Travelcation in making the business transition to Nevada

It's that time of year again where Kelly and I make the transition to relocating our RV camp trailers to Southern Nevada.  We drive our trailers down to Pahrump Nevada where we have purchased a home!  That's another topic though... we take about a 6 weeks to get our fleet down South and ready to rent the units at the Dumont Sand Dunes in CA.  Dumont is North of Baker CA and the Southern most part of Death Valley.  It's a beautiful place in the Winter and we enjoy the desert living.  We also enjoy getting away from the wet Oregon Coast for Winter.  We LOVE the Oregon Coast in the Summer, so we get the best of both worlds!  We see all kinds of weather on our trips, the transition from Summer to Fall is awesome and unpredictable.  I call our trips our "travelcation" trips and we enjoy our time together.  

We stop along the way at some kind of awesome motels too.  We've started staying off the beaten path and tried some small town flavor!  This Clown Motel is in the town of Tonopah Nevada.  It's a very small town with a few motel options, a couple fast food places and a gas station.  It's an old desert town with a museum too.  It's a place for people to gas up, get food and rest up if necessary.

The Clown Motel was interesting... the parking lot was packed!  Good thing we called ahead, we got the last room at 10:00pm.  The lobby was FULL of clowns and the man at the desk was friendly.  All paperwork, no computer and an old fashioned gold key for the door!  

We went to our room and Wow!  The positives were that the bed was comfortable and clean and the air conditioning worked.  THOSE are the most important things to us!  So the window was boarded up with plywood... made for a dark night's sleep and we couldn't tell when it was morning.  Lol!  

The shower was clean, but we had no towels in our room... Kelly went for towels the next morning so we could shower.  They were apologetic, saying the cleaning lady is new.  WELL... someone could have followed up with her and checked her work.. Ah well, we had a good night's sleep, all ok and we experienced the Clown Motel.  There was a photo of a clown over the headboard and a clown on every room door outside.  

So we made a trip!  I drove a truck and trailer down to Pahrump, following Kelly and then drove the truck back to Oregon.. we were in Pahrump for one night and left the next day.  That was OK because it was rather warm!  We checked on our house - we have contractors working on jobs for us - and they are making progress!!  So exciting!  

So we actually leave again in a couple days from Oregon to take another RV down.  Our son Daniel is on his trip taking one down right now, he'll leave tomorrow to come back.  It helps to have help and we love working with our son.  

Infusions every 8 weeks!!?

Well, I went to my GI in Las Vegas back on Sept 8 and first thing he said when he came in the room is "You're steroid dependent!"  Well, yea.  Prednisone (a steroid) is the ONLY thing that keeps my symptoms under control and half way manageable.  I am so frustrated.  Soooo.  He said it's time for Remicade infusions every 8 weeks as a RX path.  He has to get it approved by my insurance, then I'll get an appt.  He also said my blood work up is really bad.  I'm anemic and everything is low because I've been losing blood, bleeding from the colon for over a year now.  Right now, while on Pred, bleeding isn't real bad, but it is still bleeding on and off with a BM.  So he wants me to see a Hematologist and get a blood transfusion.   Wow, This was last Friday in Vegas, it's now Wednesday and I haven't heard from anyone about making an appointment in Vegas for these things to get taken care of.  I called and left a message for follow up.
I'm scared, kind of scared.  I don't know why my body isn't responding to RX the Doc has given me... my UC must be pretty bad.. he called it severe.  Scary.  I have gained like 20 pounds so I'm trying really hard this month to lose weight.  Prednisone make you very hungry.  I also feel weak so I feel like I need to eat.  This is causing weight gain and the Pred also makes my face swell up and my neck swell up... called "Moon Face"  Lol  not fun  I do not like the way I look right now at all, but I'm trying to keep a positive outlook and carry on with my days.  I work in our family trailer rental business and that keeps me busy instead of in bed all day like I would be if I didn't work.  Yep, I'd rather be in bed most days.  I get fatigued very easily with any activity.  When I go to the bathroom, it takes For.Ever to finish.  I still have accidents and that's so yucky.  Not very often, and so far I've been at home when it happens, thank goodness!
Being strong doesn't mean never crying.  It means that when you cry, you get up and carry on with life again and again and again.  I cry most every day.  I try not to but sometimes I am weak and tired and sad.  I'm hopeful about the Remicade infusions.  I'm in a group on Facebook that many people say Remicade gives them relief.  Doc says that if I 'fail' Remicade, it's surgery - remove the large intestines, remove the whole colon and rectum.  THAT would be life changing.. scary but some say it's the best thing they ever decided to do.  It's the only way to cure UC, remove the colon.  Who wants to live with this condition for the rest of their life?

