Moab (aka Why my Husband is the Toughest Guy I Know)

(I'll add pictures to this one later if we can get them off Scott's phone)

Lest you think the only thing we have going on around here is managing two kids (though that would be enough), I thought I'd give you a little peak at what Scott's been doing lately. Top of the list would be WORK, followed by Work, Work, and more Work. He is one of the lucky guys that still has a job in the construction industry of Bend. While we are grateful for his employment, the lack of jobs also means that those few employed people are taking on a LOT more responsibility than when there is more money to hire more people and spread the work around. So, Scott works his 55 hour weeks and usually has to go into the office at least one afternoon on the weekends. In the midst of it all, I am grateful that he is diligent about getting home by 6:30 for some brief toddler wrestling before helping put the kids to bed. I've only had to tackle the double bedtime routine a handful of times.

Scott's most recent project is a new Technology Center for Bend High School. It's a pretty awesome building that replaces the old wood shop with a modern building that will house a wider variety of technical skills classrooms - automotive, sound studios, video production, wood shop, computer lab, etc, etc, etc. You can see a picture of the finished building here. As cool as the project is, we are VERY excited that construction is coming to a close. Scott's next project will be the Deschutes Recovery Center - a residential mental health treatment facility near the County jail.

In the midst of all this work, our friend Kevin schemed up a Guys Trip to Moab for some amazing mountain biking at the end of April. I say schemed because he got Dave - father of a toddler and newborn twins - on board first, so none of us other wives could object to anybody else going on the trip. In reality, I'm glad Scott was able to go. That trip gave him something to look forward to, motivation to get to the gym and on a bike, and a reason to take some solid days off work. Plus, we all need to get our adrenaline pumping once in a while, and chasing much better riders over some of the best mountain biking terrain in the country?? That'll do it! We had Grandma Ethel come stay to help me with the kids and the guys did 3 days of amazing mountain biking sandwiched between two 880 mile road trips. Do you think anybody was sore after that one?

We decided that with 10 guys doing that much riding, there was probably a required number of injuries to be sustained. Scott was generous to take them all for the team. Final tally - two cracked ribs*, one broken nose**, one semi-sprained ankle, and one re-energize husband/father who looks ready to tackle the world again.

*Cracked ribs - sustained 100 yards into the first ride on the first day. Scott realized they might be cracked 2 days after getting HOME from the trip. The doctor told him the most important thing to do with craked ribs is to breathe deeply. Um, 2 days of mountain biking will keep you breathing deeply.

**Broken nose - sustained early on day 2. Supposedly caught on camera, but I've yet to see. Scott realized in might be broken a WEEK AND A HALF after it happened. Not until the swelling went down did we notice that it was a little crooked. Even the urgent care doctor that diagnosed the ribs didn't identify the nose issue. Scott's Dr sent him right to the ENT, who told him he could let it heal and decide later if he wanted general surgery -OR- come back in a couple hours and he would try and get it back in place (aka rebreak your nose while you sit there and watch). Scott chose Option B. Took local anesthetic, held still while watching/listening to the doctor reposition his nose, and then headed back to work. An evening on the couch and he's good to go with a very stylish nose split for the next week.

I told Scott it's a good thing he's tough or his injuries would have really put a damper on the trip. He pointed out that if he wasn't so tough, he wouldn't have kept riding after a fall that cracked two ribs - thus saving himself from the broken nose and sprained ankle. Good point.

Boys!... and I have two of them who are clearly taking after their father.