Can you believe it; it's been just over 1 month!?!

Well the end of April was pretty quiet. May brought some good and hard times.

First of all I walked in the March of Dimes, March for Babies walk on the 2nd. I unfortunately did not raise money this year. We donated to another friend that was walking and I walked along side of her. When I first arrived, the MOD coordinator, Shelley ran up to me and said I'm so glad you are here, when I questioned her she told me that she had a plaque for me for being her highest money raiser for the year 2009. What an honor! She unfortunately wouldn't just hand it to me she announced it and had me receive it in front of the couple of hundred people there that day...I was so embarrassed.

May 5th was our kitty's, Maio, 3rd birthday. Crazy to think we have had him almost 3 years already (we got him when he was 6-7 weeks old). I felt like a bad mommy because I didn't get him anything...I know he doesn't know but still I usually get him a new toy or something.

May 10th would have been Brecken's 10th birthday; where has the time gone? Thinking that we could have a 10 year old living with us makes me feel very old! Of course the day before was Mother's Day which is always a hard day for me but I was blessed with great family and friends who remembered and sent their love through emails, texts and even a card and chocolate! Patrick suggested we go for a ride through the hills after church...it was nice to look at the beauty of the earth that the Lord has blessed us with to help ease the pain of a blessing that was taken home early. On Brecken's birthday I went and bought flowers for him and annual tradition.

Pat's truck started having issues the end of that week which ended up costing us $1500...YIKES! It runs great now.

On Wednesday, May 19th we headed to Utah for the Celtic Woman concert we had purchased tickets for a couple months earlier. We ended up making it a long weekend so we could spend a couple of days with both of our families. We arrived Wednesday evening at my mom's knowing that she had to work the next day so we would be able to just sleep in, go to a few stores in the area and just basically spend some quality time together. During our shopping my wonderful husband purchased me a new dress and jewelry for our upcoming night out to the concert. When we arrived at mom's Wednesday night she took us out for dinner at Maple Express...YUM!

Thursday, May 20th we arrived at Pat's mom's house around 4:15 pm. Mom and Art took us to dinner at Chili's before we headed to one of David's baseball games.

Friday, May 21st we woke up early as we had a tee time at South Mountain Golf Club in Draper. It was right next to the Draper Temple and some very beautiful and expensive homes. The whole course was beautiful; we could also see over the whole SL Valley, if you ignored the layer of smog hovering it was also a beautiful sight. Friday evening we were able to meet up with Pat's siblings and all our nieces and nephews on that side of the family except for Sean. Mom had prepared food for a BBQ at the same park David was having another baseball game. It down poured for quite a while; to the point we thought they would cancel David's game. Luckily we were under a pavilion and stayed dry. When it was time for David to play ball the skies cleared up and we were able to stay and watch.

Saturday, May 22nd we slept in for a while. After being lazy we headed to Rose Park to Tami's house so she could fix my hair and make-up for the concert...had to try and match the beauty of the dress. Once hair and make-up were done we headed back to my mom's house to change into the clothes we were going to wear the rest of the day and then headed to Brenda and Thomas' wedding reception...it was so nice to see some good friends from the past and sad that we missed seeing others. After spending an hour at the reception and catching up we headed back to mom's house for a couple of hours. We headed back to SLC around 5pm so we could have a nice dinner out before the concert. Thanks to Robin and Caleb for suggesting Tucanos...YUMMY, YUMMY!!! Luckily it is located in the Gateway which is just down the street from the Delta Center or should I say Energy Solutions Center? We paid to park and then walked down to the restaurant..this ended up being a good choice considering we had to walk back after dinner which allowed our food to settle some before the concert; as we both stuffed ourselves. The concert was AWESOME...I was disappointed they didn't sing "Oh America" but they still put on a great concert. We drove back to my mom's so we could go to church with her the next day.

Sunday, May 23rd we went to church and then my siblings and all of our nieces and nephews on my side of the family came over to mom's house for a BBQ. What a wonderful time we had visiting, only thing that would have made it better was dad being there...man I MISS him! We ended up pulling out his old tripod and attaching my camera to it and taking some family photos. None of us were prepared to have this happen so we were all just in our Sunday afternoon, relaxing clothes. We were still able to get some nice photos.

