Tears and Laughter

 Mike and I have been out of town for a few days. We made a quick trip to Great Falls, MT for a funeral for Mike's Uncle Harold. This was not a pleasure trip, obviously. We kept talking about Uncle Harold and how weird it was going to be to not be able to see him whenever we go to Great Falls. We were sad, but this trip still had many moments of joy.

As is true with many funerals, they sort of evolve into family reunions. Uncle Harold was all about family and friends. Mike and I both thought he would have really enjoyed his funeral! He would have known everyone there, and there were a lot of people there! 

We saw so many people, friends we have not seen in years, relatives who live all too far away.  I wished we could all have spent more time together but we really only had one day there. It wasn't enough.

Sometimes I wish things were like the old days. By old days I mean days older than me. Days I never really experienced. I kind of wish for the days where families lived nearby for a lifetime And you knew your friends through all their days. I glamorize how it could be, all of us laughing and living in peace. Of course, both sides of the family would mesh together with ease.  Doesn't that sound like heaven?. Well, I suppose it is. It isn't real life, but I like the idea. Maybe that is what heaven is like.

Ok, enough of that.

I want to show you a couple of things from our trip.  First, want to see some mermaids? 

They have shown up at that hotel bar for decades. They look really young!. Yes, those are real. Ok, maybe not real mermaids, but real people. Those two ladies gently swam around for hours. That is not something you see everyday.

We drove home the next day.  I like road trips with Mike. He can be pretty funny, but don't tell him I said so.  

The view was pretty nice most of the way.

So pretty! 

It was a fairly long drive with a lots of wind. This is what Billings looked like.

That is not fog, just dirt.

We almost had an eagle in our laps yesterday. Really. I was crocheting and looking downward but Mike, thankfully, was on top of his game.  I looked up when I heard him say, "Don't do it! " All I saw was the vision of the eagle, wings spread, filling up the whole view out our windshield!. He was really, really big. What Mike had seen was the eagle diving down toward the side of the road, going up, then repeating the dive. He had an eagle eye spotting something below, but ignoring the car about to intersect his dive.  Mike slammed on the brakes and saved the day! Well, he saved the eagle. He saved our windshield. He saved us from having a giant bird in our laps. He did no favors for whatever that eagle was hunting.

While we were out of town, Maria, Eric and girls stayed at our house with our dog. Last time he stayed at their house he freaked out and took bites out of their stairs! 

Anyway, we had some surprises when we got home.

I opened the fridge and saw these notes. 

Funny, huh? 

Then, there was the toilet.

Sweetly, we also had a pretty picture...

So, that was a whole lot of rambling to tell you of both tears and laughter... of life.

We'll miss you, Uncle Harold.