The Rest of the Summer ~ After Surgery

We just discovered this year that the Spokane Airport has more than one baggage claim ~ they never used to have more than one baggage claim.  We watched five plane loads of passengers come down to the baggage claim and wondered what happened to our UK visitors ~ then we got a phone call and discovered they were all the way at the other end of the airport.  After picking up Tony's cousin John, John's daughter Wendy and Steve, and John's grandkids, Alex and Katie, we finally got back to Moscow by midnight.

Monday morning we started the tour of Moscow and Pullman beginning with Cowgirl Chocolates ~ Picture shows John, Katie, Wendy, Alex, Owner of Cowgirl Chocolates (Marilyn), and Steve.  We had to make another stop on the way back to pick up all the chocolates they bought.  We visited with Marilyn, the owner.  She is a very interesting artist ~ I particularly like her Good Girls 1968 display that you can see if you click on Marilyn's name above.

We went to Pullman to see the WSU grizzlies.  Picture shows Steve and Wendy trying to get pictures of the bears through the fence. Unfortunately, a two-year-old grizzly bear was mauled to death by two older bears in an atypical altercation recently.

Our next stop was WSU Martin Stadium with a cougar statue.  Picture shows Alex, Wendy, Katie, John, Tony and Steve taking their picture.  We then went to WSU Friel Court and then back to Moscow for lunch. 

The afternoon's entertainment began with a Red Rocking Chair photo shoot with Steve and Wendy in the chair next to the Furniture Center in Moscow and a ride around the University of Idaho campus.

Next we went to Dennis and Jeanna's back yard pool.  Picture shows Katie, Cody, Alex, and Caily having fun in the pool...  

....and Alex getting ready to go down the slide.

In the evening, we took a walk around downtown Moscow ~ Steve shown here posing as if we had been wearing him out.

This is the UK company pictured with Tony ~ John, Katie, Wendy and  Alex.  This is the first full day that Tony has spent out and about since surgery.  This company was the turning point in his recuperation.  I think the visitors were "just what the doctor ordered".

Tuesday, we went to the local Antique Store ~ John, Katie, and Alex (I think everyone found something to purchase in the store)...

...and then on to the Big 5 Sporting Goods Store ~ Steve, Katie, Wendy, and John with more USA purchases....luggage could be a problem if they keep buying as they have done in the last 24 hours.

We stopped in Dennis and Jeanna's Pizza Perfection ~ to take home pizzas for lunch.  Alex is shown here with a Monster pizza box ~ which he managed to package up for the trip home towards the end of his vacation.

In the afternoon, still using Dennis and Jeanna's borrowed van for transportation, we took the UK visitors to Lewiston to begin the next part of their vacation ~ Picture shows Audrey and John's reunion (they are brother and sister ~ Audrey is Tony's cousin).  Audrey and John had not seen each other for twenty years.

Nine days later, we went to Linda and Mike's in Lewiston for a BBQ.  After the meal Steve made a short "thank you" speech for all everyone had done for them and then proceeded to ask Wendy to marry him.  What a shock that was to almost everyone....but a fun way to wind up a perfect evening.

On Saturday, the UK visitors came back to Moscow for entertainment by the pool, more shopping and dinner with friend Pat at Banyan's Restaurant in Pullman....picture shows Wendy and Pat at the restaurant.  After dinner we went back home for a combined party with Sharon's relatives (Brother Dick and Cindy were in town from Wyoming; brother Paul came over from Pullman, and son Dennis and Jeanna came by also).  The deck party turned out to be very entertaining.  On Sunday morning, we took the UK visitors to the Spokane airport for their long trek back home.

Beginning July 21, six days after Tony was released from the hospital after his open heart surgery, we were in the Gritman Hospital Cardiac Rehab program ~ something we do every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  It has been suggested that we do this for twelve weeks ~ right now we are about one-half finished ~ and Tony is doing remarably well after surgery.

The rest of the summer was spent taking it easy ~ we had a short visit from Jared, Melanie Mann and kids Keaton and new baby Gavin (from Nebraska, Sharon's cousin's son).  Pictured is Jared and Keaton.


Brother Ray and Judi, along with granddaughter, Jacki stopped by on their way back to Seattle from Montana.


Grandchildren Cally, Caily and Cody's birthday parties and Cody's T-Ball games (little kids first introduction on how to play baseball) got us out of the house a few times.  We went to a young couple's wedding (Sara and Jamie) and ended the summer with our first and last camping trip at Meadowcreek for Labor Day Week-end with a long ATV ride.  I was taking my turn driving the ATV down a very steep trail, trying to make sure the ride was smooth for Tony, when I hit a rock and the ATV windshield hit me in the face....saw stars for just a second and have a bruise that still doesn't feel very good.


With all of this "staying home to recuperate" time, I volunteered to start a blog for my upcoming 50th high school class reunion in Nebraska in 2011....as well as volunteer to find 120 classmates.  I spent hours on the phone and on the internet and with help from a couple of other classmates, we have located all but two people.


Another big event coming up in 2011 is Neil and Becky's wedding in UK next October 1st.....we feel very fortunate that Tony's health issue will be completely resolved by December so we can begin our busy year right after Christmas by heading down south to be "snowbirds" again.