Brandon's Change of Command

Just missing Bailey

JULY 2016

JULY – We spent from June 30 – July 5^th at Beavercreek at a great spot in Shambo. We hiked a bit, went to the lake to fish, drove around and just relaxed. Tammy B came from Chinook and overnighted with us on Sat. A very relaxing time was had by all. On that Friday, Doug, Mike & I went to Havre and took Dad to his VA appt. to go over the results of his CT. She felt that he would benefit from having his gallbladder removed and advised us to see a surgeon. We made an appt with Dr. Sparks for the 5^th. Doug & I took him to that appt in the motorhome. The Dr. felt that since he wasn't having any pain that we should not do the surgery at this time. We all agreed.

On the 7^th Steve came over and installed our new Water Softener. Of course it ended up taking more time and parts than expected. But it works! We bought lunch at the 241 Grill for Steve & Shay.

On the 12^th we drove to Great Falls with a stop at Dad's. We did some shopping and overnighted at Doug/Frans. Dinner was at the Pit Stop. At 7a on the 13^th we got on a flight to DEN then IAH and finally AEX. We managed to get on all the scheduled flights. We arrived in AEX around 645p. Brandon picked us up and we drove to Leesville where we met Kat and Nic for dinner at Chili's. We walked in the hot/humid morning on Thur & Fr. (dripping wet). We had lunch at the PX on Thur. On Fri we hung out! Sat. the 16^th we drove to Natchitoches, LA (the oldest town in LA). We went on two plantation tours (Melrose & Cane River Oakland). We had a cajun lunch at Merci Beaucoup! We walked along the river and toured the Louisiana Sports Museum. We had a great day and ended it with a great steak dinner at home. On Sunday the 17^th Mike, Brandon & Nic went to the shooting range on post. Later some of Kat's family came from Houston and we all enjoyed at Spaghetti Dinner.

The 18^th was Brandon's Change of Command Ceremony. It was a wonderful experience where Brandon and Kat were thanked for their service and Brandon turned over his command of the “Wild Boars” Battalion to another Lt. Col. It's always moving to see our military at work! Afterwards we all went to lunch at Lindo's Mexican restaurant. From there we went back to Brandon's where they packed for their week long trip to Jamaica. We left for Houston around 3p. We had dinner at Rudy's BBQ and then overnighted with Mike & Hope.

The 19^th was travel day. We started our trip out of IAH on the 787 Dreamliner (our first trip in one) leaving at 9am. The flight in DEN was full so we didn't make it on that on. We hung around in the club for a couple of hours and left on the 310p flight ti GTF. We arrived their around 515p. We decided to stay over since we had a few things to do in Great Falls. We dined at the Montana Club and then watched some of the Republican Convention.

On the 20^th we departed GTF at 8am. We stopped at Dad's and picked him up some groceries. We arrived home around 130p. It's great to go but it's always nice to get home! Dad called that evening upset wanting us to come pick him up. Apparently he was quite upset with the staff as they were trying to help him take a shower. I encouraged the staff to let it go for today. I tried calling back but he didn't answer the phone.

The 21^st Doug/Fran came for dinner. They are heading out on a Motorcycle trip on the 22^nd. We will water plants and watch Cali.

The 24^th we attended church in Hogeland.

On the 25^th we received a call from Dad and Timbercreek. He wanted to come out here and was quite agitated. Denita and I drove up to pick him up. The next day I called the VA nurse as I had determined that Timbercreek had run out of his anti-depressent and hadn't been giving it to him. We decided to leave him off of it and monitor. He seems to be doing better without it and his appetite has improved since going off the Diabetic and Cholesterol medication. We went back to Havre for an appt with Dr. Boes on Friday. We took Dad back to his place afterwards.

On the 31^st we drove to Billings to get on a plane to Hartford, CT. While in Billings we did some quick shopping and purchased a new rollerboard bag. We overnighted there after arriving at 1130pm.

 Beavercreek Park

A not so good Selfie!

 Cali going for a swim...actually fetching a stick

Happy 4th of July!

JUNE 2016

JUNE – Worked on getting Dad's Motorhome ready for travel! We drove to Great Falls on the 6^th and overnighted at Doug/Fran's. We stopped at Dad's on the way – we asked Lowell if Dad had been going to meals and he said he didn't even know he was there – so no he hasn't. I also talked to the Administrator, Laurie and she said he hadn't been going down and also recently hadn't been asking for them to be brought to his room. They will begin giving him meal reminders.. Once arriving in Great Falls we did some shopping & went to dinner at the Montana Club. On the 7^th we closed on Dad's Condo in the morning. We got a beautiful flower arrangement from Lorelei. We stopped to see Dad on the trip back.

