APRIL 2016 - Back in Montana

APRIL – We spent the weekend in Great Falls going through more of Dad's 'stuff'. The 7^th I took Dad to the VA due to his hearing. When flushing out his ears of wax, they found a piece of his hearing aid (that he hasn't worn in months). It definitely helped.

On the 12^th we drove to Great Falls to spend a few days sorting, giving and throwing at Dad's Condo. We cleaned it up and Lorilei came over on the 13^th to look at it. We decided to list it on the 14^th. We purchased some carpet for our basement steps! We were to leave early Fri. to take Dad to an appointment with Dr. Boes in Havre that morning. We made it about 20 something miles driving in deep slush/snow before we turned around. Denita & Steve ended up talking Dad to his appointment since they didn't have snow yet! He is scheduled for Eye surgery on May 3^rd. We went back to Doug/Fran and helped a bit there and then Fran & I did some shopping. We drove back home on Sat. the 16^th. We visited with Dad on the way through.

We planned a Birthday dinner for Denita a day early on the 21^st at Doug/Frans, however she didn't make it since she had to go on an ambulance run to Havre with Annie.

On the afternoon of the 24 ^th we drove to Great Falls. We intended to leave on Monday but the weather forcast predicted rain/snow mix. We met Doug/Fran their to help them paint at their condo. We spent the week their working and doing some shopping. There had been 3-4 people look at Dad's condo and we received two offered on the 26^th/27^th. We accepted an offer for the full asking price ($310,000 on the 27^th). The buyer is orginally from Great Falls but is living in Washington. Right now the contact says closing will be June 30^th It is a relief to have it sold and for it to have only taken less than 2 weeks. We now have to work on getting some of the big furniture sold! While in GTF we bought a 9/11 gazebo at Shopco and a yard cart at Home Depot. We drove back home on the 30^th. It was Tyler's Senior Prom that evening so I went to watch the Grand March.  

 Cali's new water bowl!

 Bomfire Wiennie Roast in the Desert!

 The final project after all our manual labor!  Looks fantastic!

St. Patricks Day!

MARCH 2016 - Arizona

MARCH....Doug & Fran's friends, Kim & Trace were here for the weekend of Mar 5^th. On the 7^th we all went to dinner at 'The Crossing' (very good). The evening of the 8^th we all went out to the desert and had a bonfire where we roast shrimp & hot dogs. John & Angie, and Les joined us. Doug was on a mission to burn the old wood from the deck. The managed to stay out there until 1am!.

We stained the deck & started packing up.

The 17^th we went to Mexico where we all went to the dentist. Mike, Doug & I had cleanings. Fran & I had a filling. Lunch was at the street taco place (Lupita's – found out that they have a truck now on Fortuna near Walgreens).

Doug & Fran left on their second bike ride on the 18^th. Bob & Cheryl came for a visit on Friday. We barb-b-cued steaks that evening. On Sat. we went to Bernardo's for a pizza for lunch and then went to the Arizona Market Place to wonder around. That evening we went to Lute's for dinner and drinks. We sat around the fire that evening. On Sunday we made breakfast and then they left.

The 21^st Mike & stained the remaining fence and casita porch. We started early but it was still hot...it's in the 90's now. We had been dog sitting Cali while Doug & Fran are gone. They came back on the 23^rd! She spent time at our place or we had happy hour down at her place!!!

On the 25^th we went to Les & Janet's for dinner. We met Kary & Pauline Andersen. He was originally from the Hogeland area and they live full time in Yuma.

Sat. was more packing. We started loading Doug's trailer with STUFF!

We went to 11am church on Easter and then went to John & Angie's for dinner at 1pm. They had 20 people in attendance. We all played a card game called 31 after dinner. (we used to play it as kids with Chet & Nora Boardman).

Monday, the 28^th.......final packing. We helped Doug & Fran move their 5^th wheel over to Glen & Norma's – under their 'cool cover'. We finished packing and cleaning. We decided to head out a day early.

