Great Adventures with Eric & Kathy

Dillon called me this morning to tell me that Eric and Kathy were at Alan and Ani's place and I reallized that I was falling behind in my posts.
Eric, Kathy and their grandkids, Brittany (pictured left),
Jenna and Cortney
(pictured below, left to right)
arrived in Weiser late at night on on June 17. It was about 11:30 p.m. when they finally pulled into my driveway that Saturday.













You all know how much I love visits from family and this was the first time Eric and his bunch have been to see me in Weiser. What a treat! We visited a little that first night but due to the late hour thought it was best to get to bed (at 1:30 a.m.).

Sunday became adventure day. Eric had wanted to go see Devil's Canyon but when we googled it we discovered that it was a 5+ hour drive. So, instead we decided to drive up to McCall. McCall is a small town built up around Payette Lake, much like Lake Tahoe used to be. It is a beautiful drive and a neat place to visit. We got as far as Cambridge when we saw a sign proclaiming Cambridge to be "the gateway to Hell's Canyon". Eric stopped and visited with some folks in the gas station after which the decision was made by all to head toward Hell's Canyon.

the road to Brownlee Dam

Our new plan was to go up past Brownlee Dam to Oxbow Dam, the half way point to Hell's Canyon Recreation Site,
(or so we were told).











We reached Brownlee Dam in no time, (picture of the business end of the dam above) and continued on toward Oxbow Dam. What a beautiful drive that was.

Now, some helpful gas station attendant had told Eric that once he got to Oxbow that he shouldn't go any farther because the road got pretty steep and rocky. He also told Eric that he didn't have to come back the same way. He could go back through Oregon and follow "The Highway" along the snake river. Sure enough, the map that we had showed a highway which followed the snake river on the Oregon side back to Weiser. Sooo...off we went! We soon met the junction which was to lead us to "The Highway". It first took us through a little town called Richland. The road began to narrow as we went through town but we thought nothing of it. I guess we expected it to turn back into a normal highway as we left town. BOY WERE WE WRONG! Instead of a regular highway, we were met with a dirt and gravel road not much bigger than one lane! Just let me show you...
NO JOKE! This is why I have been referring to it as "The Highway". To add to this, we had gone about 6 miles and there was a sign on the right side of the road that said "Caution - Trucks Entering Highway". If you do not think that was funny you should have been there. Sure enough, just past the sign off to the left of the road were two big trucks.

Well, to make a much longer story a little shorter, it took us 3 hours to go 42 miles! We saw some interesting things and some beauiful scenery. But, like the kids said,
"You only need so much river"!
Boy were we glad to see that dirt road end! In unison we let out one grand cheer as we saw the gravel give way to pavement.
Even though for the most part we had a good day, we all heaved a deep sigh of relief once back in civilization.
But stay tuned...THERE'S MORE :)

Cerra...we're waiting!

Here I am still waiting for a blog from Cerra about her and Dillon's visit to Almosta Farm. Because I thought Cerra was going to post her thoughts about the visit, I didn't say much on my previous post . But now I want to get some noteworthy events recorded before my memory fails me.

Dillon and Cerra were supposed to leave SLC on a 10 a.m. flight (give or take 15 or so min). I was to pick them up at the Boise airport at 11:20 a.m. As you may remember, I didn't pick them up until 5 p.m. Why? They missed their scheduled flight! They had parked in long term parking and had planned to take a shuttle to the terminal. The drivers of the shuttles that were running told the kids that the bus was either too full or the lift was not working or the driver didn't know how to use the lift. VERY frustrating. By the time they found a driver with room on the bus, a working lift and who knew how to use the lift they had missed their flight. The airline really came through though. The airline rescheduled the kids' flight and did not charge them any extra fees. Really very nice of them...they (the airline) didn't have to do that. So, Dillon and Cerra went to lunch with Nolan and then hung out at the airport until it was time for their rescheduled flight. No wonder they were a little tired out when they arrived in Boise! That didn't stop them from being their own sweet selves though :)

Saturday Dillon and Cerra gave me my birthday and Mother's Day presents. Two pretty charms for my charm bracelet and a cute little wall hanging of kitten charactures and a lovely picture with the slogan, "For with God all things are possible". Later we went shopping and they helped me buy a new camera, (which I love)! I got to try it out on Sunday when we went to Cerra's folks home in Boise for a visit. As usual, we had a very nice visit with Doug and Kathleen.


We spent the rest of our time just visiting and being together. Dillon was very patient while Cerra and I messed around with the animals.

























