Looks like I've got some catching up to do!

But first things first. Before I write anything about our fantastic trip to the East Coast earlier  this summer, I suppose its a fitting segway from my last post about our California Christmas trip last year, to follow up with my back surgery this past Thursday.   On the drive to California last year, I started feeling intense pain shooting down my leg that would not subside no matter what I did.  Some in our family may call me stubborn for driving the whole way despite this pain, but I LOVE TO DRIVE TO CALIFORNIA!   I really do.  (Except in the dark where I can't see where I am.)  I love everything about it, so to concede this pleasure to any one else would just be plain wrong!

When I returned, I scheduled doctor visits with an orthopedic specialist, who after ordering a series of MRI's, determined I had a slightly herniated disc at L4-L5 and a bulging disk at L3-L4.  They recommend a steroid epidural injection that basically coats the sciatic nerve, calms it down and lets it repair itself.

This worked fine for about 9 months until I started getting intense pain again.  I scheduled follow-up visits with the doc, who again recommended a steroid injection since it had worked so well last time.  Problem is, it didn't work, and pain only got increasingly worse.

I had previously scheduled an appointment with a new neurosurgeon to start to look at my shunt (which seems to be acting up again), so I was referred to the same neurosurgeon for the back issue (and potential surgery).  Since my original neuro appointment was still 2 weeks away and I didn't know how I could wait that long, we made a trip to the ER.  I told Becky I needed to drive to make the pain as bad as it possibly could get just to make sure they knew I wasn't joking (or looking for some easy pain meds).  They gave me morphine, had my neuro look at my recent MRI and determined the herniation was significantly more than it was in January.  (This may or may not be due to the fact that I was reading something on the laptop while walking downstairs, slipped and fell, and---maybe most horrific of all---cracked the laptop screen and bruised my ego.)   By the time the neuro had looked at the MRI's it was nearly 8 pm on Friday and I think he was mentally done for the week and suggested I call his office to be worked in Monday morning.  Monday morning, the discussion was basically: "You need surgery.  When do you want to do it?  Oh, and there is a risk of dying.  Sign here."  They have two neuros from the same practice assist each other since the surgery is so delicate, so while that was reassuring, it was scheduled nearly 10 days later.  The pain in the mean time was nearly unbearable without pain killers.

Much to Becky's chagrin, I wanted her to keep all of her personal leave from school for Europe, so I refused to let her take the day off and drive me to the hospital.  I could check in, swipe the credit card, show my insurance card, change into my hospital gown all by myself. So I caught the bus and transferred to the commuter rail line that drops you off right in front of the big IHC hospital.  A short walk across the parking lot (although painful), and I was there!  Now we have another day to spend in Spain in March. :)  But lest all of you naysayers are appalled that I took public transit to go have surgery, don't knock it.  It was actually quite convenient and easy (not necessarily quick, but easy).  And kudos to my parents (who despite receiving the instructions as Becky not to take a day just to sit on hard chairs in the waiting room doing nothing) came against my wishes and did just that.  (Thankfully, they arrived after I had already changed into my gown.)

Back surgery on Thursday went fantastic.  I could feel the relief almost immediately.  The thing I'm having a hard time swallowing is not driving for 4 weeks, no lifting, bending, leaning, twisting, shoveling (I'm good on that one), no lifting more than 10 lbs. (a gallon of milk.)  I came home from the hospital on Friday and I've been feeling a bit stir crazy ever since, so I came in to work today (Monday).  Problem is, if I decide I can't do more, I have no way to get home (Daniel dropped me off at work on his way to work).  Throat is also still a bit sore from the breathing tube they inserted and I feel hoarse.  Otherwise, it could not have gone better!  Also positive is that I can now take Excedrin again. :D  I've never felt so good!!

The disc had herniated so badly that it had nearly encapsulated the sciatic nerve and they had to cut a larger section out of my vertebrae to get to it all to actually work on it.  At my follow-up appointment in January, they will start looking at my shunt again.  Apparently, when I woke up in recovery, I insisted my surgery was next week.  WHERE WAS I NOW?  I kept trying to get up and leave.  (I only have a vague recollection of this.)

Now, if I could just get the stitches and incision to feel better, I would be feeling like dancing (sort of).  And we have a whole refrigerator full of family and Relief Society meals. People have been so kind, and mostly, I have felt overwhelmed by the kindness and concern people have shown.  And especially for prayers and priesthood blessings.  Sometimes those blessings come in ways I didn't quite expect!

It just feels so good to feel good again!  You forget what its like.  But I feel validated that there was a real reason for my extreme pain.  And I will be glad to be able to drive again.  I'm kind of an independent person that doesn't like to rely on other people.  Maybe this is a good lesson for me.

P.S.  For what its worth, food at LDS Hospital was about 10,000x better than the food at IMC Hospital!  And they're both run by the same IHC group.  (I know you thought there was a joke coming about the Relief Society doing the food at LDS Hospital).