Monday, May 24th we headed home. We left around 8am and hit snow like you wouldn't believe. We thought for sure they would close I-80 down; we were literally driving 35MPH instead of 75. The snow cleared up just after "The Sisters" in Wyoming which is a bit before Little America. Once we got to Casper it started snowing again. Luckily we had the Lord with us and made it home without any mishaps or accidents.

Tuesday, May 25th life went back to normal...Pat back to work and me trying to catch up on laundry.

As nice as it is to see family and friends it is so nice to come home to your own place. To those family and friends that we did not see this past weekend you are priority next time we are home! Of course pictures to follow!!!!

It's only been just over two months...

So the last couple of months have been a major roller coaster ride for me. Life is good and going up then all of a sudden boom I'm down.
First of all Pat and I were given some very devastating news about having the family we have always wanted. Looks like it would have to be a miracle for it to happen.
Next thanks to my wonderful pity party/giving up fit over the first news Pat and I had much tension between us. Which by the way we are good now but just as we started getting to that point my grandmother passed away. Yes grandma was 91 and after living 13 1/2 yrs without grandpa was probably more than ready. Although I'm happy for her to be with grandpa, her parents and other family members again it was still a tough time. The hardest part about it was watching my mother handle her feelings considering grandma passed the week before Easter which is the same week my father died just two years ago. Luckily I was able to make it to Utah for her funeral.
I go to the doctor for my diabetes check up and although I have continued to lose weight even during my last month of struggles my diabetes numbers are going up...NOT GOOD!
Next our nephew David flew out here to go to Denver with Pat for the opening Rockies game as well as game 2. They had a blast! Although Pat and David spent the majority of the time together I was also blessed to spend some time with him. While David and Pat were in Denver together I was blessed to spend 3 full days with 7 of our other nieces and nephews. Here's the schedule as happened...

Wed. April 7th @ 11:20am - I pick David up at the airport. Same day @ 3:30 We go to the Shult home to take Melanie to the airport so she can go see Mark graduate from NCO Academy. Thus me spending time with some of our other nieces and nephews.

Thurs. April 8th - Get up, get kids off to school. Pat and I take David, Hunter and Tyler to Chuck E Cheese for lunch while the other 5 are in school. Kids come home from school; homework, piano and chores are done. David and Pat come to the Shult home for dinner then head back to our house to get ready to leave for Denver in the morning.

Fri. April 9th - Pat and David stop by the Shult home @ 3:30am to tell me good-bye as they head for Denver. Get up to get kids off to school. Hunter, Tyler and I run a couple of errands and then all laid down for nap. Kids come home from school; again homework, piano and chores are done. We head to Dakota Party downtown to get "Welcome Home" and "Congratulations" banners and balloons for their parents who will be home the next day. Stop at Shoppette, rent "Imagine That" for movie night. Make homemade pizza for dinner then ate plenty of popcorn and candy while watching movie. Pat and David made it to Denver in time to see the 1pm opening day game then checked into hotel, went to dinner, went to Target to buy swimming suits, back to hotel to swim and then to bed.

Sat. April 10th - Make 3 layer triple chocolate cake with chocolate icing with Katie and Madde for parents homecoming. After breakfast all children make a poster for their parents to hang on garage with banners previously mentioned. Lunch, then Justin, Hunter and Tyler took naps while Katie, Madde, Tofer and Lexana helped hang banners and signs on the garage. After nap kids play outside until dinner. Have dinner then baths. Put youngest 3 to bed, allowing oldest 4 to stay up and wait for mom and dad. Tofer was the only one awake at 11:30pm when they came in.
Pat and David meet up with Jen and Mike Timmer for lunch at Casa Bonita then go to game 2 of the Rockies. The game went 14 innings! Afterwards they went to IHOP where David was crashed before they got there. Went back to hotel to sleep.

Sun. April 11th - I got home around 12:30am, was not tired so I stayed up until 2am. Got up @ 7am to go to church. David and Pat head home around 9am. On the way home Pat drove David to see Crazy Horse Monument. They arrived home around 4:30. Went to Applebees for dinner and got to hear all about Denver and the fun they had. Enjoyed watching Pat and David interact and yet sat there also thinking about how Brecken would be the same age. Kind of bittersweet. Came home where Pat and David played video games and fought...made me laugh!

Mon. April 12th - Pat and I took David to see Mt. Rushmore where he had fun trying to pick George Washington's nose. Came home to another night of video gaming and fighting (friendly competitive fighting). I packed so I could leave to drive David home to Utah the next day.

