A Mid-Summer's Dream

(Monday, July 26)  Miles and Grandpa play with a pink balloon.  Miles would 'pump' Grandpa's arm and the balloon would fill with air -- imagine that!

     With apologies to ol' Wil, it's a 'pipe'dream that at this moment, when Miles-Guy is napping that I find a few minutes to update this blog and get the photos embedded in the correct order!  AARGH!!  Last time I did this, a mere 'click and drag' moved my photos around nicely.  Today, the computer gods frown upon me and my six+ years old computer, which in dog years, means died and went to canine heaven months ago, is uncooperative!

     Anyway, as my sister Brenda often sprinkles into her lengthy explanations of things . . . here's an update on the lives of the Davises and Jurgens of Inkom, Idaho -- in sort of a backwards glance (see paragraph above).

     Sunday we held a mini-celebration of Miles' two-year birthday -- coming up August 15 -- since Glenn and I will not be in town for the real party.  Turns out, the Jurgens are headed to Medina, OH to visit Josh's folks and they are leaving Friday, July 30 -- returning Tuesday, August 10.  The very next day, Curt and Marsha (Miles' Ohio grandparents) are flying out in order to spend a week and his birthday here.  As a result, we've asked Meg or Josh to 'fill in' with Miles on that one particular day in order that we may have an extended trip.  Soooo. . .we, too, are traveling east beginning this Friday.

     We'll make a pitstop again in Plainfield at Chez Hillesland (serendipitiously will be there Saturday night to catch Laynie in a play "30 Plays in 60 Minutes") and will hang around until Monday morning.  Off and driving again, this time the destination will be the DDR in Iosco County where our (still unsold) property and cabin are in need of some TLC.  Glenn and I will be there for eight nights and will spend much of the days cutting grass, weedwhacking, replanting clover, cleaning and generally sprucing the property and cabin up a bit.  Of course, in between will be trips to West Branch to visit Rita and the Robellis and I hope to get one day for a quick visit in Reese with a couple of friends as well as cousin Rose Stedry.

     We've booked a campsite at Orchard Beach State Park near Manistee, MI for August 10-13 and will hook-up with longtime friends and camping pals the Kushuba's and Schultz's.  Friday, August 13 we'll hit the road again in a reverse of the drive, stopping by the Hills in Plainfield with expected arrival in Idaho Monday, August 16.  Consequently, this update and post may be my last until mid to late August!

(Sunday, July 25)  Miles was very excited to get his birthday present from us, but a little instruction was needed.  He does like the Mickey Mouse Club Color tri-cycle -- but his first attempt at sitting on it -- well, he required a bit of assistance!

     As of this reporting, Miles has nearly mastered the tricycle; he knows to sit face forward and with a wee bit of a push can keep pedaling the length of our front sidewalk and porch.  As to his progress in other areas -- he keeps his grandpa and grandma on our toes, for sure!  He's talking up a storm and (in my humble opinion, yet with some experience with other kids) has a pretty large vocabulary at his command.  He's talking in fairly complete sentences -- leaving out the articles generally -- but communicates pretty well and speaks clearly -- at least I think so, but I'm also used to interpreting the peculiarities of his pronunciation. 

     We can easily see manifestations of both parents in him -- Josh's scowl and look when he's thinking hard about a problem, Meg's quick laugh.  We know he's inherited Meg's love of water; during a recent trip to the pool at Lava Hot Springs he was jumping off the side!  Once, Glenn didn't catch him quickly enough, he dove, went under water and came up laughing!

(Saturday, July 17)  Glenn tries his luck on the Pasimeroi River near Ellis, Idaho.  We spent the weekend of July 16-19 camping at Mackay Reservoir and fly fishing in the area.

     The previous weekend, Glenn and I took out our little camper again, this time rolling a total of 305 nights in it since bringing it home in summer, 1998.  We parked at the Joe T. Fallini Campground along the Mackay Reservoir and used that as a base for a bit of fly fishing.  We did o.k. that weekend.  He pulled 5 or 6 trout out of Wildhorse Creek in the Salmon-Challis National Forest.  I pulled my fishing hat out of the mountain stream by using a long stick and pluck.

     The next day, Saturday, I managed to land five small fish, too, along the Pasimeroi while Glenn struggled a bit with fixing up a lure combination.  This day, we also drove along the Salmon River -- prior to arriving we did not realize salmon fishing season was still open and literally hundreds of folks were trying their luck.  Here, the salmon swim in from the Pacific Ocean for spawning.  We also visited the fish hatchery near Ellis, ID where we saw thousands of captive steelheads in holding pens, some jumping high out of the water and slamming against the chainlink fencing.

