Curtis has a birthday

Today we had pudding cupcakes and went to nana Lils for lunch . After we came home and Curtis and Jeremy made duck, pheasant and grouse. Orzo pasta and sautéed zucchini . Pretty good. So glad Curtis got a shot gun for his birthday. We should have plenty of game with there hunting skills. The sun actually was out half the day. Even though it was only 24 degrees. It felt fantastic.

Shotgun

So here in ND you do a lot of hunting. So for Curtis' unbirthday he got a shotgun to shoot geese and what not. Blah blah . He is enjoying the feel of that gun and I am feeling for the birds. Brad was the most excited about dad having a gun. They are going in the morning with Lewis and Jeremy . 6:00 am. I will enjoy sleeping in a warm bed. It snowed iced rain. Yep all those today. I am excited to maybe try to make banana cupcakes Sunday for Curtis real birthday to bring to work, it has banana pudding and whipped cream. Yummo! Well for me. We had dinner and cheese cake with the hills and birds. Hawaiian hay stacks feed a lot of people. I love my birthday boy.

Dark at 4:30

I get done with work at five. Ok it's so dark that I want to go home and get ready for bed. It sure is strange depending on your location when it gets dark. Obama won the election.
We had our first killdeer get together for the sisters in our ward. We went to the buckskin bar and grill. Had about fifteen sisters. It was great fun getting to know these new sisters. We are all transplants and a lot of these girls don't work and they live in fifth wheels or small campers. Crazy how people live. Out here. No housing to rent so you do what you have too. We're so lucky to have a home. We're having a get together monthly with the sisters. At my house and were seeing about Ashley's. we're driving from Dickinson we went shopping because of the big storm coming tomorrow and we may get trapped with the blizzard. Marie is in Connecticut for FEMA I am glad she got out. That FEMA has been a freest spot for her. She loves being out. Copper is at Deanna's house probably for the winter. I am sure he loves it there with their kids and there dog that looks like him just smaller.

Freezing

It started out cold, ended colder! Please let this winter be mild. I feel bad for the football players at killdeer. Saturday is sure to be coldest yet. Low 25. Brad is watching the baseball play offs. Curtis and I went to buckskin and shared chicken fried steak dinner. Yep that's how big it is. So good when you are starving. Nichole to a early night to bed. It sure is quiet not having our little friends next door. The costly and bird family moved a few blocks the wrong way. I think Lewis bought another house do they could afford the rent. They split the cost of the top floor and some other couple are downstairs. They are lucky to have two bathrooms we are still with one bathroom but the family has a good rhythm of schedules with the bathroom in the mornings. We all get to our places nice and clean. Getting under a warm blanket and calling it a night. Good night.

Another manic Monday

It's like a schedule weather forecast from last week. Rainy and dark. So I decided to wear my bright yellow scarf to off set the mood. I already feel better and warmer. I am waiting for Curtis to pick me up and I will be off to work. It's pay week so a lot of envelopes and paper shuffling and maybe a handful of truckers wanting to know why there checks are wrong. The truckers never seem to catch the vision of turning in their tickets on time. I know days slip by very quickly but come on huh? Went to work and the Internet went down all day. So only half the pay roll got done. Chaos will happen when the checks won't go in until Thursday. Second time in a row. Ugly days this week. I hope we survive.i hope some how it might go in on time crossing fingers. Watching the debate tonight and see we as a country need a lot more help than we expect. I seem to see more things I was not aware of. I hope payroll goes through and the right president will be chosen.

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Sunday

Sitting under my covered porch and enjoying the cool evening. Wow I love this porch. It looks like it rained a little while I took a nap. Curtis is out on a oil site helping a new pusher and helping where needed. I guess with this job here in Dakota you never know when you are needed. We're so blessed to have such a great places to live and have family everywhere you turn. I have three brothers living in the two houses next to mine and a great sister sister in law and nieces and nephew for my kids. Nichole is in love with the baby next door. Clancy Bird and Brad really likes the father Jeremy Bird age 23. They love to hang and go shooting and fishing with Curtis and Lewis. So blessed.

