The Clinic in Kuskawas

After we arrived, we were shown to our schoolroom where we would be sleeping!  Most of the time everything is set up in the villages' elementary school - all of us would be sleeping and eating at this school but the actual clinic was going to be set up in a church down the hill, about 1/4 mile away.

The room we set up in wasn't very large and it was soon filled with small tents and mattresses!  Believe me, it was wall to wall sleeping places along with all of our suitcases!  It was extremely hot in there and because our building had buildings in front and back, there was no breeze to be had!  We did have 2 fans but they didn't do a lot of good - but the redeeming factor in all of this is that there was a flush toilet right off the sleeping room!  HOORAY!  That was a blessing to not have to find an outhouse in the middle of the night!

We quickly set up our tents and then headed down to set up the pharmacy - yes, it was downhill to the church where we would set up and the downhill part was fine - it was the coming back up that was tough!

Setting up the pharmacy takes a while but we had lots of hands to help!

Unfortunately, the windows were high enough that it was hard to get a breeze through so most of the time it was like an oven in there - any down time we had, we stood in front of the fan!!

There were 5 of us that would get the prescriptions from the people and we would walk around the pharmacy and pick up the different medications.  Jaime and the Nicaraguan pharmacist would check the order and then 2 other people would hand the medications out through the window to the people.  It all worked out great - we were super busy and on our feet most of the day!

Right across from the pharmacy is where the dr's and nurses saw the people.

Our crew!

This year Rayna worked in the next building over which housed the dentists and the family packs (beans, rice, clothes and toys were handed out).  Rayna was a helper for the dentists and cleaned the instruments and would hold the flashlight!

She definitely knows she does NOT want to be a dentist!

Here is the hill we walked down each day (and also back up to eat and use the bathroom as there were no facilities down at the church!)  It also rained every day - sometimes it was a downpour and the streets would flood!  Of course we had no idea what the temperature was but Jaime and I think it was 100 degrees with 100% humidity!!!!!  It was tough on us mountain people who aren't used to the humidity!!

Each night we collapsed in our tents - weary from the day but happy that we had served and helped so many people!

They do bring in portable showers so you could shower if you wanted to - the COLD water felt good after a while - especially after all the heat and humidity during the day!

Nicaragua Bound

What a trip!  To say it was extremely challenging is an understatement - but on the other hand, this rewarding experience definitely touched my heart!

Our flights were not what we were expecting but you take what you are handed - the Denver bunch left at 12:50am out of DIA and flew to Miami (yes, we took the long way!!!) for a 3 hour layover and then left again around 8 for the final leg into Managua, Nicaragua!

There were 49 of us from the US but customs was pretty fast!  It was pretty darn warm (Ok, it was HOT) waiting outside for the bus to load us all up!  All of the luggage was handed to the top of the bus and strapped down for our hour trip to the Mission House - the place where we stay before heading out to the village and the place we return to for a couple of nights after wards!  It's nice to have a little bit of luxury before you head to the village!

The view from the Mission House is beautiful as it overlooks Lake Managua - it was hazy out when we arrived!

Even though nobody got much sleep on the flights, everyone was just anxious to relax a little bit and enjoy a good meal!

For once, Jaime did NOT get sick on the airplane - I think she finally has found the solution with wrist bands and benadryl!!

Even though the eating area and common room are not air conditioned, there is usually always a breeze coming through - but the rooms themselves are air conditioned and it was so nice for sleeping!  We grabbed the smaller room so there was just 5 of us in one place - and we enjoyed taking one last warm shower before we headed out in the morning!

7:00am was our time to be on the bus so it was an early morning getting our suitcases back out to the semi carrying them and eating a quick breakfast!  The interrupters and other medical personnel were also there so we ended up with 3 school buses full of people to start the journey!  Sack lunches were made early that morning to eat on the way!

We made 3 total stops during the 9 hour journey - but you can imagine how long it takes for 100 people to use the restroom!!!  The first place we stopped at (I call it a mini-Walmart because it has a little bit of everything) had 3 women's stalls so it went much faster as the other stop only had ONE!  Everyone bought a cold drink and snacks for the remainder of the trip and I discovered some really good chips and cracker type cookies!

At our last stop before we headed onto the dirt road (or ATV trail as I called it) it started pouring rain and didn't stop for a long time! 

Here is the terrain we drove through - think Colombia - think of the movie "Romancing The Stone" and that's what it looked like - jungle - hot - humid - mosquitoes!!!

But it was fun on the bus!  Jaime and Rayna had become good friends with Kevin who works on the vet team and his son Kayden who would be helping us in the pharmacy.  They are both SO FUNNY and made the trip go a lot faster!!

