First, an update on dad’s health. He’s still hanging on pretty well. He’s reasonably alert and had a pretty good day. Mother says she’s noticing a steady decline, particularly in his strength. Today he was having a lot of trouble holding his head up, which is a new situation.

He had lots of visitors today. My sister Eileen along with her husband Phil came up yesterday, spent the night, and went back to Salt Lake this evening. They were joined today by Alison (who flew in from Texas) and Suzie and her boyfriend Bill.

My brother Perry and his wife Chris spent the past week on a Caribbean cruise. They got back to Salt Lake City late last night and drove to Soda Springs today to visit with the family and see dad. the day they sailed away was the day that dad went into the emergency room.

We definitely enjoyed meeting Bill and visiting with him and Suzie. Bill owns and runs a restaurant in Salt Lake City that we’ll definitely be trying out in the very near future.

The nursing home was also quite busy today with lots of visitors. I’d guess that’s normal for a Sunday afternoon. They do have Sacrament Meeting each Sunday at 11:15 a.m. which lasts for 45 minutes. Mother and dad both went to meeting today. I’m certain that dad was plenty worn out by the end of the day today!

In mid-afternoon my sister Terry arrived from Ogden. She’ll stay at the house for the next couple of days which is very good for mother. For the first time in several months I was together in the same place with my brother and both sisters.

Last night Nina boiled up some potatoes to go into a potato cheese caserole and put a turkey breast into the crock pot this morning. We took that over to feed the whole crew this evening.

Mother also really enjoys getting everyone together. We had dinner (all eleven of us) at her house about 5 p.m. and visited for quite a while afterwards. Perry and Chris then left to drive home to Green River where Perry has to go back to work tomorrow morning. Eileen, Phil, Alison, Suzie, and Bill also left to go back home to Salt Lake City. After cleaning up a few dishes, Nina and I left to go home to Pocatello. That left mother and Terry at home tonight.

Tomorrow more company arrives. My son James along with his wife LeeAnn and their three children drove out from Springfield, Missouri and will spend a couple of days on a quick trip so their children can spend a bit of time with their great-grandfather before he passes away. We’re looking forward to seeing them in Soda Springs tomorrow.