Idaho Part 9 - (Injury)

I usually take the summer off from playing tennis but because my team was going to sectionals in August, I wanted to make sure that I got a little bit of practice in while I was gone. I found a great country club facility and picked a couple of drills classes to attend. The first one was a women's 3.5 class and it was awesome! I had a really really good practice, felt great about my form and shots and was feeling pumped to have played so well after being off the courts for a month.

The second class I went to was a mixed intermediate class on a Saturday morning. It was early and quite cold and I didn't feel like I was playing my best - frankly I was still waking up.  About an hour into the class during a game, I went up for a shot that I realized was going to be long so I pulled myself down, out of my jump, and I landed wrong on my ankle. Really wrong. I immediately felt a pulling sensation wrap around my ankle, over the top of my foot and out to my toes. It. Hurt. So. Badly. I fell right to the ground and couldn't get up. The first thought to cross my mind was, I can't believe this just happened. So stupid. I have sectionals in three weeks!

After being helped off the court by a couple of male players, I sat on a bench and realized my foot was already swelling. Another player ran and got me ice and I began icing and elevating right away. I called Rick to come pick me up because I knew I couldn't drive home...it was my right foot, I couldn't bend it down and the pain was making me nauseous.

About 20 minutes after we got home, a neighbor, who happens to also be a doctor that treats ISU athletes, came over to the house to take a look at it for me. He suspected it was a bad sprain and that I should get an x-ray after a couple of days just to be sure. I was laid up that entire weekend - icing and elevating it. I had to use crutches because any weight on it at all caused an incredible amount of pain. I did get an x-ray and it wasn't broken. As suspect, it was a bad sprain. I had no idea a sprained ankle came with so much pain. After a couple of days I had some nasty bruising along the side of my foot, around the ankle and at my toes.  I was on crutches up until we got to the airport five days later to board our flight to Seattle for our cruise. I know it's never a good time to be injured but the timing on this one was especially terrible.

It's now been seven weeks and it's still not healed. The doctor said it could take up to a year for it to really heal properly and even then it will never be the same. I managed all of these years to never get any major sports injury - I couldn't believe it happened by such a simple dumb move during a tennis drills class. I did end up playing at sectionals (more to come on that in another post) but haven't started the new season because of the injury. Still hoping it gets better really soon!

 It was a neat experience to play at an indoor court. Definitely forces you to think differently about certain shots...like a lob.

 After it happened and the swelling kicked in and I was waiting for Rick to pick me up.

 My right ankle disappeared in the swelling and I had pouches of fluid in several spots around the ankle and on top of my foot.

 Bruising coming in. 

I thought the bruising was going to be worse - it was still ugly but not as bad as it could've been. 

My brace so that I could walk on our vacation and while I play tennis.

Idaho - Part 8 (Summer Camp School)

We enrolled the boys in a summer camp school that is filled with fun actives to give them something to do each day. Monday was gymnastics, Tuesday was a trip to the movie theater, Wednesday the older kids went bowling and the younger kids went to the park, Thursdays was swimming lessons and Friday was something different like the zoo, fishing, the cleaning museum, pottery at ISU, etc. Logan loved riding the school bus and playing on the playground. In addition to all the activities, the older kiddos had some dedicated time to work on academics.
Here are some examples of the fun things they worked on while they were there.

 Logan made a cat. 

 Lincoln made this during their space unit. 

 Because it was a faith based school, each day they had chapel, sung songs about Christ and learned about how much God loves them. 

 I never did figure out what this was but something Logan made. 

 Logan was so proud of his port hole that he made with ocean water, fish and shells. 

 Art courtesy of Logan.

Idaho - Part 7 (Cousin Time)

This year the boys got more time with their cousins over the summer than any before. It was nice that it wasn't all the cousins at once so that they could get some good quality time without having to compete with the larger group and could adapt based on who they were with.  A lot of times they kept themselves busy with their cousins so they weren't always looking for us to entertain them and gave the boy someone besides each other to play with.  It also meant that all of the adults had a chance to visit as well. Erica, Sadie and Esme even attended summer camp school with them so it was nice for them to share in those experiences and activities with each other.

 Lincoln, Logan, Esme and Penny having a picnic on Tutu's balcony. 

 Luckily for Lincoln, Esme knows a few things about Star Wars so they played that and then the boys would have to play prince and princess with the girls. 

 I don't know what the draw to the giant dirt mound was but the kids sure loved to be out there on it every day. They climbed up it, slid down it and even shoveled dirt from it.  

 Lincoln in red, Esme in pink and Logan in blue. 

 Penny liked to be driven around by Logan. 

 Different day - same ride.

