109 posts tagged “weather”

Thumbs Down:

1. A woman looked at our house last week and just loved it.  She brought her husband to see it on Monday and he was very quiet except to say one of the bathroom's needed remodeling and they'd already done a lot of that on their current house.  Our realtor is hoping the woman just needed some time to talk her husband into it.  I'm afraid it was a woman who thought she needed a new house and her husband didn't. 
2. I was a crabby patty today.  It's not very often that I'm in a cranky mood all day but this was one of them.  Several little things that put me in the mood. 
3. My great uncle passed away.  He was my step grandpa's brother.  Grandpa died when I was 12 but he lived in town and I spent tons of time with him.  Out of his 3 brothers, this was the one I was closest to.  He and his wife have lived in AZ the past 10 years and had just moved back to MT to be closer to family.  I've made at least 3 trips to Billings and wanted to stop and see them but always had other things to do.  Now, I regret waiting.  I'd also like to go to his funeral tomorrow but it's not going to work out.  He has such a twinkle in his eye.

Thumbs Up:

1. We really are making good progress on the house.  We've started painting the basement even though we don't plan to totally finish the basement right away.  The tile is done in the foyer and Lily's bathroom floor and shower.  Ray's started hanging interior doors and putting on base trim so the carpet installer can come.  2/3 of the kitchen cabinets are done.  I need to get pictures of some of the lights Ray's installed because they are gorgeous!  We're very tentatively hoping to be in around the end of the month.  (No laughing, mom).
2. There's no school tomorrow so Ray's taking the boys hunting.  This will be Cody's first time going as an official "hunter" since passing Hunter's Safety.
3. The 1st quarter is done at school.  Cody really struggled the past few years but is finally taking school more seriously.  There is still room for improvement but he made the Honor Roll so we're very proud.  All his teachers had great things to say.  This is Jace's first year to receive letter grades and he earned all A's and B's.  He's also suddenly taken a huge interest in reading.  He's always hated reading but is now reading 300 page novels!!  Lily is also doing well.  All of the kids' teachers are very impressed with their transition into new schools.  It truly has been amazing and we couldn't have asked for the move to be any smoother.
4. Cody has started Middle School wrestling and his first tournament is Saturday.  Wrestling is such a different environment here.  In Jamestown, Cody was teased a lot for being a wrestler instead of playing hockey or basketball.  Here, wrestling is huge!  Last night, they had a photo shoot for their team poster!!  He's best friend here is also a wrestler and a super, nice kid.
5. Though the weather in October was awful, November is off to a gorgeous start.  It's even supposed to hit 60 tomorrow.

 

Cloudy:

1. The weather!  September was our most summer-like weather of the year.  It was just beautiful!  October 1 came along and we switched straight to winter.  It's been cold, rainy, and windy.  Thankfully, we haven't had any snow yet though it's been in the forecast a lot.
2. I have to miss Cody's 2nd middle school football game tonight because it's during my choir rehearsal.  Pooh!

Sunny:

1. I had 3 moles on my back biopsied last week and they all came back negative.  I'd had a few done in college and those were also fine.  Better safe than sorry, though. 
2. Every week I've had more children showing up for choir and we're having a great time!  I found some really awesome songs for us to sing.
3. I raised $285 for the March of Dimes when I went to jail today.
4. By the end of today, the entire upstairs of our new house will be primered, 1/2 the ceiling painted, and the kitchen walls done.  Moving right along now!

Friday night we went to the opening ceremony.  There were activity and food booths.  The kids all got autographs from the Billings Outlaw arena football players.  They also had fun with the dunking booth.  There was continuous entertainment and the the kids got to walk the track.  They are in the maroon shirts and you can see Jace.

The most exciting part was when 5 skydivers jumped out of a plane over the field and then all landed right in the center.  I was amazed by the accuracy of their landings!  The USA women's fencer who won the gold lit the torch at the conclusion of the ceremony.

The first game was early on Saturday.  The team was really tough and we lost 0-10.

The next game was against another Billings team.  We were the only out of town team so knew it was going to be tough.  Ray's dad and family arrived in time for the 2nd game.  They picked a good game to watch because we won 10-0 and Cody scored 4 goals. 

After watching a 15 yr old team last spring, Cody's been practicing a flip throw-in.  I didn't think he was confident enough yet to try it in a game but he did it in the first two games really well.  Unfortunately, the 3rd game is the one I tried to get on camera and it didn't go as well.

