He's of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger.... he is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him; he is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts. ~William Shakespeare, Henry V

Friday, July 27, 2007


Erin and my thoroughbred/quarter horse mix Luna.

Erin Leading Luna around the yard on Thursday morning.

Erin finally comfortable enough to get on the back of Luna.

Monday, July 23, 2007

DARREN HAS A NEW JOB

Darren got up early today and was gone at about 6 a.m. He was heading for Pinky's Aggregate in Rollette where he is now employed. He will be driving semi trucks for them and he will also be doing other odd construction jobs. He is a little worried about it. He has been so used to sitting in a Schwan's truck all day that actually standing up and doing physical work all day may be tough at first. I hope that it goes well for him. He really wanted this job and the pay is good, much better than Schwan's.

Darren left his truck here with me and took the car since he will be home every evening now. I only go back and forth from Leeds so the gas in his truck will last a little bit longer for me than if he took it all the way to Rollette and back each day. I think he might have left with Cassie's water wings in the trunk of the car from swimming at the lake cabin yesterday. Cassie will need those for swimming lessons today, so if he has them I am going to have to locate another pair somewhere.

I am working on cleaning my house really well. I will be meeting my Aunt and cousin in Devils Lake on Wednesday for lunch. I will bring my cousin back home with me and she will be here until at least Sunday. I want the house extremely clean while she is here.

SUNDAY

Sunday it was just ridiculously hot. It was 94 degrees in the shade and 106 in the sun. My mother called to say that they were heading up to the family cabin on Lake Uplison in the Turtle Mountains, very close to the Canadian border. I talked to Darren and we decided to join them. We got to the cabin before everyone else. My mom, dad, and my brother showed up on their bikes about 20 minutes after we got their. My cousin, her husband, and two girls showed up shortly after. I was a little bummed out because the water was a lot warmer than I had expected it to be. I was hoping that it would have been cold to help cool us down. It worked though, but you had to take a swim every half hour or you would get hot again. My cousin's husband setup their great big waterslide for the kids to use when they didn't want to be in the lake. It was a lot of fun and a great way to enjoy a very hot day.

This is my brother, Mike. I think he doesn't look to bad in his biker gear. Ladies, he is single so send me an e-mail.

Darren reviewing his CDL book. He startes his new job monday and decided to study up on a few things since the company he will be working for is going to let him use a truck to take his CDL test.

Mommy taking Jessie out in the lake in her little blowup boat. Jessie really liked splashing around in the lake water. I was a little disappointed, the water was actually really warm. I was hoping that it would be cool since it was over 90 degrees.

Another pic of mommy and Jessie Ann in her blowup boat. Mommy needs to work on loosing a little weight.

Darren, Cassie, Jessie, and Nanna sitting on top of the hill. I took the picture from the dock that my father, my cousin's husband, and my cousin's step son built last year.
My cousin set up there big waterslide again at the lake cabin. This year, Cassie was not too scared of it and decided to go down it with her cousin. Cassie had a lot of fun on it.
A very cute pic of Madison and Cassie after they have come down the waterslide at the lake.


Madison (my cousin's daughter) and Cassie going down together, however, Maddy had a problem and slipped from the top of the slide. Maddy hung there until Cassie was ready to go down with her. I thought Maddy looked really funny.

Cassie coming down the waterslide all by herself.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

SWIMMING LESSON PICS


Here is the best thing that I could get to a group shot of everyone in swimming lessons. There are a total of 8-10 kids in Cassie's Level I lessons. That is a huge step-up from only 2 kids last year. There are two very cute twin boys in Cassie's class, not shown in the pic. They were a little scared to get that close to the pool.

Here is another partial group shot. I think the only thing that is different in this pic is that Cassie moved closer to me.

Here is Cassie paddling all by herself. I am so proud of her!



Here is Cassie with instructor Kacy Strand. Kacy is really nice and she is the only licensed lifeguard on the team. I like her because she always lets Cassie and I stay an extra half hour after lessons to swim together.


