Seeds of February

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day last week.  Bevan surprised me with flowers and bags of Ghirardelli squares when I went into the kitchen for breakfast.  I love daisies, especially funky-colored ones!  Anna thought the chocolate was for her and threw a fit when I passed her a bowl of oatmeal instead.  It's tough being a kid.

While Bevan was at work, I decided to "build" him a cake.  Chocolate of course!  Anna was a huge help taste-testing the batter and frosting (it made up for the oatmeal insult).  I'm NOT good at making proper frosting.  It tasted better than it looked.  We went out that night to Canton City, the better of the 2 Chinese options in Heber. It was busy.  It was VERY busy.  If there's ever more than 5 cars in the parking lot, just get take-out.  We decided to sit in.  It took us an hour to get our appetizer and an hour and 5 minutes to get our food.  I should have been fuming!  But... when you taste the food... all is forgiven!  The only really disappointing part is that by the time we arrived home for cake, it was so late.  Even a sliver of cake, combined with Chinese food, late at night, in an already-over-sized belly, makes for a terrible night sleep.  What would Valentine's Day be without going to bed completely disgusted with yourself.

  

As for the rest of February, my sanity has been saved with seeds.  I've vowed that this year my window boxes will be spectacular!  My veggie garden will get planted!  I will have more than just orange and yellow perennials in my yard!  Let it be done!  My bummed knee came at a perfect time to sit around, order seeds online, and sow.  Little physical activity is involved in staring at dirt.  I think I got carried away.  I'm running out of warm, sunny places to stow my flats.  I'm also worried about Anna.  Dirt doesn't thrill her, but sprouts do!  Another problem: what am I going to do with these plants when they outgrow their cells?  Some are coming up faster than anticipated.  At least by the time I have to shuttle around 1-gallon pots, I'll be able to walk.

The halfway mark!

It's been 3 LONG weeks since I banged up my knee.  According to the MRI, The crack in my tibia is healing nicely and the meniscus damage may not ever bother me.  That's good news.  My ligaments are all perfect.  I can't wait to be mobile again.  Forget about not being able to drive anywhere, I just want to be able to WALK!  It's those little things, you take for granted, like walking.  It's only been within the last 2 days that I'm starting to get around without crutches, shuffling a little here and there.  It's been so liberating!  My knee bends a little more everyday and I'm able to finally put weight on it.  Anna and I may venture outside today... to the mailbox!  How exciting!  Poor Anna has been cooped up inside for weeks and misses our walks.  I miss running and skiing and driving and climbing ladders.  You know, normal stuff.  This whole experience has given me an appreciation of how wonderful our bodies are.  With little outside help (soooo grateful I didn't need surgery) bones fuse together, scabs heal, bruises fade, swelling decreases, and white blood cells continue to fight off infection.  It's so automatic and so miraculous.  Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he created us with these capabilities.  How little people appreciate this fact, but I am thankful everyday!

Football and Therapy Soaking

After weeks of "laying-up" with this stupid knee, we needed a change.  Vanessa and Trent invited us up to Pocatello for a weekend of football, good food, and a side trip to Lava Hot Springs.  The drive up was fast and my knee was doing well.  I couldn't say the same for poor Vanessa with a terrible case of Plantar fasciitis.  She was in worse shape than me.  Alas, the food was still outstanding and Anna had a blast playing with cousins.  It ended up being a pretty exciting Superbowl game.  The lights went out, the 49ers almost came back, and I ate so much food!  

We've never been to Lava Hot Springs when it was actually busy.  We usually go on a Monday... in the winter.  I love it!  Vanessa and I were both in need of a mineral/ therapeutic soak for our aching limbs.  It was quite a site walking into the hot pools.  Bevan led, carrying the bags, then hobbled me and Vanessa, both on crutches, then the 3 toddlers.  We got some looks.  The pools were nice and relaxing and I could've stayed all day!  Poor Bevan was on toddler duty as Anna loved exploring all the giant "bathtubs".  It was a wonderful trip, but my only regret was not bringing the CAMERA!  So here are some stock photos, for posterity.  Can't wait to go back!