So day by day of the fun while David was here and while I was with the Shult children...wait, here comes the down side of the roller coaster again.

David and I get up and out the door to head to UT by 5am. Making great time, should make it to Utah by 4pm, just in time for David to get to his baseball game. Reached Casper, WY by 9am. Stopped to fill up gas tank and use the facilities. Klutz, me, trips over the gas hose and down I go...I think my right arm is broken. Could not even put the key in the ignition. David had to as well as start the vehicle. Pull over to the store part of the station and go in tell them I fell and think I broke my arm. Was told this is how you go to the hospital...drove myself to the hospital. Checked in to the ER of Wyoming Medical Center @ 9:40 am. Dislocated shoulder...AAAGGGHHHH! Seriously! Call Pat, he is now getting extended leave approved to come and rescue us. Although I am drugged and my shoulder is put back in place and I'm not to drive and my husband is not there yet the hospital releases me at 3:05pm. David and I go sit/sleep in the car until Pat gets there at 4:45pm. Two vehicles now in Casper...drive very carefully to the WalMart with Pat close behind. Get prescription filled and leave his truck parked in the lot and head to Utah around 7pm. Get David home at 1:30am and arrive @ my mom's place @ 2:45 am. Oh yeah while I was in the hospital my friendly little "monthly" visitor arrives...I CAN'T USE MY RIGHT ARM...GO AWAY!
We stayed in Utah just for Wednesday and were on the road by 4am Thursday as Pat has school @ 5pm...he'd already missed Tuesday's class. Pat drove most of the way to Casper...I drove partial due to having to do it once we were to Casper anyways. Arrived in Casper, went into WalMart to potty then stopped at a different gas station to top of both vehicles...BTW, Pat fueled the vehicles, I was not going there. Pat followed me from Casper to home. Was not taking an pain meds as they were narcotics and all I needed was to be pulled over and them see some of the prescription missing. OUCH!

Made it home by 3:30pm thankfully Melanie and Mark brought dinner to us when we got home so Pat had a chance to eat before going to school. I crashed while he was at school. Friday morning, life starts back as normal!

OK, not sure what the Lord wanted me to learn the last two months but here is what I have learned. First of all, all things are in the Lord's time not ours and that He has a plan for us that may be different than ours. Second, we can have great family relationships even if it is not through blood...I already knew this considering all of our "other" nieces and nephews that are not through blood but I have a had a GREAT reminder lately especially with our newest 7 nieces and nephews. We love you guys so much!! Third, sometimes you need to slow down to appreciate all you have and to allow others to serve you and if you choose not to the Lord may help you do so. Fourth, the Lord's view on what I can handle is a lot different than my view. And, finally last but definitely not least how much the Atonement means to me.

I will end just by saying how thankful I am at the knowledge that the Lord loves me and is mindful of me. I'm thankful for the Atonement in my life and the blessings it gives me. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband (who lately has to help me put on my bra, do up my pants after using the restroom, brush my hair etc...). I'm thankful for my family (both mine and Pat's) for encouraging and loving words when I'm feeling so stupid for being a klutz. I am truly thankful for wonderful friends(or in other words, other family) who are willing to bring in dinner and do anything they can to help including lending their shoulders to cry on and take time from their families to do so. I pray that all my family and friends know how much I love and appreciate them.

I will try and post some pics of Denver soon!

It's Only Been 4 Months!

So I thought I was going to stay on top of this blog thing...well I haven't done so well lately. OOOPPPSSS!!!
New Year let's start fresh on staying on top of it. I will start by recapping the last few months missed.

In my last post I said I would do the second half of September...hmmm, after coming home from our vaca I really don't remember too much of the rest of the month. On the 26th though we went to Watiki Water park for my birthday and enjoyed time with our friends the Brinkmans, the Nielsens and the Cordes. Thanks to Pat for planning this day. Thanks to Jerri for getting us reduced priced tickets!

