So the last two weeks I have put about 3,000 miles on my car.  Which means - I have SAT that long as well!  Fortunately - odd for February - I have only had about 200 of those miles be snow covered roads.  For as much driving as we have done this winter the weather has been wonderful!  Before we left 2 weeks ago - I did one of those FUN MOM things and went to the $1 store and got a bunch of small little fun gifts and wrapped them in tissue paper and put them in a box.  Then my son got to open one every so many miles.  This made the trip so much more fun.  I also had gotten some new books on tape and that kind of thing.  We got a whole interesting education about the Lewis and Clark expedition and some fun laughs with Patrick McMannis as well as Good stories of Adventures in Odyssey and Louis L'Amour books.  All fun! 

What was all the driving - well, we drove down to S. California to Grandpas wedding.  Long drive.  Flowers are already in bloom down there.  Ripe oranges hanging from the trees!  So yummy!  Very informal wedding.  Short.  Fun visiting with some cousins and aunts and uncles who I have not seen in years.  So that made the trip worth it.  Kase had a fun fun time playing in the creek that runs through the ranch with his cousins!  Left the next day and drove up to Reno.  Since we made it all the way in one day we had some down time for swimming in the hotel pool.  My Dad had doctor appointments and so we stayed to attend.  It has been a challenge watching my Dad - who has always been a get up and go person who enjoys life and the outdoors and his family become so reliant on others for basic needs.  The looks on the doctors faces were not encouraging.  Mom is exhausted and needing help.  New round of chemo starting the next week.  But it is a pill so can be taken at home.  How will this affect Dad - we don't know!

So, after doctor appointments we drove home Saturday, did laundry, changed out suitcase clothes and did some schoolwork, then took school and left for Nevada.  This way we would be able to help Mom get some help lined up, and meet with some people from Hospice and Physical Therapy etc.  This was good to do this.  Kase had a fun time visiting with Grandpa and Grandma.  The Chemo pills didn't come as soon as we thought they would and so Dad was able to stay and be focused on a couple of business meetings.  That was good.  But once he started on it, you could tell.  He lost balance much easier, and was ravenously hungry.  His brain did not communicate as easy with his legs and he slowly fell down once - but was unhurt as Mom and I were right there.  Sometimes it is hard to understand life!