Summer Days

WOW!!! Where has the time gone?? We are in my favorite time of year...SUMMER!!! That means days filled with free movies, the local aquatic center, reading, visiting friends and family, the beach and vacations!! And we have done them all! We were supposed to go to Houston to go to one of the top 10 water parks in the US with my brother, Steve, and his family in early June...well, Adam's ear put the cabosh on that trip with another infection and an adamant MD stating that there can be NO water in the ear. Even with the plugs (which tend to fall out as one whizzes down water slides), I did not want to take a chance to have the infection worsen because this was how he lost his last eardrum...so we shortened our vacation and went away to Stone Mountain, GA for 4 days.

It was fun! We spent our days at Stone Mountain (awesome firework and laser show every night), the Atlanta Aquarium (some beautiful Beluga whales there) and then to Six Flags Over Georgia (LOADS of roller coasters-we all went on one, but Alec was the brave one who went on 2...Adam and I watched). It was fun and the drive was not so bad...I dropped them off at Dave's on the way home for 10 days and then came home to a house that was recently covered in plastic and all in an uproar! I had the ceilings retextured in my absence and boy and I glad I was alone and the boys were not at home...took me the ten days to get the house back in order, but it was worth it!!!!

I then picked the boys up on the way to Lutz to spend 4 days with my Dad and his wife, Marsha. I was going to expose my boys to their first MLB game between the Tampa Bay Rays and my beloved Boston Red Sox! Since we were a house divided (I was the only Red Sox fan) I made 2 posters to bring with us and with the help of my sister-in-law's brother, we made it on national TV! What a hoot! Unfortunately my Sox were swept, but it was a great game and a super series! The boys were like fish and were in the pool at Pop-Pop's and Nana's most of the time. Their best thing was to use the supersoaker water guns and blast their grandfather! Great memories!

The remainder of our days here have been working (have to fund these fun trips and vacations somehow), enjoying the 4th of July with friends, going to the library and the beach and seeing some of the fun summer movies that are out.

I hope that you and your families are having as wonderful a summer as we are. I can hardly believe that school will be back in session in a month...

New Haircuts

Well, I thought it was time that I was able to see the big, brown, beautiful eyes of my two boys again...so off to the barber's for a Spring haircut! Adam's only criteria was that he was able to spike his hair. He received his wish! He now thinks that he is COOL! He says that all he needs now is a new, cool jacket and some new, cool shoes to complete his look! I told him not to hold his breath!
Alec, on the other hand, just wanted to look handsome for his current hearthrob, Izzy, a young girl in his class that he is gaga over! Isn't he to young for all this boy/girl stuff? He is only 8! I received the "baby question" the other night while stirring a pot of spaghetti with him. I think I handled it well and answered his questions without divulging to much information. I do not remember even thinking of such things at his age...but that was a different time!
Mom is doing well and continues to recuperate. She is now in a total knee class and goes to physical therapy 3 times a week. She has started in the regular part of the fitness center for some of her exercises and she states that she is enjoying it, but that she is tired after it is all done. She has driven once...was going to go through the garage door until I prompted her to please put the car in reverse and not drive in order to back out of the driveway!! Otherwise, she did well! We will be going to my nephew's birthday party over in Clearwater next weekend and then the following weekend is her expected date of permenant residence back in Tarpon Springs. That will make 3 months away and I know that she is anxious to see her friends again.
So hope the weekend is a lovely one for all and drop a note or comment...would love to hear from all of you!

Adam's Awards

Go Adam, go Adam, go Adam, go, go, go!!! Well, he did it!!! He has been working VERY hard for the last semester in school to make it to the stage to receive a Character Achievement Award and he did it this semester!!! He is pictured here with the principal receiving his medallion! He is SOOO proud!! Dad, Mom and brother, Alec, are proud too! Adam knew he was receiving the award last week when he brought home the letter, along with his Honor Roll report card, that stated the ceremony was to be tonight. Well, he was so excited that he was running around the corner of the lawn screaming, "Mom, I got it, I got it!!" He is currently sleeping with the medallion on his bedpost and the certificate tucked into the corner of a frame near his bed where he can see it when he lies on his side! What satisfaction! The other photo is him in all his glory! I think the part he loves the best though is the certificate for free ice cream in the cafeteria! The simple pleasures in life! Enjoy them all why you can!

Ready for a marathon...not quite, but getting there

The Mom update for the last few weeks of March...she has graduated from Home Care and is now beginning Out-patient Physical Therapy! Her initial therapist is a 74 year old man!! She says that it is bad when the PT treating you is having a harder time moving than the patient is!!
Beginning tomorrow, she is joining a knee class at therapy and the PT in charge of the class (a younger one than her original) said she is going to put some of those patients to shame!! She is doing that well!! To quote her..."Imagine me...being the top of the class in anything athletic." I tried to tell her that I would not count PT sessions as athletic, but that they were physical. She was happy enough with that statement.
She walks around the house without her cane and made it today around the block!! She anticipates returning to her home the first weekend in May! So get ready you West coast family and friends...she'll be coming home!!!

Spring Has Sprung...

Q: When can you tell it is Springtime in Florida?
A: With the return of the chimes of the ice cream truck!

As you can see Alec, Adam and our neighbor, my "third son", Donovan, are enjoying the rewards of Springtime...ice cream in the fort! The Moreys have been throughly enjoying the Florida springtime weather with walks and bike rides after dinner and I have been working on readying the front yard for new landscaping! What a long project that is, but it will be SO worth it once the flowers are blooming and the herbs are smelling divine! Even the community pool is open and it has been hot enough to partake of the cooling waters! The boys LOVE that!

We hope that wherever you are you are able to relish this special time of year and enjoy some family time together!

She's Walking Down the Street...She's Moving...Yes, Indeed.

Well, she has made it out of the house, down the street to the STOP sign and back again two times today! Look how straight those legs are! She'll be getting some whistles now when she walks past those construction workers! Great progress!

Don't let her fool you, though, she LOVES being in
those machines! Bending and straightening, bending and straightening...she says when she is not in them she can still feel her body moving like she is still attached to them! Gaining every day...you go, girl!! We are proud of you!

Home and Recovering

Well, Mom is back at the homefront and doing exceptionally well! She is fatigued (who wouldn't be after 2 major surgeries in 2 weeks), but the knees are coming along great! She had the staples removed from her right knee today and the incision is healing nicely. She is using her walker and her CPM contraptions and being a compliant patient. Alec even helped rig her up in the CPMs and is quite fascinated by the machines. Neither one of the boys are to interested in looking at the incisions though...they politely say, "No, thank you" when asked if they would like to see them. Tomorrow she graduates to walking outside with the physical therapist (a different one than me)! She does admit to being a bit cranky at times...we can live with that! And I think the meds are affecting her memory...the stories I tend to overhear are not as accurate as what really happened...chock it up to good drugs! Overall, great progress!
I started back at work today for a few hours...enough to let her have some freedom and expand what she can do on her own because she is here alone and HAS to do it, but not so long that she would have to be here alone with the boys once they are out of school. She is not quite ready for that yet!
Thank all of you who have continued to call and check on her to see how she is doing. It helps her spirits to know that you care, especially since she is not in her own home. We are childless this weekend since the boys will be with Dave, so maybe we can venture outside and hit a movie or something! Will have to see what she feels up to doing! Thanks again all; will continue the updates.