Edge of North Dakota

Well…I traveled to Nowhere North Dakota, which is 17 miles on gravel from Amidon, which is the smallest county seat in the nation. Bowman County officials decided to use their HTC dollars, which is part of my job to come together and build their county strategic plan. They held their meeting at the Logging Camp Ranch, which can house 40 people at once and has a great view! The Ranch hold the only forest of Ponderosa Pine in the state. Getting there was the hard part…I even had to shuuuu a few horses off the road.


Elvis has retired the cone, well we hope! He messed with his stitching and swelled so that he had to wear the cone-o-shame since Sunday. Christa and Jeff borrowed Kota’s to us, well after Meathead Elvis has gone through his kennel door, we owe them a new cone. We need to work on bringing him in the house!


We are having decided that our House Warming Party will be August 1. We are looking forward having friends and family over to celebrate! Hopefully we’ll have a few more projects completed!

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

This past week we saw a lot of highway miles! I went to Minot for the Economic Developers North Dakota Conference. I had time to check out a few old friends! It was great to see Kelli and Amy and catch up. I miss laughing and fooling around with them. I was surprised at how much the city changed…they have a BWW, a CVS Pharmacy, some ripped down buildings, and some construction on the campus just to name a few. The thing that hasn’t changed are the bar regulars, I sat at the Blind Duck and saw how many people haven’t changed in 5 years. The same people that I served when I worked there are hanging and closing the place—only they look much tougher.

I got back and had interviews for my assistant position. Elena is starting on the first of July! Hooray for hiring! I think we will work really well together. She is originally from Russia and speaks 5 languages…I think I have that many too…English, Canadian, Pig-Latin, Un Poco Spanish, and ____, hmmm so only 4….But maybe those don’t count!!!

Dan and I road tripped this weekend, with Elvis! We stopped Friday at Mom and Dad’s to install Dad’s birthday/father’s day gift…the gift of Dish TV. They have 1000% more channels now then when I was living at home! I also helped trench a water line in, they brought Grandpa up to help and finally were able to dig, 6 inches of rain kept them from working!
We went to Fargo to spend time with the Livermonts. We spend two nights there and they took us to Lake Elsie. Christa and Jeff have a nice little spot with a camper and a picnic table. Elvis took 1 jumnp off the dock and that was enough for him. Jeff took Dan and I tubing with Alyssa. I’m finally not sore, I still have the bruises but what can I say!! Elvis got along great with the girls and Kota, what a relief!

We'd like to put a great pic of Alyssa on the blog, but she had the biggest zit/growth and we told her to keep covering her face! Poor Girl!

On Sunday, we spent Father’s Day having supper with both Fathers. It was great to get everyone around the table. When Debbie and Dan are cooking, I can’t complain!

It was another great week, but it’s nice to be home. I’ve started cleaning up and FINALLY got my pots put away from when the dishwasher went in!

VH1's Best Week Ever!!

This week has been FABULOUS!! It FEELS like last Sunday was forever ago.

Well Dan one-upped me and had to get something more than bronchitis, he found out on Monday that he had pink-eye and an ear infection. This had him staying home a couple days from work because he was contagious. He’s fully recovered!

I will preface this paragraph with the mantra that I listened to growing up…when you have a house of your own, _______________. SO, On Tuesday morning, after getting an email from Kim and Pet Project, we visited the city pound. We fell in love with a 2-year old Rottweiler puppy. He was supposed to be euthanatized on June 6 but the bought a little time and allowed us to talk about the pros/cons of the situation. Elvis, as we have named him, was found very malnourished and we are working on upping his mass. He weighed 97 pounds on his adoption day.

Because we decided to rescue him, Dan had to build a kennel. When I got home from work on Tuesday, he had the outside kennel done and was starting on the inside kennel. With help from Jack, the indoor kennel was finished on Wednesday night. Those boys did make me laugh!

Thursday, we brought Elvis home…we are still working on introducing him to the cats. We’d rather take it slow then have anyone hurt! Also on Thursday, I started interviewing for my administrative secretary position. It’s exciting to see the community development project taking off. We had some great candidates apply and hopefully we will fill it this week!

