Behind....

So, I still need to post pictures of my Dad's and Paulette's visit, but alas, there is no time. We are headed to Yellowstone! Woo Hoo! Pictures of Dad and Paulette, Yellowstone and Utah can be expected in Mid-August! See you soon!

Click here to see our listing.

House for Sale

Well. It's official. We have a "For Sale" sign in front of the house. I took a few pictures of the inside...for my own memories.
My Backyard. I love this yard.
Our bedrooms.

The front room.

The upstairs hall and bathroom.

The kitchen. I love my kitchen!

Moving News

That's a picture I found of a sunset in Mobridge. Hopefully it will always be that beautiful for me! I haven't seen anything in person yet, but I guess in the near future I will have lots of time to explore and take pictures.
Anyway. Don't have a date for the girls and I to move. Ryan reports to work in Mobridge on Monday. Yes, this Monday. As in, 4 days from now. So, we are furiously getting as much stuff around the house and yard done while he is still here to help. Ryan won't be able to join us on our trip to Utah, but the girls and I are not changing our plans. We will leave late in the afternoon on July 31st and drive as far as we can that night. Anna and I hope to make it to Billings area. Next morning we will meet Andrew, Deborah and Isaiah in Yellowstone and spend the weekend hiking, fishing, swimming, exploring and otherwise having a blast. Then we'll head to UT. I'm going to ride with Anna as far as SLC and then she will go on to San Diego to see her family. The girls and I will fly home the 9th or 10th of August. If at all possible, Ryan will fly out on Thursday or Friday and then fly home with us. Then it will be time to really get busy about this move. I don't want to take away the kids summer, or make this overly stressful, so I will not rush to get to Mobridge before school starts on the 19th. I think if the kids start here and go for a few weeks it will give them time to say goodbye to some friends they may not see much of over the summer. Anyway, all that could change if our house sells quick, and we have several people interested and it's not even listed yet.
Well, enough rambling. I'll keep you updated.

One more...and I think I'm caught up!

Meet Kirsten.
I love this kid. She is about to be a Senior at Carrington High School, and I was lucky enough to take some senior pictures for her. Actually, I've been lucky enough to be her personal trainer for the last several months, and have found myself one amazing young lady to call friend. I just wanted to share her outer beauty with my friends and family in Utah. And just know, that is barely a fraction of the inner beauty this kid possesses. Watch out world...Kirstin is going to take you by storm!
I love her smile. It is so genuine. That is a quality that is hard to find.
I also love to give her crap, which is why I snapped a lot of pictures of her laughing!
Anyway, I have a lot of work yet to do on these pictures, but I just love this kid and wanted to share her with my world!

Brooklyn goes to camp

Tuesday the 14th, it was Brooklyn's turn to go to camp. We dropped off 5 Carrington girls at Crystal Springs for 5 days. Their cabin bunked 8, so the Carrington girls were the majority in Cabin # 1. Yesterday, we picked up 5 exhausted young ladies. They had a blast, as usual, and have plans to go again next year. Here are a few of the pictures Brooklyn took at camp.
This is was her counselor, Kristin. This one is Brooklyn and Bailey with their counselor from last year, Leanne. Brooklyn still keeps in touch with Leanne via letters throughout the year. And of course, there is one of Brooklyn and Bailey goofing off.
The drive home was filled with stories of pranks pulled on their counselor, cute boys, water slide adventures, and good Christian music. My favorite part about camp? There is a whole world of young people doing amazing good things in the name of Jesus for my kids to look up to. They get to see cool kids that love Jesus and want to choose the right. Those lessons are priceless.

Birthday Party

The morning after the wedding, Ryan, my mom and I (with Carla and Anna's help) loaded up 10 kids and headed to Lake Juanita for the birthday party. My kids are easy. Give them a beach and a lake and they are happy. They call that a party! Guess they are more like their Mama than they want to admit! Anyway, we swam and tubed, and ate burgers and cake. We played water fights and sea shell hunt. It was really a fun birthday party. Good idea Jay Bird!

Rylee Turns 9

July 11 was also Rylee's 9th birthday. We had decided ahead of time that we would be too busy for a party on that day, so party with friends was planned for the 12th. But, it can't be your birthday without some presents and some cake (or in our case, brownies!)
So we started the morning out with presents, and stopped home between wedding ceremony and dance for some cake, er...brownies.

Josh and Kristin Get Married

Josh and Kristin Cabler - July 11, 2009
While my mom was here, some dear friends of ours got married. So we loaded up the kids, and the camera and went to the wedding. I took tons of pictures, as usual. Josh Cabler is the son of our "family away from family" Les and Joyce. The Cabler's have taken us in and welcomed us to Carrington as family from day one. Our first Christmas in Carrington, we had lived here 10 days and we were invited to Christmas Dinner at the Cablers. The rest is history! We were so excited to share in Josh's special day, and who couldn't love Kirstin? Her energy, and love of life is contagious. What an awesome couple, and what an awesome life they will have.
After the ceremony, it was my favorite part of a wedding...Food and Dancing!

