Tuesday, July 22nd Today we had to get up so that I could go to the doctors. My yearly appointment at the gynecologist. Yay. So, we left around 1:30, and had to stop at the bank along the way to get money for the copay. $80! It sucks, cause our insurance changed over at the beginning of the year, and it just sucks. Before, we had NO copays, then it went up to $10. Now, we pay the full amount. Before, we paid $2, then $5 for prescriptions. Now, I still pay $5, except for my BCP, which I have to pay the full amount, which is like $40. I know its not a lot compared to come people, but it is a HUGE increase from what we were paying before. And its not like I even need them cause I'm worried about getting pregnant... trust me, that wont happen for a long long time... I need them cause I get cysts on my ovaries and horrible cramps, and the pills help. Oh well.

Anyways� we got to the doctors 15 minutes early, and I was called in fairly quickly. Its one thing I do like about this doctor, you don�t sit for long periods of time. So, I went in, the doctor did his thing, and we left. We stopped by my eye doctors on the way to my house, cause I wanted my glasses adjusted, but I forgot they are on vacation this week. (This is the same place my mom used to work at � she quit last week after the new doctor gave most of her hours to his 14 year old son, and was just awful to my mom). So, we just headed over to my parents house, and by this time it was after 3pm. We (well, Andy) really wanted Pizza Oven pizza, but they don�t open until 4, so we placed our order and took Bailey for a walk. She was such a good girl, and its so funny how she just knows her way. We take her in the fields behind my house, there is a gravel road, and sometimes we go down in the sandpits too. It was too wet to go into the sandpits that day though, so we just stuck to the road. By the time we got back, it was 4pm, so we left to get the pizza. Now, Andy just LOVES this pizza. It is a little different than your normal pizza, as the sauce is very sweet. They put brown sugar in it, and it is really good. I didn�t used to like it too much, but it is growing on me.

So, we brought the pizza home and Andy devoured like half of it. I had a few pieces, mostly the crust pieces, cause I love how their crust tastes. The sauce burns into it, and it has really good flavor.

After eating and talking to my mom a bit, we decided to go down to Bye�s popcorn stand and get some popcorn. Andy really liked it the last time we went, so we got orders from my mom and my sister and we left. It is a bit of a drive, 20 minutes or so, but its nice and you drive through some little villages. We ended up passing the stand, and ended up at Olcott, which is right on Lake Ontario. We got out and looked at the �beach� for a bit, but there really wasn�t much to see. When I was little we used to come down all the time and play on the beach, but now it is more rocks than sand, and it is really eroded. We got back in the car and drove to Bye�s, which was really close. Andy got plain caramel corn, I got caramel corn with peanuts, and we got plain caramel corn for my sister, and plain white popcorn for my mom. On the way back, we decided to stop at Burt Dam and take a look around. We walked down to the small fishing area to see if we could see the dam, but we couldn�t see it. I couldn�t remember if it was a man-made dam or a beaver dam, so we thought maybe it wasn�t there just then. So, we walked back up to the car and drove off. A little ways down the road, there was another sign for the dam, and Andy looked and saw that it was a man-made dam. We then drove back to the house and dropped off the popcorn. We headed out shortly after, and on the way through Lockport, decided to stop at the locks on the Erie Canal.

One of the last times I was at Andy�s, he took me down to Lock 20, where there is a little park, and we watched a boat pass through the locks. So, I thought that I would show him our locks (Lock 34 and Lock 35), since they are what Lockport is named for. The cool thing about our locks is that they are �double locks�, and the depth change is tremendous, due to the escarpment. The old locks are also next to the modern locks, and are used as a spillway for the canal. It is just really cool to look at. They are usually a traditional field trip choice for 4th graders (when you study NY state history) around Lockport. So, when we got there, we walked down the stairs to the locks, and just our luck, there was a tour boat going through. I wish I had thought to bring my camera with me, cause if you have never seen the locks, they are pretty cool. I dunno, maybe they are boring, but I think they are ingenious. We walked around for awhile, looking at the newer locks and the older locks, and read some of the historical information posted around. We then decide to leave, and took off for Grand Island.

On the way, we decided to get gas at Smokin� Joes, one of many local Indian Reservation gas stations. We then drove up to the highway, instead of cutting over and taking back roads, and when we go on the highway, we noticed a really bright rainbow right in front of us! The weather had looked threatening, but so far, we werent getting rained on. The rainbow was so bright, it looked like it was lighting up the sky. I glanced over to my left, on the off-chance you could see the other end, and you could!! You could see most of the rainbow from end to end. It was awesome! Soon, next to the really bright rainbow, another rainbow was forming, but it was going the opposite direction, as the colors were going different ways. It was really cool to see a whole rainbow, and then a double rainbow. I really wish I had my camera with me at the point, cause by the time we got home, the really bright rainbow had faded, and when I tried to take a picture, you really could see it.

After awhile, we decided that we were hungry, and I was really in the mood for Hamburger Helper (particularly, Italian Parmesan), so we went over to Tops and got the stuff to make it. It was late by then, after 10pm, but we made it anyways, and it was so yummy!! Andy also wanted garlic breadsticks, so we made those too. We decided to watch the rest of Blackhawk Down, and it was really good, though I thought it ended somewhat abruptly.

After the movie was over, I was really upset, cause Andy was leaving, and besides my being tired, I was just an emotional mess. Ugh. So, we went into bed and cuddled for awhile while watching part of some movie, before falling asleep. Andy had to work the next day, and set the alarm for 11am.

then || now