It was a LONG journey with many hills to climb and go down - I was used to hills since we take the ATV out a lot but Jaime was a little freaked out with how steep they were!  But we made it just fine to the village of Kuskawas !  And then it was set up time for sleeping and the clinic!

Glendo Reservoir

Does life ever slow down?  Of course not - it's summer!!  Sunday we packed the camper and hooked onto the boat and were out the door Monday morning by 8:00am!

Our first stop was on the edge of Denver - my first appointment with my endocrinologist!  We had scouted out a location in advance on where to park our tripled up fleet and the parking lot was a little smaller than what we anticipated but it worked!!  I only had about 1 1/2 blocks to walk to the dr's office - unfortunately she was running way behind but eventually my appt was handled.  My bloodwork came back excellent so I don't have to go back for another 6 months.

Then we were off to Wyoming!  Of course the traffic was awful in Denver as we expected but it was so nice to get into Wyoming where the speed limit is 80 and the traffic is nothing like in Colorado!

It still took about 6 hours driving time and we finally arrived and found our spot - no, we didn't have electricity but brought the generator!  Our campsite was nice with some shade trees and we quickly set up!

It was pretty darn warm out - in fact, HOT!  But Glenn started the generator so we could turn on the air although the 5th wheel was so hot, it didn't get very cool!

We even had a fire that night and it was weird having shorts on by the fire because in Colorado, you are always in pants at night!!

Glenn left early to take the boat over and get it put in to fish!  And after my morning routine and a nice walk, I read - big surprise, huh?  I walked around the campground and discovered that it was a whole lot cooler closer to the water - darn, I wished we would have gotten one of those sites!  I ended up just carrying a chair down closer under some trees and caught the lake breeze!

We decided to have our main meals early afternoon so Glenn could go back out in the evenings to fish - but it was so darn hot and the generator was in the back of the truck which was parked at the docks in a different cove!  So I rode over with Glenn on the boat and picked up the truck and brought it back so we could get the air going!

I love how the trees go right down to the water!

Of course we had to turn the generator off by evening time for quiet time - it did cool off some but it was hard to get any breeze coming through the 5th wheel - needless to say, we didn't need any covers at night!

Fishing was a bust - he caught a few but only 2 walleye were worth cooking!  He was burning up on the boat and I was burning up at the campsite...........  but I managed to read 3 books!!

Wed. night Glenn decided to start another campfire - it was going pretty good but he decided to go to bed and I was ready to come in and read.  After a little while, I heard a truck pull in and then footsteps heading our way as I was sitting by an open window on the couch.  Pretty soon someone pounds right by my head and it's a ranger stating that there is a fire ban on and we had a fire going unattended - WHOOPS!!!

I profusely apologized and said we did not know that and I would get my husband right out there to put it out - the ranger waited outside while Glenn slipped into some clothes and went out and put it out!  Gosh - we are SO careful to follow the rules but somehow did NOT see the sign where it said no fires AND someone else had a fire that first night like we did too so we were just unaware!

Glenn only fished a little while on Thursday so we took the truck and drove around, always on the lookout for a better campground and spot (but have already decided we will NOT ever be coming in the summer again - just too hot - spring or fall would be much better!!)  We did find a couple of places that would work better also!

Glenn had seen the army doing maneuvers the day before and we saw all their equipment while we were out and about so stopped and talked to one of the guys - it was the reserves from North Dakota and they were practicing taking barges across the lake!

The lake is beautiful - especially over by the dam!

We packed up early Friday morning with the dreaded drive through Denver again - it was as bad as was expected and we were SO glad to get back to the mountains and the quietness of our home!

North Pole Fun - NOT

Everyone was excited last night because today was the day we would go to the North Pole for Aleah's and Parker's birthday present - but it wasn't to be as Parker woke up vomiting again!!  Poor thing - he wasn't happy that we weren't able to go but he didn't feel good at all!

SO what to do with our free day - cards and games of course!!  I can't tell you how games the 3 of us played and then later when Parker was feeling better, he joined in!  I taught them a couple of new games that I had learned and they were a hit!

The night before Glenn started a fire down at our fire pit so we roasted some marshmallows and the kids had s'mores!

It was fun having Jill's here for a while and Parker felt much better the next morning - we checked our schedules before they took off and hope to reschedule the North Pole on one of their long weekends in October!!

We had an awesome sunset that night!!

Boys Will Be Boys

Surprisingly, the boys settled down about 10:30 the night before - at least I got a good nights' sleep!  Pancakes were on the agenda for breakfast and yes, those boys can eat a lot!!

