The trips to Oregon

The mule deer at brother Jeff's are pretty tame...
He feeds them grain and apples whenever they are around.
I'm not sure if any of them are named yet.

Jeff's official height is now shorter... 6'8"

Our first trip to Oregon for Mom (about 3 wks long), had us staying at brother Jeff's place. Even though we spent a lot of time at the hospice center, there were some "lighter moments" with the family. I thought our stay at Jeff's was really nice...Karen, as well as the rest of the family, thinks it is kept as cold as a meat locker. I suppose it was a little on the chilly side...he keeps the thermostats at about 61 which was warmer than the outside temp....by a couple of degrees. Anyway, his place would be considered a true "man cave" with lots of animal mounts on the walls...even a full body mount of his Nevada record mountain lion (aka cougar, puma, etc) and his +30" mule deer. We also had a visit with brother Jerry and family at their place, where we've stayed before. (There's a blog about his 50th bday party in 2010). It was a time for all of us to come together and spend the quality time we really needed. Unfortunately, we were unable to spend much time with brother Jim and family since they ended up traveling back and forth from their home in Washington due to work constraints.

Mom's recovery at the hospice center was absolutely amazing and, after about a week, was able to go home. That in itself was a gift from GOD since most never get the opportunity to leave. Anyway, Mom did get better and went home with Dad. Karen and I spent a lot of time with them and got to really enjoy Mom's humor some more...she even got to enjoy some of Karen's cooking and an apple pie that I made (She didn't like the cherry pie...note to self: don't rinse off "goopy" canned cherries and expect them to work). Karen and I left for the BVI in mid-March. Mom continued to improve until just after the 1st of April, when she finally lost her valiant battle. We returned from the BVI and helped escort Mom to her final resting place in Yakima, WA. The Catholic funeral mass and the graveside services were outstanding. Afterwards, everyone gathered at the reception held in Mom's honor. The next day, many of the family went to cousins Karla and Jim Borland's home for a get-together. Of course, all the events were well-attended with loving family and friends. What a sad but wonderful time for everyone to get together to celebrate Mom, her life and the great impact she had on everyone. Thank you all for your help through this time.

Some of the family went back to the gravesite to spend a few last moments with
Mom and have one last drink of champagne with her.
L to R: Kathy, Mikayla, Dad, Tyler, Jerry, me, Riley, Sue, Jim
with Karen and Jeff in front. Cousin Sharen took the picture

Jeff with cousin Bonnie...yep, she's standing up

Cousin Larry Loges, Dad, cousin Jim Borland, cousin Cindy

I was unable to get quality photos of everyone at most of the events, so I apologize to all for not being able to share them with all of you. I spent so much time just talking to everyone...most of whom I haven't seen in +20 years or more...that some didn't even get their pics taken.

A special note to the family:  I love you all and hope that we don't allow our future time together to be always revolving around the bad times. Let us plan to get together for rafting trips, visits to your favorite camping sites, reunions, or just visiting at each other's homes. Write to us and let's plan something this summer!

Love you...Sandy and Karen