How to close out a month...

After being gone for some time, it's hard to get back into the swing of things...you know, being a normal person...buying groceries, going to work, staying home at night, those kind of things. We dove back into our boring life as quickly as we could. 

Lawn mowing....

Oh wait, lawn rolling. After attending a "junk show" where Matt was the first one to buy an item, he put together a lawn roller where he makes stripes in the grass (like a baseball field). He does the front yard and backyard and if you want to get on his good side, be sure to notice them and compliment him.

Going to work.....everyday.

After being gone for a bit, it was hard to get back into the 8-5 swing of things let alone be productive while I was there. Had some projects that needed direct attention too as we were hosted by Hess at a 15 well rig site that was continuing to drill 3 more wells to add to the site of derricks. 

We couldn't forget Father's Day.

With two amazing men in our lives, we wanted to give them their due. Matt and I headed up to Lansford to spend the day with Randy and Michele. We've made it an unofficial tradition to take them to Mohall's course for a round of 9. It's a not a bad course and we get a few laughs. I lost an amazing amount of balls into one thing or another, definitely out of practice. I was glad to recover one lost ball that my mother-in-law decided to pick up in the middle of her round. Don't mind her! Michele ended on a high note...she hit the pin on the last whole. 

Randy: I got a five.
Michele: You did not. You got a six.
Randy: You weren't watching.
Michele: Well, I'm just playing out of my a....
Bickering continues...
MJR to ALR: It's nice that we can get them out of the house.

We did start a little shakey as the rain and lightning moved in by hole #2.

MJR: Mom, I think we probably need to go back to the clubhouse.

Michele: What? Phil plays in this.
ALR whisper to MJR: She does know that we aren't on the same level as "Phil" right?
MJR: Yes. I hope so.

The next weekend we took a day with my father as well. The difference in tasks really shows the difference in the couple. With Matt's parents, we golfed. With my parents, we loaded scrap iron. A lot of it. Into a truck. All day. Until the truck couldn't fit anymore in. And we had to hoist my mother on top to smush it all in. They we cleaned and worked on the shop. 

MJR and ALR watching Diana in bucket of payloader.

Diana yells something to Perry.
Perry pretends he can't hear and reeves the engine more.

Diana gives me a look.
Perry ignores and keeps lifting her higher.
ALR to MJR: It's nicethat we can get them out of the house.

MJR: okay, we are finished sweeping, do you have dust pan?
ALR stares at him.
Perry: yeah it's called the skidsteer.

Matt finished the day by helping Alaina out with her Rodeo queen speech.

Dealing with Mother Nature
After a huge storm rattled through the house, scaring the cats, taking down neighborhood trees, and even having damage all over town (gusts were up to 82 miles per hour), we were forced to do some work around the house. This included fawning over my garden and raking the yard because it looked like someone had prepped for a wedding there. The beautiful Japanese lilacs had gotten blasted and the leaves and blooms were all over.

MJR while raking: Do you still like your trees?
ALR: Yes!
ALR: Do you still like your lawn?
MJR: Yes.
ALR: So there you have it.

Bismarck fun...
We did manage to take in some fun to among our work. We went to Breakfast at the Zoo and meandered around, usually one of the best times to go because there is so much movement in the animals. My favorite this trip around was the baby porcupine. He actually almost looked soft! What a cutie.

McQuades (a HUGE softball tournament that is put on by the local Budweiser distributor) was in town too, which usually means crazy driving and busy places. We decided to enjoy some aspects of it, including seeing the Clydesdales that they were prepped and harnessed, complete with drivers and dalmatian. The pageantry was amazing on these beautiful creatures. Matt and I also took a Super A Softball game in. Was fun to watch the homers come through, even when they take out a windshield.

Best meal: I made something that was really good and I was really proud of myself but it was eons ago. I was happy with the bang bang shrimp that we made Randy. Made made Korean BBQ tacos, another great meal. We also had elk burritos, pleasantly surprised.