In between getting our home ready for inspections, we did catch some moments at the beach.
What do you do with a gigantic canvas that's out of date when you have zero extra wall space? Brady surprised and little Owen, Zac's goatee and Kate's bows were funny enough to include here.
We also all took turns getting a vicious stomach flu. Kate brought it home on Valentines Day first, and was one of 10 people in her Kindergarten class to go down with it in a week. A few days later, it hit Zachary, then me, and finally Brady. Heidi went out of her way to bring us dinner on the day that Brady and I overlapped with the pukes. That week was spent scrubbing carpets, watching "Trolls" 18 times, and chasing Owen around, who stayed healthy throughout Operation Tummy Troubles.
He stayed busy cleaning the floors with palm fronds and organizing his toys. He doesn't play with his toys as much as put them into piles (or throw them in the trash or toilets).
Kate, on Valentines Day, pre-pukes, and with her heart hairdo.
The kids loved their little valentines in the morning.
Kate's egg drop science experiment and Ohana picnic took place on the day of love, too. Firefighters came out and ceremoniously dropped the eggs. Kate's made it intact! Zachary also showed off his science fair project about handedness/sidedness.
Owen! Little ball of mischief! Every morning, he goes around in destroyer mode. I haven't had a kid do this, at least that I can remember. I assumed that people who complained about children painting their walls with nail polish or flushing brushes down the toilet probably weren't supervising their kids very well. That sounds judgmental and really, it's not. It was just what I figured. So now I figure that I either don't supervise my child very well or he is insanely fast. I have decided to give up the battle during make-up and hair and let him have at it.
Owen and Kate at the final baseball game of Zachary's season. Zachary missed the playoffs thanks to the tummy bug.
Owen getting love from his bro. Zac does not get annoyed by Owen's constant attempts to join him at the piano.
In January, I re-injured my knee. It was in bad shape prior to tweaking it, but at least somewhat manageable. The fresh pain motivated me to look seriously at when to schedule surgery. I knew the previous year that I planned to get my knee operated on but the thought of going through surgery and recovery sounded dreadful and I thought that if I had waited for the pain to go away the past 5 years, I did not need to be in any rush to the OR. When I looked hard at dates, though, the earlier dates were definitely better. Getting recovered sooner meant not losing time over the summer with my kids, as well as having a trustworthy babysitter (who moves this June) after school each day. A week out, I booked my ticket to Utah for the doctor I've been seeing the past 18 months. I dreaded the surgery so much that I was still uncertain about getting on the plane three hours before my flight (and I booked a flight I could cancel all the way up to departure). I finally went with my gut and decided to get it over with.
We took the kids out for a special dinner before I left.
Owen got some new kicks for Utah.
Owen slept terribly on the red eye. At the LA airport, his sippy cup spilled water all over him and of course I had no spare clothes. I went on the plane with a shirtless child. That is okay in Hawaii and not so okay on the mainland. I remedied it by wearing my jacket and giving him my shirt. Still not okay but better than nothing.
I arrived Tuesday morning and Mom and Dad ushered us off to pick up supplies from Kristen and some food from Zupas. It was still cold and snowy when we arrived, although later on in the trip it hit 80 degrees. Spring in Utah!
The surgery was Wednesday. Dad and I left the house at 5:15am to arrive at the surgery center on time. He patiently sat in the waiting room for 6 hours, and then drove me to get an acai bowl before heading home. I appreciated the surgical experience, especially the warm bedside manner and attention to detail and instruction from my doctor. I went under giggling with the nurses, which seems to be the way I respond to anesthesia. I remember doing the same for both of my IVF surgeries. I woke up shocked it was over, and with my knee in a massive brace. It was apparent early on that I did not pack appropriately for this trip at all. I had one pair of shorts that worked with the brace, and after wearing them a week straight, I was ready to leave them at Goodwill in Utah.
Kate asked me several times that week over FaceTime, "Mom, why are you wearing the same outfit AGAIN?!?"
Owen could have made this experience a disaster, but he is baby #3 and he is a gem. He gave Grandma no trouble at all during the surgery and basked in her attention and love. He handled taking a bottle for 2 days with ease, which is surprising because I still breastfeed him 5 times a day. (He was happy to go back to me after the drugs cleared my system and is currently more demanding than ever with breasfeeding.)