Brads birthday

Wow Brad has made it to 17 and he is one piece and happy. He plays football on the varsity team and seems to like it. He makes a lot of contact and gets what he is aiming for. He is such a good kid and so glad he is in my life. I love Bradley James Hanzel.

325

We have moved to our home. Now we live one house to the south of our old house. It is plenty big for just the four of us. I am enjoying being with the family without the chaos of other people sharing the same house . We can roam free in our pjs and look out the front door and the big windows. I will be sad when the Hills move up the hill in there new house in a couple of weeks. I know they wish they could live closer to the school and work . It's the only decent house they could find. They will use there house for workers and hopefully that will fix the shortage of housing. It is nice having the kids so close to my kids. Well it's been cooling off slowly and I am enjoying that. I think this heat is crazy. It has been in the nineties way to long. Brad will be turning 17 next week. Wow where has the time gone. Well I guess I will get a move on and get ready for work.

Nice day for a drive

We had Maddies birthday. She turned 13 . Such a cutie. Her parents took kimmie to Byu for school and will be back Wednesday . We will keep eye on the three kids next door. They are such good kids. We are officially moving into our new house in six days. Wow won't know what to do with my own house. No traffic upstairs to wake me and covering up like crazy hoping not to run into other guys using stairs or laundry room. The house will be furnished we will pay for labor to have basement finished. It will be great. I have been thankful for our housing do far. I appreciate so much of the good experience of new things. It's been fun traveling to football games which brad plays on with the killdeer high. He has been having great fun and it's so great that the Hills go to all the games to support the boy and school pride. Next two games will be here in killdeer. The busing they have for the football players is one of those luxury buses. With killdeer cowboys logo on the outside of bus, man you would think there was a movie star inside riding. Good times. All is well and looking forward to the cooler days soon. Love me some jacket wearing days.

Veggie and maple bars

Spencer from burley brought up veggie and maple bars from the fair. Kids loved the maple bars and I will enjoy the produce . Thanks Marie . You're the best. I love me a garden next year. Well off to another week and school stars on Wednesday for Nic and Brad. What happened to summer. Loving the cooler weather and had a great fish fry yesterday. Walleye and pike. With the Hills and Leach family.

Football

Brad played his first varsity football scrimmage game here in ND he did great. A very nice day to watch a football game with the Hills.

17 eggs

Went to Walmart and looked at the eggs to see if any were cracked. No cracked eggs but one missing egg. I looked around and couldn't find it anywhere. So I didn't buy those eggs. I rather get my money's worth and and get 18 eggs. We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant while the kids went to mutual. I guess we will go again it was pretty crowded and good food.

Fireflies

Jeremy took the hill girls and my kids to catch fireflies. The kids are excited and I am excited to see them in there little jars. The are do pretty and they do light up. We had a great weather kind of day. Tomorrow will get 70 and low 45. I love it when it gets cold at night. I just seem to sleep better and the house seems quieter. Well no pic tonight unless the kids get back soon.

House

See antsy thing odd about this house? Yep it's in the middle of the street. I think it might be stuck there. It's do pose to go on a platform but the trees seem to be in the way or it's just going to take some jacking up to get it on. It is one of those nights where the temp has dropped and little burst of rain scatters. It makes me want to get snuggled into bed but it's only eight and I would fall asleep and be wide awake at two. So here I sit freezing on the couch wondering what I should do. Well I found something to do. Netflix. Bye.

Bismark

We went to Bismarck in the pouring rain. It was a fun drive. We listened to country music minus Brad listening to his music with head phones. I think he only had one ear bud in because he likes country but won't admit it. We walked the mall and than we went to see the big Holstein cow. Than we took the back roads and went to historic Indian village. There were no huts just indentations where they had there village. It was a pretty quiet walk to the river in the cool of the night. We talked in whispers and wondered how long they stayed and it was awesome to see deer and little bunnies running around. There might of been some trees with little red berries that might of been the same trees. It was a very beautiful place. The photo of Brad walking along the river was taken by Curtis .the water was low but when the river was high they used it transport supplies back and forth. After we had to take the back muddy roads to the freeway. Since it rained so much we had the pleasure of riding through big puddles. It was Awesome. Well since I skipped a day you get two photos .

