Buffalo - up close and personal

Pictures of buffalo in the Badlands. They are beautiful, strong creatures.

Enchanted Highway

Pictures from the Enchanted Highway. We enjoyed this day of sightseeing. What a rare treat for us to meet the artist, Gary Greff, at one of the scultures. He is a really nice man and has a love for his town. It was worth the trip to ND to see these art forms!

Salem Sue

The boys really enjoyed this statue! They had never seen anything this size. They were disappointed that it was not real. The following picture and information comes from this site.

Statue Stats:

Location: New Salem, North Dakota (I-94 exit 127)

Height: 38 feet

Length: 50 feet

Weight: 12,000 lbs.

Construction Materials: fiberglass

Special Designation: World's Largest Holstein Cow

Name: Salem Sue

Year Built: 1974

North Dakota

We arrived safely in ND yesterday. We did have several delays on the airplanes but none of them serious. The boys are having a wonderful time and are being spoiled by "Grandpa & Lillian". Today we went to the badlands and saw buffalo, antelopes, elk, rabbits, and prairie dogs. Time is passing too quickly.

Headed for North Dakota

We are fixing to leave for our long awaited trip to North Dakota! Woohoo! I don't know if I will be able to post over the next few weeks or not. I hope so for there are many beautiful places and things to see in ND that I would like to share with all of you. Both boys are excited beyond words!! (as is their Mama)

Friday - the 13th!

To ward off any 'evil spirits' out there waiting to make something happen on this, Friday the 13th, I decided to post a really cute picture of Nikolai. This is guaranteed to keep any evilness away. This was after the doctor's visit yesterday when the doctor told him either the bandages had to come off or he would have to go back to the hospital to cut them off. I drew him a tub of water with Tide detergent and let him soak. Within a few hours, he had pulled all the bandages off! Yippee!! He would not let the doctor nor us get close to the bandages.

And, for any of those folks who are thinking of casting spells on us, we have 5 cats to ward off any enchantment spells - LOL!! Seriously, I just love this picture of Sam in the basket. He is the sweetest cat and loves his mama!! Good boy!!!!

This is my new wreath that I bought for the front door. My friends at school have me a $50 gift cards for helping them with a big project to my favorite shop, Blackberry Hollow. I got lots of neat things from the shop today. This was a wreath that I really liked. I did add a few daisies and daffodils to it when I got home.

More yard flowers

Ah-ha! I knew I had yellow lilies last year. These have just started to open and they are beautiful. My lilies get prettier and prettier each year.

This is one of my daisies that I planted last year. They look a little pitiful to me but I think they will do better as they mature season after season. I love daisies. I love the yellow center.

This is what we always called Queen Anne's Lace. Mama would fix a big vase of colored water and we would watch the flower change from white to whatever color she fancied - yellow, orange, red, green, purple, etc... I always smile when I see Queen Anne's along the side of the road or in the pasture. They remind me of my Mama.

Summer Fun

Deniska and Nikolai had some friends over today - Jamie and Noah. The day was spent with lots of activities: outside riding their toys; petting the kitten; watching movies; and eating popcorn! Tomorrow, they have big plans to go to the free movies and then to Chick-Fil-A. I will pick them up and off to spend the day having fun!!

OK - I give up

It's my fault!! You name it, it's my fault. It's always good to know who to blame in any situation. That would be me in my home. So, I give up. Just blame me...

Did I mention that "I'm sorry" seems to be my favorite thing to say? Not complaining, just observing!

Dennis and I spent 3 hours putting together new bunk beds tonight for the boys only for them to spend an hour fussing over having to sleep in them. My goodness, you would think it would be exciting to sleep in a new bed. Instead, they want to sleep on the floor again. I am tired, my feet hurt, I'm hot, and those boys are going to sleep in their beds tonight! Dennis has put them to bed because of the fussing. I will go in to say prayers with them in a few minutes after they have calmed down. And, again, I will be saying "I'm sorry that you had to go to bed early. But, we love you enough to punish you."

Out of school

Yesterday was my last day of school for the 2007-2008 school year. I was nice to see so many of my students graduate and give me hugs. One touching moment, was when my friend Myra presented her own daughter her diploma. Myra is a principal of an elementary school which was one reason that she was afforded that opportunity. There was another reason as well. Myra has only a few weeks left to live. They (the doctors) told her that she had 6 months to live and that was in December. No one thought she would live to see her daughter graduate. You should have seen the look on Logan's (her daughter) face as her mama gave her the diploma and embraced her. There was not a dry eye in any one's eyes that knew the story. Life is so fragile. But, as my priest told me yesterday, who are we to question God's will?

Flowers in the yard

More pics of my flowers. The lilies, which are white this year, I believe was another color last year - yellow, maybe? Do lilies change their colors? My coleus are doing well in my pan on the porch. We are in a severe drought situation so I did not plant any other decorative flowers.

On, an entirely different subject, Nikolai is feeling a little better today. He was screaming bloody murder yesterday. He at least ventured outside today for a little while. His tummy is also hurting him tonight. I think it is from being put to sleep, probably has him a little constipated. (Well, that was more information than you wanted to know!)

I went to my friend's, Jill, house and left with envy at her decorating talent. I do so wish my home had her homey, comfortable feel. I just do not have that talent.

Surgery is over

Nikolai came through his surgery just fine. He was nervous about the operation and that turned to trepidation. He was very brave and held my hand tight until they wheeled him away. Dennis "held my hand" during the surgery by keeping me talking and my mind off of the surgery. It was quick and the surgeon came back to the room afterwards. He had to put in extra stitches because he had to seal off some extra blood vessels. Nikolai was not fully awake and kept asking where his Papa was. He was not in pain at the hospital but now that he is home, he is feeling pretty sore and in pain. The next week will be hard on him.

Surgery

Just a quick note and then I am off the computer. Nikolai will have his surgery tomorrow morning. He is to be at the hospital at 7:15 AM. I will be glad to have it over and hurt for him over the next few days. I know he will be in a lot of pain. Prayers would be much appreciated!

Another First

Deniska made his first telephone call to a classmate tonight. Aaron, his best friend, had called and left a message. I allowed Deniska to call him back and talk for a few minutes. It was cute to listen to him chat with his friend about what movie he was watching. He had been playing badminton outside when he came in to call his friend. That's why his hair is soaking wet!

Sunday afternoon

Just a lazy Sunday afternoon here at our house. They boys are playing in their room, Dennis is on the computer, and I am watching "Law & Order" as usual. I did cut out 6 more pair of shorts to make for the boys. This is our last week of school. I have graduation on Saturday morning and I will be finished. Nikolai has surgery on Wednesday, so he will be finished in 2 days. Deniska has 4 days, and I have 6 days. I will be glad to have a break for a few weeks before we go back. I keep saying, "This summer, I am going to work on..." That's really silly since my summer break will end up being just a few weeks. I just need to start working now on all of these projects.