Living the Life!

Our last full day in the Keys!  We're spending the afternoon chilling at the beach in Bahia Honda State Park.  It doesn't suck...

Cheers
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First stop: Schooner Warf Bar

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Lovin Life in the Keys!

I highly recommend a long weekend in the Florida Keys as a cure for the rain-induced Seattle blues!  It was with a bounce in our step (despite the 330 am wakeup) that Makayla and I left Seattle last Thursday morning to visit her mom and grandma in the Keys.  We fished all day yesterday with Uncle Buddy, and today we're driving down to Key West to bar hop and see the sights.  Check back for more pix later!

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Where's Waldo?

Do you see my suitcase?  Me neither...  This is the scene at baggage claim at Seatac airport.
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Update on my Face

Just a quick update on my surgery: Results came back that all growths were benign. Phew! I got my stiches out last Friday and the doc says all is healing well. Swelling is down, feeling is slowly coming back. The worst part is that now it hurts more..but that's technically a good thing. I'm getting more strength back in my face too, still can't pull the corner of my mouth down, but when I smile it doesn't tug that corner up quite as high. And I can almost drink from a straw from the middle of my mouth!!

Thanks for everyone's well wishes, I appreciate the positive vibes!

Quick Update on Scar Face..I mean, Me!

So, for those that weren't aware, I had surgery last Friday. There was a reoccurance of a tumor in my parotid (aka salivary) gland below my right ear, sort of tucked behind my jaw. The surgeons found a series of small growths along my facial nerve, and had to carefully hack around my nerve for the better part of 4 hours. Not ideal. I'm doing pretty well all considered. The facial nerve is weak, put expected to recover over the next 2-3 weeks. Above you see me trying to smile. The right half of my mouth just doesn't want to cooperate. I can feel it, I just can't move it!! But the eye closes (thank God!!) and no one can tell that my right nostril won't flare with the same enthusiasm as my left... so overall I'm not complaining. I just wish I'd stop biting my lip while eating my toast!

Warning: Graphic image below, not for the weak of stomach.....

Here's what the sutures look like, and my drain. That bloody looking tube really is coming from inside my neck! it has a small plastic bulb on the other end that sucks out all the liquid my body is trying to throw at the site of the surgery. It's out now..only had that attractive accessory in over the weekend thankfully! The stitches get taken out tomorrow, and then it's back to the gym.. Well, I've already been back, but no one is supposed to know..

That's it for now..later skaters..

Ok, so what have I done in the last 2 months? Sit down, get comfortable, and let me catch you up. First, London. Clara & I spent our last evening dining with friends of Andrew & Katherine on a sail boat moored in a small marina next to Tower Bridge. Magical doesn't do it justice! It happened to also be a send-off for their friend Katherine...so there were 7 or 8 of us crowded in the boat (yes it was raining) drinking wine, eating great food, and sharing some laughs not always appropriate for children. Lucky Clara's a great sport!

Coming home from our trip was a shock to both of us. Clara spent several days sleeping in late...i just stumbled around at work in a fog, trying to get caught up, readjust to Seattle time, and get back in the groove of "normal" life.


So what's normal for me? I took a trip up to Bellingham to visit my parents. The kids LOVE my parents bathtub, so bathtime was an event in itself! I highly recommend a jetted tub to anyone that likes a lot of bubbles...the kids discovered how effective the jets are at frothing the suds!!

O - H - I - O!

This is the cheer my kids were taught by Makayla, and now will randomly start shouting when they're feeling fired up about Buckeye football. :) One of them will yell out "O-H!" and the others will respond "I-O!". It's hilarious! (I think I've actually seen Makayla tear up when they do this...) Saturdays have taken on a whole new meaning now.

Speaking of Buckeyes.... So, technically speaking a buckeye is a tree...the Ohio Buckeye, state tree of Ohio. According to wikipedia (buckeyes), it's also a chicken, an aircraft, a butterfly, and, oh yeah, a nationally ranked college football team. The last item that wikipedia calls out is the candy: "a peanut butter and chocolate candy made to resemble the nut of an Ohio Buckeye tree and enjoyed commonly in that state". Above is a picture of Clara, Bennet, and Makayla making said candy, and they are delicious! We stuffed ourselves with them..our friend Hannah had them on her birthday cake after sampling ours..and the kids still talk about them!

So there's the first chapter in the last 60 days of my life...England recovery, catching up with family, learning about college football, and generally having fun. Stay tuned for more...