A Quick Update in Photo Form

Door Hanger, Valentine's Day Project 2015; My sister and I worked together on it.

Spring Blooms in the Neighborhood. Had to get out and enjoy the weather, and my camera!

The tree outside our house in Spring bloom.

Pastor M and Pastor B, Pastor B's Parents; At the Farewell dinner Zion hosted to show our appreciation and goodwill to Pastor B as he was called to a congregation elsewhere.

The Family at the Lake.

Great Grandma Reading to T at the Lake.

Happy Bday Gma!

We had to have cake for her Bday, complete with sprinkles, and Fleishkeukle for lunch!

Scout at the Science Center enjoying Bubble Bliss. I took photos for the event. You can see some of them on the Gateway to Science Facebook page.

A special letter craft for my little friend to hang in her room. Reorganized my craft room so I can get more done. I have lots of sewing to do before Dad goes to Mexico on a mission trip late this winter.

Time Flies!

 Hello All, It has been WAY too long since I've posted anything. My husband and I have been very busy for what seems like the last two years! I have been squeezing in some sewing and crafting though. Here are a few of the things I got accomplished since I last posted. 

~Above: Burp cloths for friends who had little ones last winter.

~A baby blanket my mother-in-law helped me make. 

I got to quilt it on her long arm machine! It was a little scary at first, but I got the hang of it enough to finish the quilt. It was an item donated to a fundraising auction, so some lucky little one must be dragging it around loving it. <3

 ~These are letters I made for my cousin's sweet little ones. It sounds like they will hang over each of their beds.

 

~My sister-in-law and I like to make a food craft each Thanksgiving when she comes to visit. This year we choose minions. They're just marshmallows and candy melts with googly eyes and frosting. But they were a blast to make. And the day care kids who got to enjoy some were pretty excited.

~ Each year our church hosts a Giving Tree of sorts, for our local Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch here in Bismarck, as one of our Pastor's is very involved with the youth there.

 My mother-in-law and I decided it would be appropriate that each of the residents receive a pillow case each Christmas, as part of the "Million Pillowcase Project."

 It is hard knowing some of the residents do not have much or may not have family who care, so the point of the tree at church is to make sure they each have a little something for Christmas. Hopefully the pillowcases are just a little something extra to remind them of the reason for the season, and that people they don't even know care about them.

 ~This is a blanket for a little girl. Her mom works with my dad, and she is also an engineer. So it seemed only appropriate it be girly on one side and engineering on the other side.

So much has happened in life since I last posted it is hard to know where even to begin, so bear with me and I'll try to stick to the big events. 

Last fall my grandma on my mom's side moved into an assisted living facility and is very happy there. About that same time my grandfather's health took a turn for the worse and he moved in a nursing home, where he lived until he passed away the end of June. It was hard to say goodbye to him, but he was in a lot of pain and discomfort the last few months of his life, so it is comforting to know he is not suffering anymore and is enjoying Glory in the presence of our Savior.

My husband and I made a trip our to Washington state for my dear friend's wedding in Sept. We made a little detour on our way through MT to stop and see friends. As usual, the drive to Eureka is gorgeous and I just can't do it justice from a moving vehicle. ;-)

Then we headed to WA for the wedding.We had been through WA on a trip to OR before but not the region Wallawalla is in. So it was neat to see the vastly different geography.

We ate at an AMAZING Chinese restaurant (It sorta ruined Chinese for us, as nothing in the midwest really compares to it.) then I got to have some fun with the bride and friends at her bachelorette party at a neat little pub in downtown Wallawalla, WA.

The ceremony the next day was held outside in a gorgeous park, and the weather could not have been any better. It was a beautiful ceremony and I feel blessed to have been there to celebrate with them.

On our way out of town we had to stop and get some Wallawalla onions. :-)

After the wedding we had free reign to drive back to ND on a route of our choosing as long as we made it back for work in time. So we made a few stops along the way, meandering wherever we felt.

We stopped at "Craters of the Moon National Monument," where we saw lots of neat volcanic rock formations, climbed a volcano, and did a little cave exploration!

We also visited the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park:

Not only did we tent camp in Yellowstone in Sept (Brrr!) we also heard the male elk ALL night long, as it was mating season.  We of course saw lots of geysers and the clay pots, we also took a short hike down down to one of the falls, saw LOTS of buffalo, and even a moose!

 The last place we visited was Devil's Tower, a favorite of my husbands, as he grew up near there. 

We had quite an adventure!

Since then we bought our own place, and are slowly getting everything settled in. We are down to just two rooms that need some major organizing. So it's getting close! We're both very happy to have a place to call home which is our own. 

The holidays went by in a blur, as usual. And somehow it is all the sudden Feb. And today being President's Day, I'm off to work on some of the many projects I have waiting in my craft room. :-)

Blessings to you all!

~Kate

Weekend Travels

 Hello! What a buys couple weeks it's been. 

My husband and I made a trip to the MN Science Museum two weekends ago and to Medora last weekend. The trip to the Science Museum was mostly work related as my husband wanted to visit as he works at the Gateway to Science Center as the Gallery Supervisor. We both had a blast exploring the museum.

 The main galleries were fun, and it seems they are always adding new things! Above is a photo of part of the exhibit on light.

 This is also part of the light exhibit, where colors from light are refracted and "shadowed" onto the wall. 

The traveling exhibit was about the Maya and they had so many neat things it was hard to choose just a few photos to share!

 The towers had information on them (these are dates) and while they had great exhibits explaining how the language/calendar system works, it was so neat to see the information outline/overlaid, then the English translation also added.

