Several weeks ago I finally visited with a surgeon about this back and leg pain I have been plagued with for the last couple of years. I had tried everything recommended; chiropractic, physical therapy (several times), medication, the pain clinic... nothing has seemed to work. My doctor was giving me a cortisone injection about every other month just to keep things under control. Honestly, it's been pretty miserable.
So we scheduled the surgery.
I'm not having my spine fused, simply a bulging disk repaired and a decompression of three others. I spent today getting a brand new MRI and then having my bloodwork done is preparation for Tuesday's surgery.
I know you don't come to my blog to hear me complain about my problems, and in between injections I have been able to do most of the things I have wanted with my kids. Unfortunately those times seem to be getting shorter and shorter. I tell you this because you are my dear friends and I don't know how I can go through the next few weeks without sharing a change in my lifestyle.
Of course I will still be blogging and cheering on my children and looking forward to a baby shower and then a new little one for Beauty and the Beast. Only a month away now! I'm just thinking I probably won't be up for more water slides anytime soon.
Our favorite joke last Saturday was that each time we thought about doing something rather crazy on the water slides, I turned to Bossy and suggested, "What can happen...I have to have back surgery?"
Curly and I have spent the last 2 days up Millcreek Canyon at Cub Country. We had a lot of fun although admittedly more him than me. Our first day was at Construction Junction. Curly loved the Legos and shooting BB guns. I loved the large, shady trees and the fact that we did not have a hike except for the obvious traipsing back and forth across the camp for our various stations.
Our second to last station was the Racers. I had no idea what that meant, but Curly was pretty excited. It turned out to be flatbed carts with a seat attached. The boys pushed the lucky driver (after donning a helmet, of course) around a dirt track filled with tree roots and rocks.
After all of the boys were finished, they gave the leaders a turn to ride. One of our male leaders offered to help the boys push me so I climbed on. It was crazy, but sort of fun too. They didn't tip me over even once although it was pretty close a couple of times.
On the second day of camp, we were in the Dragon Masters. This camp was even better than the first one. Curly loved all of it; from the obstacle course to the sword fights to the dragon card collecting. This time my favorite (beyond watching Curly) was the Archery station.
After Curly hit a dead on bullseye, and all the other boys had the chance to shoot, they let the leaders try. I seriously had never even picked up a bow like that and I was a bit nervous. My first try was totally lame and I dropped the arrow. After that I hit the outer ring three times, but never in the center.
They tricked us into a hike by showing us each dragon and asking us to follow the trail to find the others. Curly was so sweet to wait for me and help me over the rough spots. They retired a flag, which was a solemn and fitting end to our 2 days in the canyon. Except for the dirt (and the hike)!
Last Saturday, Bossy and I took the kids to Cherry Hill. It has taken me this long to recover; we had SO much fun!!
My sweetie and I had originally planned this trip together when US Family Guides approached us about a post if we would be willing to provide our open and honest review. Then he broke his foot and decided he would stay home. Bossy, Taco, and Burrito were happy to join us and the folks at Cherry Hill were so generous with their passes.
My favorite part about Cherry Hill was that everyone was so friendly. It was definitely a family atmosphere, with hundreds of children and young parents. Then after a while, most of those families gathered up and left. The dynamic changed a bit and we saw more teens, but they were just as nice and fun to be around as the little ones.
Let's start at the beginning. Bossy drove us up there in our big van. It was a Saturday around 1:00, so we were worried that we wouldn't be able to park and it would be terribly busy. Neither of these things turned out to be a problem. Parking was free and there were plenty of spaces. We loaded up our cooler with sandwiches and water bottles, slathered on the sunscreen, and walked the hundred or so yards to the entrance.
We found a place to stash our towels and cooler and stuff under a large shady tree. Our first stop was the lazy river and the kids loved it! Every 45 minutes they have a "shootout" and water comes from the sides and overhead. Tubes are also free and pretty easy to find.
They have a brand new slide for kids called the Little Dipper. All of our kids just had to try it, even Sport and Crafty. It was fun, but definitely not nearly as fun as the Double Dragons. The kids convinced Bossy and me that we could try this slide since they had pads to sit on. We decided to give it a go. After the first time down, we climbed right back into the line and rode several more times. It was my favorite part of the park.
After successfully tackling the Dragons, we decided the River Run wasn't much of a stretch, so we got in line. At first the line seemed incredibly long, but it moved fast and soon we were approaching the entrance. I was nervous since it was difficult for me to climb onto a round tube, but the girl in charge was patient and willing to holding the tube while I climbed on. The River allows you to hold onto each other in a chain of up to 3 tubes, but that made it nearly impossible for us to get through some of the narrow passes.
Like the Dragons, when we got to the bottom, we hopped back into line and eventually made 3 trips down. Sport and Crafty and I decided to try our hand at miniature golf. It was a super fun course and other than the spotty shade from the trees, we enjoyed it very much. It was certainly one of the best mini courses I have ever played.
We finally changed out of our wet things and decided to check out the maze and rock wall. Most of the kids got all the way up the wall. It was challenging but still possible. The maze was fun, with a possible escape under the panels which was nice since I tend to be claustrophobic. The kids were a bit disappointed with the trampoline basketball. The balls are really giant beanbags and you don't actually play with other people.
One of my favorite parts was the Battlestar Blasters. Sadly, 3 of the guns were not working that day, so that severely limited our fun, but the graphics and just the plain old fun of boys against the girls and pelting Curly with dozens of little balls was so worth it!
We left as the light was fading with my kids already asking when we could return. I loved the slower pace here and the family atmosphere. Next time I'm going to set up my tent in the campground and make it an over-nighter.
**We received free passes to attend the park in exchange for our open and honest review.**
Today was one of those super cool special days where we enjoyed Free Slurpee Day at 7-11 and Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A.. The kids love these days every year and my girls were all super sad to have to miss them for camp. Not that they wanted to miss camp...
Both of these freebies have changed over the years, but they still show us the generosity and appreciation for great communities. Bossy was the first to pick up her free Slurpee. It matched the color of her hair.
We had all the boys over here after swimming lessons, so we took them with us after we picked up Sport from school. Chick-fil-A was so busy! They handled the traffic really well, so much so that after we pulled on our hats and packed in our free chicken sandwiches, we decided to find a 7-11.
The first one we went to had people wound around the store, out the door and around the side of the building. We didn't have THAT much time! So we drove to the next one. They only had a couple of people standing outside the door and everyone else was inside so we dumped out all the boys and they happily waited in line.
The Dog Walker had a double date with Beauty and The Beast and a friend of Beauty's from high school. Tonight they are already talking about a 2nd date. Please pray, cross your fingers, or whatever you do to help this relationship blossom. The Dog Walker has never had a real girlfriend and it seems that maybe now would be a good time for him to find one.
