I had a great trip out to Washington and back, although it was fast. We got a late start Tuesday, so we only made it to Ogden, UT for the night so Wednesday was lots of driving. We got to our destination about 8:45pm. Thursday was spent hanging out with the new nieces and nephew (my step-sister's kids who I just met) who called me "Aunt Faith" right away. Had a lot of great bonding moments. I also got to bond quite a bit with the adopted step-sister who drove my M and Step-Dad's car out to them as part of our carpool and lives here close to our town.
Friday, S16 drove us (myself and the adopted SS) into Spokane and we did some Mall shopping for back to school things for S, then headed down to Coeur d'Alene for paddle boarding. The Taste of Coeur d'Alene festival was lining the streets and in the park area next to the lake so we got a great atmosphere with live music, lots of yummy treats, and I paddle boarded that section of Lake Coeur d'Alene. SS rented a kayak for an hour for $10 since I squeezed in only one paddle board thinking I wouldn't have room for much more than that in the car. And S16 didn't want to get in the lake at all, so I gave him $20 and he wandered the festival, heading back to the car to turn on the A/C and listen to music while he waited for us.
We left around noon on Saturday. S got lots of driving in, including crazy 5 lane interstate driving. And we all survived! We drove up through Idaho, part of Oregon into Washington and came back through Montana.
The kids were already wondering when I would be back to visit again.
So far M seems to be doing well. It's a small town with not a lot of people and lots of farmland. Rolling wheat fields and such. They have chickens and bunnies and a garden, which is a lot like what I grew up with so I think M will be peaceful there. The step-sister and her H are very capable with helping with my SD. Her H is an EMT firefighter so he's at the house when he isn't on calls. She homeschools the kids. They were settling into a routine with M taking the night shift with SD and being close by if he needed something and napping during the day while step-sister and hubby did the care during the day. He had a visit scheduled with a doctor for today to set up primary care and then they plan on having home health come in and do some therapy with him. He was doing well when I left. I could see him growing happier and stronger each day, and less foggy. Their suite has his bedroom and then another room with M's twin bed, and a sitting area with their recliner's. I set up their tv with a Roku so they could watch tv together when they want, and M also had a built in desk which she will love to sit at and write letters. I can also see her reading a lot, as well. I updated her digital photo frame with a plethora of pictures of her to have of her family and sat it on her desk for her to enjoy.
It was pretty hazy up in Washington with the fires going on around there, so that affected my breathing a bit. I was so happy to see blue skies and puffy white clouds as I got closer to Colorado. Although we have been having some heavy rains and due to the fires last year, a lot of mud slides are happening on our interstate. I'm glad I did not have to drive that direction and won't plan on driving it anytime soon, not that it's open anyway.
I hope everyone is well. I'm headed to catch up with y'all on your posts.
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