Summer weekend in Tucson AZ

       

When your Awesome Dad turns 80, you call your brother and sisters and tell them you have a flight to go see him!  Kelly booked me a flight a few months back and let me know I could fly down to Tucson and celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday with him!  Sooooo sweet!  I was really surprised and happy about the trip.  So I group texted all my siblings and plans started in motion.  Everything for the weekend was planned and we were all excited to spend the time with our parents.  Dean, Dianna, Sherry, Rick, me, Selena and Sherry's daughter Tiffany were all there. Tiffany is living with my parents in Tucson at this time.  She's such a sweetheart and so fun to be around.  So... Selena and I flew in to Phoenix on the same flight from Burbank CA, and Dean and Dianna picked us up in a rental car at the airport.  They flew in from St. George the day before and visited their granddaughter for the day.  All worked beautifully.  We drove the almost two hour drive to Mom and Dad's and Sherry was there with Rick waiting in the car.  We all went up and knocked at the door and WOW!  DAD opened the door!!  We all started singing Happy Birthday and watched our Dad's smile get bigger and bigger.  He was surprised and so happy.  We went in, took some photos and were all excited.  We settled in for the night about 12:00.  Dean and Dianna went to a hotel, me and Selena slept on a mattress on the family room floor and Rick and Sherry had the guest bedroom.  Tiffany slept on the couch in the living room.  

Next day was Saturday, Dad's actual birthday and he mentioned to Mom that he wanted to attend the new Tucson temple on his birthday!  Well, we all brought our temple clothes and planned that outing.  It was a beautiful day, not too hot, but pretty warm for this Oregon girl.  The session was beautiful and full.  It was the first weekend the new Tucson temple was open since the open house.   I had a family name in my dress pocket to do an endowment session for.  I was happy about that!  I was also a little worried about my condition.  Would I be able to sit through a 2 hour session, no bathroom breaks?  It all worked out great.  I got up early enough to have breakfast and be ready.  After our session we went outside and took photos.  It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being together.  I didn't sleep very well there, but that's nothing new.  My sleep is interrupted several times a night.  Soon I'm hoping for relief and getting on a medication that works for me.. It will happen.  Praying it will happen soon.  

While we were at Mom and Dad's, mom had just gotten a new touch screen smart phone.  Sooooo we all took a turn giving her a hands on tutorial about how to use it.  She kept saying "I don't know how to work it" so we helped her and by the time the weekend was over, she was doing much better.  We set up google photos, pandora, her text messages, her phone and her LDS tools and library for her.  She was set.  Then Dad said she is doing more with her phone than he knows how to do with his!  So Dean gave Dad a tutorial about his phone and made sure he had google photos and everything he needed to work his phone.  Lol.  Dad's had a smart phone for over a year.  :)  

After the temple, we all went to lunch at a Mexican place that was like a Cafe Rio, Chipotle type restaurant.. you pick your ingredients like Subway on your burrito or salad.  It was super yummy and good!  OOOOOOoooo, when we got out of the car at the restaurant, I gave Mom and Dad a bag with a shirt in it to change into.  All of us kids brought BLUE shirts to change into... Mom and Dad put on the shirts that I designed with Stephanie's help and she made them for me.  They turned out GREAT!  Since 1937 Making the 80's look GREAT!  We took photos at the restaurant.  We visited a long time in the restaurant.  Was very nice..   After lunch, Dean, Dianna, Sherry, Selena and I all wet grocery shopping for the weekend's meals.  We had a fun time!  We shopped at the WalMart where I ordered Dad's B Day cake, and I picked that up.  We goofed off in WalMart and got all the food we needed.  Headed back to Mom and Dad's

Selena was our designated photographer, and we took photos when we got back to the house. We took a LOT of photos!  Lol.  Individual ones with Dad, group photos, sibling photos... it was a fun time!  Selena set up her camera and we posed for multiple family photos, all in our blues.   Looked so nice!  It was really fun.  Love family photo sessions!  

Then Dad blew out candles on his cake after we sang to him again.  Funny, but the wind actually blew out the candles before he could get to them.  :)  We ate cake and there were a few more presents to be given.  Selena painted a few scenery pictures and let Dad choose the one he liked the best for his gift.  

This weekend with my parents and siblings was soooo relaxing and nice.  We love getting together and when it's all over we always ask ourselves "When's our next get together?!"  We need to plan that.  Selena has a play she's in and that's in October in Simi Valley.  Sherry's girl Kristin gets back from her mission end of November.  There are things we could all get together for.  Our house is getting finished and in the early Spring will be ready for guests, I'm hoping anyway!!  

Love this family I was born into and I"m so grateful to have my parents still and feel their loving influence and prayers in my life.  Mom calls quite a bit lately, and I love it.  We are empty nesters, so talking to my Mom is great.  Mom and Dad are seminary principals and are up so early in the morning every day.  They LOVE the youth though, and they love them.  

Happy Family time, I hope everyone has family they can turn to, laugh and cry with and get support from.  

Alaina Muntifering

Herbalife Coach living with UC