Friday, Kim and I took Jack and Dan through the high ropes! It was great to have practice our facilitation skills, but it was VERY exciting to see how well they worked to complete the course. They worked better then anyone we had seen so far. Including, getting to the top of the dangling duo and swinging from the bar of the power pole! We took in a meal at the Boots Salon and Grill, which used to be the Iron Horse.

Saturday, Dan and I were all over the place! We took Elvis for a walk, helped the neighbors lay concrete, went to Medora for a YP meeting, and went to the most interesting house for a pre-rummage sale ever! A couple that works at the college is moving to New England—and not the city south of Dickinson, to live with her mother and are selling practically all their possessions. This is unique because he had aspired to set up a gift/collectors shop and they have a huge range of artifacts, statues, collectibles, plants, ALL sorts of things, My mother would have gotten claustrophobic! It was amazing to browse at the diversity of things. They are having their second rummage sale on July 3 and 4th and we plan on going!!

Today, was Uncle Randy and Aunt Denise’s grill party! It was the perfect end to a busy week. It was nice to see family and how much Carstyn and Kemma have grown! The party worked out so well, Randy was the star for sure by grilling so well and helping show off the Pampered Chef spices!

And to top it off, We ripped the kitchen apart and brought in a contractor and had the dishwasher and garbage disposal put in...Hooray!! We haven't officially used them yet, we are still in awe that it actually happened!

This next week won’t slow down much either!! I’m going to need some downtime soon!

Quick trip & Weather Wrong Doings!

I think we have gone back in time…to March. It snowed in Dickinson this weekend, WHAT!!! I’m glad that we were in Bismarck, otherwise I would have been really depressed!

Bismarck was another quick trip. We saw all of our parents and EVEN Christa and the girls! We got to see the family, eat at Buffalo Wild Wings, and do a little shopping. We went with Nancy, Lauren, and Beca to the Heritage Center. I can’t remember the last time I was there! The trip ended with a fabulous meal at Deb and Dan’s. The worst part of eating at their house is that by the time I get to dessert, I’m full and now as I write this I would KILL for a piece of raspberry cake!

We picked up a few purchases…I bought a new pair of tennis shoes…YEAH…and some work clothes. I’m excited to get dressed tomorrow! Kohl’s was having a killer sale.

Disappointment came through all the way when we got home and was greeted at the door by our lilac bush….completely smashed by the weather…BOOO.

Grass, Gardens, and Weeds...OH MY!

It’s finnnnnnallllly summer, in fact I put away the winter coats and my garden is growing! YEAH! I’m planning on harvesting cucumbers, zucchini, corn, pumpkin, beans, carrots, lettuce, beans…and tomatoes IF I get them in. Yard work has been a demanding task and requires a lot special tools; lawnmower, weed eater, hoses, sprinklers, tools, rakes (multiple), garden weasel, and SPRAYS. Dan has been doing a great job with the mowing, fertilizing, watering, and ESPECIALLY the weed pulling! We hope to get the dandelions under control. The best part of our yard, that I discovered this week is the lilac trees that flank our yard and the single bush behind the house. It reminds me of home and smells beautiful!

I’m finally healthy…I finished my z-pack and Dan’s relieved because I’m not coughing all through the night…Hooray for Healthy!

My childhood has kinda come full circle, this past week I judged a 4-H communication arts contest. I was impressed with the girls that gave their speeches. I saw a lot of myself in a few of the girls; they were nervous and a bit unsure of where they were going. I wanted to tell each of them to continue to push themselves and ignore popular opinion. Someday, they will look back and realize how these skills shaped who and where we are at.

While Dan was helping Kim and Jack move into their new house, I went to home. It was good to see my mother and I forgot how sneaky my father is! He somehow got both my mother and I into vintage grain trucks and also got me to take the tractor and Wishek disc through south Bismarck. It amazes me how much that drive has changed! My favorite was when Centennial Drive, which turns into Expressway, was one lane and I would count how many vehicles we could back up!

This next month will keep us so busy…we may need a weekend to take a vacation from our weekends!