For Marie

Hi Marie here is a photo for you . We all miss you and copper. We went to the new Bourne legacy. It was pretty good. I am enjoying the red heeler that sits under my desk at work. We went to Wendy's for dinner . Have a great day whoever reads this We are having ABBA sing us to our home forty minutes away. Breaking up is never easy to do. Knowing you knowing me!

Pharmacy

So this is are little pharmacy/ gifts and two rolls of wrapping paper. It has one each of whatever they have on the shells. Like we're going to buy them all out. It's all good. ND does not have big box pharmacies. Against the rules. Also on Sundays a lot of the stores can't open till noon. It's nice to be together but it will be better when we can move into our new house maybe in a couple of weeks.

Belle

This is a two year old red healer. She likes to hang under my desk. Waiting for attention or snacks. Brad had a appt at the little doctors office at 3:30 today. He went over and the office was closed but the little receptionist said he could come in at 8:00 in the morning. Got to love little towns.

Kids

See the kids are excited to be together. So grateful they have each other. They start football and volleyball on Wednesday. I am grateful for great children. It was a good day in ND. We worked and than drove to Dickinson to do some shopping and came home and hung out watching Olympics. Funny how the kids kept picking out the cute people. I will be sad when the Olympics end. We got a new pickup and we drove it here to enjoy. We are officially fitting in the ND ways.

Salt lake

I am in salt lake this week to pick up truck and get Nichole. It was fun surprising her at camp. I also got my cap fixed. It stayed on a couple hours. I had to wait for the next afternoon to go back and have it replied back on. I am staying with the girls in Provo. I am headed to Saratoga to pick up filing cabinet and see some friends.

Billy

So Michelle and I went to the outdoor retail today at jordanelle. So much hanging out in the sun with all the beautiful people giving out loot. I love free stuff especially shoes. We were also blessed to have Billy Currington sing at the venue. He was awesome. Curtis is home in ND sick. I hope he feels better. I miss you. Tomorrow Michelle and I are going to surprise Nichole at camp and bring her home. She doesn't know I flew into salt lake. It will be a fun day and going to the dentist in the morning. I dread any pain but worth not having pain with teeth.

Apple bees

Look who I found ! Appetizers are half price with a bunch of college kids karaoking. Pretty loud and I think once again I am the oldest one in the room. I think that is happening way to often. Been a long day.

Greta comes to town

Greta is Spencer and Molly's little fifteen month old girl.. She is hanging here till the first of August. She is a sweet little girl. Well it's been one of those nine hour days. Hitting the sack before eleven tonight. It was great watching the olympics. Franklin from the USA won gold in swimming. She was one humble little winner that brought a lot of tears to people watching.Tomorrow will be a fun day for me.

Cool fact

ND grows more sunflowers than any other state. These are the flowers I am always trying to get rid of in the garden and here they grow them on purpose . I guess they have to grow them somewhere. Also it still baffled me how Things grow here in the fields without water. They just plant and wait for it to grow. It was a scorcher of a day. Adios and I will tomorrow .

New town

New town is owned by the Indians . There laws their people. I like how when you come into town they have a sign that days choose honesty. I think every town needs one posted. It was just neat to see. We're going to eat at the buffet. So excited. I am starving. I did make a salad with blueberries, strawberries and turkey. It was fantastic just like the Wendy's commercial. With cable you see all the good foods but no restaurants. We just try to copy cat as much as we can. So my dog copper is in Idaho swimming in the snake river . It looked like something I would love to do today with this heat and no AC in the car. One lucky dog! But I am lucky that I get to go to a buffet. Take that copper😝! This van sales stickers in new town.

