When Cook-Outs Go Bad!

I had a cookout. It was planned to be a nice, lovely, relaxing, outdoor cookout on a beautiful Saturday evening. It started great....

The guests started to arrive as we finished prepping the burgers and sides. We conned our friend into grilling the hamburgers because we didn't want to risk burning or ruining them. So, once we stepped outside to light up the grill, we realized it was way to windy to grill on the deck. The boys decided it was best to move the grill to a less-windy location- by a large dumpster. Yum.

They decided to light up the grill and let it heat up a bit while they played a little game of catch with a football. Of course, us girls went inside while they played around like toddlers. When we decided to emerge from the house and join the boys outside, here is what we saw:

John darting to his truck and flinging the passenger door open and Lucas hobbling around the truck to get in the passenger's side. Then Josh comes around the corner with the football and a pair of white flip-flops in his hands. He proceeds to tell us "They're going to the hospital."

At that sentence, I look across the yard to see why Lucas is jumping around instead of walking normally....and there it was in all its glory, his left big toe hanging off of his foot!

My first reaction was to grab a towel and make sure he was okay. The boys' first reaction was to just jump in the truck and speed off. (If that doesn't prove that men and women are vastly different, I don't know what will.)

After they were down the highway, Josh decided to fill us in on what happened. He said that he was throwing a pass to John and Lucas and somehow, Lucas' toe got jammed or trapped under or near John's foot. Keep in mind that John is wearing tennis shoes and Lucas is wearing nothing since he kicked off his flip-flops. After the incident, Lucas calmly states "Johnny, I think I broke my toe." I'm a little sketchy on the details but I think it was played off like Lucas was joking and to prove to John and Josh that he was serious, he stuck his toe up in the air to show them what had happened. From there, they bolted to the truck to make a quick trip to the ER.

So, there we were, watching the tail lights of John's truck as 2 of our 5 guests left. I told Josh he could go home but he wanted to stay, saying "They'll be back....it won't take that long." I'm so glad he had that confidence in their return.

More of our guests began to arrive and as they did, we told them the gruesome details. Some were grossed out, others were aggravated that they missed out on all the action. And, for those suckers that didn't come to my cookout, I rubbed it in their faces that they missed a free dinner AND a show.

After a few hours of waiting, the news comes in that Lucas' toe wasn't broken, but it was just a compound dislocation. It was the sickest dislocation I've ever seen. The doctor's popped it all back into place and stitched it all up. From there, he hobbled on home.

Take a peek at the pictures if you dare! It's pretty wicked looking. Lucas' dad snapped these photos in the ER.

Like with every blog, I have to add a moral to this story- Don't play outdoors without shoes on. Next time I recommend steel-toed boots. (That means you, Lucas).

ROAD TRIP!!

No, this isn't about that Disney movie "College Road Trip". It's about something I did last weekend that I thought I’d never do. No, it wasn’t being abducted by aliens…I booked a room at a resort, picked up a very good friend of mine and drove into the sunset…..of Branson, Missouri.

I love road trips. I love the feeling of having the entire road in front of me and to have all the options to choose from. There is some feeling of accomplishment I get when I take a trip to a place I’ve never ventured into without parental control. So, last weekend in Branson liberated me into the world of adult living.

What did we do in Branson, you ask? Here’s what we did:

First off, we explored our lovely room at the Falls Village Resort. The accommodations were great and the staff extremely friendly. We arrived at the resort a little after midnight and when we walked in, the desk clerk sarcastically asked us if we were out having cocktails. We laughed, knowing that the Coke Icee’s we got from The BK Lounge (That’s Burger King for all of you that haven’t been awakened by Dane Cook) was the closest thing to a cocktail we’d had all night.

We visited the Branson Landing and shopped our hearts out. We also discovered that the lamp posts at the Landing are magical. They not only supply brilliant light in the extreme darkness, but they play music. As we were walking past a lamp post, I heard a familiar tune (The Fray’s “How To Save A Life”) and stopped to find where the melodies were coming from. We found it all right….coming out of a speaker at the bottom of the street lamps. From that point on, we declared that Branson is a town of magic….magic lamp posts, that is.

We went to see “Made of Honor” at the IMAX theater. There were very few other patrons watching the film considering the newness of the flick. We enjoyed the “matinee” discount since we went to see it at 4:30 in the afternoon….on a Sunday. We even ate at a 50’s diner. We channeled our senior citizen side for those adventures.

We also had a blast finding our inner child. The resort had an array of activities for us to take part in. Our first stop was to the swing set. We were easily amused and had a fun time swinging. When I decided to jump out of the swing into the sand, I realized that I wasn’t as young as I used to be. I landed on my foot weird and the next day when I got home, my shin was hurting and my ankle swollen. 15 years ago I would have been able to walk away from that uninjured…..and, I would have been five 15 years ago too.

We enjoyed a game of putt-putt golf. By the 6th hole we were already bored and decided to make it a race. So, we ran thru the rest of the course, bumping into one another, kicking the opponent’s golf ball out of the way and cheating our way to the next hole. It was fun and was the fastest game of putt-putt I’ve ever been involved in. Then we found the basketball court and tried to shoot some hoops. I think we managed a few baskets then tired of the losing streak and gave up.

The next stop was to the Jacuzzi tub. That was fun. We poured in the body wash and the bubbles came in abundance. After being up to our eyes in bubbles (no lie) we decided to get out before we literally became prunes. From then on, we watched a lot of HGTV and Food Network. Ace of Cakes in an amazing show, by the way. All I have to say about the Food Network is that there is some kind of conspiracy going on. Bobby Flay is everywhere these days! On every show and every commercial there is a random image of Bobby Flay….he’s everywhere! We realized that this past weekend in Branson.

All in all, my get-away was wonderful. There were a few minor issues such as the hot water running out after the Jacuzzi tub was filled and our pesky neighbors above us….(I’m not going to elaborate…I’m sure you can guess what I’m talking about.)

Moral to the story- there’s not one. Wait, I got one: Bobby Flay is the devil and is on the Food Network to gain control of every show on earth. Just you wait and see…