California, Here We Come

After Europe and Disneyland, everyone had had a vacation except Sara.  So we planned a getaway during her Christmas Break from Johns Hopkins.  Since she has been under so much pressure with the stresses of Grad school, we thought a beach vacation would be perfect for her.  (Although we didn't take into account sickness, and unfortunately, Sara picked up something on the flight home and didn't feel great the whole trip.  And Becky picked it up from Sara and felt miserable the last half of the trip.  The rest of us just caught colds.)  But I guess if you're going to be sick, I'd rather be sick next to the beach than stuck in a bedroom in Utah looking out at winter!)

I found a vacation home rental site that listed a private condos leased out by their owners in a development in Oceanside, CA.   The unit was reasonably priced in the off-season, had its own equipped kitchen, a couple of bedrooms, and most importantly (for me), a balcony that overlooked the ocean.  It was called North Coast Village and was complete with a fitness room (sadly, we didn't use it), a game room, a large pool, a hot tub, and immediate access to the adjacent beaches.

Main pool area looking back at the condo units in the background

Sunset view our first night from one of our balconies

Public beach adjacent to the condos.  The area immediately adjacent to the
condos was quite rocky, but got more sandy as you got further away.

We left home after our Sacrament Meeting Christmas Program.  I had threatened that the "train" would be leaving the Station at 2:20 pm (20 min after Church got out), so everyone had bags and everything ready to just throw in the car and leave.  Space was a bit tight since we also packed bags for some Christmas presents, and food.  And of course, we had to pack the video game system and dvds for the car ride, etc.

Part of my rationale for leaving after church so quickly is because I hate driving in the dark.  I LOVE to watch the landscape around me and try to understand the geography, where the road is going to go, etc.  When it gets dark, its just boring.  Our plan was to make it to Vegas for the night--a little more than half way so we could get to the condo sooner the next day and get settled before stores closed on Christmas Eve day.  We made it to Las Vegas about 8:30 pm and checked into our hotel at the Luxor.  (Hotel rooms in Las Vegas are extremely cheap if booked early, so I thought it would it would be a fun hotel to stay it.  To me Luxor says "luxury", but it really wasn't.  I think I would skip the pyramid next time.)

The following day, we got up at 7 am (with much protesting!) so we could get on the road as soon as possible.  We got caught up in a TV episode of the game show "Minute to Win It" and ended up leaving around 9 am.   The drive across the California desert is so enjoyable for me, partly because it brings back so many happy memories of our annual family trips to Laguna Beach when I was growing up.  And while I love to drive, and keep going, I was overruled by others who "needed" pit stops.  Sheesh.  (Although the pit stops also helped me stretch out my leg which for the previous week had been increasing in pain, with some shooting pains down my leg, and some aggravating muscle spasms.)

We arrived in Oceanside around 4 pm (we hit some heavy traffic after getting into Southern California which delayed us a bit).  We got unpacked and settled, and ran over to the grocery store in town, and pick up some Pizza Hut pizza for our annual Christmas Eve tradition and Treasure Hunt.

Anna was tasked with setting up our Christmas Tree

Unpacking the food and getting settled

The tree is setup, with presents under the tree.
(Notice Daniel's care in wrapping his gifts....duct tape and pizza boxes.)

Before our trip, Becky was going through some boxes at home and found our collection of Barbie doll heads that we've collected over the years when the kids were younger.  The found their way in a moving box and got tucked away when we moved to Utah.  Skipper made a fine tree topper.

After our pizza dinner, we set out for a walk along the beach

On the Oceanside Pier

Since it got dark so early (about 5 pm), we decided after dinner that we would postpone our annual Christmas Eve treasure hunt to the following morning when we had light.  (And it would be difficult to set on the beach without a flashflight!)

Starting the treasure hunt.  I buried about 2,000 feet of twine, with a theme of "buried treasure" complete with instructions translated into "Pirate".  (The treasure chests were garbage bags to keep the presents dry in the sand and water).

Digging up some treasure

Walking back to the condo and carrying the loot

Santa came!

And so did Stuart!  Sara's boyfriend Stuart came with us.

Eating our traditional Christmas morning breakfast casserole 

The sun never did come out Christmas Day since there was a light marine layer over the sky and only gave filtered sun. It was warm enough to be on the beach, but a stiff breeze off the water made it a bit cool right down on the beach.

That didn't stop the kids from jumping in the water.  They took some of the boogie boards from the condo and found some good waves.  Daniel was right out there with many of the surfers.  (They were probably cursing him.)

A hot tub will warm you up after a cool swim in the ocean!