Tuesday, the 29^th – leave day! We made one last trip to the gym at 715am. We stopped of a quick breakfast at Doug/Fran's and were on the road at 1030a. Destination is Mesquite, NV. We stayed at the Virgin River. Doug and Fran arrived a few hours later than us.

30^th – Our destination was Pocatello....Best Western hotel. We made a lunch/shopping stop at Ikea in the Salt Lake City area. Doug/Fran arrived shortly after us and we all had a drink at the hotel and dinner at Applebees. It was a nice hotel.

31^st – Arrived in Great Falls! We stopped for a wonderful lunch at Twin Bridges. We overnighted at Dad's and Doug & Fran stayed at their condo.

 Painting the Park Model

 Doug, Fran, Marilyn, Dixie in Mesa

Doug & Mike at the Wells Fargo Museum in Phoenix

JAN _ FEB 2016

Jan-Feb ...We started the year out continuing out Southern theme....You have to have Black-Eyed Peas for good luck and Cabbage for Wealth. We did enjoyed both!

On the 2^nd Dixie went with Doug & John in Doug's plane for a 1.5 hr ride. Some of the restricted air space was open that day. We flew over the Barry Goldwater where the military has mock villages and even a mock aircraft carrier landing strip. We saw several drone airstrips as well. From there we flew over the GM tracks that are used for testing and then on the the Yuma Proving Grounds. It was pretty neat to see all this from the air – something that you can't see from the ground and wouldn't be able to see again in the plane. From there we had lunch at the Copper Miner. On Sunday, the 3^rd we drove the car to Borrego Springs with the motorcycle group. We met a group from Indio there (including Mark & Danielle). We had much there and then drove to Indio to visit our friend Henerietta (our first visit since Glyn passed away). We made a Trader Joes stop and then went to Danny's to overnight. He was in PVR so we didn't see him. On the 4^th we stopped to have coffee with Henrietta and then drove back to Yuma.

On the 6^th Fran and I joined the local Gym where Mike has been going. The first class about did us in....a bit sore the next day.

We had rain a couple of days this week!

We spent a few days getting some flyer's and for sale info done for the motorhome. We put a sign out by the gate with some 'take one' flyers, put it on Craigs List, RVT (a RV sale site) and put a flyer in a couple of restaurants in the area. It's start....we will see what happens. Mike also cleared everything out from the bins in the motorhome to clean and reorganize!

On the 8^th we helped Doug & Fran paint their Casita. It looks really great – totally changed the appearance. After that we went out for a Mexican dinner.

The 10^th we went to church again at the First Christian Church. Mike watched football wild card games.

The 15^th we drove the motorhome to Quartzsite to the RV Show. We parked at the paid area so we could be near the tent with our “For Sale” sign on the motorhome. It cost $40 but was nice to e within walking distance of the tent. We visited Bob/Cheryl on the afternoon of the 16^th. We enjoyed dinner and the evening with them. While there we also went to see Ji & Linda's new place and Dixie cut Cheryl & Lina's hair.

While in Quartzsite we went to the tent a few time and also did some other shopping. Dixie stocked up on some jewelry supplies. We had a couple of people look at the motorhome. We drove back to Yuma on the 19^th.

We listed the motorhome on Ebay Classified for the Yuma area and shared it on Facebook.

21^st - Dixie's Birthday...Dixie & Fran attended a presentation at the library on outside decorating. Then Doug/Fran & us drove into Yuma and shopped a bit and then had a drink at the Bird Cage in old Yuma and then a wonderful dinner at the Olive Garden. The food & service was great!

On the 22^nd Mike & I went to the movie, '13 Hours'. We got a facebook message from people we used to work with in Houston (Jim & Venita Provience). They are interested in the purchasing the motorhome. Doug/Fran hosted a get together at their place for Les Simmons, Chuck & Julie Harrison, and Marilyn Kristoff & here sister. We barb-b-cued burgers and enjoyed the fire.

On the 23^rd we talked on the phone with Jim/Venita and they want to purchase the MH. They told us they would talk to their bank on Monday. Dixie painted on the back of Doug/Fran's Casita Mike didn't feel good – coming down with a cold. He worked around the MH

The 24^th we attended church and then went on a Walmart run. We started cleaning a packing some items in the MH.