October seemed to go by so quickly. On the 12th of October I left for UT to help mom do some remodeling in her home. I was there for 2 weeks. Unfortunately we did not get all we wanted accomplished but it was still nice to go and spend some time with mom. After returning on the 26th I was hurrying to finish planning our Halloween Party we were having on the 30th. So much fun...some chose to dress up and some did not, I should have given out best costume awards...they would have gone to Mel and Mark who dressed up as Danny and Rizzo from Grease although Pat made a pretty good looking Indiana Jones! We played a couple of games to include eating the donut off of the string while on your knees and taping the nose on the jack-o-lantern. Lots of food to include Witches Brew (homemade chili), Swamp Water (homemade rootbeer), Skeleton bones (bread sticks),dogs in coffins (little smokies in croissants), Shrunken heads (homemade caramel apples), Melting witches (yummy...thanks Mel) and Cemetery cake...we also had a veggie tray and popcorn balls. Pat and I had fun decorating the house...we had cob/spiderwebs, spiders, scary music, jack-o-lanterns, a strobe light, a motion detected skeleton and fog. Having the Shults, Nielsens, Armstrongs (plus their extended family that was here visiting), the Cordes, the Timmers and us we had 30 people (14 adults and 16 children)here...so much fun! Our house was busting at the seams but oh so much fun! On the 31st Kris came over and sat in our garage with us to pass out candy to all the trick-or-treaters...this has become a yearly tradition for us. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures of the party because I was too busy hosting :0( I think I did get a couple of photos of the jack-o-lanterns though.

November came and went, the only significant thing was Thanksgiving. Mom was able to come visit with us for Thanksgiving. We ended up having Thanksgiving dinner at the Nielsens house and then coming back to our house for pie. After pie we played "Sing It" on the Playstation 2, what a blast! Black Friday mom and I went shopping! Yeah, we haven't done that in a long time. It was a tradition mom and I have had from the time I was 12. Pat and I made a major purchase the Saturday before Thanksgiving...we finally bought the new entertainment center I'd been wanting and the big/flat screen TV that we had both been wanting. This was definitely our Christmas!

December was also a quick month...not much more than normal. Hang lights, put up the tree and prepare for the holidays. Pat's work party was up at a new hotel/casino in Deadwood. They offered us a major discount on rooms for after the party which we took advantage of. We thought it was just going to be us for Christmas this year but mom's "secret Santa" bought her a plane ticket and sent her here!!! What a nice gift for mom and us. Santa brought us a Wii and a Blue Ray Player, I think we were spoiled this year. We were going to have the Timmers over for Christmas dinner but unfortunately due to the weather they were unable to come. My poor mother was besides herself being stuck in the house for a few days because of the blizzard...WELCOME to South Dakota! Mom headed home on the 29th so she could spend New Years with my brothers and their families since we'd had the privilege of having her here for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
New Years Eve was spent at the Nielsen's house where we ate and played several games...we played Apples to Apples, Guesstures and two others which I don't remember the names of but they were so much fun!!

January just went by too fast...nothing real major to speak of except on the 28th I was informed I had bronchitis. What is it with this time of year and my health...last year over Valentines weekend I was in the hospital with pneumonia.
Other than that we are just living day to day and enjoying our life together.

Now that I have summed up the last 4 months I really am going to try and stay on top of this blog so my postings are not a mile long. I will see if I have any photos to add to this posting. Til next time!

September Days Part 1

The month of September was a fun and quick one! Our September actually started on August 31st...I know that doesn't make sense but oh well.
We left for our 2 week vacation on Monday August 31st because we did not want to be traveling on the 1st. September 1st is our wedding anniversary! This year was a special anniversary due to it being our 10th (don't get me wrong, all our anniversaries are special).
We left Rapid City on Monday around 10am and arrived in Las Vegas around 2:30pm where we spent the next 8 nights. Well you may ask, what did we do for that long in Vegas...A WHOLE LOT!

Mon. Aug 31st - Arrive in Vegas, get rental car, go to Timeshare and check into our condo, go grocery shopping so we don't eat out every meal, come back to condo, eat dinner, go swimming and relax.

Tues. Sept 1st - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! Started the day out at the Las Vegas Temple where we did a session and sealings. What a great way to start off our anniversary, being reminded of the promises and covenants we made with each other and the Lord 10 years ago. We stopped at In and Out Burgers for lunch...YUMMY!
That evening started off by having dinner at Kahunaville located in Treasure Island. The main event of our anniversary was seeing "Mystere" Cirque Du Soleil also at Treasure Island. AMAZING...well worth the money!

