Checking in from North Dakota

Well, it is official (well kind of) we are now residents of North Dakota. We left Columbus, Ohio at 4 pm on Thursday August 18, and arrived at our new home at 5 pm on Saturday, August 20. Yeah, it was a long trip, but not bad at all. (Actually very good considering we traveled with 2 vehicles, 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats!!)
 So we have been in ND for over a week now....... and all of our furniture and "stuff" is still in Columbus. The truck was supposed to be here no later than Friday, but it could be next Friday before it gets here!! I did bring 2 lawn chairs with us, but they really are not meant for long term use. I have an air mattress, but again, not for long term use. :-)
 Hunter started school on Tuesday. The entire First grade class has 21 students!! (His Kindergarten class last year totaled 90!!) He loves his new school. (We will see what he thinks of it tomorrow after his first test. LOL)
In the evenings we have been doing some exploring.

Rolling hills, it is funny that you come upon a view like this when just minutes before the land was as flat as a sheet of paper, or maybe cardstock. LOL

I am very surprised at how much water there is in ND. There is a lot of water here!! Any way, we found this Nature Reserve, It had a huge amount of nesting birds on little islands (Strangely enough called "Nesting Islands" LOL) If you look above the sign in the photo you can see one of the nesting islands.

This is a picture of a smaller island. Not sure what kind of bird this is, but they look like pelicans. (Do Pelicans live in North Dakota?? PS- I just googled Pelican, and YES they live as far north as western Canada, so they could be pelicans.)

Friday evening we drove to the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. This is 4 Bears Bridge over Lake Sakakawea. Lake S is the 3rd largest man made lake in the US.
Until my stuff gets here you may have to endure more non-scrappy post. (Oh, I hope it gets here soon!! I really miss my Copcis!!)
Thanks for stopping by!!
Until later~

All she wanted for her birthday....

THIS is what Hailey wanted for her birthday...... "West Birginia!!" The kids love West Virginia, they would move there in a split second if possible. (Hubby tried very hard to get a job there before finding a job in ND.)
The kids have so much freedom while we are there, something they do not get in Columbus. They are free to come and go as they please, and they do. LOL There are lots of cousins there to spend time with, and in West Virginia they have a "Mawmaw" and "Pawpaw" "aunts, uncles and cousins."  And on this trip they got to spend lots of time in the pool.

This is our water loving girl!!

Hailey was content to float all day.

Hunter totally amazed me!! He was doing cannonballs right away. This was their first "real" pool, but Hunter started treading water quickly. He used the floaties for maybe 20 minutes and then he was done with them. The little stinker was swimming underwater like he had been doing it forever.

And there he goes again!! LOL The kids were waterlogged by the end of the weekend,but very happy.  Hailey went to Vacation Bible School one night, then we all went to see the program, in the little church where my daddy grew up. After the program and back at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's everyone gathered for birthday cake and ice cream. Hailey was so surprised!! We all had a great time!!
 It was hard saying good bye this time. I know that it will not be 3.5 hours away any more, but instead it will be 25 hours away. West Virginia is a place where I spent a lot of time during my childhood summers, a place that holds lots of memories, the place where I came from. It is a place where I always feel loved and at home, a place I never want to leave. A place that causes me to have a huge lump in my throat, my eyes burn, and the tears flow every time I say good bye. My kids now are having the same hard time when we leave, but I know why....... Because West Virginia is in our blood!!

And now she is 5.......

So, last week in the middle of all this packing, moving craziness she did it. Without my permission, I might add. I can not believe it, without a second thought my baby girl turned 5!! F-I-V-E!!! Hailey is growing up right before my eyes!!

She picked out her own cake. She went with a brown and pink one with butterflies. She completely surprised us by not choosing a Princess cake or any other Disney/Nickelodeon character available in cake form. Nope, just pink and brown with butterflies for our five year old.

She almost blew them all out with one puff.

And just after I put the camera away she stuck her finger in the icing..... as always. :-)
She has grown so much, and changed so much in five years. Hailey definitely has her own ideas on EVERYTHING!! She has already given me more than enough Haileyisms to write a book. LOL
The cake she chose was a surprise, where she chose to have her Birthday dinner was no surprise- Golden Corral, for some reason she loves that place. (Maybe it is because she can help herself to a soft serve ice cream cone once she has finished her dinner. )
You are not going to believe what "gift" she asked for this year!!!
To be continued............
Until later~

Away we go......

We are packing up and heading west.....we will be making northwest North Dakota our new home. While we are beyond excited!! (a little overwhelmed with all of the packing, but very excited!!)
 I have already started packing the studio. I am not sure how long it is going to take to get things set up once everything gets there so looks like I won't be crafty for awhile. (I hope the movers do not misplace my Mojo! LOL)
 I need to get back to my packing but I am going to try and check in again before we leave Ohio.
Until later~