We got back from Great Falls last week, but I haven't had time to update until now. We convinced Amy to make the trip back with us for a little visit. She has the summers off of work, so it was the perfect opportunity. She stayed six days and we had a lot of fun. We did a little (ok, more than that) shopping, including her first trip to Ikea. I hadn't been to the one that opened here last fall. Saturday wasn't the best choice for that but we had fun anyway. We both found a rocking chair that we love and will be perfect for those moments we Faggs need to center ourselves by rocking back and forth like babies.
The trip itself was good and bad. It was a very long drive there (13.5 hours) and worse because Bennett wasn't feeling well. He had a fever before we left and the illness got worse for the first 6 days of the trip. He was not himself. We took him to the immediate care twice in Great Falls and once in Missoula. His gums were sore, swollen, and bleeding. That made eating, talking, tooth-brushing, and just about everything else lots of fun. His attitude was understandably terrible. His behavior was the most challenging that it has been for his entire life. We finally got him on some antibiotics and things started to get better on day 4 or so. He was good to go by the time we got to Seeley Lake and we tried to run as much pent-up energy as possible out of him. The kids loved being at the cabin and spending time at the lake.
It was great to see Sara, Melanie, and Marlena in Great Falls. A few of us had a late night at the Stein Haus/Sip and Dip, which was my most hung-over moment. My mom was able to spend more time with the kids than usual and Bennett LOVED the train that passed in front of her house. My dad is doing surprisingly well at his assisted living. He's the only man living there at the moment and the staff/residents dote on him. I took him to an epic almost-three-hour-long trip to Hastings so he could pick out about 40 CD's. He's obsessed with music at the moment. It's an expensive habit, but it keeps his mind active and he seems happy, so I don't complain. But I probably better go check his bank account balance!
I loved being in Missoula for a couple of days. We stayed at the Holiday Inn downtown and were able to walk to most of the things we wanted to do. We had dinner with my cousin Denise and visited with my old practicum supervisor. It did remind me how I love Missoula and put to rest any doubt I had about not returning to Great Falls. If I can't live in Missoula, where we are is the next best place.
Faggfest was also a lot of fun. We hung out at my Aunt's cabin a lot and just spent time talking and drinking beer with the clan. What could be better than that? We missed the Washington Fagg group though, and I hope we will see them in the not-too-distant future.
We are just trying to return to normal around here. Potty training is progressing slowly but steadily. Vivian is weaned and sleeping through the night. It feels like we are on the brink of the next stage in the kid's development and that's an exciting time. I have a few projects going on in the house right now (painting and creating a stairway gallery of family pictures) and we are going to hit the yard projects soon to get ready for next spring. I will try to get some pictures up of our progress.
