Too Many Adventures!

Being the sort of person I am, I don't like things out of order, but there's no help for it. The adventures have been flying thick and fast ever since we got here, and I'm still working on our trip log from before we ever got here!

So we had a spectacular trip, which you'll hear about eventually. I'm almost done with Day 1, woo-hoo! Considering that I've been working on Day 1 for almost 3 weeks, perhaps a woo-hoo is a bit overdone.

We hit the ground running. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say we hit the ground painting, but I don't think that will ever become a catchy slogan. Tina did the majority of the actual work, and did up all 3 kids' rooms plus the stairway. It looks so beautiful, so fresh, so clean. And we only lost one kid doing it.

Oh, we lost one cat, too. Diesel, usually King of the Water Bottle, decided to be Diesel, King of the Second Story. It didn't work out too well for him. Tina heard a faint scritch scritch scritch down the side of the house, and dashed to the upstairs window, fearing the worst. Diesel, King of the Lawn, stood there dazedly, blinking at his sudden change of surroundings. None the worse for wear, he found himself with another rapid change: Diesel, King of Being Shut Up in the Laundry Room.

So quickly, it was time for the county fair. Maybe next year I'll be able to devote the time and space to the fair that it deserves. There are huge differences between here and California, not the least of which is NO COST WHATSOEVER for admission. You just park and wander around to your heart's content. You have to pay for the rides, of course, but all the exhibits, livestock shows, and all kinds of stuff are free. Even the petting zoo is free! (Tina said it was actually the harassing zoo, and she wasn't too far off.)

Our church had a booth there, and the kids and I helped to man it on Thursday and Friday. The kids helped Jack to man it on Sabbath, and the fair was closed on Sunday. That's kind of interesting too - even though Montana doesn't have Blue Laws like North Dakota, and even though many of its businesses are open on Sunday, due to the high number of complaints the fair recently started closing on Sunday.

My favorite exhibit was the salt lick sculpture category. Now, these sculptures were not what has immediately sprung to your mind. They were not formed by humans with tools, but simply by cow tongues. The sculptures are the natural result of the cows licking and licking. The seal was exceptional and the Mardi Gras mask quite good. My compliments to all the bovine artists.

The kids became friends with the people in each of the other booths in our building. They all loved the massaging recliner display, and Devon really got to know the lady who was handing out free mints. She was a most patient person, and it was the second day of the fair before she told him he couldn't have any more. That explained the pocketfuls of mints he kept passing out...

After the fair it was high speed to get ready for Vacation Bibls School. The kids were the main feature each night, performing a segment of the musical play, The Three Trees. Our first night went along great, exactly like it was supposed to. Right up until Tina discovered Mom sick in the bathroom. Very sick. Too sick to move on her own. (Mom, moaning: "Just take the door off its hinges." Tina, cringing: "I can't. The hinges are on your side of the door.")

A few hours later, (ok, a whole bunch of hours later), Mom still couldn't move herself, and was so pale and terribly sick that she at last agreed to go to the hospital, right across the street. Two nights and two days later they let her out again, well on her way to recovering from acute food poisoning. She looked perky and almost fresh, considering that 2 days before they had to ship her off to the ICU in order to use the fancier equipment to try and find her pulse and blood pressure. They knew she was alive because she kept talking, they just didn't have any other way to show it. And hospitals are such sticklers about being able to prove that their patients are still alive.

Tonight was the last night of VBS, and it went splendidly. After the first night, Grandma Silva had been replaced in the play by Auntie Silva. The grandmotherly storyteller was now a motherly storyteller. It all worked out, even if it wasn't the original plan.

Oh, and it's hardly worth mentioning after what Mom went through, but I've been sick almost a week now, one of those miserable summer colds. I'd be asleep already if I could breathe better and stop coughing. But at least I'm not 3/4 dead.

Sunday we leave again already, and if I don't hurry, I'll be trying to still type Day 1 of Trip 1 while driving across the countryside on Day 1 of Trip 2. No, that's not confusing at all. Must write faster!

Until the next adventure, I can only hope,
Noni Beth