12 on the 12th | July

Less than two weeks after Marc's surgery, we went on a road trip to California. We were worried he wouldn't be up to it, but his doctor just told him to stop every hour and walk around a bit to prevent blood clots. And not to lift anything over 15 pounds.

It was incredibly frustrating to him to not be able to carry suitcases or pack up the car. No problem though, we have 3 other able-bodied people who can do it! He did amazingly well on the drive — I think he drove the entire way to California! (Max and I both offered to take turns, but he gets carsick if he's not in the driver's seat.)

This grid actually contains photos from both the 12th and the 13th.

1. Eva right before her last swim lesson at the Scera pool. She has totally taken off with swimming this summer and can't get enough!

2. I was reading Vaclav & Lena during her lesson, and later, in the car. I'm so happy that I can read in the car without getting carsick! (Not so at all when I was young.)

3.  We passed this awesome sign during one of our stops for Marc to walk. There is no motel there any longer, just the sign.

4. Would you believe that Marc's parents and his sister Michelle both had tires blow on our first day of travel? What are the odds? We were nervous that it would happen to us as well, but we got lucky. I always hate seeing those tire remnants on the side of the road.

5. One of many interesting wire sculptures in the yard of a very populated home on the way to the resort where we stayed for a night in St. George.

6. It's so nice to be able to take the kids to the pool to blow off some steam after being in the car all day! It was 107 degrees in St. George — not fit for human life, I tell you!

7. The next day, I was on a new book: Tender at the Bone.

8. We drove through a scary storm. The rain was coming down in sheets, creating little rivers where there had only been dry land. We could barely see a thing, yet there was nowhere to stop and wait it out. Then it started to hail so hard I was afraid it would break the windshield! We were so relieved when it stopped.

9. Max had a catnap.

10. We listened to Marc's sister Lisa's new cd.

11. I love clouds like this!

12. Eva watching a movie on the portable dvd player with her new fancy headphones (thank you, Target).