A Busy Family Week

One thing about living with a busy family is that there is always activity and sometimes I can even join them!

Sunday, January 6th

The evening before we had received a package from my Cousin BFF, Kathy, our master baker which generated much excitement even before it was opened. Remember this post with the "Lucky" image? Kathy drew the image of Lucky, just by looking at the blog, worked her magic, then sent us these...

Did you notice the white criss-cross bandage like the one on Lucky's nose? Did you notice the flesh-colored band-aids complete with tiny air holes? And just look at those darling mulit-colored hearts! But the stars of the show were these cookies that were exact replicas of the dog Lucky on that card. I cannot imagine the patience, time, and magical talent it takes to create a cookie like this...and they were mouth-wateringly delicious too!

That afternoon Dylan's hockey game was at the ice rink where there is a full length glass wall that I could pull up to to watch the game from my wheelchair. That meant Rich could take me to the game too! Dylan is #7, see that battle for the puck in the second photo?

Before going back to their house we took the kids out for dinner. The most impressive part of that dining experience was getting to open the drink bottles...teehee!

Monday, January 7th

If you are not a die-hard fan of any sport, then I don't know how to express the importance of the Alabama/Notre Dame BCS Championship football game on Monday evening. Sandee and Shawn are both Alabama alums and loyal fans...which is putting it mildly. So, even though there is a hospital bed in their family room and me in my wheelchair, they hosted a party here. With TVs in both the living room and outside on the patio, there was plenty of room to enjoy the game...not to mention the excitement of the game itself with Alabama easily defeating Notre Dame 42 to 14.

Not only our grands, but Dexter too, are all decked out in their Roll Tide regalia!

Jackson staked out his seat during the pre-game show...and held it throughout the evening!

Shawn's adjusting the heater and see...Jackson's still holding onto the best seat on the patio!

There were lots of fans, and some yummy food, inside too!

Tuesday, January 8th

I knew the days could and would get worse when the calendar turned to this date. The kids returned to school today so my days seem longer and are much too silent. Rich has been exploring on the bicycle that Shawn loaned him for the winter and tonight attended his first meeting of the Gilbert Model Railroad club that he is joining.

Thursday, January 10th

Rich came today after the kids got home from school and brought The Girls with him. They are always so lively and so much fun! I miss them...

Look at sweet Dora awaiting her turn with Shelby while Bella demands all the attention first.

Bella climbed on Jackson's lap to get his full attention...she is such a seeker of the limelight, that girl!

Rich and The Girls getting ready to go back to the motorhome.

Friday, January 11th

Oh what a special day! Rich picked me up and we drove out to my favorite Superstition Mountains. That was the first time I had been out there since I left to go shopping the day I was injured.

Our first stop was at Silly Mountain where Rich learned that bicycles are no longer allowed on the trails there. We checked out a couple of other parks that he had seen online and is interested in for off-road bicycling. 

Silly Mountain Park

A great view of my Superstitions.

Then we went to the KOA! Yes! I got to sit in the car and visit with our neighbors Pam & Donnie, Bob, and Dave. I am so looking forward to the day I can move back out there to our own little home!

To wind up our outing, we went to our favorite restaurant, Cantina Laredo for a late lunch. As always, the food and drink were perfection.

Cantina Laredo is located in an upscale outdoor mall. On our few forays out into the world we continue to experience surprising barriers to those in wheelchairs. For instance, this mall is certainly held to a lesser standard for handicapped parking than your local WalMart, Target or grocery store. There is not one single handicapped space in either parking lot near this perimeter restaurant so we drove around and only saw two on each block within the center, all occupied. We parked in the near lot anyway, in an end space, only to discover that there was no curb cutout to the sidewalk on our side of the restaurant. That meant wheeling me in the street, dodging cars that were supposed to be stopping at a four-way intersection, to access the cutout around the corner. Using the restroom was a challenge that I won't share details about except to say that it's difficult to open doors from a wheelchair and to comment how grateful I was for the woman customer who handed me a towel from the out-of-reach shelf where they were stacked. Getting back to the car was even more treacherously dangerous with some vehicles refusing to wait at the stop sign while Rich wheeled me across the street. This whole ordeal sucks so bad...all day...every day.

We were not finished though. On our way back to the kids' we stopped at Walgreens and Rich got the wheelchair out yet again so that I could actually go inside. That is not trivial because the wheelchair is very heavy and extremely awkward to load in and get back out of the car; I worry about Rich doing this too often which is why we don't go out much. What a treat though! This was the first time I had been in a store since...you know. Kudos to Walgreens...the greetings cards are placed low enough for me to browse them, selecting all the ones I needed for January occasions!

I do appreciate those of you who are still checking in here to see if I have posted. I fear I have lost many readers since we are not able to enjoy our usual range of activities and my posting is so intermittent.

Lovin' Life...Still