 The had information on many aspects of Mayan life, including what people wore. This hands on exhibit allows you to create patterns similar to those used by the Maya in their clothing, using blocks.

 There were many artifacts on display, especially pottery and other clay objects from ancient Mayan life. This is a vase with the Maize god on it, related to the ancient Mayan creation story.

 You can to piece a vase back together, like an archaeologist.

No matter what all they add, this is still my favorite! There is a computer which measures seismic activity around the world and the vibrations are translated into the many tubes hanging in the cafeteria, which produce different sounds based on the data.

MEDORA

 Our weekend in Medora was rainy, so I did not take my camera out and about with us. However, when we drove the loop in the Theodore National Park, we saw lots of wildlife, so I was able to get lots of photos without getting my camera wet.

 We saw a bison herd, and as Bison are one of my husband's favorite animals I had to take any many photos as I could.

 I'm not going to lie, it was a bit intimidating, having such a large animal within 10 or so yards of the car.

 We also saw three different groups of wild horses. They were all a bit farther from the road, but if you look closely you'll see them.

 After driving through the park, we ate at the Pitchfork Fondue, and saw a large storm pass through while we waited for our food. It rained so hard, it was a sheet of gray in the distance. The lightning was beautiful against the backdrop of the Badlands, and we could feel the thunder in the ground.

 After supper we saw the Medora Musical. It was a fun evening, including a performance by the featured group, "Zuma Zuma." They are acrobats, fire eaters, and contortionists. It was amazing and a little unnerving to watch them.

Lastly, we played golf at Bully Pulpit. It was an amazing course. Mostly, the scenery was amazing. The back nine holes are gorgeous and a little terrifying as for three of them you're actually up in the Badlands, not just playing in the basin. I had a great time golfing with just my hubby, even though he is a lot better golfer than me. :-)

Summer Twilight (I Can't Believe It's Almost Through)

Hello, Hello!
It's been a busy summer so far. My husband went back to school to become a GIS technician, and he started working at the Gateway to Science Center as the Gallery Supervisor. So he has been VERY busy.
My sister had foot surgery at the beginning of the summer so it was fun to have her around and spend time with her once she could be up and about. We made a few meals together, so a couple movies, and just hung out. All of which we don't get to do very often since we've not lived in the same place for so long. It was a fun time. :-)
We also spent a weekend at the lake cabin of a friend, on a bay of Lake Sakakawea. The water was chilly, but the squirt fight with the kiddos was fun, so it made it worth the while. We also got to play some games with our friends, which is always a blast. Thanks for hosting us, Schuey!
We did the usual 4th of July shenanigans, including sending dangerous chemical concoctions into the sky to explode (my favorite part of the 4th of July) in honor of our country's founding.(We did have one flip and shoot towards the house and the neighbor's horse pasture. Thankfully both are alright, and no animals were harmed as the horses were in the stable. Note so self, wear sneakers next time I light off fireworks, much easier to run in than flip-flops when something goes awry...)
What else have we been up to....

Oh, the dam!
My in-laws have a ranch outside of town. There used to be a little trickle of crick on their property...Now there is more of a pond, followed by a larger crick, as we helped build a dam for it. My husband and his friend ran the heavy machinery, I got to use the chainsaw (sorry, no pictures; I know, they really dropped the ball on that), and my Father in Law was the work foreman. We used some old telephone poles to build the dam then filled it in with mud to help stop it up. It was great fun! Maybe I'm in the wrong field...

We had a family get together, as my sister in law took a job in AK (good excuse to plan a trip, right?) and we wanted to spend time together before she moved. We thought we should take a couple family photos before she left. (The dogs are their french griffons.)

 Other than that I've been doing the usual to keep busy. I wove a few hats on my loom. I made a birthday banner for my nephew (I did not expect the delight I received from an excited 7 year old just to have his own birthday banner). And I picked Juneberries and Nan King Cherries with my Mother in Law. So far I've made Juneberry pie (I big hit with my family) and Juneberry preserves (good on pancakes or in a sandwich).
The cherries are in the freezer until the chokecherries are ripe, as my dad and I plan to process them at the same time since they will be similar in processing techniques. Why make two messes when we can make one big one, right?
Well, that's all for now. Enjoy summer, don't get eaten alive by the mosquito population, and stay hydrated!

P.S. Just an update an Alice, our friends' cat: She still likes to play in the huge tree in their yard and generally enjoys driving them crazy (in a good way, they assure me). They just put her out in her tree when she's got too much energy to be in the house and she wiles away the time climbing up and down; In case you were all as enamored with her antics as I am.

To MT and Back

 Hello!

We are back from a much needed, but much too short, vacation. We drove to Eureka, MT for a graduation, which was Friday afternoon. Then we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with friends before driving all the way back. 

The friends we stayed with have chickens. This is the one M just had to show me. She's got some character, doesn't she?

This is what about half the chickens look like. The rest look like farm raised chickens, white with yellow beaks. The roosters were too skittish for photos.

 This is "The Res," or reservoir, technically. In the spring you can walk clear out to where the town that was flooded out when the res was built rests. Not much left, just some odds and ends and railroad tracks. The glaciers fill in the res in late spring, so we were not able to go that far. The water was pretty much up to the normal shoreline.

 Our friends recently got a new kitten, Alice. She is a little different, as in she runs in circles when she is scared or excited. She also climbed a large tree, and I was not sure she was going to make it down. Though after she did the first time, she went back for more climbing.

 Alice wasn't really sure what to think of the water. She is fearless in many cases, not when it comes to water, apparently.

Just enjoying the view.

Alice testing the waters.

My husband and I enjoying the view.