04-26 - 05-whenever. - End of Fargo Days

Actually Moorhead.  We stayed at Eliza and Brett's for a few days to help with the kids while Eliza popped her final one out.  Then it was home to Petersburg to get settled and start working.  We had afew things in April and I will be posting about them.  Meanwhile, a new baby, Dashiell Charles, and many pretty sunsets.While we were in Moorhead, Gypsy found all manner of places to lounge.

Mimi and the new one

South Fargo from Eliza's room.

April 24th - The Grandkids at Awanas

Okay, let's get started again Getting settled in and all takes time and it's been hard to get back on the laptop.

Many years ago, because of the ages of our kids, the wife and I were "leaders" in our local Awanas program. Awanas is a program that teaches kids the bible and how faith applies to their lives.  The kids get badges and awards through memorization of key biblical verses.  The leaders are like teachers who discuss the verses and listen to the kids as they prove they have memorized the verses.  At the end of each awana year, there is a ceremony program where the kids show the parents what they've learned and receive their awards.  We went to Eliza's family's church in Fargo and attended the program.  The kids are so cute and I'm very proud of them.

They had ice cream afterwards.

Christmas! - Christmas! - Christmas!

It's Christmas.  What is there to say?

Laurie cooked another amazing dinner, very very very excited kids, family, presents, football, horrid cold weather, cuddling and lots of fun.

Laurie and I made a run to the store and Brett and I did later.  Included here are some pics of a trip we took home later.

Some Presents and Stockings

The tree on Christmas morning

A veritable plethora of goodies

"C'mon, Mommy, start passing out the swag!"

The expression of delight

Big boxes

Mimi helps assembly

Frigid cold in Fargo

Sun dogs.  This only happens when all the moisture in the air is frozen.  It was -43 degrees.

Our driveway

Amazing sunset due to cold air.

Happy boy

Pile on!!

Lurkers

December 20th - We fly to Minnesota

We made the decision back before we left North Dakota, that we would fly back for Christmas with our Daughter and her family. Imagine getting on a plane with temps in the 70s and flying to a place where the temp is 20 degrees.  Now imagine that an unexpected cold snap hits the entire eastern US that puts local temps around 20 to 30 degrees below. 

Poor little Gypsy, our travel cat, was not to be left home.  We purchased a soft cat carrier.  It was designed to fit under the seats like a carry-on bag.  We put it opened on the floor a few days before we left so she would get comfortable with it.  She did.  She even slept in it at times.  We drove the truck to San Diego and left it in her sister's care as we got a ride to the airport.  Gypsy did really well on the flight. 

We flew Frontier Airlines.  Cut rate, but the flight out wasn't too bad.  The plane had video screens on the back of each seat and you could pull up many TV stations or movies to watch.  It also had a section for kids that showed a map of the land below us and where we were.  It was cool looking out the window and having the screen tell us what we were looking at. 

Then we land in Minneapolis.  Mama!!! it was cold.  nasty, snow, tired, etc. etc.  A couple of kids with us, Eliza and Brett.  We stopped at a noodle place for a bite and then took the long drive across Minnesota to Moorhead, across the river from Fargo.  For being nighttime, it was typically light.  This is normal, when there are a few street lights, and the snow, overcast, and ice crystals in the air spread the light everywhere.  It's beautiful, but cold. 

Did I mention it was cold???

Time to snuggle in, get ready for Corbin's birthday, Christmas, and New Years.

Nothing but family and grandkids could have gotten us to forsake our warm camper for a place where the air hurts your face.  Soon, we would go to our house and get her Jeep so we would have a car to drive of our own.

Gypsy's first flight.

Arizona, or Colorado, or....

The view after leaving the airport

Someone is not happy

Evening

The next morning

September 6th "She's Leaving Home" We start a new travel season.

Having finished our work schedules and loaded the new fifth wheel, we took the first step of our exit from North Dakota for the year.  We secured a couple of days camping at Lindenwood State park in Fargo.  The first night out, we stayed outside Eliza's and spent time with them.  The next morning, we loaded up, complete with little Corbin and went to the Fargo park.  It's a nice park right on the state border with Minnesota. They have a few memorials and such including one for Roger Maris.

Laurie had some appointments, so Corbin and I walked around the grounds and explored.  We found a spot that memorializes a Civil War veteran, John E. Reynolds. (more information here, http://fargohistory.com/civil-war-veterans-in-fargo/ ). We spent some time at the playground and later, we all went to pick up Kalliope to spend the night, too.  It started raining and was pretty intense.  The next day, we took them both over to the playground.  The slides were a bit wet and the kids had a blast flying down the slick surfaces. 

It was a good trial for us and the new digs. The next day, we took the kids to daycare and pulled up stakes and headed out on our adventure.

Moving out...

All smiles

Traveling companions