The 14^th we headed out in Dad's motorhome...we stopped at Dad's and gave him a Father's Day bag and then drove to Aunt Shirley's in Seeley Lake, arriving around 5p. We went to a lovely pizza dinner at the Double Arrow – thanks Shirley. We spent the next day checking out the cigarette lighter issue in the mh. We didn't figure it out! We also went for a walk and stopped to see Ross & Lacene and their new home. We had a very nice dinner that evening with Aunt Shirley. Had a great time visiting and catching up. On the 16^th we drove to Missoula to Jim & Mary's RV park for our FMCA Rally. It was a bit raining the first day. On the 17^th we drove into Missoula and shopped a bit. In the afternoon we took a tour of the Smoke Jumper Visitor Center. It was very interesting! That evening our group went to dinner at the “Buck Snort” restaurant about 5 miles up the road.

Sat. the 18^th we went to the farmer market down on the river and stopped at the Kettlehouse Brewery for a Cold Smoke. We had a quick lunch and shopped a bit and headed back to the MH. Our group had a potluck that evening. The wind was blowing quite a bit and I found that I had a bad allergy to something in the air! The park had numerous tree and flowers everywhere. IT was one of the prettiest parks for vegetation that we have been at in all our travels!

The 19^th we left Missoula for the 100 mile drive to Lakeside. We arrived at Bill & Gloria Brinkman's around noon. They have a house in Mission View Terrace that they purchased last year. We parked in their RV site. Bill cooked a wonderful steak dinner that evening. On the 20^th Gloria & I visited with Jim & Diane Jenks for a bit in the morning. We had an issue with the water in the motorhome so went drove to Gardner RV in Kalispell for a part. We were able to fix the problem, thank goodness. In the afternoon we went out on Bill & Gloria's pontoon boat. We drove down the lake and had a great trip. It wasn't terribly warm but the sun was shinning! They cooked another great meal that evening.

On Tue., the 21^st we left around 830a. It was a rainy/dreary day for most of the trip. We stopped in CutBank for lunch and then at Merlene's beauty shop for a visit. We grocery shopped in Havre and then stopped to visit Dad. While there he told me he had a pain in his abdomen area. It was very tender to touch. We decided I would call the VA and see if we could get in on Friday after his Eye Dr appt. We arrived home around 7pm in the rain.

We headed back to Havre early Friday morning for Dad's 945a appt with Dr. Boes. I cut Dad's hair prior to that. The eye dr decided to take him off all the eye drops for the left eye. From there we went to the VA dr appt. They were able to clear out more ear stuff in the left ear which should help with the hearing. She also decided to stop his Diabetes and Cholesterol medications due to his not eating. He had lost 11 pounds since April 7^th and 17 lbs since last July. She feels that the tenderness is in the liver. We have a CT of the Abdomen scheduled for next Tue. We had to do some grocery shopping & pick up items for Dad. We stopped in Chinook on the way home where I cut John & Angie's hair and enjoyed dinner with them.

The 25^th we spent the day inside as it was cool, wet and windy. We went to Doug/Fran's for dinner and I cut their hair.

I went to Havre early on the 27^th to take Dad to his CT Scan. We were to be there at 9am for bloodwork, however when we were ready to leave the room he decided he didn't want to go to any more doctors. Between Doug, Denita & I we could not convince him to go. I was ready to leave when the CNA, Tolina talked him into it. We were a bit late but were able to get it done. We found out a couple of days later that he has several Gallstones.

On the 30^th we took Dad's motorhome to Beavercreek. Doug/Fran met us there later in the day.

 Lilacs in Bloom

 Graduation

 Tyler with his Diploma

Dad, Aunt Shirley, Jody, Jim & Shelly (Jake was taking the pic)

May 2016 in Montana

MAY – I started work at the school kitchen on the 2^nd. Am suppose to work until school is out on the 26^th. (due to all the issues with Dad, I ended up only working 7 days)

On the 3^rd Mike & I picked up Dad in Havre and drove to Great Falls for his eye surgery (Glaucoma/Cataract) at 1230. After the pre work at the office, the surgery didn't start til around 2p. We didn't get out of their until almost 430p. We ended up having to stay overnight since the DR. needed to see him in the morning. We picked up dinner at McDonald's. We had breakfast the next morning at Perkins and then after the dr appt we left just after 10a. Once arriving in Havre we found out that Timbercreek really are not set up to give Dad the multiple drops he needs. We decided he needed to come home with us for the first week. He is doing pretty good...hungry and is eating good. One drop has to be put in every 2 hrs and 4 others 4 times a day....whew! Worked on the 5^th.

