#WYFF - Dorris Ranch

Dorris Ranch was established in 1892 and is now operated by the Willamalane Park and Recreation district (whom Krista and Arielle are working for this summer). Dorris Ranch combines a working farm and orchards with hiking trails. It's a favorite spot of open-air enthusiasts. Michael, the kids and Arielle enjoyed a morning/afternoon visit.

  

Read the sign carefully! 

Evidence of a beaver - in the middle of duck territory - how do you like THAT?

Stacia, Nolan, Arielle, Alex

#WYFF (Where's Your Feet Friday) is sponsored by Fulltime Families. View more of our Friday exploits by clicking the #WYFF tab above. 

Gherkins at Lane County Fair

At the end of a long day of yard work at Mom and Dad's, Krista suggested she take Nolan, Alex and Stacia to the 2016 Lane County Fair. Michael called me at the hospital and suggested we go out for dinner - which we did.  A fun evening for all.

Stacia commented these rides were wilder than the ones in Hachinohe. 

I love her expressive eyes!

They got more than they bargained for in this ride. It looked like it would swing back and forth. It was an exhilarating surprise when it swung up and over the top.  Stacia's response on the video is priceless....worth watching just for those seconds. Keep in mind this is the first American county fair these three have attended.  Yes, they saw the rabbits, jams and jellies too - but the rides were the hit for them.

Charming gals at the fair. LOL 

 I texted Krista to go ahead and get dinner and tickets for all and we'd reimburse her. She didn't get the text, but I was relieved to see they had a nutritious dinner of elephant ears nonetheless.

Krista even took some video clips, if you'd like to see the action click below. 

 

This is life....the fun in the midst of the hard. Family memories made in the midst of the hospital visits. That'll preach! 

Dad's Adventure

Late Monday night we got a call and then a flurry of text messages. Dad had been taken to the hospital. His lungs were filling, he couldn't breathe, his chest hurt. He was blue and clammy. He was intubated.  Several nurses and doctors told him he was 2 min from death. We were thankful to be 3 1/2 hours away. We left the trailer and went to Oregon.  It turns out dad had a heart attack, the theory is he aspirated and that turned into pneumonia, and due to his known congestive heart failure, his heart couldn't keep his lungs clear and they filled up.  He was in ICU for several days, then moved to the floor and finally home 7 days after being admitted. 

I chose to spend most my time at the hospital with Mom. She isn't driving due to her seizure the end of July. Dad had a steady stream of visitors and I was able to catch up with many I've known in years past, as well as meet many of their new friends.  It was a blessing to have so much time with Dad and Mom.

Dad and his brother, Galen

G'pa, Krista, Arielle, Stacia, G'ma

Alex, Nolan, G'pa

 We had a sleepover at Grandma's!

Etoy (Folk's pug) isn't 100% sure about sharing with Yuuki

Heather (Sister in law, Nate's wife), Mikhail (their son), the kids and Michael worked wonders at Mom and Dad's. They weeded, trimmed trees, mowed and organized Dad's workshop. 

Stacia

Nolan & Alex

Krista

Sure, it will fit!

Yuuki likes Dad's fish

2016 Southern OR Kite Festival

Crowds, shuttles, sunscreen, wind, Charlie Chaplin, Peter Pan, kites of all varieties, giant wind spinners, Winnie the Pooh, vendors and loud speakers, all add up to create the Southern Oregon Kite Festival in Brookings, Oregon.  This was the 24th year of the festival - always the third weekend in July. 

I would love to give you more details on the types of kites flown - but we're newbies at this. We didn't see some of the fun ones showcased on the website, but we did see plenty of kites and enjoyed a great day out and about in the local area. 

The Train Kites flown by the Bay Area Sundowners were fantastic

In the future, we'd take a cooler (you never sure if those will be allowed at group events), chairs or a blanket to sit on, hats and money for vendors. However, we kept this outing very cost effective. The festival is free. The shuttle is free. We had $4 cash on us...and Nolan found some Kettle Corn we shared as we waited for the shuttle back to the parking lot.

We stopped at Dairy Queen for eats and treats before heading home. The video below showcases a bit of the day. 

#WYFF - The Pharmacy

Michael gets healthcare through the VA. The kids and I have been Tricare Prime. There are NO Prime doctors in Crescent City, CA or Eugene, OR. These are two cities where we have grandparents and wouldn't mind visiting to take care of medical issues.  I called and talked with a Tricare rep who CONFIRMED we are not near a Prime area. We changed our insurance to be Standard. The big difference is we now have a $300 annual family deductible...but we do NOT have an annual family PREMIUM. Since we had to pay a co-pay for docs on Prime anyway,  this is about mox-nix. I'll track it for a year and see. With Standard we don't have to have a referral from a PCM to be seen at civilian docs, we DO have to find a doc who is a "network provider" to be most cost effective. I found a group here in town and made an appointment for Stacia. The rest of us will wait until October for a new fiscal year. It turns out the only Tricare provider in town (which I could find) is in a county community health center. This was a new experience for a child who has known nothing but military clinics her whole life. 

Another new experience was waiting 4.5 hours for our meds. This was NOT the pharmacy's fault. The doctor had not filled out the form correctly - during our wait we saw many others with the same problem. The pharmacy calls the doc and gets the info they need if a doc gives insufficient or incorrect info.....our doc wasn't returning calls. I called, they called, they faxed, and we waited. When it did go through, it was a drug Tricare wouldn't approve. We had been told it would be $100 - that will go a long way to our deductible. ::snort:: When it wasn't approved, the pharmacist found me an OTC med, same med/different name, for $20.  I think I get why Tricare said no to this one. LOL 

While in town, Stacia and I also bought groceries for Mom G, stopped by ST. Vinnies to deliver some things Mom G was ready to get rid of and picked up meds for Mom G.

We had been told Michael qualified for an expedited disability application with Social Security???? It sure doesn't seem like it would be a benefit. We can wade through the system and they'll deduct whatever they award from what the VA awarded. I ended the visit by telling them, "I don't believe we'll pursue Social Security assistance at this time."   This may be something to research. It didn't make a lot of sense to me.  The fun element of the visit was the security guard. As he was searching bags he noticed my folder with Beale AFB on it. Turns out he was a fire dog there in the 1980's. We had a great conversation. 

Thus went our Friday. Stacia and I didn't plan on being in town all day. We didn't finish that corner we began....but Michael and the boys did get a lot done outside. 

#WYFF (Where's Your Feet Friday) is sponsored by Fulltime Families. View more of our Friday exploits by clicking the #WYFF tab above.