Cassie with swimming instructor Ali Strand. Ali is Cassie's favorite "teacher"during lessons.
My best friend, Rainy, called me today. She and her son were driving around looking for campsites because they want to go camping next weekend and were scouting the area for a good place. She wanted to know if I would like to go camping with them because it is just going to be the two of them and she doesn't want to camp alone. I am going to check with my mother and see if she could watch Jessie for a day so that Cassie, Darren, and I could camp with them. However, I am not sure now how it is all going to work out. My aunt called and my cousin wants to stay with us from Wednesday of next week to Sunday. We could take her camping with if she wanted to come. I may end up calling Rainy back and taking a rain check....no pun intended.

Cassie has gotten comfortable in the deep water of the swimming pool. She will jump into the pool and have someone catch her and then she will doggy paddle all by herself over to the ladder and climb out of the pool. Today, she swam all by herself for the whole duration of the swimming lessons. She got mad if tried to help her swim. She even went down the water slide twice! I am so happy that she has really started to like the big side of the pool. For the first couple of lessons, I thought my mother was going to be out $15, but it looks like things will be great.

My Wild Blue right now is questionable if I really like it a whole lot or not. It does not seem to be any faster than it was before. However, I can talk on the phone while I do my homework now. I am going to give it a few more days, up to a week, until I make a final decision whether I like it or not.

NO MORE DIAL-UP

Today NDTC came out and connected WildBlue. Everything went great. The rep was able to find a strong satellite signal on the east peak of the house and the dish installed fast, and it took the rep no time at all to burr the hole in the wall for the cable to come into the house. The modem connected to the satellite so then it was on to the computer.

I knew there was a network card in the computer, but it was old and had NEVER been used. When the rep checked out the computer, the network card was not registering. The rep had a new card with him and put it in to see if the new card would work since he had the installation disk for it. He installed it and my XP did notice it.

It took a long time to get everything else hooked up. There was an 8 step register process that the rep had to do from my computer and that took a lot of time because the computer had to be rebooted after 3 specific steps. But, I do have my high-speed connection now. It may not be Rural Advantage like I wanted, but it is something and it is working. At least I do not have to put up with dial-up any more.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

LESSONS, WILD BLUE, COMPANY

Cassie's swimming lessons have been going a bit better than expected. Monday she was scared of the water and she got in and out of the pool a few times but she did do everything her instructors asked her to do. Tuesday she stayed in the water the whole duration of the swimming lessons. I am hoping that today goes well too. The stuff that they are doing right now isn't too big of a deal. It's just a stuff to get them used to the deeper water and their water wings.

I got a phone call from NDTC today. They couldn't come out today because the tower for the Rural Advantage was down. I was upset. I have been waiting for 2 weeks for my high-speed. I asked if they could come out and just hook up Wild Blue and not worry about Rural Advantage. They said that we could do that if we wanted to, but if we really did want to wait for the Rural Advantage that would be a better deal anyway. So I decided to wait. The gal from NDTC said that it wouldn't be until next Monday that someone was going to be able to come out. That really made me mad. She said she would check with dispatch and see if there was a sooner time. She called back a bit later and said that we are going to have to go Wild Blue because the rep that was out last week said he had the boom truck up as high as it would go and he still was not getting a signal so moving to the garage wouldn't help. If I would have known this right away, they could have come out today to connect the Wild Blue...but no...in between phone calls the rep that was supposed to come out this morning was rerouted somewhere else. Luckily though there was a slot open for tomorrow. All I gotta say is that things better go the way that they are supposed to go because I am getting tired of this.

My aunt from Fargo called. My cousin wants to come out for a few days to a week and help with the horses and learn a little bit about them. She is going to be coming Wednesday and staying until the weekend, I think. My cousin is also going to help me with the girls while I study for my last few finals and help me when I take the girls swimming. It should be fun. My aunt is going to call me later today and we are going to work the details out.

Friday, July 13, 2007

I CANNOT THINK OF A TITLE

I called North Dakota Telephone Company (NDTC) again today. I asked if the rep who is coming on Wednesday could bring the Rural Advantage stuff back out along with the Wild Blue hardware. I want the rep to try getting a Rural signal over the garage and the lamp post out by our driveway for a Rural Advantage signal before going to Wild Blue. I am sure once we have a high-speed connection we will be using the internet a lot more than we think. I also do not want to have to keep track of all the Megabytes and everything else so that we do not go over our usage amount for the month. I want a high-speed that I can use as much as I want, whenever I want, without having to worry about download/upload space.