Lincoln and Erica -  dinner at Arctic Circle followed by a tasty treat. 

It was a peaceful break when all the kids would take some time to play quietly on their iPads. They even learned a few new games from each other. 

Logan and Sadie with the capes they made at school for super hero week.

Sadie, Logan, Erica, Lincoln and Tutu

Idaho - Part 6 (July Activities)

As I mentioned in part 1, we managed to cram a lot of activities into a short period of time.  It's so nice for us to be out of the AZ heat, to be in a place that is removed from the city, where there is nature and wildlife all around and where the boys can get dirty, drive tractors and be boys.

 One major project the boys did was build the 3,296 piece Star Wars Lego Sandcrawler.  It's the biggest set they've built and it kept them busy for a week. 

 My favorite thing to do in the evenings is watch the deer feed on the rolling green hills. One day we nearly hit this deer and she jumped across the road with baby following closely behind. 

We ate delicious treats including smores.  

 Logan and Lincoln both did well at primary for the time we were there. This was something that Logan made at church and brought home. 

 Just hanging out eating dinner downstairs. 

 Logan loves playing with Minnie. She is really good to him and puts up with him when he's not so gentle. Logan is definitely an animal lover. 

 Lincoln lost both front teeth on this trip. This is the first front tooth he lost while we were there. He ended up asking the tooth fairy if he could keep his tooth and he still made out with a buck!

 We are lucky enough to celebrate Grandma Tutu's birthday with her each year when we're in Idaho. She picked up some delicious cakes at a special bakery in Utah to celebrate.

 The grandkids all helped open cards and presents for her. 

 Logan made special pottery at Idaho State University one day as part of his summer camp activities.

 Lost his second front tooth. 

 Playing out on Tutu's balcony. 

 I love seeing the boys just play outside and be boys. 

 We managed to sneak in a couple of late night train game sessions. This was the finished board.

On our last night in town Lincoln and I got to go on a special date night with Tutus, Aunt Natalee and Erica. Tutu took us to a fun dinner theater where we ate a delicious dinner and watch a full length production of Annie Get Your Gun!

 Lincoln did a remarkable job of sitting through the play that ended up being about two and half hours. He seemed to follow the storyline just fine and seemed to really enjoy it. 

Erica and Lincoln with the two lead actors in the play Annie and her real life husband. 

Idaho - Part 5 (4th of July)

One of my favorite traditions is spending 4th of July at the Inkom parade. It is the epitome of a x-small home town parade.  The participants usually include veterans, several large tractors, a couple of horse riding groups, the high school cheerleaders and sports team, the boys scout a few politicians and whoever else need a little extra attention that day.  The fact that everyone throughs candy to the kids is why the boys love going. It's a perfect way to get a great patriotic start to the day.

This year we also went near the fairgrounds a sat in the back of Tutu's F150 and watched the firework show that was synced up to a local radio station.  Because it doesn't get late until close to 10:00 pm in Pocatello, it made for a very late night for the boys. I thought they would've been more excited and engaged in the show but it ended up being a bit of a struggle for them. I love 4th of July and especially the patriotic music that accompanies the actives of the day. I hope I can teach my boys to love this great country as I was taught as a child. Despite the many things that I think are wrong with this nation, we are very blessed to live in the USA.

Waiting for the parade to start. 

 Showing their patriotic side.

 Luckily we timed it right so we only had to wait about 30 minutes but it was a hot day and the boys were every anxious for it to start.

 Later in the afternoon, Ricky helped Lincoln build the Lego Sand crawler.

 Waiting for fireworks - way past their bedtime. 

Aunt Natalee found this great viewing area for us and Tutu brought the set up. They were great troopers since Grandma Tutu was home with Esme and Penny.

Idaho - Part 4 (Visit with Rory)

Every year I look forward to seeing Micah, Kolissa and little Aurora during our visit to Idaho.  I still find it quite amazing that of all the towns in this country, that Kolissa is from, and that her and Micah moved to, the same town my in-laws happen to live in....in Idaho of all places.  This time the boys were able to better interact with Rory.  She is super active and fun and she seemed a bit intrigued with  Lincoln and Logan.  It's also fun to see all of the projects that Micah has done to their house over the year previous.  Logan was especially excited about the addition of the functioning Disneyland Main Street Train Station replica model.   We had a wonderful visit and even enjoyed a yummy dinner together at Pizza Pie Cafe, which has become a tradition for us.  We are excited for baby girl cousin number two to join us soon!  

 Rory played catch with Logan.

 Rory loved my phone and was quite entertained and content with taking a million selfies. 

 Micah was a good sport and did a great job entertaining the boys. 

Lincoln and daddy