Our favorite place to be in the summer. The warm sand, salty breeze, wave sounds, and taking the hour-long scenic drive to the coast and back home again...we are obsessed!
This weekend was the perfect time for a beach trip. Except for two things. One- it was just a little cooler than we would have liked, and two- I was recovering from an ankle injury a few days prior...
the story: While J was at work, I slipped in the garage and twisted my ankle, landing on a box of glass jars (which didn't break, thankfully). It was agony...I had to crawl back into the house and could barely move for the rest of the day. Talmage was a huge help, and J even got off early to come help me. I felt so grateful and so very loved :)
My left arm was sore from trying to catch myself falling, and my ankle got bruised pretty bad as well as the knee that I landed on. It was very painful for the next two days... I could barely put my foot down on the ground.
However, I didn't want to let the temperatures or my stupid foot get in the way of us having a beach day- sooo we went anyways :)
Saturday morning Jonathan helped some friends move into their house while I watched their son. I'm not sure why I agreed to it since I couldn't walk well, but it worked out. After that was done we headed straight to the Oregon Coast! Jonathan was pretty sore from the moving, and I was pretty tired from the babysitting...but we were determined. We went to Lincoln City- one of our favorite towns that just happens to be the closest to us. There is a stretch of beach there that I'm IN LOVE with because it has a tiny shallow river running through it to the ocean. I took the kids here in May and it was awesome then, too. The river is warm and perfect for kids to play in without getting swept up by waves!
When we arrived at our spot the tots played in the sand for a while...
...but it wasn't long before they were ready to jump into that water! The weather was actually really nice. Sunny and warm and pretty breezy. Wet clothes + wind= cold. So yeah, sometimes I'd see our children's teeth chattering and hands trembling. Still, they didn't want out of that water!
Jonathan helped the kids make a sand castle, which wasn't the prettiest- but they loved building it!
Talmage ran back and forth constantly through the river. He had a total blast!
Charlotte was mostly intent on picking up every rock she could find and showing me her treasures :)
She also loved the sand. Who could blame her? It's my favorite, too.
At one point we took the kids closer to the shore to see the waves. They laid in the warm surf for a while and watched the ocean. I'm pretty sure they could have stayed like that forever.
Charlotte was cold, so she held onto daddy pretty tightly :)
After a few hours we packed up our stuff, changed the kids into some clean clothes, and went out for dinner at a cute cafe downtown. We ate hot dogs, clam chowder, and fries but the best part was definitely the ice-cream waffle cones. YUM. Like seriously one of the best cones I've ever had. We also picked up some saltwater taffy as per tradition :)
At the end of the day we headed home, exhausted and full of sand and sunburned (just Jonathan...he got it BAD), but so happy about how wonderfully the day went. Every time we leave the beach we're tempted to go back the next day- like honestly go right back and skip church. haha.
We actually had to stay home from church because Jonathan had the most awful burn on his back and I...well...I twisted my ankle again that night as I checked on Talmage to see if he was asleep. It happened out of nowhere- just one side step and I was down. This time I couldn't help but sob from frustration and the return feeling of pain. To have your ankle roll under you like that...its the worst...Jonathan came and picked me up and carried me to bed. And I felt so bad because he was in pain, too. We're just a bunch of cripples, haha...we laid in bed that night completely sore and stiff. Still- it really was a GREAT day!!! And we all slept like champs.
So on Sunday we stayed home, slept in, had a gigantic breakfast of fruit and crepes, and took it easy. It's SO nice to just relax at home together...but on the weekends I have this sense of urgency...like we NEED to do stuff because it's the only time we have! I mentioned to Jonathan that we go on a bike ride (somewhere flat so it would be an easy ride). We rested up with naps and I stabilized my foot in some good, supportive shoes. I know, I'm crazy. I don't need to be reminded...
Everything was going great for the first three miles. It was hot (nearly 90 degrees) but overcast and the breeze felt good as we rode on the smooth trail. We passed tons of blackberry bushes and stopped for a while to pick some. We rode alongside a river and beautiful countryside.
And THEN. We came to a pretty big hill, and since we are both so out-of-shape we decided to de-mount the bikes and walk them up. I was off my bike and took one step forward and BAM- down I went as my other ankle rolled inwards. One step is all it takes. It was excruciating and words cannot even describe the pain I was in...this "twist" felt worse than the two on my other ankle. I knew right away it was something more. My left knee was bloody but I didn't realize it was even hurt. There was a dog park about 1/4 mile away from us, so I VERY slowly and carefully walked my bike up the hill (this was pure torture) and then rode the rest of the way to the park. I found a big rock to sit on and propped up my foot while Jonathan speedily pedaled to the parking lot where our van was. He came back about 20 minutes later to rescue me and help me into the van. I had to use my sock and water bottle to clean up my knee because there was so much dirt in it.
I kept thinking "Why is this happening? Three foot injuiries in one weekend?!" And it didn't matter how careful or active I was...this was happening as I took normal steps. My ankles couldn't hold me up anymore. It's instilled a fear within me that I'll fall anytime I walk around...my anxiety was already bad, and this wasn't helping..
I called the on-call doctor around 11 pm because the pain was so bad. She asked me some questions and said I needed to come in first thing the next day and get an x-ray. I couldn't put any weight on my foot or have it in the downward position. To get to the bathroom or bedroom I sat on an ottoman and scooted with my "good" foot while keeping my bad foot up. Jonathan couldn't help me get around much...anything he tried to do just made it hurt more. This was one reason that I knew this injury was worse than the previous ones.
Jonathan took the next morning off so he could get me to the doctor. It was also the first day of swim lessons so I needed him to help me get the kids there (and keep them under control). The x-ray showed a severe sprain with some torn ligaments. But no fractures/breaks, much to my relief. The dr. gave me newer and nicer bandages, a support cast (that I can take on and off as needed), and an rx for crutches (we found some at Goodwill, though...much cheaper). She said my sprain was one of the worst she'd ever seen, as the swelling went around my whole foot. That didn't surprise me.
When I called my mom to complain she said that because of pregnancy, my ligaments are all more loose and unstable. I replied that this never happened during my other two pregnancies..and she said it only happened for one of her four pregnancies as well. I already have bad ankles...all my life I've twisted them now and then...but to have this many in such a short amount of time...the only reason I can come up with is that being pregnant has somehow distorted my ankle support and made me more prone to accidents. And I'm only six months along...I shudder to think what the next three months will bring. When I brought this up with the doctor, she agreed that this is the most likely explanation and mentioned that I will probably need physical therapy after baby so that I won't have permanent damage.
So anyway, now I'm trying to imagine how on earth I'll manage getting the kids to the pool every day for the next two weeks, keeping on top of house chores, and managing the children while my feet recover. My left ankle (the one that twisted twice) is still swollen and bruised, too. My feet are both pretty much useless, and both of my knees are banged up and sore. My arms- that are supposed to be supporting me on the crutches- are sunburned and bruised. Haha. It's AWESOME.
I'm just glad we were able to have our trip to the beach and family bike ride despite my injuries. Truly those memories are the diamonds in the dust. :)