On the 6^th Dixie helped the church serve a dinner at Alvin Wolory's funeral. On Sat. the 6^th Jim & Diane Jenks came to visit Dad and us in the morning.

I managed to work on the 9^th & 10^th and a short time on the 11^th. We drove to Havre where I met with the Nurse at Timbercreek to get them all set up with Dad's eye drop schedule. Dad had a follow up eye appt with Dr. Obie in Havre at 310p on the 11^th. It ended up not being real good news...he had to call Dr. Boes (surgeon). The pressure in the left eye is high and the tube is blocked. The only way to clear it is to go to a more rigorous eye schedule. We must start up on the one we just stopped today and the prednisolone must be put in every hour. Well hear we go again – we decided we must make him go back home with us. He wasn't thrilled but consented. After a trip to Walmart for a drop refill we got on the round around 645. We was very tipsy on his feet and kind of 'out of it'. The past few days he has been sleeping constantly. Only up when I wake him for meals & drops. I am now even giving him his drop while he is half asleep. He also has no appetite so it's hard to get him to eat.

At 4am on the 14^th Dad woke us up saying there was a fire downstairs. This was the beginning of 36 hours of hallucinations. It was horrible to watch the scary ones but he was a very happy talkative person during the other ones. It was like Dad 10 years ago. It was hard on him as he wasn't able to sleep. Doug came over and helped and Denita, Steve, Tyler & Shay stopped over later in the day. In the middle of that John & Angie came by for a haircut. It was Levi's Birthday so we were going to the bar to celebrate but due to the situation, I went down and picked up some burgers to go. Doug left around 9pm, however I was not able to calm Dad down or get him to rest. Around 11p I called Doug and he came back and we drove Dad to the Havre ER, arriving just before 2am. They checked him out and did several tests – they didn't find anything that might cause the hallucinations. The doctor felt that it was the increased Presnisolone eye drops. He gave us 5 anti-psychotic pills and sent us home. We gave him one pill when we got in the car around 5am. It calmed him some but he was not able to sleep until 930a. He slept for most of the day and overnight. Thankfully he has not experienced any more. It took a couple of days but he went back to his current self...sleeping and not eating much.

May 17^th Dad had an appointment with Dr. Boes in Great Falls. He didn't feel that the eye drops caused the hallucinations. He had to build up the eye fluid so we overnighted and saw him again the next morning. We sold the dining room set from the condo while we were in Great Falls.

On the 20^th we went to a graduation party for Tyler and Sara B. at Adam & Shawna's. After that we went to Denita's as Aunt Shirley, Jody, Jim, Shelly & Jake had arrived.

On the 21^st they all came over to see Dad before we attended Tyler's Graduation at 3pm. From there we went to the bar for a beer and then over to Denita & Steve's for dinner. We had a great time visiting with everyone.

On the 22^nd they came back over to our house for a short visit before they left for home!

The 25^th we took Dad to another appt with Dr. Boes – this time at the Havre Hospital. His appt was at 130p but we never got in until after 4p. We got him settled back in at Timbercreek (after 3 weeks with us) and we left for Great Falls just after 5p. We went to Doug/Frans for Pizza and spent our last 2 nights at Dad's Condo.

The 26^th began the last of the packing of Dad's condo. We took pickup loads to give away, packed stuff in boxes and cleaned. Denita, Steve, Tyler and Shay arrived that evening. We moved over to Doug/Fran's.

The 27^th was packing and moving more stuff – the bedroom set went to Doug/Fran's condo for the time being. Lunch break was at the El Commador and that evening we went to Classic 50's for dinner. It was another long day.

Sat., the 28^th Steve & Denita went back home and I cleaned the condo. The carpets will be cleaned next Wed. We decided to to stay the next couple of nights at Doug/Frans and help them with more painting. Mike & I painted the garage and they painted the decks. Their condo is ready to go on the market!!!!! We had drinks at the Sip-N-Dip (our first time) and dinner at Borries on Sat. We came home on Memorial Day after a stop at Dad's for a visit.

May was an extremely busy month for us!!!!!

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.