Itchy...scratchy...

Ashlee & McKell have been so excited about their 1st grade field trip for MONTHS! They have been counting down the days until they finally got to go. They went to the Utah Lake State Park in Provo. I have never been there, but the day's events including a nature walk, pond dipping, etc. It made it even more fun that Rob was able to meet them there and go with them. They saw all sorts of cool things, caught things out of the pond in their nets, and overall had a great time.

That is, until the mosquito bites started appearing. By that night, my poor girls were itchy, scratchy little miserable girls. Rob affirmed that the mosquitoes were out of control. He tried desperately to find someone with bug spray, but no luck. He also had his fair share of bites. I believe he counted close to 20.

I thought we had seen the worst of it Tuesday night when I put them to bed. Just some small, little bumps here and there. I gave them some Claritin to help with the itchiness and any allergies and tucked them in for the night. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. McKell woke up with 3 or 4 really nasty bites on her arms and legs that were driving her crazy. And Ashlee...poor Ashlee, she was like nothing I had ever seen. Her left eye was completely swollen, she had a welt on her neck where multiple bites had just all gone together. She had a bite on the back of her leg with redness aroudn it that was about the size of a cereal bowl and numerous other bites all over her legs and arms. (They wore their uniform dresses to the field trip which meant their legs were bare and open for the mosquitoes.)

As yesterday progressed, it got worse and by last night, they were both miserable again. A warm bath helped a lot. And thanks to our great neighbor, the Calamine lotion also helped. The girls looked like little pink-spotted creatures going to bed last night.

This morning still isn't great. Ashlee's eye is now completely swollen shut and her bites are as big as ever. She is being such a trooper about it. We re-applied Calamine before school which seems to be helping.

So, here's to the first grade field trip. I'm not quite sure why the people at the park, knowing a group of children were coming for a field trip, wouldn't alert the teachers to bring bug spray. It really makes me mad. But for sure this will be a field trip they will never forget!

A few of McKell's many bites

Poor little McKell was NOT happy about this!

This is just 2 of the bites on Ashlee's legs. The one below is HUGE!

Just a few bites on Ashlee's neck. These have gotten a lot better.

And finally, poor little Ashlee's eye. She is not trying to close it, that is really how it is...swollen shut! It was really itching her so we dabbed a little Calamine lotion on it. Poor girl!