The boys were thrilled to hear that once again, they had to pick up pine cones!!  It's their yearly chore they do so Glenn will have plenty of fire starters come winter!  They always moan and complain but secretly I don't think they really mind it at all!

We played cards - mainly SkyJo, their new favorite game!!  And they're all 3 silly - here they brought up a couple of dolls and proceeded to take the head off of one!  And it's not surprising to me any more to go into the downstairs bathroom and look behind the door where the towel hooks are - usually there's a doll hanging from her neck (by Mardi Gras beads) on the hook -the first time I saw it I screamed!!

Of course their passion is to get on the computers and play games together!  I have accepted the fact that this is what they love to do - Papa's not quite there yet - he still thinks they need to be outside playing at ALL times!!

But the boys did go outside and play corn hole - they could be on teams since Papa played with them and they did play a lot of games!

I took the boys into the pool on Wed. right after lunch!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the 3 of them - but here's a couple of the boys as they wait their turn for the obstacle water course!  They had a great time at the pool!

And after a couple of hours of swimming, Jaime and Rayna picked up Kylan and Evan and headed to Iowa!!!!  The Keppys were following the next day!

This exhausted Nana brought Parker back home where Aleah and Jill were waiting for us - a fun time with the boys and a relaxing evening ahead!

Boys Week......

was not to be for the first day!  Parker woke up vomiting - whatever he had on Sunday was apparently back and he didn't look good at all!  After checking the calendar to see if boys week could be rescheduled, it was decided we had to go ahead with it in the hopes that Parker would feel fine the next day!

Jill and Aleah were already planning on coming down Wed nite as we were going to the North Pole on Thursday for their birthday present from us.  So Jill decided that as long as Parker was better, she would just come down a day early and meet us in Co. Springs (where I was taking the boys to Dart Warz).

We met Jessi in Denver so we could pick up Evan and after we arrived home, Kylan came over!  I set up a table in the basement for their electronics and later moved it back up to the office because they talk SO loud when they play, I could hardly hear the TV that night!!

Kylan had to leave for a few hours that evening as he had soccer tryouts so Evan and I played some corn hole!

Jill texted early Tuesday and said Parker felt fine and they were heading out - HOORAY!!!  We met in CS and soon arrived at Dart Warz for the boys' special outing!!  Evan had brought his own gun and I upgraded the other 2 boys so they had good ones too!  Evan and Parker ended up being on one team and Kylan was on the other team!

I stood at the window and watched them for a long time - it actually looked like a lot of fun!

Kylan's team ended up winning most of the games!  They were actually in there about 1 1/2 hours and in between games music would be played and the boys danced - it was a kick to watch them!

We stopped at the ice cream place in W. Pk on our way back up (after picking up pizza) and the boys got their fill of ice cream and toppings!

Kylan and Parker both play chess and since there was a chess table there, they had to play a game!

After pizza that evening, (and yes, Jill and Aleah were there but pretended not to be since it was BOYS time) we played some cards before they started in on their electronics!  Jill and Aleah slept in the 5th wheel so it worked out great!! 

Taking The LONG Way To Ft. Collins

If you recall, 4 of the grand kids headed to LVR for the week - Lutheran Valley Retreat!  After much planning, we decided we would pick up the kids and head to Ft. Collins for the weekend so Jill and I could celebrate our birthdays and we could see Parker's baseball game - and then bring boys back for boys weekend!!

IN THE MEANTIME, Jessi celebrated her birthday - Happy Birthday Jessi!!!

Friday afternoon we headed to LVR to pick up Kenzie, Aleah and Parker.  Brad was there to pick up Kylan so we were well represented!!  We watched the kids do their skits, ate dinner, and then packed up to head north!

We stopped in Denver to take Kenzie home and Jessi presented me with CINNAMON ROLLS for Jill's and my birthday - they were so yummy!!

It was almost 10 before we pulled into Jill and Robby's place - a LONG drive since LVR is about 45 minutes from our place!  But we made it safe and sound!!

Saturday was our birthday - Happy Birthday Jill!!  We enjoyed the cinnamon rolls that morning and they sure tasted great with coffee!!  After playing a few card games with the kids, Jill and I headed to the theater and saw "Yesterday" - it was great and the music of course was awesome!!  We enjoyed popcorn at the theater and afterwards went to DQ for blizzards!!

It was HOT - I love the picture of this squirrel in their backyard!

The birthday girls!

 Parker wasn't feeling great when he got up the next morning but he rallied later in the day for his baseball game!

They played 2 games and Parker got a hit every time but one - so fun to watch him.  Just as they were finishing up their last game, the lightning and thunder started in and they shut the games down so we could get to our cars!

And Monday morning it was time for Boys Week!