Camels, Cars, Cruises and Fun!

We had a great time with "Jerry's camels" during Suzanne and Mitchell's
recent visit.  They aren't really Jerry's, but they do live on the resort farm
where he works.  I have driven past them hundreds of times, even with
grandkids in the car, but one day while Mitchell was here, we decided to
stop.  It was a good decision because we had a great time getting to know
them.  They are funny and have no fear whatsoever of people.  Suzanne
got lots of kisses, including a big gob of slober that slid down her arm.  :-)
(See below.)

Mitchell named the light colored one "Luvy" and the darker one
"Luv Mitchell."  We stopped by each and every day to visit.  I
think they kind of came to expect us!  We brought them carrots
and fed them the nice, green grass and clover they couldn't reach
on the other side of the fence.   In fact, Mitchell found some
huge and perfect four leaf clovers while looking for camel food.
One of them made its way to the big NASCAR race in KC on
the dashboard of car #99!  (I'll explain later.)

This clover hung off his lip for a long time.  :-)

The farm also has a zebra, some llamas, goats, ostriches, miniature horses,
regular horses, etc., but the camels were the friendliest and most fun.

Now that we no longer have a boat, we had to get creative to get on
the water, so we bought tickets for a ride on a Lake of Ozark cruise
line.  It was a nice boat, lunch was great and it was soooo nice to be
back on the lake.  (I am still going through withdrawal over being boatless.)

It was such a beautiful day, but the best part of the trip was that
Mitchell was invited to meet the captain and ended up at the helm
of the ship steering us on the lake.  Walking was a little wobbly,
so I didn't go with them, but as Jerry and I were sitting at our
table, I noticed that we seemed to be making a few zig zags.
I learned upon their return that those zig zags were a result of
Mitchell's navigation skills!  He learned about port, starboard,
dead ahead, etc., so from that point forward, left was always
referred to as "port" and right was always "starboard" whether
on land or on sea.

Another of our activities during their visit was to visit the Laurie Fairgrounds
park.  They have a super playground for such a small town.

This is Mitchell and his stuffed owl, Hedgwig (sp?) from Harry Potter.
About 75% of the time they spent with us, Mitchell was wearing his
Harry Potter cape and carrying a magic wand.  He is very into Harry.
He knows all the characters, the magic spells, etc.  He even mixed
up a couple of magic potions in a cauldron we found at Target.

On a ride one day, we spotted a turtle crossing the road.  Suzanne
picked it up and brought it into the car.  We took it for a little ride
and then put it right back where we found it.  It was amazing how
attached Mitchell got to it in three or four minutes.  He cried and
cried when we drove off without the turtle.

To cheer him up, she let him steer the car while cruising around in a
big empty parking lot belonging to the closed Bridal Cave.  It worked!
I remember when my grandpa would let me do that when I was a little
kid.  He was the coolest guy ever.

Later in the week, Mitchell got his feelings hurt about something and was
totally devastated.  Nothing we could say or do worked to cheer him up.  I
thought it might help to tell him that I had been shopping for a stuffed
camel for him as a reminder of Luvy and Luv Mitchell.   Through his tears
and In the saddest voice imaginable, he said that the only place that has
stuffed camels is the Denver Zoo.  I then told him that the KC Zoo might
also have them.  Again, through his tears and sadness, he dramatically
exclaimed, "I've never been to the Kansas City Zoo.  We're doomed!"
I thought Suzanne and I were going to die laughing.  "Doomed" is not
a word most little kids use.  He finally cheered up and survived his dire
predictions.