The 3rd game was against an all girl team.  They were big, rough, and tough!  It was also about 95 degrees and miserable.  The game ended in a 3-3 tie even though they outplayed us a lot.  I think we were saved by our goalie and a penalty kick that scored a goal for us.  Because both teams had won and lost 1 game each, it came down to total goals to see who would play in the championship game.  We beat them by 1 point!!

After the game, the kids spent time at the pool while we played pinochle with Ray's dad and Amy.

I was a little shocked that we were the only adults present at the pool and most of Cody's team was there.  We were extra glad with our decision when the fire alarm went off.  We hearded the 20+ kids out onto the patio.  Apparently, some teens pulled all the fire alarms so it went off 5 different times.  The kids swam some more Sunday morning before we went to the championship game.  Unfortunately, we were playing the same team that we'd lost to Saturday morning.  I thought Jace did a great job keeping up with all those older boys since most of them were 11 and 12.

We lost 0-12 but still won the silver medal.

 

 

 

Stinky:

1. I'm signed up to do the women's golf league for the first time tonight and the wind is blowing about 50mph and it's raining off and on.  Sure hoping it quits in the next 2 hours!
2. I miss my friends back in ND.
3. Our house still hasn't sold.  Supposedly there was a really positive showing last week but we haven't had an offer.  It really needs to sell SOON!
4. Coming home Sunday night to a terrible mess left by the babysitter and kids including a pint of chocolate milk sitting on the counter, everything from supper left out, and the kids still awake when it was 1 1/2 hrs past when they were supposed to be in bed!

Perfume:

1. Ray & I went on the 2nd annual Cattle Crawl Sunday night.  It's a progressive beef dinner.  We started out at the Cattle-ac for appetizers, then we went to my parents' restaurant for their big salad bar, next we hopped on 2 large busses and went 10 miles to Fairview for a roast beef dinner, and then we went another 30 miles for a steak dinner before returning.  There was a free drink at each stop plus free beer on the bus.  Of course, I felt like my normal, boring self because I wasn't drinking.
2. The deck being built on our new house.
3. Meeting more people.
4. Going to Billings this weekend for the soccer tournament.  The coach is very impressed with the boys' skills.  It'll be nice to bond with the other families, too.
5. Seeing my cousin from AZ in Billings this weekend.  I think it's been about 5 years!

 

Things I Dislike:

1.  Yesterday morning, Lily fell backwards off our bed and hit her head really hard. I still had her go to swim lessons thinking it would take her mind off things.  She did fairly well until the last 5 minutes when she got out.  She was nauseous.  When we got to the house, she curled up on the bed under a blanket and said she just wanted to go to sleep.  That's when alarm bells started going off in my head so off to the ER we went.   She threw up when we were in the ER and then really perked up. The Dr. said sometimes the adrenaline from an injury makes someone nauseous and tired but he didn't think it was a concussion. Whew!
2. Cody had a horrible migraine yesterday.  I don't know when he'll learn to watch for the early signs so he can take medicine early enough to head them off.  He ended up throwing up twice, slept from 5:30-9:00 on the bathroom floor, and then Ray moved him to bed.  He's still sleeping.
3. Movie companies taking kids' toys and making movies about them that are not appropriate for the kids who play with the toys!  "Transformers 2"

Things I Like:

1. I think we'll be ordering our cabinets next week.  We're almost done with the design.  They're the Maple Glaze ones.  http://www.pinnaclehomeproducts.com/Cabinets_c_1.html
2. We've also got most of our light fixtures chosen and hope to order them next week.
3. Today is the Town & Country Festival in town.  We'll be taking in the parade, free lunch, games, and other entertainment.
4. Three days until we see our neighbors from back in Jamestown!!
5. The theater in town just reopened after being closed for a year.  Now, if they could get a PG movie that would be great.
6. Spending a 99 degree day at the pool with friends.    
7. Jace made Cody's All Star soccer team!  He'll be a sub but he's still doing awesome considering most of the kids are 11 or 12 and he's just 9.   
8. I had my first hair cut & color here yesterday.  It's scary for me to go to someone new.  I just about fainted when she told me the price.  It was $60.  In Jamestown, I paid $120!!                                                                                      

 

What is it too soon for?
Submitted by Design Shark.

Snow and Christmas shopping.

 

 

At last, the sun is shining.  Apparently, we ended the drought here by bringing all the rain with us from ND.  I really don't think 5 days of rain and highs in the 50's was necessary, though. 

