Sunday, October 18, 2009

North Dakota Adventures

I feel like a real "Prairie Girl" here in North Dakota. The wind blows everyday with the grass waving in the breeze. We have decided to "Bloom" where we have been planted in the great state of North Dakota and see all the sights. We attended the HostfFest in Minot North Dakota. This is the largest Scandinavian festival in North America. It was great fun and we plan on going again next year. We visited the Sioux Indian Reservation in Standing Rock, North Dakota. We kept seeing a sign that pointed to Sitting Bulls burial sight but was never able to find it. The Sioux must be keeping it a great mystery. It was a beautiful drive along the Missouri river. We stopped at the Prairie Knights casino and resort for a great buffet lunch. In Standing Rock we saw a sacred stone to the Sioux people. According to Dakota legend it is a body of a young indian women with her child on her back. She refused to accompany the tribe as they moved south. When others were sent back to find her, she was found to have turned to stone. The stone overlooks the water of the Missouri river and held in reverence by the Sioux. We are also finding that North Dakota has some quirky attractions. These are attractions that get people to pull off the freeway and hopefully spending money in their little town. We have 3 of these attraction fairly close to us in Bismarck. First the inner "Dairy Princess" came out in me with the visit to Salem Sue the largest Holstein cow in North America....She weighs in at 50 tons and overlooks the town of New Salem, ND. According to local history the early settlers were plowing their fields when two Sioux told them "wrong side up". The farmers thought about it and decided the soil was better for grazing than farming so they started dairy farming. My dad would have loved this cow.....The next attraction we saw was in the town of Jamestown. It's nickname is the "Buffalo City" It's claim to fame is the largest buffalo in North America...It weighs in at 60 ton and overlooks a real buffalo herd. (Are you seeing a pattern here???? LARGEST IN NORTH AMERICA) Our next visit was to the largest Sandhill Crane in you guessed it NORTH AMERICA...It is also the home of the Lone Steer motel (AKA Bates Motel) Marv almost had to spend two nights in this place. We are looking forward to more "Quirky" and wonderful things in North Dakota.

See pictures below.... Just click on the pictur. Enjoy


North Dakota

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Our New Home

Well, a new chapter in our lives has begun. We have officially moved to Bismarck, North Dakota. Many tears have been shed, but there is a reason we are here. We have rented a cute 2 bedroom triplex. It is different moving from a 2800 sq. ft. home to a 1400 sq. ft. triplex. We have never had to share our space or walls with neighbors so close. Our unit is in the middle, but it is quiet. This is helping prepare us for down sizing and retirement. Jeff, Tracy and Mike made sure we were comfortable. They helped move us in. We are truely grateful for wonderful children who give us love and support. We have decided to look at this as an adventure. Marv has a contract for 4 years with the State of North Dakota. Although, this move is bitter-sweet because we will miss our family, we are going to make the most of the opportunity. Our first project is to prepare for the winter. We have been told that the winters here are brutal. Winter clothes, hats, boots, coates, new car batteries, engine block heaters and food storage. That is quite a list! North Dakota is beautiful. It has taken me back to my roots on the farm in Indianola Utah. My father and brother would have loved the beautiful farm land and especially the large farm machinery. They have huge Big Boy toys here. I have just decided that the Sunflower is my new favorite flower. They have beautiful sunflower fields. It is amazing to see a whole field in bloom with yellow sunflowers. I am grateful that we have a Temple and Stake Center within 10 mins from our home. Because I am not working, my major social circle will be the church. I am looking forward to meeting new people. Marv is doing well at his job. He has had to really pull skills that have been put in the memory bank for years. His biggest challenge is having to go to the office everyday. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. We are grateful for this opportunity....

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Country Girls in the BIG City


The first part of June my sister Harriet and I went to Virginia to visit our cousins. Because of circumstances we had lost touch and had not seen them since 1972. That is 37 years. We weren't teenagers anymore, we were seasoned with life experiences. It was wonderful to see Jim, Margaret, Theresa, Joe and their families. We had a wonderful get together meeting our cousins and their off spring. Although we were nervous meeting cousins we had not seen in so long, they opened up their homes to us. We had a wonderful time visiting, laughing and spending time with them. Margaret, Theresa, Harriet and I took off and went to the big city of Washington DC. They were wonderful tour guides taking us on the Metro to visit the historical sights in DC. We were disapointed that we were unable to see the White House because of some security issue. After Washington DC they took us to Chamburg PA and left us with our Cousin Joe and his wife Darlene. They took us to Gettysburg which was very humbling. We spent a wonderful 8 days with our mother's family. Harriet and I are saving our money to go again next year. We are planning on going in the fall time of the year. It was very hot and humid.....

Our Story

My photo
We have been married a whopping 36 years! Yes, Marv, it has been that long!!!! We both grew up in Utah and have lived in Colorado for the past 22 years. We call Colorado our home but still have a soft spot for Utah..... We have 3 glamourous grown children who have blessed our lives with 6 1/2 grandkids. Being a grandparent is sooo much better than having your own kids! We can spoil them and send them home to mom and dad. Marv works in the computer industry and Margaret just changed careers and is now working for an eye clinic. We keep very busy with our children and our church work.

Our Wonderful Family

Our Wonderful Family