It's a Jungle Out There

Note: The following post must be read with a strong Australian accent!!

It was sunny and warm. Just right for an adventure - a real hunting expedition!
We started out on our trek. We made sure we were armed. After all, you never know what you might encounter out there!

We looked high!

We even kept ourselves camouflaged!

Shhhhh! An actual sighting!


Whoa! That's scary! Those are real live tree lizards! And they move!

Wait, what's that? It's another sighting! Who are these dangerous creatures?

Wow! What a fun adventure! You never know what you will find out here on the farm! We'll be back with another fun adventure cuz "It's A Jungle Out There"!!

Ankle and Foot Surgery

Note: The following pictures may be too graphic for some!!

I recently underwent surgery to transfer a tendon in my left ankle. I somehow had managed to injure the posterior tibialis tendon. A year ago, I had a total knee replacement and the ensuing months to recover proved too much for the injured tendon. It continued to fail causing my ankle to roll inward towards the floor. Not fun and very painful! So I had surgery to transfer a tendon from my foot to overlap the existing tendon. They then had to make an incision on the outside of my ankle to realign my heel which had slid towards the outside and was no longer lined up under my toes. After doing that, the ankle was so stiff that it would not move, so they cut into the muscle to get some movement!! I have at least 4 incisions on my foot and they are not pretty!

This last photo shows where I got a blister on the incision. They had to remove it and we have been changing a dressing daily for the last week. I go back to the Dr. tomorrow and will hopefully (or not) be put in a regular cast for anywhere from a few weeks to 2 months. I still cannot put any weight on it. I will then be put into a walking boot for a couple of month to learn to put weight on it and walk again. There will be lots of physical therapy somewhere in there. It will be late July before I recover. Long road, but I am doing okay except for the occasional times when I have a pity party. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband and family that have taken excellent care of me!!

Riley and Me

Having recently read and watched the movie "Marley and Me", I loved the pictures we got of Katie interacting with our dog. We are big dog lovers around here. Reed and I have had a dog most of our married life. Those dogs have always been Lab/Golden Retriever mixes with one purebred Golden in there. We really related to the story of Marley and Me since we had seen many of the traits in our own dogs.

The other day, Katie and Virginia were out at the house and Virginia had Riley come over to be around Katie. I am so grateful for kids that love dogs and want their children to have the same love. Keegan often tells others that he has a dog but it stays at Grandma's house. Riley is so gentle and loves the kids. He is forever kissing their faces. Kayden loved it when he realized that he could get Riley to lick his hand simply by holding his hand out. Now he LOVES feeding Riley and wants to do it numerous times a day. He knows where the bowl is, where the food is and how many scoops go in. He comes into the house carrying the food bowl and calls for the dog. Riley has become so accustomed to Kayden sitting or standing to watch him eat that now Riley will not eat unless I am in the kitchen sitting next to where he eats. It drives Reed up a wall that he will feed Riley, but he won't eat unless I come in to the kitchen. Funny dog.

This is kind of like putting your hand inside of the lion's mouth. Only Riley doesn't bite down!

Another Temporary Cast

Well, we went to the Dr. today. It was probably a good thing I did not take my camera, but I got to see the incisions for the first time today. They are kind of gross and much bigger and more than I thought. It definitely explains why things hurt where they do! I did not get my stitches out. Things had not healed enough yet, so better to leave them in another week. I will definitely have some hefty scars on my leg and both sides of my ankle. Jackie says that I have been sliced and diced and that is sure what it looks like. YUCK! But beware, now that I know, I will take my camera next week!! So be prepared for pictures next week!!

Anyway, I am back in a new temporary cast. This one, instead of going 3/4 of the way around my foot and ankle is only splinted in the back. So they wrapped my leg in padded guaze, then applied the plaster casting to the back of my leg and under my foot. More padded guaze, then an ace bandage. This at least allows for not so painful swelling and it is easier to ice it because it doesn't have to go through layers of plaster and guaze before it hits the ankle!! It is also much lighter and smaller. Thank goodness!

So back to the Dr. next week to hopefully have the stitches out and a regular cast put on. Of course it will still mean 4-6 weeks of being in a cast and not putting my foot down, but I knew that going in. Then it will be another 4 to 6 weeks in either a walking cast or boot, then another 4-6 weeks to transition out of the boot and hopefully walking. At least the heel is now in the proper place (not off to the side) and he could flex my foot beyond 0 degrees!!