Office in killdeer

This is the office of nwctransport. So much more spacious than the house we had to use. It houses a lot of workers and the nifty thing is you go down the hall and there is the grocery store and than you can go down the other hall and there is my bank. That is cool to me. We also share the building with a day care, mail/ laundry service and attorney office. It is the focal point of town. Well today Lewis and Maylynne and fam went to red fish. It is very quiet not having them here. We will just have to hang with ourselves and find something exciting to do. Well so long and thanks for all the fish!

Killdeer

So just a little history that I know about killdeer. There are more trucks in the state as there are mini vans in Utah and Idaho. They are parked at every house and the parking lot is full of them with the guys inside talking on their phones with the truck running . Like gas is free. It may be cheaper here but it kinda bothers me. I think of all those buckle jeans sitting in the malls. What are these men thinking. Well the weekend is almost here and I feel a party coming on! Rock on killdeer. Nichole it's killdeer not kill a deer. Love that silly girl. Tausha sent us goodies from Korea.

Oil rig

So here is what pays for our paychecks. All day you hear in the office fracking, water trucks, bbl, oil trucks ,where are those tickets for the drivers?. What language are they speaking? You learn fast around here. It was one of those crazy days before payroll and the bosses all trying to get out of town for family reunion. The weekend will bring some fun with the ward having a picnic for the pioneer day. I will see how fun fun is in ND. It will be good to get to know the ward members even though we're four families in killdeer . We're the "oh you live in killdeer"? I think it is funny we live so far from the church when we have always lived down the street from church. We really are lucky to be this close to a church out here. Well we're headed home from Walmart it is 45 minutes away. Good times. We drove with Jeremy and Ashley oh yea baby Clancy!

Rainy Tuesday

Nothing like being woken up and sweating. The electricity went off and that means the fan was off. It was so pitch black that I couldn't see one inch in front of me. Until the thunder and lightning lit up the room for two seconds enough time to see if we could find out what happened. We had rain all day even with the sun shining. I guess that's what you call prairie rain. It was kinda misty and getting dark. We went on a motorcycle ride and man that was better than a triple decker ice cream cone. It felt wonderful seeing the mist and having the road to ourselves . I am so glad to have the bike here with us. Curtis took the picture of the day. He even went into mud up to the soles of his shoes.

Kitchen

We are so lucky to have a nice kitchen considering how old some of these homes are. We have seen some scary houses that should be remodeled to live in or up to code. We have made some good meals even in ND. We have to plan ahead because we have to travel 45 minutes to the bigger stores and better prices. If we run low we have a little store just couple minutes from the house. Today I made some zucchini bread with Maylynne for her family reunion. We had a good time hanging out and talking about family. Sometimes a girl just need to hang with girls just a few minutes. Tonight the weather cooled down so Curtis and I fixed the screen door together . It looks great and I bet the guys appreciate having the screen door open without flys. Bruno my brother who lives upstairs ended with staph infection in his leg. The doctor sees him daily and gives him Ivys and antibiotic. Poor guy. I hope he will feel better in a couple more days.Brad went fishing with Lewis And Jeremy. One pike. It was thrown back in. Well better get ready for bed once again. Days go by so differently here I still keep forgetting what day it is.

Bike ride

I decided enough is enough of me laying around all day in my room. I watched four episodes of cake boss and three of office. Out I went at four in the afternoon to ride my bike. I loved it because all of it went down hill. So if you go down hill how do you get back? All up hill. Kill me already when it hit me. It is 97 degrees and no shade to be found. I started to walk up the most uphill part. I finally made it home after about 35 minutes. I was so hot I had to put cold rags on my face and drink ice water. I feel much better thank you! I stayed home with a sore throat from nasal drip. Much better but stir crazy. Curtis wanted to order pizza but the shop had thirty pizzas ahead so no artisan spinach pizza. Well it has been a lazy day Sunday. I still miss my walks with copper and someone to give me a silly grin when they see me, I am sure he is loving grandma like crazy. Well adios and I will pick a photo out of the gallery.