Ang took a turn babysitting me and Owen with a trip to Kneaders and some snuggles. Zac loved being around cousins, his aunt, and their dog Sadie.
Sleeping in the brace was...not sleeping. Friday, it was finally time for the unveiling and a shower. Hooray. I had very minimal swelling, and looking at this picture now is a little depressing since a month later, I don't think it looks much better.
Mom and Dad were so attentive and kind. They ran to get me water, to fix my leg up to keep moisture off the wound, to move any tripping hazzards, and to avoid any accidental knee bends.
Zachary started running to Grandma from my lap. I loved seeing him so comfortable with her.
They went out and threw snowballs before it all melted. Owen loves to suck on ice, and he kept trying to eat the snow.
Friday night, Mom and Dad hosted my college siblings for a night of pizza and games. This was a rare opportunity and fun to have them all to myself. I especially liked seeing Mindy and Peter together before their wedding in two months. There were plenty of laughs and I learned that every single Nufer has a competitive streak. Nature or nurture?
I appreciated getting to know Rebecca more, too. She and Eric are coming up on their one-year anniversary.
By the end of the night, my leg was on fire but my heart was full. We snapped a few pictures--they wanted to mock my brace.
Some more knee shots the next day. The dark lines are ink, not cuts. I had to write "yes" on the correct knee prior to surgery.
And the shorts. Oh man, I despise those shorts.
Some Sunday shots of Owen and Grandpa. Owen saw Grandpa after his shower, ran down the hall, and begged to be picked up. He sat like that and patted Grandpa's back. I was misty-eyed watching these sweet interactions.
I was also misty-eyed missing Brady and the kids. We had FaceTime chats multiple times a day.
Sunday night, Ang hosted a family dinner. I sent Brady this picture with a sarcastic remark that Owen was getting ignored, and he thought I was serious. This kid basked in the attention from his cousins, aunts, and uncles.
Monday, I snuck out to the Fitstop for the first time and pretended to work out. Mom and Dad were so generous to help me with Owen again and again during my physical therapy and gym sessions, and Owen found plenty of ways to entertain himself.
For Family Night, they purchased peanut clusters and we took a photo for Brady. When I think of peanut clusters, I think of Utah. I also think of the time Mom and Dad mailed them as part of the 12 Days of Christmas when Zachary was 3. We woke up early one morning to see him covered in chocolate. He had unwrapped present #11 and helped himself, guided to the yummy goldmine by their scent.
Tuesday, I went to see my grandma Richards in the ICU. She has a very poor memory and feeble health, but I love her more than I can express. She is selfless, kind, and FIERCE.
Owen went into Grandma and Grandpa's room over and over again to try on clothes, open their drawers, and hang out in their closet. He loved rocking Grandpa's socks.
One week out from surgery and it was time to see the doctor. He removed that horrible brace and was shocked to see almost no swelling. He said he had never had a patient look this good one week out. I felt like a star patient and walked out of there pretty proud of myself. (When my knee ballooned a few days later, I had a long way to fall off that pedestal.)
Zupas trip #2 with Mom and Dad, with my salad that tasted like candy and Owen's nuggets that tasted...terrible.
Every night, I fed Owen in the high chair. After a while, he protested and wanted out, only to march over to Grandpa, sit on his lap, and beg for bites.
Nom, nom, nom.
Dad worked in the yard several days to prepare for spring planting. He came in for lunch and Owen cruised around in his hat.
More FaceTime. Zachary is so good at entertaining Owen, even thousands of miles away.
On Saturday, I went down to Highland. Kristen and crew were kind enough to watch Owen while I went out for pedis with Kathie.
Rachel and Ellie doted on baby O constantly. Rach also tended him while the adults went to see "La La Land." Loved it! My knee screamed but going to a movie is so rare, and a mainland theater is 5 times nicer than our theater.
