Ponies

Last month we rode the ponies.



Luken had a pretty good time.



We need to go there more often.

HBK

Fourth

My family enjoyed our 4th of July. We started out the day by going to Fort Missoula.

Luken got to explore all sorts of things.

He sat in the front of a fire engine.



He ran and danced on the lawn.



He looked around the engineer's room in a train and even rang the bell.



He sat on antique farm equipment.



And had his picture taken on an old tractor.



I had fun taking pictures of things too.

Here are some pictures of train parts.







And some cool old tractors on a hill.



I thought this old dolly was kinda neat. I like all the different lines in this picture.



And, last but not least, the fireworks.











It was a really fun day. Poor Luken didn't like the fireworks at all. Kara took him home to the safety of our bed and cuddled until he finally fell asleep. I stayed at the park and worked with the other firefighters.

HBK

What's That?

Driving down the road and . . .



traffic is all backed up. . .



for a long way . . .



Hmm. . . what's this?



Is that the tail of an airplane? No, couldn't be. Really?



Yup, that's an airplane. In the median of the highway. An airplane, folks.



Alright then.

HBK

Storm

A huge and quite terrifying storm moved through the valley last night and this morning, I woke to the sound of chain saws. The wind blew so hard that it uprooted trees and took roofs off homes. The power was out all night and just came back on. The fire department ran 10 calls last night. I'd taken meds for a migraine and could not help. I felt bad about that. The guys were out until 5 this morning.



I've been busy today though. We've had 4 calls already today. I ran 2 of them alone with Luken in my car.

Kara said that on her way to work today, there was a trampoline on the highway in one spot and a shed in the road in another spot.



There is debris everywhere.

My neighbour's house.


This house is on the corner of our block. They had a huge ponderosa pine fall across their van, truck, and onto their garage. They had just finished re-roofing their garage. The tree tangled in a power line which also landed on the garage. It started a fire which burned through the garage roof. Their pick up is ruined. Nobody was hurt.


This tree used to live in my next door neighbour's yard. The wind blew so hard that the tree was ripped out of the ground roots and all.




This house acted as cushion for 2 huge ponderosa pines. What a mess!



The wind blew so hard that Tom's flag pole couldn't take it. The flag is shredded and the pole is bent low.


We are expecting another huge storm tonight. It's quiet now. I'm going to try to get some sleep so I'll be ready to work come evening and the next wind.

HBK

Milestone

Yesterday



I took Luken



for a much needed



haircut.



His first one.



He sat on my lap because he was a little unsure.



He was very serious and very quiet.



He was very good and hardly wiggled a bit.



My baby boy is growing up!



Isn't he handsome?

HBK

Hiking

Kara, Luken and I used to go hiking nearly every day. Then she got sick. Then I got sick. Then it started raining. Then we got company. Then I got sick again. And we haven't been hiking in way too long. I miss it.





HBK

Health Update

I have a reactive airway. Something about this common cold went wrong. It got derailed. I got really sick. I've been to the doctor three times. Yesterday's visit finally seem to be helping. I feel I've turned a corner. The pleurisy is better. It hardly hurts at all anymore unless I get into a coughing loop. The asthma is better now that I'm using a nebulizer with albuterol. The secretions are less as well. The prednisone is a devil of a drug. It's helping me breathe but it's also majorly screwing with my sugars. And it's making me gain weight which totally sucks. I'm not even trying to diet right now. Mostly just sleeping, breathing, and doing my best to take care of Luken. My sinuses are still quite pissed. I have tons of green stripey snot and my ears are congested as well. All this resting will be good for that I'm guessing. Anyway, there you are. My cold gone wrong.

I'm completely frustrated because we're getting company in a coupla days. We have a full and fun vacation planned with them and it's becoming apparent to me that I'm not going to be able to participate much at all. This is so not fair!

HBK

Crap

There's a lot to keep track of being sick. 4 new meds on top of the ones I'm already taking. I'm not following my diet right now. I tried but that takes too much energy and thought. It shows. My sugar 2 hours post dinner is 207. That's about 100 points more than it should be. Crap.

