Tuesday, July 8th – time to get the stitches out!  Strangely, we were excited to go back to the Christian Doppler Klinik.  LouAnn and I went shopping and LouAnn put together a wonderful gift basket for all the nurses who were so sweet taking care of me.  It was also good to get the chance to hopefully see Tasso and Guenther one last time.

Of course, no one TOLD me that getting your stitches out HURTS, that the stitches GROW INTO YOUR SKIN and when they’re removed, IT’S LIKE RIPPING OUT YOUR SOUL.  Thanks for the heads-up, loved ones.

We spent the rest of the day back at the Pension Frauenschuh, RESTING.  This was a day we needed.  I got lots of horizontal time.  We played games, painted toenails (well, not MINE), watched World Cup soccer, and ordered PIZZA, which was finally delivered about 10:00pm! I loved it – just the NINE of us, crammed into our little apartment, taking it easy and laughing.

Gift basket for the nurses.  (with repurposed basket – thank you, Seelys and Rhodeses!)

Newsies Nurse!

Tasso!  He was doing well.

Dr. Krombholz, my surgeon

Ellis beat me in FIVE MOVES.  No respect for people recovering from BACK SURGERY.

Kids got to swim in the pool with the sliding cover…

Aunt Netter and Georgia being crafty again.

Yep – this pretty much sums up the rest of our day.

One of Georgia’s “VLOG” entries I thought I would share.  She made videos all over Europe, with lots of contributions from her brothers, some appreciated, some not.  Can’t wait to see the final product!