A friend of mine came over and we put up applesauce, apple butter, dried apple slices and frozen apples for pies!  I think I am done with apples for the time:)  I love that you can just ask someone if you can pick their tree and they say sure because they don't want the mess and then when you are all done you have yummy and healthy food storage.  I am not looking forward to a time of famine - I will store all I can because I love to eat!
I am getting better from the surgery also.  It is hard not to move your head - just try to do everything without turning your neck side to side or up and down and you will see!  After how amazingly painful it was on the second night after the surgery, I am actually pretty surprised that it does not really hurt at all anymore (unless I move it as indicated above!).  I hope this will be better, I really want to start biking and lifting weights again.

This is an intraop image showing the artificial disk at C5-6

and the pins and plate for the fusion at C6-C7.

I wonder what this means for airport security:)

What a pain in the neck!

Whitney Holland, Peyton Johnson, Amy Seegmiller, Sophie Johnson and Jaylee Box at the fun and exciting Pinewood Derby race.  Sophie's car was a rabbit that she called Zack attack.  Zack Jennings thought that was fun, little did he know the moniker came from a real rabbit!

Post operative groggy blog

I had neck surgery on Thursday the 20th.   I had a fusion of C6-C7 and an artificial disk at C4-C5. I have been sleeping a lot since then. I got home Friday afternoon and I can eat whatever I want though my esophagus is quite sore from being pulled out of the way and my voice is scratchy. I was able to walk about a mile yesterday split into 2 different trips, without the dogs! Walking is supposed to be my rehab for now (for 3 weeks out) and it sort of helps my chest which feels like it is not all the way expanded yet. The bones/neck area was so awful the second night that I was mad at myself for doing the surgery but it has gotten better since then (or I have become more tolerant of the pain). I am still on muscle relaxers and pain med but slopwly weaning off it. I find that in conversation I choose the wrong word for things many times and I have to stop and think about what I want to say, that is pretty weird.

Today I am going to try to be done with the pain meds and I have a rubbermaid full of apples to process, applesauce, dried apples, frozen apples for pie, and apple butter!  Just thinking about it makes me tired!

 

Gymnasts

Peyton's Fair project

Nicole's apron for the fair

Sophies Fair sewing project

First day of 4th grade for Sophie

First day of 7th grade for Peyton

Nicole's quilt for fair

Sophie and her rabbit Zack at fair

Nicole's other quilt at fair

Peyton and her rabbit Frappy at the fair

It is now September 15, 2012.  I have taken quite a hiatus from my blog.  I think in part it is because I do not especially like the word "Blog."  At any rate, I am posting again.  I am going to put up photos from our fair projects.
I recently attended Time out for Women in Denver, I got to stay in a hotel overnight all by myself!  It was very inspirational.
Peyton is doing gymnastics and running cross country.  Her last race was 2 miles and she ran it in 17 minutes.
Sophie is in Gymnastics and can now do a back handspring and back flip which are major milestones for her, she has been working on that for a while.
Rich was in Slovenia a few weeks ago and may be going again.  He enjoyed it and said it was very European, for what that is worth.
We are doing well, I am tentatively scheduled to have neck surgery on Thursday, the 20th and we are hoping that takes away the "pain in the neck!"