Road Trip Adventure

The day before we left on our trip, Beth said her glasses were loose, so she and I went to the optometrist to get them fixed. 

We loaded up the car and took a quick selfie before heading out.

Going east on Hwy 2 from Seattle takes you through the Cascade Mountain Range and down into eastern Washington. 

At one point as you're coming down the mountain you realize the trees are gone. Eastern Washington has a very different climate and topography than Western Washington.

After a few hours we stopped at a little place for lunch. Looking at it from the outside I was a little leery about it but once we got inside, it was really cute! And the food was delicious. Banks Lake Brew. We would definitely stop there again.

With full tummies we headed out again and as usual, Beth fell asleep right away. She's been doing that on road trips since she was little!

Our first night we stayed in Sandpoint Idaho at Fairbridge Inn. It was like a mountain cabin, the rooms were nice and they had a free breakfast. I caught Beth waiting for her waffle to cook.

On the road again, still heading east. Saw this flag from a distance, and it was huge! Look at it compared to the cars.

Have you heard of Town Pump? We stopped at a few of them. They're a great place to stop for gas, and a bathroom break, drinks, snacks. Smaller than a Pilot, Flying J, and Buc-ee's (from what I hear, never been to Buc-ee's) but they're clean and have a big selection of just about anything you'd need on a road trip. 

Drove through a small town in Montana and had to stop for traffic. 

It was Montana after all! 

Okay, one more hotel. This was unlike any hotel we've ever stayed at. From the outside it looked quite normal. (We arrived at 10pm so I didn't get a picture then. I took this the next morning as we were headed out.) Just your basic hotel, right?

The first thing I do when we get into a hotel room is look out the window. Usually it's a view of the parking lot. So I pulled back the curtain, a sliding glass door? And this is what I saw -

Wait, what?!? You can see the roof in the top right corner, we were still indoors! So we quietly explored this, this... had we been transported to New Orleans?? There were pretend store fronts, lamp posts, rod iron balconies, and a reception room with a dance floor and disco ball.

You might be able to spot Chuck in this photo, he's right in the center, standing in front of our sliding door.

Come to find out, it's an event center that you can rent for conferences, weddings, or any large event. This was the Heritage Inn, in Great Falls Montana. And the place where they had the free breakfast looked more like a restaurant. It was so fun to stay there!

Well, I'll close this for now. Still so much more to share with you! Have a wonderful start to your week! 

Just Got Back

Hi everyone,

We just got back from an 11-day road trip. Left Seattle on June 27, and headed east on Highway 2. We did a little sightseeing, and visited family, it was a really fun, relaxing trip.

We got home Wednesday night, and we're slowly getting back into our routines. Beth was most excited about sleeping in her own bed. Some of the hotels had very tall beds and she struggled with getting in and out of them. One hotel did have small ottomans that she was able to use to get up on the bed. We decided on our next road trip we'll bring our small, foldable step stool, just in case.

I will try to post this weekend and get back to reading soon!

We took this in one of the many hotels we stayed in -

A Quick Post

I had planned to get on here tonight and write a long post about my sister's surgery. But  life happens and now it's now pretty late. But I still want to at least give you a quick update.

I flew down to San Diego on June 7, Deb's surgery was scheduled for the 9th. They called her the evening before to say it had been canceled. Needless to say she was upset. She had even shaved her hair to make it easier after surgery! The doctor told her the trays of surgical instruments had been compromised and they couldn't guarantee that they were completely sterilized. So the team made the decision to cancel surgeries, dozens of surgeries. I'm not sure we'll ever understand what happened. And there were so many people effected. 

I was able to stay a few more days, but ended up coming back home before it was rescheduled. And she actually had the surgery today. She is home and has very little pain, but is still on heavy medication. 

She told me to check with her again tomorrow. 😄

While I was there we spent one afternoon driving around San Diego to see places we hung out while we were growing up. We saw our childhood home and our grade school. 

And my first job - 

We reminisced and laughed, and learned a few things about each other that we didn't know! She's six years older than me and growing up she hung out with our older sister more than she did with me. They were only two years apart. 

Even though she didn't have the surgery while I was there, we ended up having a great week together. 

Thank you for your comments and prayers for my sister. Everything went well and she's home. Now she begins her recovery.

A little More Recap and Father's Day

While the kids were here Chuck had some doctor appointments, and like Beth's these were also in downtown Seattle. He got the scans done on Monday and we went back for the results on Tuesday.

We've spent a lot of time in this waiting room the last few years. This time the doctor told us that all the scans came back clear, and he is no longer 'in remission' but he is now cancer free! It's been five years so no more yearly scans and monitoring are needed! The doctor shook his hand and said it's been a pleasure treating him, but he hopes he never has to see him again! 😊 We told the kids when we got back to the house and we all celebrated! God is so good! 

The day the kids left for home we all went out for an early breakfast, I hugged them good-bye at the restaurant then headed to work. It was a 12 hour day, overseeing a local private school's graduation ceremony at our church.

Rehearsal began at 9am, then class speakers and the choir rehearsed throughout the day, and the ceremony was in the evening. I took this picture from their social media page - 

We estimated about a thousand people were there and once everyone was gone and the busses left with all the seniors for their all-night grad party, I headed home.

Saturday I did laundry and packed my suitcase. Sunday morning I flew to San Diego to be with my sister when she had surgery. 

For now I want to wish all the dads a Happy Father's Day. 

Me and my dad - 2011

My dad and his girls

Debbie, Kathy, dad, Merrilee, me

Chuck and our girls

Well, I just spent w-a-a-ay too long looking for more current pictures of Chuck and the girls. 😕 I know I have more around here somewhere. 

Oh well. I'll write about my time in San Diego soon. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

I'm Home, and The Kids' Visit

Hi,

I flew in late last night and ended up not going to church this morning. I'm grateful we're able to stream the service because that's what I did instead. It's been a busy couple of weeks. The Lord answered my prayers about perseverance, and not getting sick. You know how there are some seasons where you go and go and go, and eventually you end up not feeling well and before you know it you're exhausted and sick? I prayed against that before it all began and I can say today, I'm rested and I feel good.

The day before our family arrived from Pennsylvania, Beth had an appointment down in Seattle. It was a gloomy day, and I'm glad Chuck took the day off to drive us. The last time I was so stressed about having to navigate downtown streets, and about the appointment itself. But because Chuck drove, it was much less stressful. Beth got changed, and then she and I waited for the technician to call us back.

Beth was able to do a seated mammo and did much better this time. The images were much clearer. I took this pic from the internet to show you a little of what it was like for her.

Unfortunately they are concerned about an area and really want to do a biopsy, but they know Beth wouldn't be able to handle it due to her body shape and her cognitive ability. So for now they will continue to monitor her with more frequent screenings. If the area of concern changes at all, we'll have to revisit the idea of a biopsy.

Then Diana, Peter and the kids arrived! They explored everything! Adelaide is at that age where everything is met with one word, "Why?" 😊 And Oliver is crawling and learning to pull himself up on things. 

One day we all went down to the waterfront, and stopped for some ice cream.

We tried to keep the kids busy, that's for sure!

It was so good to have them here! We love you guys and are already looking forward to the next time we get to see you!