Later Dillon, Cerra and I worked on the computer. Dillon tried to show me some things with the photo editor program and the video and audio programs but, alas, I didn't retain much of what he was trying to teach me. I will keep at it though. I want to be able to post my videos for all to enjoy!

Dillon and Cerra have been home for awhile now. I am missing them all over again...and Nolan and Sasha! I have grown to really cherish the time I get to spend with my kids and anxiously await the next opportunity. Hopefully, the next time I can get them all in one place at the same time! TTFN :)

Identify and Simplify

Being with Sasha was very uplifting for me. During our visit I began to realize just how messy and complicated my life has become. My appreciation for a simple lifestyle was renewed. I decided that when I got back to Idaho I would simplify.

My first step was to decide just where I wanted to make changes in my life. I identified my most significant issue as being lack of time to do the things I feel are important. A simple change with big rewards would be to stop working two different jobs!

I chose to take a full time position at HRMC and resign my position at WMH. This was a logical decision. After all, I have better benefits at HRMC, I make more money there, there are always extra shifts available to work when I do want to earn extra money, and I really like the work environment. All of these are good, logical reasons to choose HRMC over WMH. Emotionally, however, this was a difficult decision to make.

Many factors play a part in how I feel about my time at WMH. With out going into too much detail I will just say that WMH has been a real asset to Weiser and the outlying communities. I have enjoyed serving these communities and feel I have developed a connection I wouldn't have otherwise. I have been there over 5 years and really like the people I work with. I thought that maybe I should continue with WMH as an on call nurse but then I would just be switching roles and not improving my situation, (not really a good idea). When all was said and done, the decision was made and my notice of resignation turned in. My final day to work at WMH is June 16th. BIG step forward!

A more difficult change will be to simplify my personal life. Toward that end I am going to do an EXTREME house cleaning! I plan to keep only what I actually use and even then I want to try to focus more on what I need instead of what I want. I will keep some things that may not really be needed but those things will at least have some purpose. I am going to find a place for everything I keep and keep everything in its place instead of just stock piling junk in the garage. I foresee numerous trips to the dump as well as donations to 2nd hand stores and perhaps a yard sale. I know this will all take time, (probably more time for me than for someone else), but since I won't be working every single day I will be able to dedicate time to this project!

If you could see the rubble that currently surrounds me you might think this is an impossible task, (I often do). But...IT IS NOT I SAY! I will be guided by the same inspiration I have relied on over the past several years, the noble turtle. Just as the turtle is undaunted in his journey, so shall I be. The turtle keeps putting one foot in front of the other until he finally reaches his destination, no matter how long it takes. I may not be fast but I too keep moving forward toward my goals often one step at a time. That is how I have accomplished goals I have set and how I will accomplish new goals and challenges that are ahead of me.

Why simplify, (it sounds like a lot of work!)? I want to have freedom from the possessions and clutter that are so inhibiting. I want to experience the sense of accomplishment that comes with hard work and sacrifice. Most of all, I want to experience the joy and peace of mind that comes along with a simple, directed lifestyle leaving me free to focus on the more important things in life. SALUTE to my family and friends - you are the more important things in life!
TTFN :)

Cerra must be busy!

I think I already mentioned that Dillon and Cerra were going to come and visit me when I got back from Alaska . Well, they did :) Cerra had me email her some pics so she could blog about their visit but I still haven't seen anything! Cerra must be crazy busy at work or something. I don't want to steal her thunder so I'll just hit the highlights.

I picked Dillon and Cerra up at the airport in Boise just after 5 pm Friday the 2nd. A huge wind storm kicked up just about 45 min before they landed. I guess this caused quite a bit of turbulence during the plane's approach and poor Cerra got quite plane sick :( Dillon had been crunched up for a little too long and wasn't in too good of shape either :( Even so, they met me with big smiles, hugs and kisses. It was great. We went straight back to my home where we all settled in, stretched out, and relaxed (ahhh...).

While Dillon and Cerra were here we spent most of our time just resting and visiting about everything and nothing. I was so good to have them around for a couple of days. I took them back to the airport Monday morning to catch a 10:20 am flight. I am still waitng to hear if they had any problems with their return flight and what they enjoyed about their visit! If Cerra doesn't blog it soon, I will just have to come back and post more details and pictures.
TTFN :)

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

We have come so far with technology it is thrilling, yet almost frightening. Dillon and Cerra came up this weekend and were showing me how to use my new camera. It is awesome! You will be seeing much higher quality pics from now on.

Also, Dillon is testing video on the blog. We are very anxious to know how the video works for you. Please follow Romy's example and let us know how the video stream performs for you. If it works well, you'll see more soon!

Sooo...here are a few seconds with my mud pie pups, Max and Gabby.