Saturday afternoon, Cory and Kristen hosted Blake's basketball team for a BBQ brisket. Prior to coming to Highland, I was stressing out about blood clots and 7 hour plane rides with a toddler in my lap. My doctor previously advised that I stay in Utah for 2 weeks, so my flight was set for Tuesday at the 13 day mark post-surgery. However, I had several sleepless nights fretting over the risks after my physical therapist expressed shock at me taking a flight so early after knee surgery. I mentioned all this to Cory and Kristen and went out to buy diapers at Smiths, where I got a phone call from my doctor and talked to him for 20 minutes. I came back feeling reassured that I was low risk. I mentioned this in front of their friends. One of them was an ER doctor who had a young patient post knee surgery in ICU with a blood clot in his lungs just the week prior. He was healthy and fit and considered very low risk. The ER doc said he would advise against any travel in the three weeks after surgery on a lower extremity, and said that while blood clots are rare in someone like me, they happen and with a 7 hour journey the air and a baby in my lap, he would not consider me just low risk. With all my worries the nights leading up to this information plus another medical professional expressing concern, I felt like it would be irresponsible of me to come home. I was dramatic and devastated, but Brady agreed and we worked it out for me to stay another week. Oh, I wanted to see my two older kids, though!!!
I remember walking in the yard while Owen played with this skateboard and trying to get all my juicy tears out so I would stop losing it in front of Cory and Kristen.
Saturday night, we all went to see Ellie perform in "Wizard of Oz"--an elementary school production that made me question if I was doing wrong by my children to have them in a place so underdeveloped in the arts. It was unreal.
Sunday morning, we played at the park before heading to church, where Owen was a holy terror, and Kristen taught the most inspiring lesson on Emma Smith.
That night, my knee was all kinds of swollen and I felt pretty discouraged. But! We had a delicious salmon bowl dinner before heading back to Heber so I could do my PT first thing Monday morning.
Back in Heber, back in Grandpa's lap for more bites.
If I was staying, I might as well get things accomplished. I started going to Salt Lake to see showrooms and get ideas for our house. It wasn't easy with my swollen knee and semi-cooperative child, but I felt like a few things came together well, like my ideas for our master bathroom. (Bottom tile=floor, middle tile=shower wall, bottom left=accent tile).
I would love to do flat front cabinetry. It doesn't expand and contract and ruin the paint like other cabinetry in our humidity.
Costa Esmerelda granite is hard to come by right now, and extremely expensive. We thought it was awful cost-wise the first time around, and with a bigger kitchen in house #2, I don't think it will be an option. I'm looking at other ideas.
I was certain Owen would pop out a tooth on this trip. His gums were red and swollen and he needed to chew on everything. No tooth yet!
Cruising Willow Circle, particularly interested in the barking dog across the street and the mailbox.
I'm so bad at selfies, but it was nice to be outside on a warmer evening. All the snow was gone.
A trip to the park with Grandma!
I went to Highland again on Wednesday. I was able to see Rachel break the school record in the 400 meters with a time of 67 seconds. 67 seconds for a 7th grader in her first track meet of the season. WHAT?!????
Look at that beautiful stride.
Poor Owen--trapped in his too-small carseat because I was not about to haul his 50 lb carseat on the airplane. He is still under the weight limit and height limit for the infant carrier but he was NOT happy about getting stuffed into it for three weeks.
More shots of my knee. I saw the doctor again 2 weeks out, and he said I was now just an average patient with an average amount of swelling and bruising. Bummer. At least I knew it was not out-of-the-ordinary, but at week 2, it was more uncomfortable and achy.
Juicy.
Cory and Kristen's dogs deserve a medal. The cat deserves a trophy. They were so patient with Owen's grabs, pokes to the eye, and yanks on the tail. Rogue, the cat, started to hide when he saw Owen after being picked up a few too many times by his skin.
Rick and Robin moved to Lehi from Aruba. We used to live close by in northern California and I loved reconnecting with them in their new home. Rick built a bookshelf while we chatted in the basement. (Remember my bit about selfies? Yikes.)
The next day, Kristen came with me and entertained Owen while we explored showroom after showroom. We learned a lot about wood, granite, and marble v. quartz. I am not positive I believe all the strong opinions each expert shared, but it was enlightening.
This is Costa del Mar, and likely the stone we will use instead of Costa Esmerelda.
This is northern Italy's carrara marble, which I'd love to use in my bathrooms. This fine fellow to the right spent 30 minutes trying to convince me that quartz is an awful idea and marble (but not any marble--just northern Italian) was the better choice.
