Summer is done! Time to Blog!

I have been told by several people that I have not done well with the blogging this summer. My last post was in May, it is now the middle of September. I guess they are right, I need to get my blog done. I my defence, this summer has been a whirl wind of activity, and to top it off my computer crashed. I am writing today on a borrowed computer. I forget sometimes that everything that I had set up on my old computer is not on this one, so it does take a while to get everything done, like a slide show and a blog written. Well, sit back, relax, and enjoy catching up on the Douthit's summer.

I think that I will divide the summer into months and try to remember what happened each month. In May I flew to Amarillo to help Mom after her knee replacement surgery. The girls got out of school May 23rd.

June. The girls started swim team practice every morning, and they were suppose to have their first meet on June 12th. The first meet was scheduled for Bridgeport, but we had to cancel at the last min. due to the high that day only suppose to be 53, and it was suppose to rain all day. That doesn't go over too well with an outdoor pool. It did not hurt my feelings, as it is a very long day for the parents that have to work the meet and make sure kids are where they are suppose to be. The next meet was in Alliance, and my parents were able to come up to watch the meet, then took the girls to Texas for 2 weeks.

July. Around the first part of July we had a hail Storm that wiped out my garden. I had such a nice garden this year, then nothing. Most everything came back, but was very delayed. It is Sept. 13th, and I am just starting to pick tomatoes. anyway, we went to Texas the week after the 4th, brought the girls home. They missed one swim meet, but there was no other time for them to go to Texas. Both girls started a multi media class at the school, that met every day for 3 weeks. They both had a great time, and hope they offer it again next year. The swim team season ended July 17th, with the metal meet in Rushville. Neither girl got a metal this year. They are getting into the older ages where you have to be really good to get a metal. Both did well this year, and improved their times by 3-4 seconds in each event that they swam.

August. We finally decided that if we were going to take a family vacation that we better get it done before school started again. Marks work has a summer employees picnic. We tubed the Niobrara river at Valentine. We got on charter buses Sat. morning, and got home that night about 9:30 p.m. We had loads of fun, and only had one X-rated moment when I made the girls look to the other side of the river and "do not turn around until I say you can". Girls- "why?" Mom- "Because I said so!" We found out that on any given weekend 3-5 thousand people float down the river, and yes alcohol is allowed. The X-rated moment was from some collage kids trying to impress each other with their bodies. The next day we loaded up the camper and headed to a camp ground near Laramie Peak. We were only able to stay until Tues., but it was enough to give us a much needed rest. Mom and Dad came back up to our area, as Dad had his 60th class reunion. Our niece Bailey was able to come with Mom and Dad, so it was nice to see her again. It was a nice weekend, until Mom and Dad's little dog ran out on the road to chase a car, and got hit. There was nothing the vet could do for him, so he is buried in our back pasture. Not a good way to end a visit. School started on August 19, with Lexi in 6th grade, and Kyra in 4th. Mark's brother Jay, bought a house in Casper WY, so the end of August found us in WY helping him paint and move. We all worked hard and had every room in the house painted, and everything moved in. Nothing was put away, but that is Jay's problem.

September. The 2nd we headed back to Texas for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Us kids had a party planned for them at a nice party room. The party was on Saturday night. Friday night all us kids and spouses plus a cousin and caterer got together at Lynne's house and made all the food for the party. After the food prep was done, Jay (Lynne's) husband declared a foose ball tournament. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. The party was nice, and it was good to see a lot of old friends and relatives. We came home again on Labor Day, back to work and school, then headed back to Jay's (Mark's Brother) house to help take out walls and lay hardwood floors.

Now you should be caught up with what we did this summer. I know that I am missing a bunch of stuff, but I can only remember so much. Just fill in the blanks with work, running kids to summer reading at the library, running kids to swim meets and practices, running running running. You get the idea. Well I am not going to promise, but I will try to do a better job with a weekly blog. Enjoy the slide show, as that is mosly what our summer was. Laura

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to me! "In sickness and health" comes to mind today. Mark was up half the night complaining that he could not breath (I was up half the night just not able to sleep). This morning he said that his stomach was not feeling well. He headed to work, then was home a half hour later because he had thrown up. So I guess the anniversary will be spent avoiding the bedroom where sickness lives.