Batman

We went to batman today. Good action Packed show. I think I liked the new robin better than batman. You know you're in ND when most of the movie goers are men packing the theatre. Today was one of those lazy days when you stay in the house till two in the afternoon . I bought some strawberry rhubarb jam in the mall. Some older man was selling. I hope it's good. Well it has been a very warm day. I hope it will rain and cool down tonight.

Big hill

This hill is a very steep hill. I came around the corner on my little bike and wondered how would I make it down without hitting into traffic on main street. Then I started to sweat on the way down hoping the brakes were working. It actually ended up being a fun hill . On the way back I tried to get up the hill and could not do it. So I had to walk up with my bike. What was the city thinking of not leveling some of the streets. I feel bad about those who have to park on that hill in the north Dakota winters. I was able to talk to Tausha from Korea we chatted she is doing great and Carson. Copper is in Burley with Marie. Thank you Marie and I miss him way to much. Sorry to Tad who tried all morning to capture him. All you really needed was a diesel suburban.

Thursday Walmart Run

Went to Dickinson today to go to Applebee's and to buy groceries. Applebee's had jambayla . It was fantastic so I bought the ingredients to make this weekend. We had this bus follow us into the parking lot so it will be the photo of the week. Have a great night you all!

All in a day of learning!

I have the opportunity to do background checks on new employees . Criminal and driving records. My first one showed convicted. Overweight. I had to read it a few times. Convicted because he was overweight? Well I learned that the overweight conviction was from his truck being to overweight. All in a day of learning and knowing what the convictions mean. I am keeping my brain alive in learning so many things that I may not be qualified for. After all I am have been working with food for schools. I have also learned to keep focused on one thing at a time. I get busy and forget where I have placed someone's paperwork. I hope that I can keep my chin up when a trucker comes in and ask where his paper work is? That Will not have that blank stare. I am enjoying the job I have. It's great to be working with such nice people who care about this business providing so many jobs for so many families. We are lucky to live in America and keep our dreams alive. Today I got a letter from my Jessica . That will be my photo of the day. I threw away my envelope so here is Brads.

Hum Hum

Today I found out I don't work for Curtis anymore. He has fired me at least four times. Ok I get the hint geez. No Curtis is over fort berth hold and I will work on the northwest Colorado with a nicer boss Amy. Hehe. I will do the same stuff. I won't have to ask Curtis how is day was and than say to him I know everything you did to day! It will be a good set up. I thought it would rain today and cool off. No such luck but found out St George had so much rain it was flooding Hum Hum for us. Maybe tomorrow . We get to fix screen on the porch door thanks to copper. He was trying to find his momma. He did find me later walking home from work. Well we're having baked potatoes with pork and salad. I hope the house won't heat up to much. Killdeer is still great!

97 and humid

Today we woke up very late. We raced around to make it out the door for church. We made it with five minutes to spare. The bishop got our records do we're officially members of the Dickinson ward. I think 90 percent of the congregation are new and we spend ten minutes to introduce the new people. Today most of them were from Idaho. We took the dog for a walk and almost sweated to death. Poor copper. We have enjoyed killdeer so far and hoping we will keep busy and happy. We are still in the house with a lot of men and one family. Jeremy and Ashley and Clancy the 9 week baby. He is a bit fussy but we are all doing ok with sharing the basement and count our blessings everyday. My cap on my tooth came off which means a trip to salt lake . Without insurance it is cheaper to fly into salt lake and go to grandpas dental and get it fixed there. Well tomorrow will start a new adventure of us being manager of northwest colorado transport. I will be helping Curtis and am waiting for the new challenge. Here is a photo of the day, copper and Curtis in the 97 and humid walk.

Office

So here is my new station in life. Northwest Colorado transport, can I help you buddy? Ok go down the hall and use the side door to your left. Have a good day! I will keep busy with paper work policies and procedures. Just excited to get my new desk and walls so I can blogg my day without bothering everyone else😏pretty sweet spot. Life's great in ND