George is back! :) He did a lot on his vacation with Sharon and David, and his family. He talked about that for a bit. Ryan and Joy were home, Ryan made us omelets! George loved it! After he talked with Ryan and Joy, we carved some pumpkins with Sharon. He did a really good job and even wanted his picture taken with his pumpkin. He was so talkative today; it was so nice to see his interactions :) Ryan drove us up to Alta to watch himself and Trevor do some ski jumps. George brought me back a gift from MN. So sweet! Thanks George! :)
I have 2 more pictures of George talking to Ryan and Joy on photobucket.

It's our fifth full day here. Almost 2pm and he fell asleep again. We were planning on going to the Mill City Museum since it's a little cloudy and supposed to rain. But I think he's pooped. On the third day it snowed! There were big giant flakes coming down and he refused to go out. But by 3pm we convinced him that at the Mall of America we would be inside the whole time. So we went and stayed till 9pm. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe where he bought a souvenier mug. He looked for one for Jody but couldn't find anything with her name on it. He really liked the moving gorillas and rainstorm. We also went to the aquarium where the fish swim above our heads. There were also sea horses and lots of turtles. He liked the sawfish the best. We mostly just walked around the mall and looked at the amusement park. At first he wanted to go on the rollercoaster but after he saw it in person he said no. I wish he would have gone on the ferriswheel at least. But he was getting a little grumpy by the end of the day. On the forth day we went to visit Marty and Rita, David's parents, in Richmond which is about an hour and a half away. It's a very small farming town with not a whole lot to see. But they took him on a drive around horseshoe lakes where Marty fishes. It was too cold to take the boat out. So everyone was encouraging dad to come out again in the summer. He really liked visiting with everyone. David's two brothers and their wives came to meet him. And they made a big meal, a traditional MN fish fry. They cooked up 40 sunfish, the last bunch they had caught over the summer. There was a ton of food and dad ate everything. He had a lot of fun chatting with Marty. But was most interested and happy to watch Curtis, David's 9 year old nephew. Dad told him he'll teach him Judo next time he comes. And afterwards said, "that chubby boy is really smart". We really want him to come out again since the weather has made it hard to do a lot. He's doing really well here, adjusting easily, and not getting too confused. There are a lot of stairs, unfortunately, but David put in a hand rail for him. We wish he could stay out longer but with the weather, it would be better for him to come out for a longer stay this summer. Jody, can you work on that?!

Thanks to Jody and Joy, Ryan's friend, my dad made it on the plane! He was all ready to go after Jody left on Monday but on Tuesday he woke up to cloudy skies and said he wasn't going. Luckily it didn't rain so he got dressed but was still not sure. So, Ryan arranged for his massage therapist friend, Joy, to come over and give him a massage! They are so nice. Blake took us to the airport and all went well. But the massage must have relaxed him too much because he had to use the bathroom 5 times by the time we got to MN! Two times in the airport (the plane was delayed) and two times on the plane and the last time we didn't quite make it. But even so, it was fun. He stared out the window the whole time and saw the city lights when we landed and lots of clouds at sunset when we left. And we had a little picnic with a highball and snacks on the plane (see picture, he's toasting you). He thought I was going to get off the plane at some point and let him continue on by himself. He told me I'd better take him to the airport when it's time for him to go home. He felt better when I said we were going to travel together. We had fun on the plane.
On the first day, we went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant with a goldfish pond and bridge; then we went to the Science Museum--didn't get to see Titanic, but got to look out at the Mississippi River.
On the second day, we took him to Minneapolis and walked the skyways (indoor, glass walkways between buildings), went to lunch on an indoor balcony overlooking a glass atrium in the center of one of the skyscrapers. There's an indoor waterfall from the ceiling. We walked around downtown to Brit's Pub where they have a roof top Bowling Green, and saw the farmer's market stalls on the street. Then we drove to Minnehaha Park to look at the falls (the one on his flashcard). He wasn't impressed. So we wheeled him around the park but it was too cold. So we went into a snackbar at the park for a glass of wine and pickled herring -- he eats a lot! He loved the bathroom which was "warm and not stinky". David said he really liked the hot air dryer and even used it on his butt. At the end of the day, David had to help out with a talk by a SouthAfrican Priest who fights against apartheid and who lost his hands and eye with letter bomb. At first dad said he didn't want to go because "I don't want to see hands cut off". But we went and it was a long meandering talk. So, afterwards he just laughed at how people like to talk too much if you give them a chance.

