A Long Weekend Full of Everything, Major Blessings Included

I just got down to Jon and Brit's house from Grandpa's Ranch in Star Valley Wyoming. It was so much fun. The first day I got there, Thursday, I was sore and not feeling so well. After a 6-7 hour car ride I couldn't blame my body. I didn't do much. That night we went to the fair and listened to Quicksand, a band that a distant cousin was in with her husband. She would listen to the band play and said, "You need a drummer" so she went out, bought her a set of drums and taught herself to play. Hasn't taken one lesson. She did pretty well. There was also a magician down from British Columbia Canada who put 5 people into a latex ballon. The balloon blew up to 5 feet in diameter with the use of a leaf blower. It was funny and awesome to watch. Grandma Hale was one of the ones he chose to get inside the balloon. Just as she was getting in, the balloon popped because the leaf blower person over inflated the balloon. HA, HA! Jed got some good pictures of it. I had left my camera back at the lodge. I was kicking myself for that. Thursday night Dad and Joie met us at the ranch.

Friday, everyone went on a four wheeler ride except for me, Aunt Shauna, Aunt Debbie, Grandma and a few of the kids. The four wheelers went to the place where the Utah snowmobilers got caught and killed in an avalanche up above Cottonwood Lake there above Smoot. The ride from what I hear is really rocky and very steep. Thankfully everyone returned to the ranch safely. Jon probably saved Mom and Dad's lives while on the ride. There was a really steep spot and Mom and Dad were on the same bike. As the hill got steeper, their weight got shifted more to the back of the bike. Jon was ahead of them, rode to the top and ran back down. Just as he reached Mom and Dad the front of their four wheeler was rising up in the air. He grabbed it, pulled back down and sat on the front for the rest of the way up. That could have been really bad. That four wheeler could have rolled over on top of both of them. Scary. We were truely blessed while up in Afton. When I get done with this travel log you will agree.

Saturday was rainy most of the day. Uncle Fred, Cody, and Jason went on a four wheeler ride to almost the same spot as that on Friday. They went up and it actually snowed on them. lol Crazy! Once the weather was decent, Aunt Cheryl took me up to Cottonwood Lake in the RZR. It was a really smooth ride and it didn't make me hurt afterwards. It was great! I loved it. I'll have to post some of my pictures of that. It was beautiful. Well, almost. When we got to the lake the forest around the lake looked horrible. It needs to be thined out. There are a whole bunch of dead trees that are a hazard to the environment. It is sad that some people think that leaving the environment alone is taking better care of our planet. The planet is a living thing and needs to be cultivated just like a garden. When you have a garden, you don't just leave the weeds and let them overtake the crop, the gardener takes out what is dead, harmful, or anything that threatens the crop. We should do the same for the forests. Dead trees cause forest fires. I would hate to see a fire go through up around Cottonwood Lake. It is so pretty, except for the dead trees.

Sunday I took a break from everything. My body and my nerves were getting a little high strung and I needed to detox. After church, I went up to my bed, plugged into my iPod, turned up the volume, and took a 2-3 hour nap. It was well needed since I hadn't been sleeping very well.

I have left something out, but I don't remember when it happened, but it fits in to my "we were taken care of" theme I'm trying to write about. Anyway, Jon gave Anna a crash course on how to ride his little three wheeler. She took off and he thought, "Either she really knows what she is doing, or she really doesn't know what she is doing." He told Mom to keep and eye on her and went inside the lodge to fix dinner. Five minutes later he came out and asked if Mom had seen Anna. She hadn't and was just getting ready to go and find her. Just then they saw Kiaya running toward them yelling, "Dad! DAD!" Jon took off running. Jon said that Kiaya said, "Dad! Anna drove the three wheeler into the lake! She's okay, but my THREE WHEELER!!" So it was. Anna somehow drove it into the deepest part of the lake. Thankfully, she didn't get caught anywhere on the bike and was able to swim to the shore and she was all right. Blessing number two! The only thing that was hurt was her pride. That night we all told her stupid stuff that we had done and I think it made her feel a ton better. Oh, Jon was able to get the bike out of the lake, clean it, and get it running again. He says that it runs even better now. lol I guess he got a lot out of taking apart his four wheeler when he was 14. I don't think that bike ever got put back together though.

For the final miracle of our trip. We had cleaned the lodge and were just packing up the cars to get ready to leave. Oakley had been watching Cody and Jason drop things down to Jon so that Jon could pack his truck. She fit right in between the rails on the deck. I had just come out of the lodge and saw Oakley right in between the rails, down on one knee. I really don't remember how I got to the railing, but it doesn't matter, I was too late. Oakley fell ten feet to the concrete driveway below, just an arms length or so from Jon, Cody, Jason, and Aunt Cheryl. They all thought that it was a bag that had fallen and that was exactly what it had sounded like. Jon says that she didn't even bounce, like the concrete absorbed her little body. From what Cody and Jason said Oakley landed on her pelvis and back, thankfully not her head. Jon picked her up and Oakley just whimpered a little at first. I think she got the wind knocked out of her. Mom and Jon took her to the ER in Afton where a doctor checked Oakley out. As far as he could tell, there wasn't anything wrong with her. She has a few bruises and a abrasion on one of her little arms, but other than that, she seems to be fine. There had to have been some angels wings down there for her to land on. My mom and dad said that they were surprised that no one else had done that in the 25-30 or so years the ranch has been there.

It was a nightmare for me. I was cussing out my body. I knew she was going to jump right when I walked out the door. Why it took me so long to get my legs going makes me angry to think about. All of the chemo and other medications I've had over the years has slowed down my responses to things. Driving I am okay because I'm a cautious driver anyway. I was so frustrated though. I was about three feet too late and petrified to see the other side of that railing. DAMN CANCER!!! I am so frustrated with my body and I don't know what I would have done if Oakley hadn't been okay. BUT, she IS running around. She IS still eating, drinking, crying, and BREATHING!! I need to remember that and not be frustrated with myself and thank God she still IS!! God please help me to remember and be thankful for that.