I took her to the doctor the next day and she tested positive for strep! (I'm assuming she picked it up at the urgent care several days prior?!) She did that thing where she fought (kicked and screamed) to get the swab.
The 1st nurse couldn't get her to cooperate -- so she talked to the doctor. They sent in this big woman wearing red scrubs who had a lot of spunk! She opened the door and said
"Why is your face so sour?"
She didn't do too much negotiating. She said there MIGHT be lollipops in it for her - that there was red, orange, green and purple. Maybe she could do a rainbow of lollipops?
She asked me to hold Isabella's hands (which - was hard with 1 arm, honestly)... but she pinned her down and did the swab. I couldn't really see what was going on - I was behind the nurse, but then the kept saying "let it go. Let go of it." (Isabella had clamped down with her teeth on the swab.) I am sure that + the kicking and screaming and arms flailing made the swab 10 x worse than it needed to be!
"What about my RED lollipop?"
That 2nd nurse was SPEECHLESS. She looked at me and said "She didn't?!" I said... "yes.... yes she did." ha!
We missed the last swim meet because we were out of town. (The eye and the strep were - of course - unplanned!) Her 1st year of swim team ended with a fizzle. But - the swim team folks saved her "fish award" and trophy. They were so sweet and understanding!
Here's her "fish award" - a tradition that this swim team does -- making a "custom" award for each member based on something that stood out during the swim season. For Isabella... it was the bug of course! "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly" on the front + a sweet note on the back.
(Here's a picture of Mercer's as well from 7 or 8 years ago -- "no brakes" because he just wouldn't stop... he would go go go).
The fish award is definitely more special than the metal and resin trophy that is handed out!
Here are some fun photos of her coaches and team.
Before we went out of town, however, we did a couple of things: we went to an art exhibit / immersive experience featuring the artist Vincent van Gogh two nights before our trip + Mercer competed in a competition at a local baseball tournament the night before our trip.
The van Gogh exhibit shows works of his displayed as a light show (mostly)... parts of the exhibit were projections on 3-dimensional pieces. (like on this bust and on the vase below)
The big feature of the exhibit was a light show on the interior walls of a big open room.
There was a lot of interpretation.... someone took liberties to transition from one of his paintings to another. There were some things that were really interesting - beyond his paintings.
Isabella was the 1st to get hooked up to the VR headset.
Obviously there are no photos from the VR experience, but it was funny to watch her for a few minutes before I was hooked up.
She was moving her arms and moving her head. (Now I know she was moving through van Gogh's room and trying to open the door.) Mercer did not want to do the VR experience and just messed with me while I was doing mine!
We ate dinner afterwards - outside they had "rail car" food truck types of eateries... this was at the old Pullman Rail Yard which is being built up around with new condos and renovation of the historic rail buildings. It was a nice evening.... and we got a little bit of culture / exposed the kids to some art!
On a whim, we asked Mercer if he wanted to go to a skills competition event at a local baseball tournament. He wasn't scheduled to participate in the local tournament because we were headed out of town, so I wasn't sure if he'd be able to compete. He was allowed and he won the event that he competed in: running. He was named as the "fastest man" for his age group. Todd said that they also saw the 14/15 year old competition times... Mercer beat those guys as well based on his time.
The other 2 events were a hitting event (home runs) and a throwing competition. One of his teammates competed in the running and throwing and got 2nd in both of those events.
Mercer also had a church "camp" before we went out of town: Road Rules. Traditionally, parents drop their middle school kids off at church on Sunday with a variety of clothes packed (things that could go colder / things that could go warmer). 
The kids aren't supposed to know where they're going 'til they arrive. They usually go out of state -- or out of multiple states and do service. This was the "Covid edition" of Road Rules. It was local. Every day, there was drop off at 9 and pick-up at 3.
They did local service projects instead. (A couple of days, we had conflicts and Mercer rode his bike up to the church!) It's another step towards independence!!
Here are some fun photos of her coaches and team.
The van Gogh exhibit shows works of his displayed as a light show (mostly)... parts of the exhibit were projections on 3-dimensional pieces. (like on this bust and on the vase below)
There were also some built-in interpretations of his paintings (rooms/ spaces).
The big feature of the exhibit was a light show on the interior walls of a big open room.
There was a lot of interpretation.... someone took liberties to transition from one of his paintings to another. There were some things that were really interesting - beyond his paintings.
One of my favorite things was "moving" his original paintings.
Perhaps there was a cart pulled by an ox.... that cart moved through the landscape.
Or the moon over a scene... the moon moves like it is a time-lapse painting showing how the moon moves through the night sky.
There was one with a boat that moved across the water.
One of the exhibits was a virtual reality experience which was interesting.
She was moving her arms and moving her head. (Now I know she was moving through van Gogh's room and trying to open the door.) Mercer did not want to do the VR experience and just messed with me while I was doing mine!
On a whim, we asked Mercer if he wanted to go to a skills competition event at a local baseball tournament. He wasn't scheduled to participate in the local tournament because we were headed out of town, so I wasn't sure if he'd be able to compete. He was allowed and he won the event that he competed in: running. He was named as the "fastest man" for his age group. Todd said that they also saw the 14/15 year old competition times... Mercer beat those guys as well based on his time.
As seen here, M is the only boy! Unfortunately, there are not many boys his age in youth group. But, at least there are some guy mentors! (This one makes M look small!)
It turned out that Isabella did not have as many swim practices this week b/c of the strep throat... we filled our days with visits to the vet for the lizard who wasn't eating, PT for my arm + pediatrician appointment / pharmacy visits for her. Luckily, we got it all taken care of BEFORE we headed out of town!
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