Reality Check

Sorry followers that I haven't posted lately but the past few weeks have been
a reality check in my life.
We all get up every day and go about our daily lives
of going to work or doing every day chores of dishes, washing, vacuum etc. Then
one day the unexpected turns in life appear in your life which shakes you up.
Recently I found out that my brother-in-law has lung cancer and the outlook doesn't look good.
This man is such quiet polite man that has provided for his
family all his life while working in a harsh environment that may have contributed to his failing health. He never has said a negative word towards anyone. He has been such a good father figure to his 3 children. He has enjoyed many trips to Wendover to just enjoy plopping a few chips on the tables and a few coins in the slot machines. It is just hard to believe that he has been dealt these cards in life
when this is such a quiet unique humble man who loves everyone.

Then..... a week ago while preparing to go to Idaho on our vacation to build a
shed on our place I got a unexpected trip to the ER the night before leaving.
It is hard to talk about this but I hope people will learn from my mistake.

I suffer from diverticulitis (which I found out last year when I had a colonoscopy).
I have never had one moment of pain or problems from this problem until around
5 pm one night while taking a bathroom break and started having alot of rectal bleeding which scared the daylights out of me. So it happened that Scott was in
the kitchen which I yelled at him that I needed to go to the ER. The last time I was in the hospital was in 1985 when I had Shauna, so this was new to me and I
was scared out of my wit's of what was happening to me. To make the story short, I ended up losing alot of blood (real close to having a transfusion) but luckly it started healing on its own but also during the colonoscopy they actually found the ruptured area and clamped it off. So after 2 days in the hospital I got to come home with orders that I was good as new but to add lots of fiber to my diet. Which my diet hardly contained any fiber in it before which is sad to say but I am going to be more conscious of eating more fruits and vegetables now.
Avoid foods that is hard to digest like corn, nuts, popcorn hulls, sunflower, pumpkin or sesame seeds. That must be true because I hardly ever eat nuts and the last month I have ate pistachio, cashews and peanuts then I ever have.

You get diverticulitis as we age unfortunately. If you eat more fiber the less likely you will get it and have any symptoms of it. I just turned 53 two days after getting out of the hospital.....and yes today I feel 53. I still get tired and weak from the loss of the blood and that it will take 30 days to get back on my
feet. That is how long it takes for our bodies to make a new red blood cell.

I did end up going to Island Park for my birthday, I figured I can recover in a recliner under a few pine trees better then at home on the couch. This way I can enjoy the cooler weather, mosquito's, and the birds singing in the trees.

I am back home to the every day chores of washing, watering the lawn, etc. I
do feel better but still get tired at times but I have also learned that I need to start taking better care of myself as well as I do the other members of my family.

I hope to start posting my money saving finds as well as any tid bits of info I think you'd be interested in.

and to those living in Utah.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY UTAH!!!

Island Park, Id

So I have been waiting all winter and spring for all

the white stuff on the ground to melt so we could start

making plans to go to our place in Island Park, Id.

It all started the year after we were married that we

made a trip to Yellowstone for our first vacation. We took

our small boat and fished on Yellowstone Lake. That is where

I caught my first fish.

The next year we went to Henry's Lake (14 miles south of

West Yellowstone). It is a trophy lake with big trout in it.

So for the next 7 years we camped at Henry's Lake in our

truck and camper. Every evening the sky would turn dark,

the wind would kick up and it would come in and rain. The

lake made its own weather for some reason.

In 1989, we decided that we LOVED that area with its lucious

green fields of grass with antelope grazing, the forest tree's

blankleting the mountains and valley's and the crisp air carrying

the smell of the pine tree's is unbelievable, that we bought a place

that we call home for the summer. We're always doing something

to improve it so that maybe when Scott retire's it'll all be done and

we can just sit and enjoy the birds and the wildlife all day long...

So we took our fifthwheel trailer up a couple weeks ago and stayed

up there for the 4th of July holiday. We got surprised a few days

into our vacation when the kids decided to show up with their trailer

and enjoy the holiday with us.

So we took a few rides in our new Razor and even found that white

stuff called SNOW!!

Landon had a blast up there, playing in the creek, smelling the

wildflowers, watching the birds and even seen a mother cow moose

with her new calf the size of a medium dog.

Landon playing in the flowers

Landon smelling the flowers

The river that runs by our place

Kylie riding in the razor

One of our favorite trails

Kylie having the time of her life....she isn't spoiled is she???

Sawtelle Mountain

The trail going up to the top of Sawtelle Mountain.

White elephant where they measure the snow

on the mountain. There was 4 feet of snow

according to their measuring stick.

Trail going to Sawtelle Mtn, we let Kylie out

to play in the snow.

Happy 4th of July

I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July celebration. We are so blessed living in a country that we have our freedom of many choices in life. It is also a time to think of our soldiers who served and serving so we can keep our freedom. When your younger you think of the holiday and the
festivities that go along with the 4th..... Parades, candy, family and friends gather together for the big barbeque and later on the fireworks.
When you get older you tend to start thinking deeper in thought, like what the holiday truly stands for and at what cost. You tend to treasure the time you spend with your family and watching the younger children enjoy the festivities. I must be getting older because the last
month or so I've really been a person in deep thoughts and trying to take in the moments of
personal events that have been happening for me and others.

I hope everyone can see what a blessing it is to live in America, with such freedom's we have.

Happy Birthday America!!