School ended for the girls this last week. They had their field day on Monday, but it was only half a day since we have had so much rain and they needed time for the track and field to dry out. Parts of the track were still under water, so the kids were only able to run the 100m and the 50m. Lexi got 3rd in her first heat on the 100m and 3rd overall. Kyra got 2nd in her first heat of the 50m, and 7th overall. Kyra was thrilled that she could actually run and place. The rest of the week was spent trying to remember where each child was going for different field trips and end of the school year activities.

Saturday we headed to the ranch. It was sort of a dual trip. Mark has had his Dad's "old" tractor down here for almost a year. Originally he was just going to sell it for his dad, as it has not run well, and was not worth fixing. After much discussion, Mark and his dad decided to go ahead and repair the tractor. With all the sickness that Mark had this last year, it ended up taking almost a year to fix. We also had made plans with the Strawns to take their parents up to the ranch to show them around. Their parents were here for Elia's birth and baptism. Mark borrowed a pickup and trailer from work and we headed up. We got a call from Marks parents stating that we better not bring the tractor all the way up, as they got 1.2" of rain the night before, and the roads were not good. We dropped the trailer and tractor in Crawford, and then headed to the ranch with just the 2 vehicles. We made lunch out there, then Mark took a pickup load of people on a tour of the ranch. The rest of us stayed at the house and had naps and visits. We then headed back to town the long way, so we could show them a few more sights. We also did a driving tour of Fort Robinson, just to wet their appetites for a return camping trip. We then headed over to Chadron for supper then made the long trek home.

Sunday was Elia's baptism, and Mark and I were honored to be her sponsors. After church and Sunday school, we went to the Strawns for the baptismal dinner. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to sit outside as well as inside for the meal and visiting. We left about 3:00 p.m. and came home to plant the garden. As Mark said the corn should have been in 2 weeks ago. We got everything planted except the tomatoes and peppers. We were going to go to Scottsbluff tonight for our anniversary and get the rest of the plants, but I think I will go by myself after I go to Kimball.

Swim team starts this next week with practices, and the first meet is here in Bridgeport on June 12th. We are suppose to have a meeting this week, so will know the rest of the schedule then. Once again this summer will be over before we know it.

They are predicting severe weather this afternoon, and high winds. It is 11:00 a.m. and the winds have already come up, so I better head out. I am going to post this blog, then do the picture slide show tonight, so if there are no pictures check back again.

Back in the deep freeze

I am back in the deep freeze (ie: Nebraska), after a week in Texas, where the wind blew, but the temperatures were in the upper 80's to low 90's. The last day I was there, was is in the low to mid 60's, so that did acclimate me back to the 50's that will be our high this entire week.

Mom had her knee replaced on April 29th, and came home from the hospital on May 3rd. She was and is doing well. I asked her several days after surgery, if she was having any pain in the knee or other places like she was before. Her responce was "No, and that is the best part". Mom goes to the Dr. today for a followup after the surgery. She is bending her knee well, and is doing a good job straightening also, so I think he will give her a good report.

While down in Texas, my siblings and I got together to plan a 50th anniversary party for our folks. That is September 7 of this year, so I will be heading down again for that. I also talked to Mom about the girls coming down for the summer, but the summer is already getting so full, I am not sure when that is going to happen. The girl's get out of school on May 20th, but I figure it is a little early to send them down to be with a grandma that just had surgery.

While I was gone, I stopped in Denver to see my Aunt Pearl. She has also been in the hospital with an illness, so I was able to do some nursemaid stuff for her also. It was good to see her, and a friend of hers was able to take me to the airport and pick me up for my trip to Texas.

Mom and Dad have a new dog, that decided I was cool to have down there. We went for a few walks, and played ball several times. The first walk we went on, was down their main road that they live on. The further we got away from my parents house the further down his tail and ears went. When we turned around to head back to Mom and Dad's, his tail came up his ears came up and he was all happy again. I guess he thought that I was taking him somewhere and going to leave him. Mom called after I got home, and said I needed to come back and get him and he was driving them crazy wanting to go do things. Now she knows how I feel. She spoils her grand kids then sends them home, I spoil her dog and then leave.

