07/15/2026
Oh how time flies when life is busy!
This is long... did I say life's been busy? 🤣
May 19 started the puppy delivery trip. Two teens and myself, along with the pups headed out early that morning. We were just past Idaho Falls when the check engine light came on. Google assured me all was well unless it started flashing (it did not, phew).
We drove all night with a short nap along the road to meet a timeline. Exhausted, we got to Arkansas the evening of May 21 and stopped at my mother's. We were helping around my mom's place, and oldest daughter's.
May 23 my brother in law passed away. The van was in the shop to get checked out, and I had an eye exam scheduled for Tuesday morning(26th). By this time the funeral was set for Saturday the 30th- but I was in AR, and hubby was in MT with 3 kiddos.
May 27th the van was packed and we were ready to drive- then it wouldn't start. The voltage was low on the battery and fried the starter. Thank goodness for small towns! My mom's mechanic diagnosed and repaired it within 3 hours. 6:30 pm we were on the road. Challenge was to get home before 3 girls got off the bus Friday at 4 pm.
Next stop was in Rapid City, SD for Corona's new family. We made it to Sheridan, WY at 6:30 May 28th as I desperately needed sleep.
I'd gotten hubby airline tickets out of Bozeman ( 5 hrs from home) on the 29th as that was the only airport close to get him to his brother's service on time. We literally met at a gas station for a hi/bye then continued on our respective trips: we were both to our locations safely and on time.
June 5 I flew Budweiser to NJ on a red eye, then flew to Louisville, KY the 6th and drove to pick up a granddaughter of the pair I'd imported from Serbia. A b/w brindle girl with tons of sass! I flew home June 7th.
June 8th we loaded into the van- 5 kids 12-17, myself and hubby, and drive back to Arkansas 🙄 to try and handle his brother's estate. We got there the evening of the 11th and had our work cut it for us.
1.5 boxes of contractor bags. 3 days to go through and sort what was in the RV he'd lived in for 15 years. Ten truck/ 20ft trailer loads of scrap metal removed (let guys have it for the taking), trailer load of items to storage, vehicle's to storage and countless phone calls for bills, etc.
Not to mention the approximately 8 ft long big sound as my arm copperhead I almost grabbed hold of while cleaning up 😬 I just might have shreeked a little!
We did take the kids to the lake to swim daily for a few hours each evening. Mark had an eye apt the 17, and we left for home June 19th. It took us 4 days...we were just so worn out. 23rd we had tickets to Journey To The Sun... world premier of how the Going to the Sun road was built in Glacier National Park. 24th was 1 kid's orthodontist apts, 28th kids went to camp, July 1 found us in the ER with a kiddo getting stitches in the bottom of her foot (wear water shoes!) Picked up all on the 3rd, went to a community fireworks at the lake on the 4th, July 6th I had a flat tire, and the 7th 3 other orthodontist apts.
Our refrigerator died on July 10, waiting for warranty to decide what they're going to do.
Phew. That. Was. A. Lot!
No re- do's!
Short video of just 1 area at his brother's...