Wed. Sept 2nd - We left the condo at 5:30am since Pat had a 6:57am tee time at Boulder Creek Golf Course in Boulder City. I of course went along and drove the cart. Pat got lucky in the fact that the golf course scheduled him to tee off with two laid back, retired gentlemen that just go to relax instead of being there to perfect their game. Bob and Rick were so kind in giving Pat hints about the course and in helping him find his ball.
We ate lunch in the clubhouse afterwards and then headed to Hoover Dam. WOW...so MASSIVE and HOT! The temperature at Hoover Dam was 116!! I think only one day of our time in Vegas did it get below 101 during the day. At the Dam we took the Dam Tour which was slightly spendy but well worth the money. We were able to go down inside the dam and look out vents to see the Colorado River the dam holds back.
After heading back to the condo to relax for a bit we went back to Treasure Island and watched the free show "The Sirens of TI" in front of the hotel...definitely not a "family" show although I saw several families there.

Thurs. Sept 3 - We ate breakfast at the condo and then headed to Las Vegas Outlet Center. Way too much money spent there but the amount of things we got for the money spent was wonderful. Oh yeah, we had to stop into the Travel 2000 store to buy some travel "vacuum bags" so we would have room in our luggage!
Now any of you that really know Pat and I, you know that we are baseball fans. Yep, we went to a Las Vegas 51's game! It was their last home game of the season. Although the game was enjoyed and we had good conversation with those sitting around us, it was again HOT! To have ice put in your cup they charged a dollar!! As crazy as that sounds that was one time it was worth paying a dollar for a 32 oz glass of ice, not once but twice! By the end of the game there was a slight breeze and the temperature had dropped about 7 degrees. I never thought I'd be grateful for 100 degree weather at 9:45pm what a difference it makes!!

Fri. Sept 4 - We went to Exaclibur where we walked around the shops, had lunch, went on the Spongebob 4-D ride and then walked to a couple other hotels on that end of the "Strip". We had tickets for "Tournament of Kings" dinner show that night so we headed back to the Excalibur. While eating dinner with no utensils we were privileged to see a jousting and fireworks show which told a story of King Arthur. Dinner was delicious, we had tomato soup to start and then a full Cornish hen, potato wedges and broccoli for the main course and apple tarts for dessert.

Sat. Sept 5 - The Adventuredome at Circus Circus was OK. We rode the rides, looked at vendors and had lunch but we were done with that within a couple of hours. We actually watched one of the side shows and played the carnival games that were separated from the Adventuredome and had quite a bit of fun doing it.
After spending time in Circus Circus we headed to Fremont Street (which is considered old Las Vegas)...that was cool. We walked in and out of the several casinos and shops and were able to watch a concert and then the light show they do on the ceiling that they put across the street.

Sun. Sept 6 - Pat actually studied a bit; this vacation was causing him to miss 4 - 5 hour classes and two mid-term tests. That evening we went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner where Jeff, Pat's step-brother, works. We also went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum that night. It is breathtaking how life like the wax figures are. That was extremely fun and we took tons of pictures.

Mon. Sept 7 - Pat was able to do some more homework and studying. The night before, Jeff had invited us to come to his place the next day and visit so around 11:45am we followed his map and headed to his place. Jeff bought pizza and we visited for about 3 1/2 hours before he had to go to work. We were able to meet his 5...yes 5 ferrets! Seeing them made me miss my sweet little kitty Maio even more.
After we left there we headed back to the strip and went to the Coca Cola store and M&M World where we bought even more souvenirs. At the Coke store you can purchase for $7.50 samples of 16 sodas from around the world...not quite sure I would drink soda if I lived in some of those places. There were some wonderful tasting ones and then some uugghhhh, I need to run to the bathroom and get sick tasting ones. It was still fun and interesting, don't regret doing it at all.
We went to MGM Grand and had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe before heading back to the condo and packing so we could leave bright and early the next morning.

Tues. Sept 8 - Return rental car, take shuttle to airport, catch plane to Utah, arrive in Utah, get yet another car rental, drive to my mom's house, go to Lowe's with mom to order her new kitchen cabinets, go get dinner at Maple Express (a must when we go home) and finally...relax!

Wed. Sept 9 - I was lucky to be able to meet up with some of my past co-workers from Washington High School for lunch. They are all retired except for Judy who only works until noon on Wednesdays. We had a blast, it was fun catching up with Edna, Ann, Joyce and Judy. Unfortunately Mozelle forgot, Dottie lives out of state and Steve, well he probably wouldn't of come because he would have been the only guy there!
That evening Pat went golfing with my brother Jayson while mom and I babysat Helen, Dorothy and Jase for Jayson and Lori and also Natasha and Patricia for Justin and Lisa.