     On a side note, we struck up a couple of conversations with a couple who pulled in across from us at the campground.  We learned they live in the Teton Valley of Idaho and he is the Executive Chef at a luxury resort Amangani (http://www.amanresorts.com/).  Rooms here run from about $900 - $4,000 per night; he told us the following week one of the guests would be Bill Gates.  At any rate, for dinner one evening he prepared braised buffalo short ribs and gave us some to bring home.  Absolutely delicious!

(Saturday, July 17)  One of our new pasttimes includes driving about the Gem State and marveling at the scenery.  This photo -- even with the eyes closed --  aargh again! -- was taken at the top of Double Spring Road Summit, 8,318'.)

(Friday, July 9)  In celebration of Josh's 30th birthday -- June 8 -- Meg surprised him with a trip to Chicago, tickets to an O.A.R. concert and an unannounced visit from some of his old pals.  Here, they're at Soldier Field prior to the concert.

     The weekend prior to our camping trip, we completed what we term (affectionately) as a Miles Marathon.  Before committing to a weekend trip for Josh's birthday gift, Meg confirmed that Miles could have an extended 'sleepover' with us.  The word extended took on a new meaning . . .

     Initially, Miles was to spend Friday and Saturday nights with us as Meg/Josh expected to be home Sunday evening.  Because their flight out of Salt Lake City left quite early, we kept him Thursday night -- a bonus for the three of us -- we all got to sleep in.  We had fun visiting the Pocatello Zoo, picnicking and spending an afternoon swimming in Lava.  Sunday afternoon we got 'the call.'  After having checked out of their hotel, the Palmer House, and munching on Dunkin' Donuts near the oft-photographed Buckingham Fountain, the Jurgens made their way via train to O'Hare.  There, they first learned their flight had been cancelled due to mechanical issues, second learned they'd spend over an hour in line to talk with a Delta agent only to be told the next available flight out would be MONDAY.  Feeling pretty low after the high of a fun weekend and the anticipation of seeing the Miles-Guy again, Meg called from the bus taking them to the Holiday Inn Express/O'Hare.  They did get their room paid for and three meal vouchers each, but that really didn't compensate for not getting home on time.  Off the cuff, I did ask Meg for her Monday flight numbers, which would prove to be an inspired question.

     Early Monday morning, before my "boys" woke up, I was pokin' around online and decided to check the Delta website and the flight status for the Jurgen travels.  AARGH! (It's becoming one of my favorite expressions).  Their first flight out of O'Hare was showing up as DELAYED and the late departure would cause a MISSED CONNECTION in Memphis.  I called Meg's cell right away to report they needed to get on the horn quickly with Delta -- and provided an 800 number.  They managed to get rebooked on yet a later flight through Minneapolis/St Paul.  The result of this long ordeal -- arrival back in Salt Lake City Monday evening at 7:45pm and in Inkom after 11 o'clock.  We decided Miles should just stay -- and so he did, his fifth night of 'sleeping over.'  But, boy, were his folks excited to see him on Tuesday after work -- neither could wait to hold him and cover him with kisses!

    This week our time is filled with our own kissing of Miles-Guy as we see Thursday evening looming and an 18-day hiatus from our little guy.  He'll be in great hands with his Ohio grandparents and the center of attention wherever he goes, yet we're gonna miss that little guy.  Of course, we're also packing here and there; I have multiple lists going for each leg of our trip -- visiting the Hills, staying at the DDR and tent camping near Manistee.  In the middle of all this, the tart cherry tree in the Jurgens' front lawn is loaded with cherries -- ripening now.  Last night I watched Antiques Roadshow and Globe Trekker while hand-pitting 20 cups of cherries -- enough for four pies.  My goal is to pick an equal amount each day through Thursday -- pitting them at night.  Poor Glenn, when we head out Friday morning at 5:00am, I hope he's well-rested as I'm pretty sure to be snoozing in the passenger seat!

     Today, we'll be off to Book Babies at the Marshall Library in Pocatello.  A special treat, on Tuesday, August 17 Grandma Marsha will attend with Miles and me since we're scheduled back in Inkom on Monday, August 16.

     All of the work and anticipation of the upcoming trip, I'm sure it will pass by in a blur and become truly a mid-summer's dream.  We'll have fun, certainly, work hard at the cabin, absolutely, miss our guy tremendously.  But we'll be home again soon, looking toward September and starting Miles in Terrific Twos at the library and also what's become an annual fly fishing trip in Yellowstone.

    Off for more laundry, packing, cleaning (AARGH) and holding and kissing Miles (AAH).