and a fun time was had by all...

except Derek. But, I'll get to that.

Bridgett's visit was great! Short, but really fun catching up again. Honestly, we didn't do much of anything...just hanging out at home, playing with Blake, and talking. Also played "Rock Band" on the XBox. Turns out that Bridgett is a big "Guitar Hero" fan (crazy, right?), so we pulled out the drums and guitars and struggled thru a few songs. Imagine me on the drums, Bridgett playing lead guitar, Tyler playing bass guitar, and Blake singing the words to "Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi. Seriously! Blake knows the chorus and joined in.

Before Bridgett came, I talked with Derek about getting a few days to do "guy stuff" with Scott, their 9-year old son. (Elizabeth, now 12, is away at church camp.) He said he'd be OK for a "couple of days" without Bridgett. Yeah, right. Interested in how his time went during this trip?

I can sum it up in two letters... ER.

The day before Bridgett left (Sunday), Derek went skiing with friends and Scott. He fell on his head in just the perfect way to burst his eardrum. Ouch! He ending up going to the ER because of the pain. One prescription for pain meds later...he suffered thru Sunday night and called an ENT on Monday morning, who said to come in early in case he had to have surgery."Bridgett, being the wonderful wife, showed concern by asking if she was still going to get to come see me. Sounds like something I'd say! Fast forward to the "Rock Band" episode on Monday night. Bridgett's phone kept ringing, which we obviously couldn't hear. About 10 PM, our home phone rings with Bridgett's home number on caller ID. It was Bridgett's mom. It's never a good thing to have your mom call from your house at 10 PM when you're 1000 miles away from home. Turns out that Derek had been calling all night to tell Bridgett he was going to the ER, this time for a 2nd-degree burn to his right hand (and, yes, he is right-handed). He was making cornbread for Scott (you know, skillet filled with hot grease in the oven) and the grease splashed out on his hand when he pulled the skillet out to pour the cornbread mix in. Luckily, a friend was coming over that night and he drove Derek to the ER (again). Derek went home with lots of pain medication and Bridgett's mom stayed with him until Bridgett got home yesterday (Wednesday. Derek wouldn't let her end her visit early. What a good man!). Derek tried to downplay the whole thing, but he's really in pain and the healing process is going to take a while. Of course, Bridgett told him I was mad, because he'd said he'd be OK for a few days and I didn't even get 12 hours before he was on his way to the ER. Luckily, Derek laughed...on second thought, he was on lots of pain meds (don't forget the burst eardrum!), so he probably would have laughed at anything. Poor Derek! I feel a little guilty that we had such a good time. Next time, (will Derek let there be a next time?) maybe they'll all come and we'll keep Derek out of the kitchen.