Thurs. Sept 10 - Pat did more homework and studying in the morning while I did laundry. That evening we went to a Raptors baseball game with mom!

Fri. Sept 11 - We drove to Leamington/Delta, Utah area for Pat's brother Mike and Nissa's wedding festivities. We helped finish setting things up in the chapel, had a rehearsal, went and checked into our hotel, cleaned up and went to the rehearsal dinner.

Sat. Sept 12 - Checked out of our hotel room, went and waited in Tiff and George's room, got ready for the wedding and headed to the chapel in Leamington. Once at the chapel I helped Tami finish up the bridal party's hair and helped Nissa's mom and maid of honor get Nissa into her dress. The wedding only started 10 minutes later than planned and turned out very nice.
The reception was my favorite considering I was actually able to spend some time with Pat since he had been pretty much occupied as best man. Pat, who is not one to dance in public, made sure he twirled me all over the dance floor that night...I felt like a high school girl with butterflies in my stomach as we danced and stared into each others eyes.
As soon as the reception was over we made the 3 hour drive back to Ogden.

Sun. Sept 13 - I went to church with mom while Pat stayed home and studied some more. Around 2:30 we were able to meet up with Annie and Sean (Mike's ex and son) at her sister's house in North Ogden for a couple of hours to visit. We have not had the opportunity to spend much time with Sean considering they live in Idaho. I sure appreciate Annie being willing to let us have a relationship with Sean. We had a great time talking and playing with Sean although it broke our hearts when we left cause Sean told us we couldn't go. Annie said that was good cause if Sean doesn't like someone he practically pushes them out the door when they say they are leaving. We really love that little one!!
Once back at mom's house we had a delicious homemade meal and then my brother's families showed up for dessert...brownie sundaes, YUM!

Mon. Sept 14 - Go to Post Office to mail ourselves a package since we purchased too much, go to Newgate Mall and eat Chick-fil-A for lunch (also a must when home), go to See's Candies (some is on the way Suzy!), return rental vehicle, catch plane to come home...oh wait, layover in Denver where we ate at Mesa Verde (best place to eat in Denver Airport) and finally home! WHEW!!

All in all we had a great and very busy two week vacation. It was very nice to spend some quality time alone and then to be able to see our family and some friends. Wish we had more time to see other friends and family but there is always next time. I will post some pics through slide shows and there will be another post to finish out September. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as we did doing it!

Just a quick thanks to all those who helped make our vacation possible. Mom for allowing us to pay her a little to use her timeshare, the Nielson family for getting us to and from the Rapid City Airport and the Armstrong family for taking care of Maio, our house and yard.

