think he mostly enjoyed sharing a room again with Hailey (and getting to sleep on the big blow-up mattress by himself!). They shared a room together for part of the summer and then we split them back up when we got back to Wichita. They are on almost identical schedules with naps and sleeping at night so I am hoping it will work out well for us in Africa when they will be sharing a room again.

Hillsboro was a really nice little town. I liked it better than some of the other small towns we have visited over the past few years. There was a Subway, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, and Sonic which was very helpful. Some of these towns have only one fast food chain (or none at all!). On Saturday morning we went to a fundraiser breakfast for the senior citizen center. We had some delicious pancakes and then went back to the hospital to let the kids play in the kids' area for a bit.

On our way out of the hospital we saw a HUGE spider. This was the biggest spider I have ever seen to date that was not in captivity. It was Marc's idea to use Eli's shoe as a reference for the size of this thing. Eli didn't seem to mind! Eli wears a size 9 in toddler shoes and the spider was easily half the length of his shoe. Marc had to keep telling Eli not to step on it while I was taking this picture. Ha!

Shortly before lunch we headed to the park right across the street from the hospital. There was a little kids play area and then a big kids play area. Eli of course wanted to do the big kids stuff so Marc and I traded off tagging along with him. :)

Then, after naps we head to Tyler's birthday party. It was a beautiful day for a party! There was yummy food and cake and lots of kids for Eli and Hailey to play with. These were some of our friends from residency who are now working in a town just a little outside of Wichita. Annie and I were both pregnant at the same time. Hard to believe that was a year ago!

Little Miss Hailey walking all over the place.

Eli loved the Hillbilly golf set. He was quite dangerous whipping around those golf balls on a string. I find myself saying at least once a day..."He is ALL boy." :)

It was a great weekend indeed. :)