Uncle Steve

The last couple weeks have been very rough in many ways. The most tragic was an accident my uncle Steve was in while in Scottsdale. Three weeks ago this Friday, my uncle was riding his bicycle and was hit by a drunk driver in an SUV. Steve was NOT wearing a helmet- actually he had promised his friend that he would the night before. Sadly, he was a stubborn guy. This drunk driver was at a BAC of .18 in the early afternoon crash. It sickens me to think of such a senseless act. The court system in Arizona is maddening also... this guy won't even see the court room for another 2 years because everything is so backed up. He gets to just keep hanging out like normal until then.
   Enough ranting about the drunk driver, sorry. My uncle was in a deep, deep coma right away. The prognosis even at the start was bad and he kept getting either worse or the same. All the scans showed no brain activity. He ended up passing away this past Thursday, January 26th. We are all devastated by this accident. My parents were down in AZ as soon as they heard about the accident and just got back this past Monday. They did all the logistical work, which was so draining in itself.
   Steve was a great, fun guy. My brother, Andy, started a memory blog post about him if you want to see our memories. Another memory I didn't add to my brother's blog was when I was younger, he used to take me to Best Buy when he was in town. He drove a sparkly corvette and I just felt so cool in it, and any chance to look at the newest music was a treat (especially before internet and iTunes were the main sources for music). We always kidded around with each other and when I started drinking coffee we even had a couple coffee outings at Caribou. Talk about a cool uncle. We didn't see him too often, but when James died he made a point to come to the funeral. He was pretty invested in the quads even if most of the time from afar. He hadn't met the girls yet, but he was probably going to this summer when he was back in Minnesota. When he was younger, he was a bit of a wild child- the complete opposite of his brother, my dad. He was living a really happy life as of his accident. He had just bought a condo in Scottsdale for winters and was biking all the time.  Here's his official obituary from the Willmar and Scottsdale newspapers.

Steve in Scottsdale, probably at a coffee shop

    To top off the emotional turmoil, our family was hit with a stomach bug. I don't have to give you the details- I'm sure it would be TMI. Let's just say we had three mornings in a row of walking into their room with a surprise. Josie started with a fever only Jan 22, and we only just now can say we are healthy (as of yesterday). I only had a fever for one day, so I was spared. We really didn't get out of the house and everyone was just tired, sick, and crabby. Elmo was on TV a lot. When I think of my uncle's accident, we really shouldn't complain of a little virus.
  Minnesota is in Spring-time mode and it's only February 1st! I'll include some pictures from a walk yesterday. Even getting out of the house for walks these past couple weeks was a big relief and refreshing. Today, since they have been healthy, we made it to ECFE. The girls had fun and didn't care when I left for the parent discussion time. I was told that they don't usually stick together while playing. I wish I could spy on them and see what they do!

Josie: slow and steady wins the race! (she walked for the longest)

Madeline off-roading it

Madeline

Sofia found my hat! Someone graciously left it on a bench after I lost it yesterday! Thanks, whoever you are!

Sofia is way in the distance! Run, Sofia!!

Even though we can't walk as long, I really love when the girls can run free instead of being cooped up in the stroller. I always feel a little bad when they just sit there for a half an hour walk! I don't have any other fun pics this post...just wasn't in a camera happy type of mood! Anyways, hope you all are avoiding the winter bugs, but if you aren't,  "this too, shall pass!" Thanks for reading.