I meet Billy, her two boys, Candace, and Candaces’ son Josh at the pool today. Candace watched all the kids for Billy and I while the two of us when for a quick deep in the adult pool. We stayed until about 4 p.m. By that time, Jessie was starting to get very tired. I hope we will have more opportunities to hang out at the pool together.

I have a bunch of homework that needs to get done. I was going to do it last night but I got sick. I started to get body aches earlier in the day, then by the early evening, I was really sore and I had a fever and shook most of the night. My fever broke during the night and I am not as sore today as I was yesterday, but I still have a sore throat. Before going swimming with Billy and Candace, I cleaned up my house a little bit. I have more to clean but it will have to wait until my homework is finished.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

ALMOST HIGH-SPEED

For a while I have known that I need to have a faster Internet connection than dial-up for my medical transcription internship this fall. I finally called North Dakota Telephone Company (NDTC) yesterday to get connected to Rural Advantage. Luckily, they had an opening today.

The NDTC representative showed up bright and early this morning, and worked his butt off trying to get a good signal from Egland, ND. He must have gone up and down with the boom truck at least a dozen times or better. Unfortunately, though, a good signal could not be found. Now our only option is Wild Blue.

Wild Blue is not bad, but it does cost a little more than Rural Advantage depending on what type of a package you get. It runs by a dish basically the same way DirecTV and Dish Network do. A few things I am not happy about is that Blue limits you on how much you upload/download, and if you exceed those limits then Wild Blue will slow down your internet speed. It is what they call the “Fair Advantage for all customers” in the contract information. Also, just like the TV satellite dish, there are possibilities of loosing the connection for a short period due to heavy rains, electrical storms, and heavy snow fall. They have several packages with different amounts of upload/download time. The higher the package, the more it will costs. I chose the smallest basic package that they had. It is the same price as if we would have been able to connect to Rural Advantage. If I need more upload/download space, because of my assignments I need to hand in for college, then I can always upgrade my package at anytime. It stinks, but it is our ONLY option, so I am going to have to settle for it. The rep will be back out a next Wednesday to set everything up.

On the bright side of all of this, I did find my SUM CD.

Monday, July 09, 2007

WAR WAGON AND I LOST MY CD

Friday, I busted my butt to get homework done so that we could go back out to Billy and Vinny's. It was so dang hot that we stayed home and enjoyed our air conditioner and waited until Jessie was done with her nap before heading out.

Vinny had the War Wagon out and ready go to. He made a dirt track so all the boys could take it out for a little fun. I thought the Wagon was an old derby car, but I was wrong. Tearing around and acting like being in a really bad episode of Dukes of Hazard is exactly why he got the car. Better yet, the car was free! Darren got to ride in it and said he liked it. Too bad the car had a regulator problem so us girls didn't get our ride. I will get my ride, after all, it's not like that will be the last time we are at their house and the car is not going anywhere.

We had some liquor left over to make more Black Beards. Billy thought they tasted like root beer Popsicles. Needless to say, we spent the night at their farm again.

I have basically finished my Intro to Computers class. I finished all of my homework and completed my final exam last night. The only thing left is my 150 PowerPoint project that doesn't need to be turned in until August 1.

I lost my SUM CD for surgical transcription. That CD as all the doctor dictations on it that I need to transcribe. Without it, I cannot finish my Surgical Transcription class. Darren and I have dug everywhere for it and cannot find. I am freaking out over it because that is a BAD class to fall behind in. If it get to far behind, I may not be able to catch up.

Cassie has Level I swimming lessons starting on July 16 - 27. She will be in the big pool. I am excited about it. I hope she has fun. I have tried a few times to get her into the big pool but I think it scares her a little bit. She is not keen on wearing her water wings, but she will have to get used to them fast...she has to wear her water wings in the big pool during her lessons. I am hoping that my mom will watch Jessie while I am with Cassie at the pool. It will be tough to have Jessie with at the pool. She is a water baby and will want to swim too.

I will catch all of you later, I have laundry to finish and I am going to start ripping the house apart looking for my SUM CD.

This is the War Wagon. It is a crappy pic, I know. It is actually a decently running vehicle and Vinny has only had one mechanical problem with it in 5 years. Vinny even made a dirt track in the pasture for it.

