News. But not much opinion.

Where, oh where have I been?  I know I've said before I didn't want to start each blog explaining why it has been a while since my last one.  But this time it's very much a part of the story.

My last blog was about 3 months ago.  Wow... even I didn't realize it was that long.  August was just semi-normal, but busy.  Little boy soccer and baseball, various appointments and meetings and getting all signed up for my Medicare crossover.  Plus a few birthdays, including the most beautiful child on the planet.  Our Reilly Grace turned one and had a great party.  Cake from head to toe and tons of presents.  That day, August 14th, was a great day.  

Reilly Grace

Then, came September.  My mom turned 92, so Jack and I and my brothers and spouses took her out to a nice dinner.  Two days after that, Jack and I were on a plane (2 planes) headed for our trip out west.  Two planes because nothing was straight through.  We flew to Denver, then hopped a plane to Great Falls, Montana.  From there we rented a car and drove to St. Mary, MT, on the south east edge of Glacier National Park.  We took a bus trip into the Park the next day.  We like to do tours as you let someone else do the driving and there is always narration from the driver that contains a lot of information.  We saw a couple of bears and other wildlife in the park. After that, we drove farther north to Many Glacier Lodge where we took a boat ride on Swiftcurrent Lake, then a quarter mile hike over to Lake Josephine for another boat ride.  We saw a Mama moose and her baby walking along the edge of Lake Josephine.  We also saw a bear that was up in the mountainside, and less than 100 yards from some hikers who were lower on the mountain.  The boat driver said if we see the bear heading down the mountain we'd head closer to the side of the lake so we could tell them to keep moving.  One of the accessories that is sold everywhere and required of hikers is "bear spray".  I didn't know that was real thing.  We didn't need it because we are not hikers, explorers or campers.  We are just sightseers.   

Glacier National Park

After our few days in the north, we headed south.  An afternoon drive to Helena where we spent the night, then on the next day through parts of Idaho to Jackson Hole, WY.  Which is the same as Jackson, WY.  Jackson is nestled on the East edge of the Grand Tetons.  Do you know what Tetons means?  You'll never believe it. Teton is the French word for "teats".  Yep, the same as "boobs".  And I don't mean idiots, I mean female body parts.  Apparently, the explorers and settlers from long ago were mostly men.  They saw the 3 highest points of this mountain range that are in a row and decided they looked like the women back home.  I think they were really missing the women.  You know how you can exaggerate things in your mind when you haven't seen them for a while.  So in their minds, the women back home had 3 breasts.   

We took an all day bus trip from Jackson into Yellowstone Park.  Again, for us non-hikers this is the way to go.  We had a small bus with 3 other couples and an adorable guide named, Cassidy.  We were picked up right at our hotel about 6:30 a.m. and returned around 7:00 p.m.
What a great day.  Yellowstone is lovely!  I learned that it is actually on an inactive volcano.  However, currently they are seeing activity that makes them wonder if it's going to blow.  
We stopped at many of the sights.  Beautiful waterfalls, the geyser basins, and at one point we had to wait for a herd of buffalo to cross the road.  Finally, we ended at Old Faithful.  It goes off every 90 minutes or so.  There is a number to call in the park to get the next predicted time.  So, our guide planned our stop accordingly.  There is another geyser next to Old Faithful called the Beehive Geyser.  They never know when it will go off, but if it does, it is usually about 10 minutes before Old Faithful.  They day and time we were there, it went off, too. It is higher and longer than Old Faithful, but because it's so unpredictable, it is not as popular.  Old Faithful went off pretty much on the predicted time.  We were also in that area with plenty of time to browse the 3-4 shops that are there.    
Yellowstone also has Steamboat Geyser that blasts water over 300 ft. in the air (as opposed to Old Faithful's 100 ft.)  But Steamboat is very erratic and can remain inactive for months or years.  

Old Faithful as he/she was starting to settle down.

We spent the whole next day exploring and shopping in Jackson Hole and driving out to see the Tetons a bit.  Then, we flew home on a Friday - going through Salt Lake City this time.

We needed to get home because we had another trip in 5 days!  In those 5 days, I had a whole afternoon family reunion with my mom and her cousins.  There were also 4 meetings/appointments between my mom and I and finally we hopped on another plane to Knoxville, TN.  Again, not straight through from STL so we went through Charlotte, NC.  We were meeting our Georgia family for a fun weekend in Pigeon Forge, TN.  Karen and Earl Immel, JoAnn and David Buisson, Beth and John Fahey and Bill Newburg.  4 couples and the single guy.  We had a lovely AirBnb with 5 bedrooms.  We had tons of fun, lots of laughs, lots of catching up, a little shopping and WAY too much food.  We also had a fun night at Dolly's Stampede Dinner Show.  
Before you know it, it was time to hop another plane (or 2) home.  However, when Jack and I got to the gate, we found out our plane to Charlotte was going to be delayed over and hour and that meant we would not make our connection in Charlotte.  So, after working with the nice young man at the counter, the best we could do was leave the next day. I really think he tried everything for us.  So, we spent the night across from the airport and finally got home the following day.  Whew!!

Now we have October!  AJ and Abby went on an anniversary trip.  We took care of Layla pup.  Reilly stayed with her other grandparents so she could remain in daycare and keep her life somewhat normal.  We had a good time with Layla, but she takes a lot of attention.  I also had a sinus infection when she was here, so I really just wanted to sit.  She allowed that sometimes, but kept me up and busy other times.  She really is a good puppy.  My doctor heard "wheezing" in me and got me on meds that fixed the problem.  By the time we returned Layla home, I was well enough to spend some fun time with Reilly - who happens to be walking everywhere.  She'll soon be running.  
Lots more appointments for us old people throughout October.  Plus it was time to start researching if we are going to change anything with our medical insurance.  We are not.
And I've found myself working on the committee for the Talent Show at our church - mark your calendars - April 1, 2023.  Yes, April Fool's Day.  We are doing a Hee Haw themed show.  Jack is so happy because I told him he could wear his bib overalls to church.
I have also taken on a job!  I took the position of Church Treasurer when the one who'd been there for many years was ready to retire.  I enjoy doing bank reconciliations, so that part will be fun.  The reports for the council will be a learning curve, but I'm sure I'll do okay.  And, the signing checks part is pretty easy.  I've had lots of practice!
I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

I think all the busy of the last 3 months is just a warmup for the holidays!