Summin' up Summer

What in the world have we been up to? Well the summer has gone by in a whirlwind of business and pleasure. Neil has been to see numerous surgeons, ran more extensive tests, even a few painful ones resulting in one thing, “yes, he is a candidate for surgery.” This is something we all knew, but needed confirmation. We are not out of the woods yet. Everyone from the doctors, to lawyers, to us has to agree on the proper proceedings….and in between all of this, a little bit of playtime as well.


Stewart has gotten in some good bowl time at the skate park and his “airs” have gotten a lot of notice from, well, just about everybody. He is also interested in surfing again. We are hoping to meet up with a group of families that get together on Sunday mornings, just to surf and “stay connected with family and nature.” I feel like after all this time, we have all met some very cool and fun people who have similar interests, values and priorities as ourselves. We haven’t met a great bunch of people since Richmond, and probably never will…yes we love you guys!! I am just always so impressed by Stewart’s ability to watch something, than be able to do it, with little effort. He has switched to more street skating…ie. Jumping and airing stairs and obstacles. As a girl I am like “ wow, look at that!.” As a mom I am like “oh! I can’t watch!” Ha ha!

Katie has joined the San Diego Derby Dolls. That’s right, she is a “Roller Derby Girl.” Her team is called the “Juvenile Dollinquents” and she is kicking butt. She is still looking for that perfect name and will gladly take suggestions. Her first match is in September. They do flat and banked track. I invested in a pair of old school skates and pads, and practice with her. The group of girls vary in age from 11 to 18. She has made so many new friends even though they are all too busy training right now to get too personal right now. It is a lot of hard work with a lot of reward. Needless to say, I am seriously thinking about joining myself, but for now, we skate! (pictures to come soon).

We have had a gaggle of kids on the boat. Some are the same crew as last year and some are newbies. It has been a lot of fun with trips to the desert, various skate parks, the beach, and snorkeling and diving. I am a big kid at heart and it makes me just as sad to see the summer end, but the playtime is far from over.

I had the opportunity to snorkel in a very cool coastal spot. The water was fairly clear for the area and I was able to get incredibly close to sea lions. In fact, I first went out in just my bathers, came back to shore for my wetsuit and stayed in, mesmerized for a few hours. I have to say that to see the seals interact with each other, swimming around and neck hugging each other, playing, exploring, splashing….it was beyond amazing. It was a pure raw energy that as you can tell hit me right in my soul. I have snorkeled before, seen fish and starfish and even octopus, but this…was….truly incredible and I feel so blessed to have seen it with my own eyes…ugh, I could go on and on but I will spare you my mushiness for now! I plan to go back on a much clearer day for better video but you will get the point. I love love loved it!

If anything this incredibly warm summer has given me enough of a taste to go and get myself certified…for diving, not the loony bin!! Ha ha. I have enjoyed taking over the boats bottom maintenance and I love being in and under the water. I would like to try tanks soon and see what else I can “see.”

Not bad for a girl missing a third of her lungs!!

So we have had and are having a ball with our kids, their friends, our friends, the dogs, and even a few strangers…wish you were here…. enjoy the video below.

Fun and games

We have gotten a few good but short little sailing jaunts here and there since the last post. We were treated to quite a little show of dolphin play this last time and ended up having a momma and her young swim along side up by the bow.

So graceful...

They truly are beautiful creatures and I feel so fortunate any time I get the honor of their pressence.

 

Two peas....

Once back into a little cove, we took advantage of the local beach and did some much needed bottom scraping and painting to the "water taxi."

(Slave labor I tell ya!!,,haha)

I don't care how old you are, it's always fun playing around at the beach......

you never get tired of lounging around in hammocks......

  and the sunsets are always gorgeous.....

Since then we have gone on  to do a bit of exploring of some of the state parks So Cal has to offer. From time to time I start "jonesing" for the mountains...so off we went....

.(but it was not all for me...it was just what the doctor ordered for all...)

The beauty of So Cal is you can be within several diffferent atmospheres in a short amount of time...Ocean, Valleys, Mountains, and Desert....how lovely is that?

 Having the Jeep also allows for us to "explore" without having to "foot" it. Just take the top off and away we go...Right now, that is the best way to get Neil up the mountainside...

The dog's joined the inland crew for a bit of the action as well. Foster at one point got so hot he just walked on in the little creek after a sip or two.

Winnie needed lot's of mini breaks. She has the shortest little legs and sometimes her desire and her ability conflict....don't we all have moments like that?! She made use of the top of my backpack and "hitched a ride" for a little while.

Daisy, well she just kick's major butt and appeared for most of it to have somewhat of a happy little grin on her face.

They were little troopers and kept up pretty well for being a bunch of "boat dog's."

The kids and myself decided to do a little rock climbing. I tell you what, I am no spring chicken and it was challenging but I love to hike, always have, and to have the kids old enough to not have to worry about them, was quite nice. ( I still was like, oh be be careful, and they were like, "mom! we got this!" and I was like, "oh ok"...haha).

My little "Monkeys"....

Neil was able to keep up with a little flat land trails with help of some serious medication, but for the most part he  kept up with the 4 x 4. ( yes, we can't wait until he is done with surgery, recovery, and back to somewhat of a normal life!!!)....

Speak of the devil...We are only a few more tests away before we start to get into the fine details of planning Neil's much needed lower back surgery. It looks like his "year off" as advised by the doctor's has just not produced the results they wanted. Instead we are looking at further damage to his lower back and we are hoping that his nerve test tomorrow will look favorable instead of more "damage" to add to our list of..."poop."

***(will not insert poop pic here....although tempted...haha!)***

Stewart is getting better and better with his skating...and he absolutely loves it, and we love watching!

Katie has taken a large interest in photography and even with our mediocre camera has taken some very lovely shots. She hopes to get more involved in it and like all of us has plans to travel the world...I think I will join her!

As always we have good days and bad. Most bad days end with good and so on...and that's just the way it has to be! I am thankful for the gorgeous gorgeous weather here, the good doctor we are with now and all of your prayers, well wishes, encouragement, and sometimes kicking me in the butt for not staying on top of this blog!! haha...

In all seriousness,remember take care of you and yours, and always make sure to treat yourselves!!....

However simple that may be....

Same ole same ole....

As updates generally go on this blog, the same remains true....we are still waiting. This time we are waiting for another MRi on Neil's lower back. The last time they did this section was over a year ago. When it's all said and done Neil should have all new scans. It is becoming harder to be patient through all of this. I try not to dwell too long in that head space or else you will find me on the most wanted list, just kidding....

Spring has arrived in southern California and I am enjoying it. The winds kick up a little more, the storms are lovely, and the heat is returning. As much as I want to be someplace else, this still isn't too bad. We are getting spring sailing fever, well actually it never left...and talks of taking little jaunts here and there are in the works once again.

We would like to visit some islands both here and across the border. One way or another there will be sailing, oh yes there will. Our souls are craving it. Most of my family don't quite understand that statement, but for those of you who are sailors, well, I know you totally understand what is meant by my statement. Quite honestly, when I think of going offshore, spotting whale pods, seeing the dolphins running alongside and feeling the sun and wind on my face, well, I get a little misty eyed over it..... Ya I am that cheesy!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter this year! Fair winds my friends.