More bathroom/tile ideas.
"Daddy's Home!" Nope, Owen is our only child that is not fooled by Cory. He loves Cory, though.
Owen loves unpacking suitcases almost as much as he loves pulling clothes from drawers.
I played in their 1 acre yard and wondered if we were making a mistake trading in our "large" 0.3 acre yard for one that is several thousand square feet smaller. (Then I came home and worked in the yard and decided that it was absolutely the right decision.)
Hooray for the best eating establishment in Utah. Even looking at these pictures makes me salivate. I love Indian food--even just okay Indian food. Bombay House is fantastic Indian food. It is my favorite restaurant of all restaurants ever.
When I invited Mom and Dad to come if they wanted to but to feel absolutely no pressure (after all, we were coming up on three weeks of meals together), Dad said he could think of 10 other restaurants he preferred to Bombay House. We've eaten at quite a few together and I was staying with Cory and Kristen, so the group didn't think we needed to change plans. Mom confessed last trip to Utah that even the smell of curry makes her nauseous, and in that case, Bombay House absolutely reeks. That background information just shows how much they love all of us--coming to such a disgusting restaurant.
The next morning, I caught up with Kathie and Robin for a stop at Cafe Rio.
I headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Nufer's for a nice visit. We talked about our upcoming plans in DC, including their intention to use UBER while there. Way to go, G&G!
After hitting Trader Joe's and buying 20 curries and a few boxes of cookies for the friends who so graciously offered rides and babysitting for Zac and Kate, and then hitting Target because even though I think it's a glorified WalMart, I can't resist the temptation to go in and spend an hour there, I headed back to Heber.
Another Sunday--this time spent with Scott and Natalie's family (although primarily walking the halls with this toddler named Nightmare, but he is so, so cute even though so, so horrible at church).
Another Sunday, another family feast at Angela's. More chances for Owen to bask in the love of cousins, aunts, uncles, and dogs.
One of my favorite parts of this trip was watching Owen get settled into Grandma and Grandpa's routine. Each morning, he insisted on helping lift every blind in the house. He first went to the 5 shades in the living room, and then ran to the kitchen to "help" with the two there.
I did not realize how good the PT was in Utah until I came back to the PT in Kauai. The grass is always greener, and medical care is one place Utah has much better grass that Kauai. (I took this pic of myself to remember this stretch, but look how much better my knee is!)
Mom and Dad took Owen to feed the ducks one morning. The ducks were rambunctious, but Owen was not intimidated. He picked up throwing bread to them in a hurry.
I was not exaggerating--dinner on Grandpa's lap was a daily requirement.
Brady FaceTimed us from a spring break hike.
Grandma shows her love and devotion not just through cooking and eating at Bombay House, but by going the extra mile and reading books to toddlers who don't sit still and playing train while I pack my bags.
The morning of our journey home! We were sad to leave the love and company of family but so anxious to get home!!! I will always, always treasure the weeks I spent with Mom and Dad and the way they nurtured me and Owen.
Owen was such a turd on the flight to LA. Everyone around me commented that at least we could get off the plane now, without having any idea that Owen and I were marching straight onto the next flight for another 7 hours. Ahh! I was anxious about it for sure.
We survived! He was a gem on flight #2. We got home late, completely worked and ready to sleep in our own beds.
Owen's curls returned immediately, escaping his homeless Utah look.
Retrospectively, I would have done the surgery in Oahu. I wanted to go with the best for anything involving surgery, so Kauai was out. I needed help with my baby, so Oahu seemed out. Had I realized I would be gone three weeks, Utah would have been out. I'm glad it is done. I am trying hard not to judge the surgery until the 6 month mark. Currently, I'm spending huge chunks of my day doing physical therapy. Some days I'm encouraged and other days, discouraged. I'm definitely improving with mobility and I hope to increase activity soon. We move in two weeks, so I need to get better fast. Ha!
My heart is full of gratitude for all the service we received the past few weeks. It's nice to be functioning independently now, but I loved that those who assisted us made me feel so comfortable receiving help. I love our family and friends, and I will miss the Edwards Spa.