I got home Saturday to a messy house and laundry that was washed but sitting in the baskets ready for me to fold. After re-drying all the wrinkles out, I folded and hung everything. Mark had pulled out the lasagna that I had made for them, for when I was gone, so I didn't have to fix supper. I got out the lettuce for a salad, and it had not been opened. I guess they ate, but not healthy. I think that they are glad I am home, no wrinkled clothes and vegetables to eat.

April rain showers bring May flowers

As you may have guessed by the title of this blog, we have had some rain this week. OK, we had a lot of rain. I am not sure what the official measure was, because we are usually the official measure (having the most rain gauges, means we win!), and we did not have our rain gauges out until half way through the several days of rain. On the second to last day of rain, I checked the gauge after lunch and we had 1.3 inches. I went to work in a down pour, and it rained several times that afternoon. I came home and checked the gauge again, and we had 1.2 inches. Either we have a crack in the gauge, or someone thought it would be funny to pour part of the water out and see what I would do. I am a very resourceful person, so I went and got another rain gauge and put it in the back yard. We normally have one in the front and one in the back anyway, as we might get more rain on one side of the house than the other, and we must be accurate. I figure from other people around reporting what they got, that we were over 2 inches in rain accumulation. Along with the rain we have had very cool temperatures, and of course as soon as the rain stopped, the wind came up to dry everything out good.

Last week was busy, with Harold being gone. I had one patient in Hemingford that I ended up seeing only once, so did not have to do any driving. The week went fast, but I had prepared a menu for dinners every night, so we were not tempted to eat out a bunch.

Mark wanted to go to the ranch this last weekend and fix fence, but I convinced him that it would be better for him to stay home and help me clean house. After all the rain, wind, and snow up North, and am sure he is glad he stayed home and cleaned. The house looks fairly good, I still have a few things to do this week, and hope to be able to get the laundry done on Wednesday, as it is suppose to be one of the nicest days this week, and then we are back to rain Thursday through the end of the week.

I head to Denver on Friday. I will stay with my Aunt Pearl on Friday night, then she will take me to the airport on Saturday morning. Mom is having her knee replaced on Thursday, so I want to be down there when she goes home, and then will stay for a week, to help her out with things around the house, like feeding Dad and the dogs.

Mark and the girls will be here by themselves. I made a pan of lasagna, and a pan of enchiladas. Mark can do some grilling and Lexi is planning to make spaghetti one night. I think they will do fine, and if they starve it will be their own fault.

I will try to post from Texas, but I am not promising anything. The pictures in the slide show are from last week, but wanted everyone to see them.

Spring feels like it is finally here. Yesterday was a beautiful day, with barely a breeze. When the clouds moved into the area, it was almost a relief, as it was getting hot. After Church yesterday, Mark and I planted the rest of the early garden (I had already gotten the spinach and lettuce in). We planted the onions, both white and yellow, radishes, and peas. We have never had luck with peas or green beans, but we put compost from the neighbors vet clinic on the garden, and we are irrigating different, using soaker hoses, and we hope that these changes will make the difference. I also worked in my flower beds, getting them rototilled and preen put down to stop the weed growth. I would like to get 1-2 pick-up loads of bark mulch to also put on the beds. We have several places in Scottsbluff that sell it in bulk, the problem is getting over there to get it.

Lexi was in Denver most of the weekend on a Girl Scout trip. they went to the butterfly pavilion and to the children's theater. They stayed the night on Saturday, and were home late on Sunday. She seemed to have a very good time, and has been impressing us with all her butterfly knowledge.

Kyra helped me clean house on Saturday, then as a reward was able to have a friend over on Sunday afternoon. They had a good time playing and bugging me. One small catastrophe with a burnt finger, but otherwise they did well.

Harold went to spend time with his brother again this week, so I am working his job. Luckily, I do not have any patients down in Kimball right now, so will not have that drive. I have to go to Hemmingford on MWF, which is north of Bridgeport, so I am doubly thankful not to have to drive North, then turn and go South. I have done this in the past, and I end up putting over 200 miles on my car on those days.

This week is suppose to be cooler with several days of rain. I sure am glad we got so much done in the yard yesterday. I am seeing the robins in the yard, and the birds are singing every morning. Spring is truly here!

The batteries on the camera have died, and I have not gotten new ones, so as soon as I get that done, I will try to attach a slide show, so check back later in the week.