The 26^th we got a message from Jim/Venita that they were not able to get a loan as they wanted 40% down on a used motorhome...deal is off! I must have jinxed it by taking pictures out of frames in the MH. In the afternoon, I went shopping with Doug/Fran and then we stopped by Bob/Carols place to pay them for the time share use. After that we met Mike at Crazy Earls and then to Applebees for dinner.

On Wed. , the 27^th I was sitting outside in the morning and a man stopped by inquiring about the motorhome. He was looking at it for a friend. They were both from Corvalis, MT. Ed Reed and his wife Gail rent down the street. He called the potential buyer, Richard Peter's and he was very interested. His wife would was out of town but would be back that evening. We were excited!

The next day we spent 50 minutes talking to them on the phone. Shelley (the wife) had seen our MH on the RVT website as well. They really want the MH. They called back in the afternoon and we came to an agreement on the price and completed a Bill of Sale

On Friday the 28^th we made called to our Lender and their bank and finally worked out the details for payment. We contacted our bank and set up a check for our part of the payoff. Dixie and Doug painted 'Cali's' Shed to match the Casita.

Sat we also started packing. We are able to rent the park model on our site for the next two months.

We started moving stuff on Sunday the 31^st. We packed boxes to stay in Yuma and some to go home. We spent Monday packing/moving, Tuesday cleaning and finished up on Wed.

Richard and Shelley Peters arrived on Wed. around 5pm We went over a few things and gave them the keys to what has been home for over 10 years! They stayed in the motorhome that night. They really like it and are happy with the purchase.

On Thursday we went over the workings of the motorhome and went to lunch with Richard & Shelly at the Eatery. I now have Mike's cold and feel yucky! Doug/Fran came over for dinner.

The Peter's decided to stay until Sunday morning due to weather.

The remainder of the weekend was spent answering questions and getting the Peter's ready for the trip back to Montana. The left early Sunday (2/7/16) morning. It was quite strange seeing our home driving away from us! Oh well, a New Chapter begins....... We attended church after they left and kicked back the rest of the day.

On the 9^th and 11^th we painted at Doug/Frans.

We all went to Mexico on the 10^th for Camilla's dentist appointment. We enjoyed lunch at El Gourmet and listened to the music. It was quite hot while standing in line. Mike said a couple of times he didn't feel very good. Well we were almost to the gate when he fainted. He scraped his chin and knee but recovered pretty well. Not enough water and 2 beers in the heat is not a good combination for Mike.

On the afternoon of the 12^th we had some friends from our FMCA group for Happy Hour & Appetizers. Clumps, Oagles, & Wallings attended. We had fun catching up.

Feb 14-19 we spent in Mesa at Bob & Carols timeshare. They gave us a great deal – it was a two bedroom and cost us each $75. While there Marilyn Kristoff came to visit us and we had drinks at the condo golf course & then went to dinner at the Texas Road House One day we took the light rail from Mesa and went to the end of line. On the return trip we got off downtown Phoenix. We had lunch at Jimmy Johns and toured a really neat Well Fargo Museum. The train was a great way to see the area...ballparks, ASU, downtown, etc. That evening we met Diane Brady for dinner at Nandos for Mexican food. We has a fun time visiting and catching. up! And a big thank you to Diane for treating us! Also while in Mesa we drove around and did some shopping! On the trip back we checked out a little town called Roll that we were told has great steaks. We never made it back but will definitely try it next season.

The 21^st we went to church to the early service. Monday was another trip to Home Depot with Doug/Fran and we all went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Tuesday & Wednesday Mike helped Doug with building the new deck

The weekend was party time. Sat. we went to a jam session & dinner at Glen & Norma's. Sunday was a party at Dan & Julies for Randy Ross's retirement party.

On the 29^th Mike went to the Dermatologist. They did a biopsy on his sore. Results showed pre-cancerous lesion. On the 10^th he went in and had it removed. He needs to follow up in 2 months. Appt in Great Falls for May 19^th.