Minnesota State Fair

Riding the bus

Working at the Lil Farm Hands

Photo with Homer, a favorite in our house

Jackson's first ride on the Giant Slide

Mommy and Jackson on one of our rest breaks for my knee

Overall, we had a fun and successful day at the Minnesota State Fair. We saw lots, ate more food than we needed, and had a blast doing all of it. Best of all I walked the whole day!

No Driving

It has been an interesting week, with me not being able to drive we have had to find things to do without going anywhere. We did lots of inviting friends over for play dates to help keep us busy.

This weekend I had my first Target outing in over three weeks. It was a very exciting trip for me, and much more enjoyable with my new knee. We even went and played some more mini golf on Saturday with some of Paul's family. It was fun to get out and do something other than therapy and lab appointments.

In therapy this week I have been working hard. I was able to go all the way around on the bike, where before I was only going forward and backward as far as I could tolerate. Also this week I was able to bend my knee to 100 degrees and the therapist was able to push me to 110 degrees. That is about 10 degrees more than last week, and is great and exciting progress. I am trying to make sure to do my exercises so I can continue to watch those degrees getting higher and higher. I can't wait to see how far I can bend it next week.

Recovery- Week #2

It has been a surprisingly busy week. My many lab and physical therapy appointments take up a lot of the week and then when you add anything else the week suddenly becomes very full.
Last weekend I was still fairly tired and sore from the surgery, so we were still spending a lot of time at home. Paul and Jackson were able to enjoy the beautiful days by walking to the park though. The foam letters even made the trip to park one day. Jackson decided they needed to go so he could be just like the kids in his favorite videos.

These foam letters have been a huge hit this past week, helping to keep Jackson busy at home. It's great how old toys can become new again just by keeping them put away for a few months.

Thursday was a little bit of a sad day for us. We said goodbye to our friends the Anderson's, who are moving to Oregon. We had a wonderful time at the park with Ann Marie and Evelyne, and were very thankful they had time amongst their moving to meet us at the park. We were sad to see them go, but are very happy for the wonderful things this move means for their family.

On Friday after my appointment with the surgeon, we went to the Children's Museum, complete with lunch at McDonalds. Jackson has been asking to go for the past two weeks, and we thought it would be a fun way to spend out last weekday with Paul before he goes back to work. We have been blessed to have him home the last two weeks. It was also a great chance to practice my walking, without crutches and with the cane. The day was very fun, but I was also plenty tired out by the time we made it home.

Recovery continues to go very well for me. Beside getting rid of my crutches this week, I was also able to bend my knee to 100 degrees this week. I am working very hard on straightening my knee to 0 degrees, and am getting closer every day. Already I can tell life is going to much better and easier, standing up is no longer a painful chore. I love that I can use my knees and legs to push myself up, and Paul said he can tell I am walking much faster too. We are praying my progress will continue as well as it has thus far.

Surgery

It has been almost a week since I came home from the hospital, so I think I am due to post an update. I sent out plenty of emails and such so here is the condensed version.

The surgery went well, and my knee looks great on the x-ray I saw of it. I struggled with nausea the first day due to my pain medication, but once they changed them things were much better. I have been working very hard on my physical therapy. They get up and moving right away the nest day. It hasn't been too horrible, but I am amazed at how such simple exercises can be so exhausting. I have had some very sore thigh muscles, but it does seem to be getting better the strong I get.
Otherwise it is just nice to home with my boys. You appreciate home so much more when you have been gone for a few days. I will post more as things change and my motion improves.

Summer Outings III

Here is how our last week went:

Saturday morning started with the Slice of Shoreview Parade, which involved lots of candy. What a treat!

More mini golf at Lilli Putt, thanks to our neighbor who gave us more coupons.

Sunday we were off to the Slice of Shoreview where Jackson only wanted to eat popcorn.

The Slice also offered us another chance to see the puppet wagon.

Sunday evening we found ourselves having a fun dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. The trolley inside was a big hit with Jackson.

Tuesday we had a playdate at the park with our friend Izaak from school.

Wednesday we were off the Sprinkler park again, this time with Nate and Theo.

Our last evening took us to the Cheesecake Factory. It was a fun meal out and I was able to have cheesecake as my midnight snack. What a delicious choice to have as my last food before surgery.

We had a fun last week, and now we are looking forward to I have recovered from surgery and can go on many more outing as a family. I am will enjoy them so much more being pain free with my new knee.

Summer Outings II

We are almost at the end of our time for our summer activities, with my surgery only less than a week away.
This past week involved a lot of local community outings.

Here is where our week took us:

The puppet wagon

Storytime at the Library

Some fun at the park with Nate and Theo

Playing at the playarea in Rosedale after having lunch with a friend

The Penny Carnival

We also had a very full Tuesday filled with many activities. Check out my previous post, A Day Full of Fun, to see all we were able to cram into one day. I was even able to fit in some time with girlfriends this past week. I was able to do some shopping, go out to dinner, and see a movie which is always fun. One of the nights I was out, the boys were able to go and play some Frisbee golf. Paul always enjoys that, and I heard Jackson even played a few holes. so I think they had a good time. Overall, it was a very fun week, and we look forward to more fun in the upcoming days we have left. Come back and see how our last week turns out.

A Day Full of Fun

Today has been a very busy and fun filled day. It wasn't really planned to be a full day, but that is what happened as we are still trying to fit in all our fun activities before my surgery next week.
Here are the events of our day:

First we had a playdate with Parker at Snail Lake Park. We even saw our friend Henry there, and it was fun to play with him too. When we were done playing, we walked down to say "hi" to my cousin Jocelyn, who was working at the beach.

Then we were off to the Science Museum once Paul got home from work. There we had many activities to fill our evening.

The Star Wars Exhibit

Playing mini golf in the Big Backyard. This was by far Jackson's favorite activity of the evening, we couldn't get to it soon enough.

Finding the numbered stepping stones in the Big Backyard maze.

Then we stopped at Sonic on our way home for a treat, delivered by a carhop on roller skates.

We had a very fun day, and a very tired boy at day's end. He fell asleep in the car on the way home after drinking his chocolate milk he ordered at Sonic.