Room with a View

We recently found these pictures on our tablet.

Connor took these while I was in the hospital.

There were others, but they didn't turn out so well.

Each time I was promoted to a new room, I went to a different floor.

This was the view from my third room, on the 11th floor.

That's Kingshighway going over I-64, looking south-ish.

This was my fourth, and last day in the hospital.

I was finally able to get up and move around a little.

I remember being somewhat disappointed that I couldn't see the arch.

Somewhere in this picture there is a park that Dwayne took Connor to play.

~

It has been almost two and a half months since my surgery.

Since the doctor removed the rest of my stitches and glue, I have

been enjoying pony tails and ball caps again. :)

First Day of School

Nolan's first day of seventh grade.

I take one of these pictures every year.

Click on the "First Day of School" label on the right

to see some of the previous years.

Just for fun, I thought I'd post pictures from the first day of pre-school.

Connor's first day of fifth grade.

 Connor's first day of pre-school.

It's amazing to see how much they've grown!

In Which We Take a Fishbowl to St. Louis

Why did we take a fishbowl to St. Louis you ask?

Silly question.

We had a cocooned hummingbird moth that was close to hatching of course.

Some people take their dogs on trips.

We take cocoons.

He rode the entire trip to and from St. Louis and never hatched.

We didn't lose him either, I might add.

He even stayed in the tent with us.

We pulled into our drive and the kids shouted, "He's hatched!"

We quickly got a stick for him to rest on and pump out his wings.

Hummingbird moths are really cool.

They have a proboscis which they use to

drink nectar from flowers like a hummingbird.

It's the round brown thing by his eye.

We took him outside but he hung around all day.

They are generally most active around dusk.

He finally flew the coop when it got dark.

I love the markings God gave this guy.

He would disappear if he was resting on the trunk of a tree.

He's not a small moth.

He has every bit of a four or five inch wing span.

More hummingbird moth facts:

This one came from a tomato worm.

They are also called sphinx moths.

They bury themselves in the dirt when they are ready to cocoon.

All Is Well

We recently made a quick trip to St. Louis.

We were in town for my surgery post-op check-up.

I'm very happy to report that the doctor gave me a clean bill of health

and we do not have to go back to the neurosurgeon.

Praise God that the brain AVM will not return and all is well in my cranium.

The doctor removed my surgery glue and now my head isn't quite as tender!

We were not near the area where the unrest was happening.

We did, however, see three riot police in full gear at the Culver's

near Eureka, which is west of downtown St. Louis.

Ferguson is on the north side.

Yes, Connor is holding a fishbowl.

I'll make another post for that story.

My sentiments on driving through Illinois.

In my opinion, it's very boring through the middle of that state.

We stayed awake by playing the alphabet game.

We stayed at the KOA on Route 66 again.

This time the weather was perfect for camping.

Our home away from home.

The more we use our tent the more we like it.

Connor being Connor.

This KOA has these cool bikes.

You lean your body to turn them.

We had lots of fun with these.

He's not giving the peace sign.

He's telling me he's crashed twice.

I rode for a little while too.

It's the first time I've ridden a bike since surgery.

It went well until the bigger rocks on the gravel drive.

It jarred my surgery seam just a little too much for my liking.

(This was before my doctor appointment and I still had glue on my seam.)

We also enjoyed the pool a couple of times.

This was when the boys decided to go for a morning swim.

The air was a little on the cool side yet.

Nothing more fun than jumping into the pool.

Trying to fall flat into the pool.

This was the closest either of the boys got.

Shadow shot, pool side!

This was taken from the top of the north parking garage at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

You're looking at Busch Stadium with the arch in the background.

There is a spot in the stadium that you can see the field

from the interstate but I couldn't catch it with the camera!

Maybe on our next visit.

Front Yard Family Frisbee Fun

Front yard family frisbee fun with flowers too!

Some of my sunflowers are short this year.

Some of the ghost flowers.

I'm not sure why I like shoe shots.

It took a couple of tries to get this without falling over!

We really enjoy our large front yard.

We often throw the frisbee, hit some balls or just play catch.

I'm usually playing and not taking pictures.

I haven't played much since my surgery (almost two months now).

I decided to give it a try.

Nolan wanted to use my camera.

He took this picture and all of the following ones.

Dwayne's "snatch" catch.

The frisbee looks like a UFO.

Is there an ent attacking me?

Dwayne and I had a good laugh over this picture.

I'm pretty much athletically challenged... or denied.

I'm amazed that I can catch anything at all.

I'm pretty sure I caught this one.

Dwayne can catch almost anything.