From one adventure to the next!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. We moved swiftly from the Red River Valley Fair to the North Dakota State Fair. After this weekend, we'll be in Minot for the next six days.

Hopefully after state fair, we'll slow up a bit.

We are looking forward to our quick "vacation" to the cities coming up soon!

School is just around the corner again, and we're hoping to sneak away at least once before Ben's schedule is absolutely full!

Have a good weekend!

My 4-Hers!

Just wanted to share the very nice newspaper spread the local newspaper did for the 4-H kids....apparently it hasn't been done in a LONG time!

We are alive..........

Since we've moved into the new house, its been hard to find time to sit down and dedicate some time to a blog post. It's even worse now that Ben and I have both begun fair season......more on that later.

We're still trying to finish the renovation, the contractor is finally back to work from a really LONG holiday weekend. Hopefully we'll be completely settled in by the time we have family visiting in August.

As for the weather, the natives claim its really muggy......we think its a beautiful '70 degree day after the rain. Our first big thunderstorm rolled through since we bought the house. It's funny that we got a little anxious about it - mostly because the satellite reception is non-existent even during a light breeze and the FM area weatherman doesn't really cover our part of the county.

About 4 a.m. the storm rolled in, thankfully the vehicles were already in the barns from the earlier (much tamer) storm that rolled through the previous evening. We were asleep in the spare bedroom upstairs because the contractor was supposed to come back and we packed up that room so he could work.

With 60 mph gale force, hurricane like winds - the windows were rattling and it didn't take more than a gust or two for Ben and I to shoot straight up out of bed, decide to ready ourselves for a potential basement visit and shoot down the stairs.

Ben sustained a minor injury as he hurried down the stairs, knocking the doorbell ringer off the wall. I tried to thoughtfully grab Bernice as we headed for the main floor - but once I handed her off to Ben she had to fend for herself - he sure wasn't going to put his life in danger to save the measley cat. Plus, she got him pretty good across the stomach.

After a about 30-minutes or so of gathering our flashlights, candles, matches, tennis shoes and wallets - we decided to chance it and fall asleep on the couches in the living room. Thankfully the storms blew through with just minimal damage to our property.

We lost a younger tree in our south yard and some rather large dead branches off a tree near the crick. It took us both to move it out of the drive so we could cross the bridge and drive to work. I also lost a couple of pumpkin plants who couldn't survive the winds....but we were lucky.

The creek is about about 1 1/2 feet with the 3 inches we got at the house and the 4 inches that Buffalo got the same night. Our creek runs east from Buffalo so we'll get the down run of all that rain.

This past weekend, Father's Day weekend no less, my Mom, Dad and little sister made the 10+ hr drive to Fargo to spend some time with Ben and I.

In the hustle and bustle of work, moving and this home renovation I was a little hesistant about the timing - but what I didn't realize is how much I would enjoy the break from our daily stresses to just enjoy the time together and do some things around Fargo that we hadn't made time for yet.

After taking them out to the house (photos to come later) we took Kait to our version of Chucky Cheese. Sorry, no photos. The resturaunt is called SPACE ALIENS. Its great for kids because it has an arcade and the building is in the shape of a UFO with Alien garb all over the place. We did our best to make sure she walked out with a couple of goodies - but I think it would have been cheaper to just purchase things from the souvenior shop rather than on the games to get tickets for the "give-away" items.

On Saturday we did alittle shopping around. The boys went to some garage sales and the girls went to the thrift stores. We all ended up with some neat finds - I love garage saling and treasure hunting.

During the afternoon we heade over to the Red River. I really wanted them to see the mighty Red - since its was once a major port of transportation, shipping and the major livelihood of many early settlers up here in the North. Also, I wanted them to get a feel for the amount of water we have to deal with during the spring. The river was slightly elevated - due to recent rainfall - but during the summer its still about ~30 ft deep in some parts. Its substantially more water than we are used to dealing with in Kansas.