Ray's dad arrived Monday night to help on the house.  They all went out to the ranch yesterday to do some more branding - in the rain.  Today, it looks like they'll actually get to work on the house and hopefully the rafters can be delivered that were originally supposed to come on Monday.

Lily started gymnastics on Monday.  She seems to be a natural just like Cody and already advanced to Level 2 which is tonight.  Cody has soccer tryouts tonight and Jace starts wrestling camp tomorrow so hopefully they'll start meeting some more kids soon.

It's been 4 1/2 months in the making but moving day has quickly arrived.  It's been a crazy week packing and spending time with friends.  On Friday, Cody and I had a golfing excursion with his good friend and his mom.  It was my first time out for the season and it was so nice to be golfing again!  Saturday evening, we played pinochle with Gndsgang.  I'm happy to say that the girls went out on top creaming the guys in all 3 games!  (We were due). 

Sunday was my last time singing with the AWE group at church.  The scheduled accompanist was a no show so we had 20 minutes to practice 8 songs with another accompanist who'd never seen some of the music.  I was so nervous about it that I hardly had time to be sad about it being my last day but things did go well and our family was remembered in the prayers.  We signed with a new realtor so prayers are welcomed on that front.  There were 3 soccer games during the afternoon and we were blessed with temps in the 80's plus a small rain shower.  Lily scored 3 goals. Cody scored one goal on a corner kick but his team lost right at the end 3-4.  Jace has had a fantastic season and finished strong.  His team won 7-3 with Jace making 4 of the goals, 2 of which were from half field!  I believe his team went undefeated.

We went to supper last night at Paradiso with Bluebird and family.  She gave the family a nice card and then one for me.  Of course, it made me cry.  The good news is we're letting the boys play with their competitive soccer teams for one tournament in Bismarck this weekend.  So, we'll see all of our closest friends in just 5 days which makes leaving much easier. 

I wasn't very excited about moving to Jamestown, ND, when we graduated from college.  ND was the state we always made fun of growing up on the MT/ND border.  However, I have grown to love ND and the people who live in it.  Our time here has been filled with memories that we'll cherish forever:  having 3 children, making wonderful friends, growing spiritually, directing 3 musical groups which I never thought I'd do, becoming a SAHM, Ray climbing the corporate ladder faster than anyone thought possible, and having our children attend Catholic school.  It's hard to say what we'll miss most about Jamestown (it won't be the blizzards) but I do know that this is definitely not goodbye.  There is too much here for us not to visit often and we'll be counting on our friends to come visit us, too! 

Montana, we're coming home!

The kids got done with school at noon on Friday.  It was a hard day.  We left right away for the lake.  You may remember that the lake had gotten very low the past several years but was starting to come up.  Well, it was up 25 ft. from this time last year and is supposed to come up another 8 ft!  I think that will make it higher than when we first started going there.  It's awesome!

For a Memorial weekend, we were treated to fairly nice weather Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was Cody's 12th birthday.

 

 

In addition to the rollerblades, Cody got some money from his siblings and uncle and a rebound soccer net from my parents.  After opening gifts, Ray, my dad, my brother, and the boys went out fishing.  The girls stayed back and played squeak and went shopping in town.

The guys had some good fishing success and brought in 9 walleye and saugers so we had enough for supper. 

 

 

Sunday, the guys went out fishing again.  Not long after they'd left, we got a call that my dad's truck had broken down.  I went and picked them up and we hauled the truck to town and then the boat back to the cabin.  Then, the guys used my Yukon to go fishing and they came back with 19 walleyes!! 

Lily helped grandma cook and they even made a german chocolate cake to celebrate our anniversary which is today - 14 years!

We have some new neighbors from Sidney at the lake.  It happens to be one of my old babysitters and her family.  She has 2 teenagers and a son who's Jace's age!!  I am totally psyched that we haven't even moved and he's already got a friend there.  They really hit it off.

 

My BFF from h.s. was also there with her boyfriend.  He's got a 4 yr old daughter so Lily and her played a lot and then Cody played with her son whose a year behind him in school.  Uncle Ray played his first game of Blongo Ball.

And we saw our very first fox den with at least 4 little foxes!

The rain yesterday prevented the diggers from getting started on our new house.  Turns out it was a good thing.  The house has to be 30 feet from the property line which we assumed was the street.  Actually, the property line is 10 feet off the street so the house needs to be moved back another 10 feet.  Ray's going to make a marathon trip there tomorrow to move the stakes so digging is delayed until Monday.

Tonight, I am going to see "Footloose:  The Musical".  I'm so excited!