You can see the bull horns a little better in this pic. Tragically the deer horns fell off the front of the car. There is a really cool sun/moon graphic on the door but I didn't take a pic of it.

The hood stating the rightful owner and name of this beautifully modified Crown Vic.

Since there is no ignition to the wagon, Vinny used J.B. weld and welded a skeleton key where the ignition is supposed to be. I thought it was cool.

Cassie and A.J. sitting in the back of the wagon ready for a ride. It was not running right though.

Vinny trying to fix the War Wagon. He thought it was the alternator but it turned out to be the regulator. Billy was there just to supervise.

Tyler and Candice looking all lovey-dovey.

The big, warm fire that kept some of us warm until 4:00 a.m.

Friday, July 06, 2007

JUST CHILLIN'

I have less than 1 month to go and I am done with my summer semester. Everything is going pretty well. I am really enjoying my summer classes a lot. I have really been enjoying my Intro to Computers class. Right now, we are doing PowerPoint presentations and I must say that I didn't think PowerPoint was going to be as fun as it is. I have a final PowerPoint project due by August 1st worth 150 points. I have to use at least 10-14 slides and it has to be between 8-10 minutes long. I have not decided if I was to do something about the wild horses in Medora, Dale Jr., or put something hilarious together from all the partying we have been doing.

Since Darren has been on vacation things have just been a huge party. We started off with his birthday, then for the 4th we went out to Billy and Vinny's and ended up spending the night there AGAIN (it was super fun!), and Saturday we are going back out to Billy and Vinny's for another hoe down this weekend. Vinny is going to have his old derby car out there, appropriately called the War Wagon. He has deer horns mounted on the front of the car and cow horns mounted on the top. Billy painted it with about 3 different colors of can spray paint...yeah, it's a sweet.

Yesterday one of Darren's really good friends from Willow City came down. He and Darren ran into Devils Lake for a bit. Then we they got back, Darren and his friend when to the grocery store and bought steaks, salad, dressing, and a bunch of other stuff all paid for by Darren's friend. I cooked on the grill while the guys played around with the girls. They even brought home some Rondiaz rum for me because I was cooking.

My new drink of choice are Black Beards (like the pirate). Darren got the recipe off the back of the Rondiaz Spiced Rum bottle. It is 1 0z. Ron, 1 oz. Root Beer Schnapps, and cola. YUM! It tastes like root beer. April and Kevin, you guys need to try it.

I will have more pictures to post after tomorrow night. I better run for now cause the girls are taking a nap and the hubby is out mowing the yard. This is a perfect time to get a lot of homework started.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

POSTPARTY PICS AND SOME 4TH SHOTS

There are Billy and Vinny's dogs. Rusty; a retriever mix, Pheonia; St. Bernard, and Garfield; a retriever/lab mix. I took this picture on the 4th at Billy's house with the rest of the pics that follow the shots of our yard.

A beautifully mowed and trimmed yard complete with a swimming pool being filled for the birthday party. I have my father, Billy, and Jeremey H. to thank for it. Without them, it would not have gotten done.

Here is our bondfire with an extra stack of wood and plenty of space for people to sit and stand around. We are going to keep our fires located here. I cannot wait to burn more fires.

This is were the picnic tables are going to go...well, they did go there since the party has passed.

Plenty of parking for everyone in our back yard.

Cassie being cute. She was good all day until she got tired, then she started to be a brat. When that happened we just put her to bed.

Jessie was into riding all of A.J. and Ashtyn's toys outside of the house. I have to note that the really cute outfit is a gift from my sister when she went on a cruise down through the Bahama's. It was originally Cassies.

This is Mark, a friend of Billy and Vinny's in the background and of course that is Vinny in the front.

Darren enjoying a nice cold Bud Light. He didn't have any alcohol at his birthday bash but we made up for it on the night of the 4th.

Candice with a very tired little squeeker-man (Ashtyn).

The fricken' witch of Eastwick! Billy would not smile for anything. Two words for Billy; HOOD RAT!!

I just had to post this picture of Jessie. Her smile is awesome. I just wish the sun was not coming over the chair like that to make the top of the picture funny.


























 


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