This pontoon takes tours up and down the river and we hoped onto it about 3:00 p.m. Including the five of us, there were two other passengers and two captains so we got the intimate tour. It was actually nice because the captain let Kait drive the pontoon for the majority of the trip. Granted, it was only about 1 hour long - but for her it was a pretty big deal.

He also snapped a quick photo for us with the life saver before we left. It was really neat, plus I got to share my limited knowledge of area agriculture with the other passengers - they were corn farmers from Iowa on vacation. Midwest seed dealers, too!
We dinked around some more on Saturday, I think we went to a furniture store or two? I can't quite remember.

Sunday, after another quick visit out to the house (this time with the camera in tow) we hauled a load of goodies out and did some more brainstorming about work for our contractor who was to start on Monday. Once back in town, we headed to Younker Farm's Children Museum for awhile.

It was Father's Day weekend - so after frauntly representing Kaitlynn as Ben and I's daughter - we got the boys in for free. Kaitlynn really enjoyed the interactive exhibits, including the painting station. I did get my fair share of painting done also.....who says Kait gets to have all the fun?

We even had to visit the photo cutouts for some pictures, but I will admit it had started to get warm during our visit - so we didn't spend too much time out in the direct sunlight.
We wanted to show them campus, the Fargodome and other things associated with NDSU. But we didn't anticipate the Fargodome being locked........however, Ben snuck in through an open locker room door and got us in! Evidently there was a high school football camp going on and they didn't really seem to care that we were lurching around snooping while they were running drills!

So we got them down on the field for a couple of quick pictures. It is pretty neat because its rare for a college team to have an indoor stadium to play in - but up in the tundra its a necessity. Dad and Ben also snuck into the football team's locker room - but the girls weren't that brave. Especially not with Kait being there - we didn't want to expose her to any potential nudity!

We ended the weekend with another helping of home cooking and Kait getting stir crazy. None of the three were used to just hanging out all weekend without work to do or free range to play when and where you want anytime so that got to be challenging. I think they enjoyed themselves up here, I know I enjoyed having them here. Kait was so bored with no toys or people to play with come Sunday night - so I think it was good they headed home Monday morning.

I just want to end this post by saying "Thank you for coming! It was the best way to spend our anniversary weekend, Father's Day and my birthday with Mom and Dad and Kait! We hope the rest of the family gets to come soon - the house should be done by that time! We love you all very much!"

Godsey family photos

Over our whirl-wind trip to Kansas over memorial weekend - we had family pictures taken from an up-and-coming photographer near my our home. It was part of my siblings gift to my parents for the 25th wedding anniversary back in January. We were able to squeeze it in between the Friday, Saturday and Sunday livestock shows that the kids compete in - and boy was it bright outside that day!

We got the official word the that the photos were uploaded and ready for our viewing pleasure. This if just some of my many favorites. You can view the rest of the photos at this link. Josey does a great job (and is VERY reasonably priced)........and we would definitely recommend her to anyone needing senior, wedding, family or engagement photos done. I'm very pleased with how the photos turned out, especially since its been almost 7 full years since we've had family pictures done. Our family has grown considerably since then with the additions of my hubby, Grady's gal and the two little girls.

We'll be making an order in the next couple of weeks - so if you are interested in ordering pictures, please let me know. In the meantime, don't hesitate to admire and then give Josey a call for your next photo needs!

I made it to 25....can you believe it?

It's official. I finally made it to the quarter-century mark. The big 2-5.

It's been a busy couple of weeks with work, the house, a new pet and life. So we didn't actually do too much celebrating on my actual birthday. Except for receiving this beauty.