August Happenings

August was a BUSY month! To start out Pat's birthday is August 5th and as silly as this sounds I threw him a party at Chuck E Cheese. Ok, yes we may be a bit old for Chuck E Cheese but Pat loves the pizza and of course ski ball. What better way to throw a party then there...I didn't have to make my house immaculate just so we could have a bunch of friends over to help make it messy again. Well worth the money, all were fed and entertained and I didn't have to clean up!!! To make that day a bit more interesting our friend's the Armstrong's had their 4th child Keagan. Amanda wanted me to be there to witness the birth but I had of course planned Pat's surprise party and had invited them before we knew what day Keagan would be here. I was at the hospital all day with Amanda and Courtney w/out much progression all day. As sure as I leave, Amanda was almost completely dilated 45 mins later. Pat's party started at 5:30 and Keagan was born I believe at 6:23...I guess I could have gotten the party started and then left Pat to host his own birthday but he would have also been left to take care of 2 of the 3 other Armstrong children. Oh well it was a fun day with our friends the Brinkmans, the Nielsens, the Hansons, 2 of the Armstrongs, the Cordes' and the Timmers.
Emma Armstrongs birthday is August 6th and since her brother had been born the day before I was able to spend the majority of the day with her. While Pat worked I went to WalMart with Emma and Cassidy and picked up Emma's birthday cake, then we went and got lunch for us and their parents and headed to the hospital to celebrate her 4th birthday. After Pat returned from work he and I took Emma and Cassidy out for dinner @ IHOP where they sang to Emma. We returned home and waited for their mom and dad to come and pick them up once they were released from the hospital.
While Pat was at school on August 11th I went to a "Town Hall" meeting concerning the homes we live in here at Ellsworth and found out that they have enough larger units that although we don't technically qualify for a larger place we could get one. When Pat got home I told him about this, we were into the housing office the next day to see if it was for real...well it was! Within 15 minutes we had signed for a new house, scheduled a pre-inspection for our current house, was informed we could have the keys for the new house on Friday the 14th and set up our final out of first house for August 24th.
Funny story...our friends the Brinkmans who we had lived next to for 5 1/2 years bought a house off base and moved out the end of July...guess who's old house on base we got? It worked out nicely...no major packing just walking things from one house right next door! We started taking things off walls on Thursday and then once we had the keys Friday we basically got all moved thanks to lots of hard work and also some friends. Thanks Courtney A, Michael, Jerri, Kevin, Kris, Allison and Courtney B...also thanks to the Shults and Michael's neighbor who loaned us their hand trucks.
Once we were moved it was a matter of cleaning the old place. Now my house can get messy from time to time but overall I thought I kept a clean house...AAGGGHHH the things you find when you move furniture!
With school time around the corner our friend Amanda Packer emailed to see if we wanted a visitor before she started school on the 24th...I told her she was more than welcome but we had just found out we were moving and I would be putting her to work, she came anyway! Monday the 17th the Brinkman girls came and helped me start cleaning, Tuesday Amanda arrived and we finished the rest on Wednesday and Thursday! Thanks for all your help girls!
Luckily we got that done so we were able to do some enjoyable things with Amanda including bowling, going to a Demolition Derby at the fair, visiting our friends the Deals, who live in Wall, and playing Settlers of Catan.
Part of the time that we were moving the Central States Fair was going on which we had purchased Grandstand passes for. The Demolition Derby that we attended with Amanda was part of that, we were also privileged to hear Heidi Newfield, Chris Cagle, Dustin Evans and Rodney Atkins in concert (I only took my camera to Dustin Evans and Rodney Atkins). We also attended one night of the PRCA Rodeo with Mike and Jen Timmer.
Sunday the 23rd after attending Sacrament Meeting Amanda left. On the 24th we had our final out...I was so nervous but the inspection lasted a total of 5 mins and we passed with flying colors. Now we had just a week to get organized enough to go on out 2 week vacation. Although we left August 31st I will include our vacation in September's post. Enjoy the pics for this month!

July Activities

July of course starts out with Independence Day, we for the most part just had a nice, long, lazy, enjoyable and rainy weekend. In years past we have gone to Mt. Rushmore for the fireworks but this year we had a family season pass for the Post 22 Baseball League. Although we definitely did not get our moneys worth because we only attended a couple of games we were able to see a nice firework show after the game on the 3rd. According to many friends the fireworks this year at Mt Rushmore were difficult to see due to a fog right above the President's heads. I guess we picked a good year to miss.
Not too much else happening besides everyday life and Pat starting school again through the middle of July.
On July 24th we were able to see Taylor Swift in concert...poor Pat was one of the few "men" there...trust me there were plenty of teenage boys but not many men. We both enjoyed it, she puts on an awesome concert, joining her was Gloriana as well as Kellie Pickler.
Saturday, July 25th on a whim we drove to Pierre for the day. Seriously no reason behind it except we have lived here 5 1/2 years and had actually never been to the state capitol.
The drive to Pierre took about 2 3/4 hours each way. I enjoy long car rides together because it gives us a chance as a couple to catch up and even learn new things about each other and our pasts. It amazes me that even though we have been together 13 years I can still learn little things about Pat.
We took back highways instead of using the interstate on the way there, basically through tons of farmlands. As pretty as that was it was not very nice to our car...we'd heard on the news that the grasshoppers were bad this year but we had no idea until that day that it wasn't an exaggeration. You could literally see them coming at you and then splatting against the grill, hood and windshield dozens at a time.
Once to Pierre we went to a park bordering the Missouri River and ate our picnic lunch, went for a walk and took pictures. Once that was done we drove up to the Capitol building and viewed it from the outside due to it being a weekend and took some pictures there. Although our stay in Pierre was just a few hours we had an enjoyable time while there and of course on the drive there and back.
I will post a few pics from our time in Pierre and then move on to August activities.

And I Thought I Had Procrastinated Before...

Here it is already nearing the end of September...man where does the time go? Our summer went by fast and was filled with much fun. I will try and catch all up with separate posts for each event so as to not make a long, boring and hard to follow one. I will start from July and work my way to present day...here it goes!