I came over on Monday to help George pack and get ready to go to MN with Sharon! She mentioned making flash cards for him to take with him. (Good idea Sharon) :) we made flashcards of places he would like to visit while out there. We went for a drive to look at the leaves (It was a pretty day) and we drove around the neighborhoods to see houses with Halloween decorations. We stopped at the liquor store then picked him up something to eat. I hope he has a really nice time!

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I came over around 1:00 (Friday) and George was still in bed! When he got up we had to look for his hearing aids, we found one in his pocket. We looked all over and ended up washing his sheets too. We only had time to go to lunch today. He said he wanted to go to the Asian place ‘just up there’ I showed him the cards and he chose Kowloon saying ‘ya that’s it’. When we were driving down 13th east he pointed to Mt. Fugi and said “Aren’t we going there?” So we ended up going to Mt. Fugi. He is still a little sore from his fall but is doing well. I have just had him use his cane. I use the wheelchair on long distances. I've noticed that if he sits for too long it's harder for him to get going. I've had him walk and stretch, it seems to help.

When I came over today (Wednesday) Joy, a friend of Ryan’s was giving George a massage (She does massage therapy). When she was done he said he felt ‘different’. I thought he would fall asleep afterwards because he was so relaxed. After he was done with the massage he ate lunch then we looked through National Geographic, lots of cool pictures. We went to Wheeler Farm to see their pumpkin patch. Of course when we got there it started raining a little and was really windy. We came back home. His BP today was 107/73.

Today we went to visit Mamiyo. I asked George if he wanted to go and he said his back hurt. I talked him into it anyway saying that he mostly would be sitting. Before we drove out there we went to lunch. We saw a lady with pretty gray hair, he said “I hope when I’m that age my hair looks that good” I told him he was probably older than the lady, he said nahhh. I had him do some stretching and exercising today. He was doing really well. I forgot to weigh him and get his BP today. I’ll do that on Wednesday.

George was still sore from his fall the other night. I’m glad Ryan was with him yesterday; he was hurting and Ryan ended up taking George to the hospital to get checked out. He sure is a tough guy. I showed him some pictures on the computer of Mississippi lake/river and of the twin cities. It looks really pretty :) Sharon called and talked to him for a bit today too :) I took him for a drive, and we picked up some lunch and went to Willowcreek Park to eat. It was a little cold (In the shade) so we came home. He’s moving a little slow but has been stretching. I reminded him to use his cane and to stretch. I gave him a hot pack before I left. I hope he gets feeling better this weekend. (He has pain pills if he needs them.)
I have 2 more pictures of George talking to Sharon and lunch at the park. They are on photobucket.

Today was a nice day; it was a little cool though. We wanted to take advantage of the weather (Who knows when it will snow again!) We ate and then took a drive up the mountains to see all the pretty colors. We drove up to Brighton then over to Guardsmans Pass down to Park City. I think George was happy to be home :) We were in Park City and he said “You’re not going to go back up that hill are you?” I also made a calendar to countdown the days until he goes to Minnesota. He said he hadn’t made up his mind yet if he was going. I had to remind him that he had ;)
I put a couple pictures of the scenery on photobucket.

Today George had a Dr. apt. with Dr. Baker, we were actually early! Dr. Baker seems like a nice man :) everything seems to be fine. He has a check up in 3 months. Afterwards, he chose to go to Sushi Express to eat. We went to the pharmacy to fill a prescription and he saw someone that he knew from awhile ago. (I forgot her name but she knows Mamiyo). We cashed his check at the bank after that. His weight at the Dr’s office was 97.8 lbs. and his BP was 110/62

can I add a post?

Just checking to see if I can add a post :)
Sharon

October 2, 2009

Wow time flies! It’s the end of the year already. George mentioned that he had just barely gotten up. (It’s been that way this week). I told him about his Podiatry apt. today. I forgot to remind him on Wednesday, and I guess he got a reminder call yesterday. He was kind of confused about that. I gave the Dr’s office Dennis’ number and my number to call instead of the house number. He was in a talkative mood today! We also went and made an apt. for Dr. Baker on Monday. I think it will make him feel better. (It’s just a check up regarding his bruise, don’t worry).

September 30, 2009

Today George got up a little late; I came over a little later too. We ended up doing laundry on that day, because I’m not sure when he is leaving and I wanted to have it done before he left for Minnesota. Today was cold, it snowed!

September 28, 2009

(I thought I posted Monday already). I don’t remember what we did on that day, I do know his weight was 98lbs. and his BP was…107/72 I think. Oh ya, I think that is the day we looked at pictures of Minnesota on the computer. He liked looking at the pictures and is looking forward to going. We went to lunch and took a drive out in the Draper area. We were on some frontage road that I’ve never been on and he said he had never been there either. That’s all I remember.