We planned to go to Sea World the day after Christmas and I found some great discount codes through a So. California grocery store to get an all-day dining pass for just $10/person more.  We figured we would spend double that on just a hamburger or hot dog once during the day.  The plan gave you unlimited meals in 4 different restaurants scattered throughout the park.  You could get one main course, one "side" (salad, breadsticks, jello, etc.) and one dessert and drink.  You had to wait in line to do it (which there weren't any), but you could go through as many times as you wanted.  We had a contest to see who could eat the most "value" out of their dining pass.  (Daniel won.)  Also through the discounts, we paid a bit more to get front of the line access to all of the rides and reserved seats at all of the shows.  We were a bit concerned that the week of Christmas is one of the busiest of the year at the theme parks, so we paid a bit more for insurance to not have spend our day waiting in line and saving seats.

I got everyone up early (against much protesting!) so we could be there right when the park opened.  There was a light rain that lasted for about the first 30 minutes, and then let up and was sunny the rest of the day.  We got in the park and started our first use of our dining passes by having a breakfast at one of the restaurants.  (I should also note that this was the actual day of our 25th anniversary, but since we celebrated that in regal style on Grand Tour of Europe last summer, it mostly went unobserved.)

"People" dryers outside one of the "wet" roller coasters. We went on the coaster and got a bit wet (OK, Anna got it the worst), but we were more wet from the rain.

Shamu show

Manta coaster ride shots

Coasters are not kind on my shunt!

Petting the sting rays

Dolphin show

Mid-day break.  We were tired from walking, but also "full" from eating

We spent a good deal of time at the dolphin tank.  The dolphins loved to swim around and let people touch them as they swam past, but it was difficult to get a good spot among the people.  Becky was determined and we ultimately got a good position.

Snow village

Shark tank

Shamu Christmas Show.  To me, Christmas and Killer Whale Show aren't a compatible mix. They tried to make it a sentimental Christmas kind of show that just seemed an odd fit.  Now, if you could dress Shamu up as Santa, then you've got a show!

We ended up staying from opening to close at the park and made full use of our front-of-the-line ride passes and all-day dining.  I think Daniel ended up having 5 meals throughout the day.  (Between the 6 of us throughout the day, we had Christmas turkey platter, fish and chips (hmmm....at Sea World?), hamburgers, BBQ brisket,ribs and chicken.  But mostly, we hoarded chocolate-covered Shamu Tail rice krispy treats.  A very enjoyable day!

On Thursday, I let everyone sleep in (with much happiness!).  But it was driving me crazy to just lie in bed when I could be out walking the beach!  I even tried to get Anna to come with me, but she declined.  A few shots from my morning walk:

Surfers were out in force

Immigrant families were fishing from the pier

Beautiful waves.  Although I prefer high tide to be in the afternoon evening and
low tide in the morning. I wasn't consulted about the schedule.

A few friends I made

A row of 1920s cottages along the beach.  A few were decorated up big for Christmas and looked like gingerbreak houses.

We spent the majority of the day just hanging out on the beach and playing.  The sun was out, but the breeze off the ocean was a bit cool.  We used some boogie boards from the condo to create some wind breaks.

Becky protecting herself from the sun and breeze

Daniel and Stuart braving the cool water to ride some waves

The area immediately adjacent to the condo (and closest walking) had a lot of rocks in the portion just below the high tide mark.  The rocks hurt your feet if walking barefoot, so the kids created our own walking trail down to the water.

Thursday evening we walked to the Farmer's Market in the center of town and walked out onto the pier and got milkshakes at Ruby's Diner.  A fun glimpse into the So Cal lifestyle.  We spent the rest of the evening picking up and starting to clean food out of the fridge, etc. in preparation for leaving the following morning.

Since we were less than 45 minutes from Laguna Beach, we left Oceanside about 9 am and drove up to Laguna to spend a few hours before driving to St. George.  (I wanted to try and avoid some of the weekend/New Year's Eve traffic to Vegas, which I was only marginally successful in doing...we were stuck in heavy traffic going up El Cajon pass, and again in the middle of the desert.)

When Becky and I went to Laguna on our honeymoon 25 years ago, it was the first time I had been in Laguna in the winter, and we were both in awe of the aloe vera plants that in summer look very octopuss-y./  But in winter, they put on a beautiful display and I was so happy they were in bloom while we there!

Red aloe vera plants

A few years ago, we took a picture of the kids on a bench at Three Palms and every time we go back, the kids recreate the same picture.

Original 2007 picture

Recreated 2012 picture

Divers Cove

Fisherman's Cove

Another tradition we have when visiting Laguna is buying some chocolate-covered Sea Foam from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on Main Beach and eating it in the park.  As you can see, the day warmed up and everyone was seeking out the shade.  Figures.  We were on our way home.

Despite leaving around Noon and encountering the traffic issues, we made it to St. George around 9 pm, got some dinner and went to bed.  We left for home the next morning, leaving Sara only 1 full day at home before needing to turn around and fly back to Baltimore.  It was fun having her here and spending time with her.