Several weeks ago, Suzanne contacted the Carl Edwards racing staff
to check into the possibility of Mitchell meeting him face to face.  She had
read that he makes a special effort with kids who have special needs, and
(regretfully) knowing that Mitchell's Cystic Fibrosis would qualify him in
addition to the fact that Mitchell is probably Carl's #1 fan, she was able to
set up a one on one "meet and greet."  I decided I could not miss seeing
it happen, so at the end of their week here with us, I followed them to
Kansas City where we met with Carl on Thursday evening at the Liberty
Office Depot.  (Office Depot is his sponsor.)  At first, we had some time
to kill, so we stopped by his "show" car where we met "Doc," Carl's chief
engine guy.  He allowed (only) Mitchell to sit inside the car -- an exact
replica of the one Carl drives.  Needless to say, Mitchell was thrilled.

Next, his assistant, Mindy, came out to tell us that Carl was ready to meet
us, so we followed her to a meeting room in the back of the store,  In
that room were Carl, some photographers and Mitchell, Suzanne and I.

Mitchell absolutely lit up the room when he saw Carl.  Watching the sheer joy
on that kid's face was absolutely priceless.  He was nearly beside himself to
be meeting Carl Edwards!  He said to Carl, "Do you know how long I have
been waiting to meet you?"  Carl said no, so Mitchell, in his very expressive
way of saying things, using his hands and arms for further emphasis,
said, "months and months and months!"  Everyone in the room got the biggest
kick out of him, and it is no wonder.  He was amazing.  There was not a hint
of shyness or hesitation. He talked to him one on one and kept everyone
thoroughly entertained.  Carl turned to me and said he had never met a
little kid like him.  Neither have I.

We had at least 10-15 minutes of Carl's time and then he had to go out to the
main store to make some presentations.  He asked Mitchell to go with him.
While waiting for introductions, Mitchell and Carl were standing side by
side.  Whatever Carl would do, Mitchell would do.  If Carl crossed him arms,
Mitchell would cross his arms, etc., etc.  It was such fun to watch.  Mitchell
continued to glow for hours.  He even made the local (or as Mitchell calls it,
the "loco") news that night!

 

Carl is holding the four leaf clover that Mitchell found while feeding the
camels.  He gave it to Carl for good luck.  Carl was so pleased that he
taped it to the dashboard of his car during the big NASCAR race that
weekend at the Kansas Speedway. Sorry to say it didn't help him to win
the race as he had engine trouble one day and a wreck the day before. 

Mitchell sent him a note  a day or so after the race ato say that he
was sorry about the four leaf clover and that he probably should have
just fed it to the camels.  Carl said it kept him safe in the wreck he
was in, so he was very thankful for it.  (In case you hadn't noticed,
Carl is one heck of a nice guy.)

Carl is smiling at Suzanne as she was pointing out Mitchell's
determination to do whatever he did.  Notice the folded arms.

It was quite a night.  Mitchell went to the race with Suzanne
on Friday, but Saturday and Sunday he passed to stay at
Uncle Rob's house and jump in the jumpy tent they rented
for the weekend.  He had been looking forward to that for
a long time, too. 

Sunday's race day was a rainy mess, so thinking it was called
due to rain, Suzanne, her dad and his friend Guffy left early.
Once she got to Rob's she learned that it was still going, so
she grabbed Mitchell and me and off we went to the track to watch
the final laps.  It was my first experience with NASCAR.  In spite
of the rain, there were still thousands of people there, but there were
enough empty spaces that we were able to park right by the track
and sit right at the finish line!

It was noisy but fun!  I don't know about sitting there all day and
watching all 200 (or whatever) laps, but that little taste of it was
more appealing than I expected it to be.  Jer and I actually watched
yesterday's race on TV all the way through -- cheering for Carl all
the way.  That was a first.

I parted ways with Mitchell and Zanny Monday a.m.  They were headed
back to Colorado later in the day and I had plans to meet Susie and
Deloma for a brief version of our 2007 retreat weekend #15.  We had
a great time, as usual.  We talked, shopped, talked, ate and talked
some more.  We stayed in North Kansas City near a new shopping
area called Zona Rosa.  It was new territory for all of us, so it was
fun.  That is kind of the area Jerry and I have decided on for our
eventual move, so I also drove them over to see a house I liked.
 

