Two Years

Two years in Williston, North Dakota as of today.

Wow!

It feels like an eternity, yet also like I just blinked.

It's been another amazing year, and I've yet to regret our decision to move here.

803.7 miles later, our new home in Williston, ND. June 28, 2013

We've explored, played, worked, bled, laughed, cried, said hello to new friends, goodbye to good friends, and made so many countless, precious memories.

Spring Lake Park

 Our family expanded by one over the past year. We sure love our Blue!

The lights of my life.

Williston parades can be chilly. Jaxon is the lump in the middle.

Exploring the beautiful nature all around us.

Playground equipment in the Bakken.

Easter was a bit cold this year...

Weekends are meant for road trips and family time.

The view from my neighborhood included four of these by Christmas

I have grown enormously fond of the North Dakota prairie. I never get tired of the view, whether it be flying snowflakes, frost-covered fields, waving grasses, or masses of sunflowers. And those skies and sunsets...

We have grown so much closer as a family in the last two years of living in ND than I could have ever imagined. Being far from extended family has taught us to rely on each other, and good neighbors and great friends.

 I cannot wait to see where the next year takes us.

Back to School 2014

I found out the boys were being switched to a different school while I was in Utah for vacation. Seriously, like three weeks before school started and I had already been purchasing items off of Garden Valley School's list of school supplies, I got a phone call from the guy in charge of bussing letting me know our neighborhood was being moved to Round Prairie School....45 minutes or so away from our house, literally almost in Montana (my cell phone reverts to Mountain Standard Time whenever I drive out to the school.) Quite a change from being 10-15 minutes away from Garden Valley School...but I digress. We gathered supplies for the new school and made ready for the first day!

We got a call from the bus driver, Paula, who is from Logan, Utah, letting us know that the boys would be picked up at...7:05 AM. I'll say that again. 7:05 AM!!! So early for a kindergartner and second grader, but necessary since school begins at 8 AM and it's a bit of a drive. She's very nice and the boys love her.

Kyan is in second grade. His teacher is Ms. Dempsey. He's a whiz at math, a great speller, and has only recently really begun to enjoy to read. Maybe he is my child, after all... :)

Tucker is in kindergarten. His teacher is Mrs. Butler. He loves school so much. He is also a number genius, his handwriting has improved immensely, and he told me he gets smarter every day the second he steps onto the school bus.

I cannot begin to describe how excited Tucker was to ride the bus. He's been waiting years for this!

I was also excited to get back in the habit of school lunch making!! We'll see if I can keep the creativity alive with two lunches to make this year. Tucker is extremely picky and stubborn about what he eats so it is a challenge.

Their little prairie school:

So far, the year is going great! Let's hope it continues that way! :)

What A Difference A Year Makes

June 28, 2013

One year.

We've lived here one year today. Admittedly, Kevin has been here much longer, but we have been here together as a family for a year!

At times, time dragged. At others, it flew.

I can hardly grasp it's been a WHOLE YEAR!

I remember pulling into Williston, North Dakota and feeling thrills of excitement and also apprehension. 

Could we make it here?

Will we survive the winter?

Would we be okay without our extended family?

Would the boys make friends?

Would I make friends??

The answer:

YES!!!!!!

We made it through the winter. It was cold, cold enough at times for ice to build up inside our house. But we made it!

We've made so many great friends; ones that have rallied around us in times of struggle, times of worry, and times of need. They've become our family.

We have become active in the Church again. I'm grateful my children are going to church, learning and growing, and Kyan is eagerly awaiting his baptism when he turns 8 in October. That alone is worth the move.

People had varying reactions when we spread the word we were pulling up stakes and heading to ND.

"You will HATE it there."

"There's nothing to do up there."

"It's too cold to live up there." (These people may have had a valid argument...)

"You are better off getting a divorce and letting Kevin go up there alone."

Well, guess what?

We're together.

We've grown closer.

And I would do it all over again!!

I started this journey with a mantra:

It will be what we make of it.

I've stood by this and repeated it to many.

We won't live here forever and probably won't retire here,

but we have made it home.

June 28, 2014