June Happenings

Our first event in June was Alex's birthday, so we made the road trip to Billings to celebrate our "baby's" birthday. Tara was able to join us there, and we surprised Leo and June and took Grizzlee with us too. Tara and I took Alee for a little birthday shopping spree, then we met Lee and Nick and the kids at Rio Sabinas for a Mexican birthday dinner. Alee has really embraced this adventure in Billings, and is giving her little family every opportunity to experience a completely different lifestyle in Montana. She is such a good wife and mother, and devotes herself completely to her family. She reminds us often to find the joy in little things, and gives her little ones real "hands-on" experiences. Although we miss living closer to Alee, we are excited for the enriching life lessons at this time of her life.

Another highlight of our weekend in Billings was June's first dance recital. She was absolutely thrilled to put on make-up, wear her cute costume, and be on stage. Her class did a tap routine to "Rockin' Robin" and she was over-the-moon to receive her own bouquet of flowers afterwards. June has a BIG personality, and brings such joy to everyone!

The next week I went to work cleaning the decks/porches around the house. Lee helped me tie a rope on the hose and hoist it up to the second and third floors to squirt them off. We were thus engaged when we heard a familiar voice and looked down next to the house and saw Chris standing there!! I seriously wondered if I was seeing things?! Without the slightest hint Chris had flown to Kalispell and had an Uber driver drop him at the top of our road so that he could walk to the house and surprise us -- and surprise us he did! Lee and I were both utterly stunned! What an amazing surprise, and wonderful Father's Day gift for Lee. We loved spending the next couple of days sharing Sigh-Bar experiences with Chris: we drove Mulee to Tally Lake, Chris helped Lee with the chores and tinkered with his latest toy (the 1952 Ford pickup truck named "Miss Whitey"},and went to dinner at Mackenzie River. The greatest gift we can give to those we love is time together, and this Father's Day weekend was truly a memorable gift for all of us.

The past six months Lee's battle with liver disease has been tough. He has gotten very weak and frail, lost weight, and is carrying too much fluid in his abdomen and legs/feet. His liver doctor in Houston asked him to come back to the Houston Medical Center and check in to the hospital for some treatment. Bad timing -- right when all three girls and their families were due to arrive at Sigh-Bar. Crazy...they arrived and we left! Lee spent the week in Methodist Hospital getting a super tune-up: paracentesis and albumin infusion twice, constant IV's of antibiotics and electrolytes, lab tests, x-rays, MRI, etc., etc. By the end of the week we were ready to get on the plane and back to the family. In the meantime, the kids had a great time together, and celebrated Nick's birthday.

We were so bummed to miss fun family time together, but are very grateful for modern medicine and the benefits of great medical care at Houston's Medical Center. Now we're ready for some lazy summer days and family adventures...