So the big question is - What color or colors should my cast be? I can have 2 or 3 colors. I can't decide if I should be bold and colorful and clash with everything or try to be inconspicuous and subdued. I will have to go to the temple with Josh while I have a cast on, but I figure I will cover it with something white regardless. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!!

Happy Birthday Josh!!

Today is Josh's birthday. So to honor him, I am dedicating this post to him. Josh is my youngest. He also was the only one who was "planned". I had gone through a number of health problems and was not allowed to get pregnant. When I had finally been weened off of all my meds, we decided to try one last time. Alas - Josh. Unfortunately this made me question every little thing about my pregnancy and after he was born. Every time he was particularly fussy, or was sick, or bad, I would say to myself: "I asked for this"!

Great for me was that Josh really has been a great kid. He is extremely sensitive and very loyal. He is the only one who doesn't remember California. We moved to Oregon when he was just 2. He has always known his dad being around. Since Reed worked at home, Josh always came home to having his Dad around. He also benefited from his Dad being able to go on field trips with him.

Josh, being the youngest, has never been a big brother, but he has been a GREAT uncle. Norma's girls have always loved him and Jackie's boys love him too. He really looked up to his older brother and I was always grateful that Jayme was so patient with him. They have many of the same interests and love to chat!! The girls were the first to nickname him Elmer Fudd since he was bald until he was over a year old. From this it changed to "Spud"! That name has stuck and we all still call him Spud to this day!!

As Josh prepares to leave on his mission in a little over a month, the family will grow and change while he is gone. But by being the youngest he will benefit from being able to be in the temple with ALL of his siblings. What a great thing. I am looking forward to that!! Josh - we love you so much and we are very proud of all that you have become!!

Young Entrepreneurs

We believe in starting the kids young when it comes to working in the lab. Jackie's boys were thrilled to have the chance to wash test tubes and bottles for Grandpa. Keegan has become quite the entrepreneur. When he comes here, he asks Grandpa what he can do to earn money. It starts in the morning when he comes up and joins us in bed and gives Grandpa a back rub for 25 cents. Jayme was here. When he goes out to play on the swing set he finds a plastic shovel or rake and rakes leaves. Out in the lab he asks what can be done and this week he got wash test tubes and bottles. Kayden joined him on the stool and the 2 of them went to work with such intensity. They did a darn good job.

Surgery is over and now we are in the difficult recovery stage. I am not allowed to put weight on my foot for at least 6 weeks. It is a royal pain. I use either crutches or a walker (hopping). I can't get anything for myself since I need both hands to operate crutches. The swelling makes me want to keep the foot up most of the time. I am hoping that this will wear off soon. Pain is not too bad, just uncomfortable.

Somewhere in this post, Jayme left his mark. I get no mercy!

Riley Does A Blog

So I thought I would try my hand at this blogging thing, since I see my mom and dad doing it all the time. Sometimes I even have to wait for my dinner just cuz mom is on the computer reading someone's blog. Anyway, I figured you would all want to know what I do with all my time.

They say they are empty nesters, but what about me - don't I count? Come on, my life is pretty sweet. While Grandpa Jay was here, I got him trained really well. He started leaving a little bit on his plate just so I could have a taste. We got to go on walks by the riverfront and we made a couple of trips to the coast. That was sweet.

Lately, with all this spring like weather (read rain) it has made for fun mud play. Just the other day I decided that I would see what I looked like as a chocolate lab! I had sooooo much fun. Mom and dad weren't real happy with me, but it was fun. I don't understand what they were so upset about, after all Mom dyes her hair. I like going down to the creek and playing around in the stinky water. Again, my reception at home isn't too good. But oh well. It is always fun to go down and play with the nieghbors. It is a couple of cute girls. They are basset hounds and so I am much bigger than they are and I kinda like to show what a macho guy I am and bowl them over. Hey, turn about is fair play. When I was little, they used to do the same thing to me.

But here is the most exciting news of all. Mom and dad let me go for a sleep over. Megan had been down here working and when it was time for her to go home I put on my big brown eye look. You know, the one where everyone melts over you and tells you what a good dog you are? Hey they even forgot that last night I went digging and came home all muddy. They made me sleep outside in the kennel for that one. But after a bath this morning (with the cold hose no less) I turned on the charm and Megan fell for it. Mom and dad agreed and now I am spending the weekend with Jessica and Megan. My very first sleep over!! Well not really, I got to spend time with Jackie and the boys while mom and dad were gone, but this time they are home and they let me go! Woohoo!!