HBK

Ugh

I just hacked up a wheezing puddle of lung. It hurts.

Went to the doc again today. Was given prednisone, z-pack, codeine and phenergan cough syrup, and a new kind of albuterol inhaler. I really hope this helps. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to move. And when I move, I cough and that hurts worse. The pleurisy is better in one place but worse in another. I haven't felt this bad in awhile. Ugh.

HBK

Sick

I am sick. I have a cold. No biggie except that I have somehow developed pleurisy. Pleurisy is inflammation of the tissue between the lungs and the chest wall. It is very painful although not a serious health issue. I've also become quite asthmatic which is scary. I get this terrible wheezing cough and can't stop. It makes me gag and cry because it hurts so much. I am miserable. All this coughing and pain has me completely exhausted. I can't do anything without having to stop and breathe. It's re-donk-eul-ous. Complete bullshit.

Luken is also sick. I'm pretty sure that his throat hurts. He keeps putting his hand to the outside of his throat. He has a fever I feel so bad for him. He spent most of the day hanging out in bed with me. My poor baby.

I hope we're both better very soon. We have company coming from Japan and there is a lot to do to prepare for their visit. Also, it would totally suck if we were sick when they are here.

Please send health vibes.

HBK

Recently

We've been having fun.

Luken and I hung out at my sister's one nice day. Luken started to learn to ride.



Yesterday, we went to a local duck pond. Luken had a blast feeding the ducks and geese.



I had fun taking pictures of the characters who hang out there.





Took a picture of me that actually sort of looks like me.



Here is a pretty blue butterfly that I saw. There will be hundreds of these at my sister's house soon.



I saved my favorite for last.



It's been a good week or so. I'm thinking that I like summer.

HBK

Progress!

I weigh 195 pounds today. BOO-yah!

HBK

What Does A Wedding Ring Mean?

What does a wedding ring mean? To me, it means several things. It is a symbol of the love that Kara and I share. It shows the world that I'm "taken". It is a sign of my commitment to my marriage. It is a tiny little "fuck you" to the society that tells me I have no right to be married to the person I love. And, today, it is a proud milestone for me. Today, after over 2 years of not being able to wear my wedding ring, I can get it onto my finger!

HBK

It's A Big Day!

Luken peed on the potty today! Twice! My baby is growing up! I've never in my life been quite so proud of a few little drops of pee.

HBK

No Longer Obese

Today, for the first time in a long time, my BMI doesn't fall into the "obese" category. I am officially "overweight". Kinda cool, eh?

HBK

Thunder!

We had our first real thunder storm this afternoon. LOVED it!

HBK

Just For Fun

Luken and I enjoyed the River Market last Saturday. It was such a beautiful sunny day. We both had a lot of fun.




Guess what I'm doing today? Yup, I'm washing diapers. Here they are, hanging out under our deck.













HBK

Blessed Dark

Luken hasn't been sleeping well. I can tell that he's tired. So I put him to bed earlier. He stays awake in his crib for hours - until it's dark outside. I hope each day that he'll sleep in. He doesn't. Up he pops with the sun each day. He's so fussy so I put him down for a nap. He doesn't sleep. Each day is harder and harder. My baby is falling apart.

So, today I went into town and bought some light blocking curtains for his room. I put them up behind his regular cute curtains. He "helped" me do it. As soon as I had the last curtain up and drawn, his little thumb slipped into his little mouth and he slumped to the floor and put his blond head down. His eyes closed and he sighed as if relieved. I scooped him up and laid him in his bed. He is sound asleep.

I sure wish I'd have thought of this sooner. Sleep well, little boy.

HBK

200

Such a nice round number.

I gotta stop weighing myself every damn day though. I'm starting to obsess about it. I think I should just weigh on Sundays or something like that. Maybe Sunday and Thursday.

HBK

204

This morning, I weighed two hundred four pounds. I've lost 21 pounds since October of last year. Each and every pound so hard won.

HBK