(That's Susie walking in the yard.)  It was a nice place in a great
neighborhood.  The price is too high right now, but we understand
he is willing to go considerably lower; however, we still can't do a
darn thing until our house here sells.  We have a couple who says
they are very interested, but they still haven't found a weekend to
come take a look.  They've seen the outside, but only photos of
the inside.  So, we wait... and wait.

Well, I've given you a lot to look at and read in this entry.  I hope
I haven't worn you out!  :-)

Medically, I will have chemo treatment #4 tomorrow.  It's been
rough and I haven't felt my best, but, as always, I respect it
but refuse to give into it.  My tumor markers dropped a lot, so
I was happy with that -- from 336 to 303 to 167!  I've had such
low white, red and platelet counts, that I have had to be kind of
careful -- no sharp knives, leg shaving, etc.  I've been running
a real low grade temp for the last few days, which is probably
chemo related, so it will be interesting to see if the counts are
high enough to handle tomorrow's treatment.  If not, it
would just be postponed to the following week.

I need to be in good shape the weekend of November 2, 3, 4 as
Rob has invited us to Minneapolis to attend the Bruce Springsteen
concert!  I don't want to miss that.  What a way to celebrate my
birthday!

Well, I've gone on long enough.  Jerry is fine; he's not working such long
hours now that we are in the "off season" and the grass is not growing
as quickly.  The kids and grandkids are doing well.  Cody had surgery
last Thursday to correct a deviated septum, but he is doing great and
was returning to work today.

That's it from here.  As always, thanks for your prayers and good wishes.

Love to you all,
Judy and Jerry

Comments

[Cousin Nancy]

What a great blog, Judy! I never knew camels could be that friendly--what fun that must have been. And the Carl Edwards experience is a priceless memory. Good luck with your house search; hope someone falls in love with yours very soon. We think of you often and you are always in our prayers. It was so good to hear from you (via blog). Take care.

[Susie]

It was great seeing the pictures to go along with the activities I'd heard about. Mitchell would keep anyone entertained! I even watched some of the race on Sunday. Felt like they were going single file on the outside of the track a lot of the time. Guess I don't understand the rules! Will talk about that some other time. Hope your counts are good enough for your chemo. Will check with you soon. Love you, Susie

[Judy Farrington]

Great to have a visit with camels in your memory bank. How unique. You always find stuff like this, Judy.
And Carl Edwards & Mitchell & you, too! We were at the KC Speedway last year & got to have my pic taken with his pit crew. Dave & I enjoy NASCAR. Glad to hear Mitchell is a fan, too.
Good luck with the sale of your house. It'll be soon for sure.
Glad you are feeling well. Take care. Love, hugs & prayers.
Judy

[Zanny]

Great pictures! We had a fabulous time. Just wanted to let you know that we got Mitchell his pet today. He picked out a fish that he put in his fish bowl you bought him. He named it Pumpkins. Very adorable if you ask me. Speaking of adorable. Can't take my eyes or my mind off of the Carl Edwards pictures. Love that new smile of Mitchell's. Talk to you soon! Love, Zanny

[Karen Moriarity]

Roz and I just got back from a week's trip into South Dakota. I'd never been to the Badlands, Blackhills, seen Mt. Rushmore or Crazy Horse. Those were my four must see items, and we saw them all. Beautiful trip! Your camel pictures remind me of our meetup with the friendly wild burros in Custer State Park. My little car had donkey kiss marks on the windows. I took a picture of Roz safely ensconsed in the car while a donkey tried to entice her to open the window. Ha.
Mitchell is getting to be a big boy now. How old is he? I remember your pictures of him with the Wiggles too. He just seems to capture the attention of those who are used to getting attention themselves. Carl Edwards seems to be taken with him. I just love the big smile on Mitchell's face. Also, glad to hear things are getting better in your health department. Roz and I talked about you this past week. I asked her if she'd heard anything from you, as I hadn't. Sure enough, I had your blog when I got home. Keep those blogs coming.