I've been known to play around with the sewing machine. I have NO formal training, but Grandma Delpha has helped me sew blankets on occasion. But this spring when I atttempted to put my algebra skills to the test - I found a new hobby that I could see myself enjoying quite a bit! Sew..............(haha) I had hinted to Ben that I would like my own machine to do work on and WAL-LAH! there, sitting on my kitchen table on Monday morning was my very own "beginners" sewing machine. To be honest, I have only had time to take it out and admire it......but I do plan on tackling some curtains, pillows and table runners in the new house as soon as we

pick carpet, paint, furniture, light fixtures, and the list goes on....................................

I also got treated to dinner last night at Johnny Carino's Italian Grill (our first free night home at the same time). Ben always jokes that I could have been born Italian (which suits me perfectly because of my desperate plea for a Mafia family to adopt me) because of my love for pasta and bread. I would suggest visiting Carino's..........its delicioso! Plus, the bread with olive oil and herb dressing......it makes my mouth water even though I had two loaves and technically consumed 3 days worth of calories during my evening meal there. Trust me.........................go here, just DOOOOOOOOOOO it.

We also purused around Home Depot for goodies for the new house. Ben claims I'm the worst window shopper of all time because I see something and I immediately "need it." But much to his dismay I was really hesitant about making any decisions about the house until we decide the paint color and carpet color. I never really thought about how much thought it takes to redecorate, renovate or build a house. Its tough stuff. We walked out with two non-descript ceiling fans for the upstairs bedrooms.....rooms that will probably not be used on a regular basis. That was a decision we felt wouldn't necessarily have to reflect the theme for the rest of the house. I know, we're wusses. I'll deal with it.

Finally, possibly the best gift of all..........I got a contractor. Ben got me a contractor. We have a plan set, an estimate agreed upon and are just waiting for him to start. It's starting to come together - we may actually have a house soon.


Today, Friday, the office threw me a picnic to celebrate the end of my birthday week. I asked for steaks, but got hotdogs (beef at least)......but I won't complain, I gobbled mine up like a starving kid. It was kindof a dreary day for a BBQ, but we were able to snag a shelter and enjoy being out of the office for a few hours. There were many best parts of the meal: the beans that I strategically dipped with my wavy potato chips, the cherry coke with real cherries poured in and the smores with Reese's PB cups. Plus, I was surprised with a bouquet of flowers from my wonderful husband who joined us.

All-in-all I think it was a wonderful birthday. I am thankful for the wonderful people we're surrounded by and the extended family we're developing up here in North Dakota. While there is no substitute for our real families - it is nice to have someone to go to for advice, celebrate small milestones with or just discuss life's happenings with. I know both Mom and Dad and Craig and Regina would be pleased with the support people have show us up here and the care their giving us.


I couldn't have asked for better in a birthday - except for the upcoming visits from both real families that I'm anxiously awaiting. I just have to clean, plan the menu, plan activities and get a new outfit (yes, I'm serious - don't act surprised). And then impatiently await their arrival.

You may have heard (I "think" I've mentioned it) that we got our acreage bought. It's ours, they can't take it back. Well the bank can, but that's an entirely different story.

You may have also noticed that we've been M.I.A. from the blogging scene............can you guess why?

It could have something to do with the mid-scale demolition derby we've been conducting inside the 4-walls of the house or possibly because it's a mid-summer's nightmare at work right now. Depending on the day - it could be either, both or neither (I need time to catch a few zzzzz's too).

Anyway, back to the house.

We've torn out carpet, ripped down paneling, removed layers of vinyl flooring and removed nails, staples and splinters from every possible orphus of the house. We've also scratched, bruised and poked ourselves with every possible sharp, electric or heavy object in the house.

Its nearly complete - the demo, that is. We have a contractor coming tonight to give us an estimate on the work we "want" to have done. We'll see how it goes.

I'll give an update, hopefully tomorrow. But the next charge is to deep clean the kitchen and upstairs bedrooms and get my garden planted before I "black thumb" myself out of another $30.00 worth of veggies at the nursery. Maybe Ben will get the new weed-whacker assembled and go to town on the million acres of trees we seem to have!