JULY...
We
spent the afternoon at Denita and Steve's for the 4th.
In the evening we came back home and watched Turner's fireworks
from our yard. Doug, Fran and Callie were with us.
Jason
Warren came around noon on the 8th
to begin the old house demolition. It was quite interesting to
watch. We had several people stop by and take in the show, including
Ron & Sandy (Doyle). Sandy told us some interesting tidbits
about the house. It ended up taking the better part of three days to
take it down and fill the hole with dirt/rocks. We also had him put
some gravel in our driveway.
We
drove to Great Falls on the 10th
and overnighted. On the 11th
we got a taxi bright and early and headed to the airport. We made
our flights to Denver and then Houston. Once there we picked up our
car rental and drove to visit Ruthie. She is doing pretty good and
is in a new facility that she likes. We had a great visit and then
headed out to drive to Brandon's. We stopped for a Schlotzky's
sandwich in Humble along the way. It was a 185 mile drive to Fort
Polk and we arrived around 830p. We had a few issues with our car
rental – the gave us a mid size instead of the full size we
reserved and the gas tank was not full when we got it. It a couple
of phone calls to get it all straightened out. We did get the sad
news that Bob Ball past away on Sat. the 11th.
He had been sick with anal cancer since April. Mike had planned to
go with Brandon while we were there to visit Bob. On Sunday the 12th
we drove with Brandon & Kat the Alexandria. We made a stop at
Hobby Lobby and then had lunch. Bailey drove over from Spring and
spent the rest of the week with us. We decided to extend our stay so
we could attend Bob's funeral in Dayton on Sat., the 18th.
On
the 13th
we had a fun day of driving and sightseeing. We left around 11am and
made our first stop to eat our packed lunch. Then we headed to St.
Francisville where we toured a Haunted Plantation - The Myrtles
Plantation. It was quite interesting. We then headed south and went
through Baton Rouge and then west to our next stop....A Swamp tour
out of Breaux Bridge. There were only 7 of us on the tour and it was
pretty cool. We spent 2 hours on the water and it was especially
neat as we saw the sunset and got some awesome photo's. We saw
several alligators sunning themselves and numerous birds. We then
headed west on I10 through Lafayette and stopped in Lake Charles at
Applebee's for a late dinner. We made it back home at Midnight....it
was a long drive but a very fun day with the family!
On
the 14th
and 15th
we hung out...doing some shopping, going to Brandon's office and
touring the post.
On
the 16th
we all drove to Spring, Bailey and Nic in Bailey's car, Brandon, Kat
and the dogs in theirs and Mike & I I our rental. We had dinner
with at Mike & Hope's and we also stayed with them for 3 nights.
The
17th
Brandon, Bay, Nic and Mike & I went to a movie (at least it was
cool inside). The movie was 'Mr. Sherlock'. That evening we met
Roger & Karen, Casey's family and Corey's family at a Mexican
restaurant in Pasadena for dinner. We had fun visiting and catching
up and we got to meet the new baby, Jackson Graham.
The
18th
we drove to Dayton for Bob's funeral. It was a very nice service.
We went to Brain and Tina's afterwards for burgers and more visiting.
The
19th
was travel day and of course the flights filled up. Our first try
was at 9am and finally got on a flight around 3p. We spent a few
hours in Denver and arrived in Great Falls around 10p. It was a long
day but we did have 'same day service' for a change.
We
did some shopping on the 20th
and headed back home.
Roland
Dailing started replacing our roof on the 22nd.
It took a few days due to weather but it looks great!
On
the 23rd
I took Dad to Havre to have blood work drawn and the back on the 30th
for his VA appointment. They now have a clinic in Havre with a Nurse
Practitioner. In between those appointments I had a doctor
appointment in Great Falls with an ENT, Dr. Baker. This was for the
sinus infection that the Endodontist told me I had. He didn't think
it was anything serious but thought maybe I should have a CT scan.
Also to keep using the Flonase. The appointment was scheduled for
the next morning. I ended up canceling it as insurance didn't pay
and it cost over $800.
On
the 30th
I took Dad to his yearly VA appointment, this time in Havre. His
heart rate is low so they took him off some medications. I need to
take him to a cardiologist in Great Falls to have it checked out.
