Decmeber 2015

DEC ...We decided to fly back to Montana to attend Harold's memorial service on the 8^th and surprise Dad on his 82^nd Birthday (on the 8^th as well). Doug, Mike & I drove to Palm Springs on the 6^th and overnighted with Danny. We took an Uber Car to the airport at 430a the next morning.. Our flight left at 7a. We spent a couple of hours in Denver and arrived in Great Falls on just after 2pm. We spent the afternoon doing errands there. That evening we received bad news from Henrieta, Glenn had passed away that day. It was very sudden. He was in hospital just down the street from Danny's on the very night that we were there. We will sure miss seeing Glenn every year!

On the 8^th we went to Breakfast and then packed up Dad's convertible and went to the church at noon. We were able to visit with the cousins prior to the service. It was a very nice service and luncheon. We left around 3p to drive to Havre. We surprised Dad and then had supper with him in the dining room. It was nice to see his room and visit with the residents at supper. Lowell & MaryLou (Dad's cousins) are there as well so we saw there apartment as well. We had some Pecan Pie that we brought at Dad's. We left around 7p to drive to Hogeland, where we stayed at Doug's.

On the 9^th we went to our house to pick up a few things. had a Pizza dinner with Steve/Denita/Tyler/Shay. We got snow on Thursday night and Friday so we decided to go to Turner and get our car to drive back to Greta Falls. We waited around until we knew if Doug was going to be able to fly his plane to Great Falls. It was foggy and low clouds. It took him three attempts but he finally got out after 3pm. We drove and stopped in Havre to visit with Dad. We got to Great Falls shortly before Doug made it. We picked him up and ran more errands.

The 12^th was travel day. We took Mike to the airport to 6am for his UA flight to DEN/PSP. Doug and I went to Holmans and waited for daylight before we would leave in his plane. Luckily he put it in their hanger the night before due to predicted frost. We taxied out at 803a. The weather was pretty clear. Due to weather in the west and east we took a different route – via Cody, Wy. We skirted around several mountain ranges and made a fuel/restroom stop in Price, UT. The scenery around Red Lodge/Cody and through most of Utah was very spectacular. The worst weather was in AZ where we hit a dust storm, making visibility poor. We arrived in Yuma at 245p. Mike, however was delayed in Denver due to snow and de-icing. He then had to drive from Palm Springs, arriving at 7p. All in all it was a good trip to Montana and back.

The 18^th Doug/Fran & Mike/I hosted a party at Doug/Fran's... There were 14 of us. We had fun visiting around the firepits. Speaking of firepits, Mike & I ordered fireglass for ours and took on the project of replacing the lava rock. It turned out quite well! It really changes the look of the fire.

We got our few Christmas gits in the mail the 16^th/17^th. I didn't send cards/letter out this year – decided Facebook pretty much tells everyone what we do! We did put up some Christmas decorations in the motorhome and lights outside.

The 20^th we went to Church at a large church called 'First Christian Church' We really enjoyed the service and message. Afterwards we went the the AZ Marketplace do pick up a few things.

The 21s were went with Doug, Fran & Cali for a hike in the desert/Gila Mountains. It was a good hike and used some muscles that haven't been used for awhile. We received a package from Kat,...(A nice 'Wild Boars' -Brandon's Battalion -throw).

23^rd – Danny drove down from Rancho Mirage for Christmas. We went to John & Angie's for Christmas Caroling. We also listened to Leonard play his guitar and sing. A good time was had by all.

24^th – We all went to Christmas Eve Services at 2pm at the Gloria de Oro Lutheran Church. We came back and had a great meal that included Fran & Doug's Seafood Chowder and Pumpkin/Pecan Cheesecake that Danny brought from the Cheescake Factory. We went to George and CoraLee's after dinner.

25^th – We cooked Christmas diiner and had John & Angie over. Doug cooked a brisket and we had cheesy potatoes, creamed corn, layered salad and Pumpkin Earthquake Cake....it was a southern theme! Around 530 we all went tot he “Howling at the Moon” out in the desert. Every month on full moon night there is a party in the desert. There was even live music! It was a beautiful moon and a fun time!

It was very windy on the 26^th so we stayed in most of the day. Danny left early that morning.

We started paining Doug/Fran's gates on the 29^th and continued until New Years Day!

For New Years Eve we went to Blaisdell's Steakhouse on Fortuna and had a wonderful steak dinner. From there we had tickets for a dance with a live rock-n-roll band with 50/60's music. We had a fun time dancing and listening to the music. We made a short stop at Micky B's before going home. We made it til 130a...that hasn't happened in many years!