Surgery and all that

November started with a big bang for us.  Dave had quietly been suffering for months with a hip injury.  Pretty sure it was from a fall skiing back in March, but it continually got worse, and by then end of August, hiking, or even walking long distances, was getting pretty uncomfortable for him.  By the end September biking too became uncomfortable, along with getting through a work day.  Bad news.  He had started looking into options in August, and by September we knew he had a torn labrum, and would need surgery.  He settled on a the local surgeon, and we got set up for the middle of November.  Then things went downhill pretty quickly, and we were able to move it up for the beginning of November.  That was such a blessing, as working was getting unbearable.  This surgery would put him out of work for at least 8 weeks, maybe longer.  They told us to expect a full year before he is fully recovered.

The kids took the opportunity to buy him a dungeons and dragons game for his birthday, a few days before surgery.  I think he is still trying to decide if he likes being dungeon master.  But I do know he likes having something that the kids enjoy doing with him while he recovers. 

Spencer helping him with his PT post surgery.  Something we all got a turn with.  The kids took this in stride, and that was awesome.  We knew this would really disrupt our normal lifestyle.  As we love to be outdoors as much as possible.  But learning to patiently help dad get around, and helping do things that he normally does was good for everyone.

With Dave home recovering, I got my bike rides in with friends.  This was a fun day at Kokopelli with the whole crew.  It is fun to see how we've grown this year.  I love that some of these moms will get out with me.  It makes me happy.

I started a compost pile in our garden this fall.  I wanted to see if I could compost all our fall leaves.  I was able to fit about half of them in the pile.  My plan is to combine them with kitchen scraps, some green clippings, and lama poop from my friends lama.  I am excited to try this again.  Last time I had a compost pile was several years ago.  I enjoy teaching the kids how to recycle and use what we have.  I also enjoy keeping our trash to a minimum.  This year I also made a worm composter, I will use it to compost household paper and come kitchen scraps as well.  We'll see how that goes, but I am excited to try it out.  I was invited to teach a class on composting, and that lit a fire in me to get it going again.

Jacob doing a science experiement at school, demonstrating plate movement during an earthquake.  Isn't he cute in those glasses? 

I took advantage of a beautiful fall to take Jacob biking with his buddies a few times.  He and Jack are getting pretty good so I took them to ride Steve's loop for the first time.  The loved it!  When we got back to the truck, they opted to ride all the way back to the main parking lot instead of hopping in.  It is fun to see them love this together.  We also took Aidan and Kiel out for a beginner loop.  Which was way fun.  They did awesome.  Hopefully one day I can get them all biking together.

Hitting the bike park after the trail is always a hit.  Spencer is starting to get more comfortable getting some air.

And Jacob is taking "getting air" to a new level.  Seriously, can I be like them when I grow up?

Spencer's MESA club did a fun catapult and trebuche competition.  His group did very well, and it was fun to see what he had learned from last year.  It was also fun to ahng out with them and watch these middle schoolers interact.  They are so funny, and awkward, but mostly just great kids.

Jacob spoiled me with a lemon cake for my Birthday this year.  He even put a bike on it.  I guess If I have to turn 42, this is the way to do it.

We took off to Utah to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.  Emily requested a day with them before they headed to Logan, so we met them at Tracy Aviary for a fun afternoon of playing with birds.  I remember visiting here as a kid, and it has changed so much.  

We had a great time at Tonya's house.  

I got to cross country ski with Tonya and her kids.  It was great, I have always wanted to ski up at Dimple Dell, and it didn't disappoint.  So happy to have snow this year!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner at Tonya's house with most of the Marchant crew.  As this doesn't happen very often anymore, this was so great.  And my kids loved hanging with their Marchant cousins all weekend long.

We took to the slopes on Friday to ski Alta.  It was beautiful in the morning, and then a nasty front came through with wind and really cold temperatures.

So the lodge became the cool place to hang out.  They had fun no matter the weather.  As a side story, we almost lost Maren this day.  She had been skiing trees with some younger cousins and got stuck with her ski's off.  The kids were all ahead of her, so she managed to dig herself out all on her own and get down the mountain.  I had been so worried, and was talking with ski patrol when she showed up.  So glad she is ok, and even smiling a little about her adventure, despite how scary it was.

We spent two nights at Snow Bird, and loved having the pools and hot tubs to play in at night. And once we got down the boys got to watch some soccer and them play with Jackson and Brecken at their house that afternoon.  

While we were playing in the snow, Dave and Amanda (she had flown in for Thanksgiving from ASU) drove up to Logan to spend a little time with Patty, Heath, and Megan.  They got to meet Annie, and play with her and hang out, which was a nice trip for Dave.