Moving

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Yes, this time the rumors are true. We are moving. To Mobridge, SD. Don't have many details yet, but it is a fact. I would like to see the kids start school there, but I'm not sure I can get my crap together by August 19th. I'll keep you posted.
Oh, and just so you know, Ryan and I feel really good about this opportunity, but this will be a hard move. We put down deep and strong roots here in Carrington very quickly. We feel so blessed to have made so many wonderful, life-long friends, and to have been a part of such a wonderful community. It is going to be a tough move.

Happy Birthday Chandra

A short note to my bestest friend on her 30th birthday!
Dear Chandra,
Where has the time gone? Remember when we first met. We didn't like each other. We both liked the same boy and therefore, didn't like each other. But someone out there knew we were perfect for each other (as friends!) and kept throwing us together, whether it was blind dates at the mall, or weight lifting class with the football team. As I slowly let go of my irritation and jealousy of you, I grew to appreciate your whit, your intelligence, and your drive. Then, when the "unthinkable" happened and we were pregnant (well, me first, but you know what I mean) it sealed our bond. We had a shared experience that none of our friends would have for years. Motherhood. Nobody else understood the complexity of our feelings, and the confusion in our decision making. I can't think of anyone I would rather have swum upstream in those hard times with, but you. You kept me laughing, kept me dreaming, and kept me working hard to build the life you knew I was meant to have. The past 12 years have seen many ups and downs for both of us, but each one is special because you helped make it special. You have always been there for me, and allowed me to be there for you when life let us down, or we let ourselves down. You threw me the most amazing 30th birthday party in the history of birthday parties...and you weren't even here. I don't know if you truly understand how much you mean to me. How much our memories mean, how much our daily talks mean, how much life means to me because you are a part of it. Thank you for being the best friend a girl could have. Happy Birthday!
Love,
Cole

Grandma in Bismarck

On the 8th, Grandma Brick flew into Bismarck for a visit. Her plane didn't get in till almost midnight, so we spent the night and did some swimming at the Ramkoda. We love hotel's with a water slide!
After we checked out of the hotel, we did some shopping for Rylee's birthday and then headed back to Carrington for some down time with Grandma. OK, not really. There is no such thing as down time! Pictures from Rylee's birthday and Josh and Kristin's wedding coming soon.

Youth Track Meet

July 6th was the annual Carrington Youth Track Meet. The girls had a good time!

Fourth of July

After the lake, we went to Mark and Faye's for good food and good times.

Carla the Brave

Yes, Carla deserves a post all to herself. She is the funniest person I know. Always excited to try something new, unless it's in the water. She's a bit terrified of deep water. So, when Anna and I talked her into getting on the tube, it was no surprise that a few four letter words escaped her mouth!


Kudo's to Carla. Seriously, she is so brave and so strong. I don't know anyone with a fear of water that would have gotten on a tube behind a boat. That is one woman who will not let fear rule her. Carla, I will forever respect you for trying new things and being able to laugh about them later!

4th at the Lake

We had plans to go to the lake for the 4th for a few weeks. So when Ryan got a call that he'd have to work at the last minute, I wasn't about to change my plans.We love you Ry, but sometimes us girls need an afternoon at the lake!

Mark, Faye, Jodi, Willow and Carmen; Anna, Amber and Logan; Carla, Kayla, Tristin, Islin, Aishlee and Jaydee; and me and the girls loaded up the coolers with snacks, filled Marks boat with gas and took off for good ole' Juanita. We fully expected at least 1/2 the town to be there, but we arrived and found the lake nearly empty. Anyway, Mark was the best. He pulled kids in the tube, Brooklyn on skis and me on the wake board all day long. We had a blast.
The next picture is so funny. It's a bit blurry, but the look of terror on my kids faces is hilarious! And yes, I realize I sound like a horrid mom, but seriously, that's funny!

Another 5k

No pictures. Sorry. I was there without my family, and therefor, no camera man.
Anyway, the Carrington Toastmasters sponsor an annual 5k/10k walk/run in Carrington and last year I gave it a try. Had a blast. This year I had plans to run again, but have been experiencing some pain in my foot due to plantar fasciitis. Anyway, I was undecided all week whether I would run or not. I had to drop off some water the morning of anyway, so I dressed ready to run and decided to see how I felt. Honestly, my foot hurt. I can run, but then I walk like I'm 90 for 2 days. But there I am, there are all the runners and walkers, and you just get caught up in the excitement. But I knew I was going to the lake later in the afternoon and I didn't want to be in too much pain to wake board. Last minute, I decide to walk with my friend Tina. I quick register with about 5 seconds to spare and jog out to the starting line. The gun goes off and the runners quickly pass us. It was such a beautiful morning and Tina and I had a great time chatting a we walked through the trees and grass. We reached the finish line with a time of 51 minutes. My slowest 5k yet...but I was there to enjoy myself, not win. Not long after we finished, they begin announcing awards, and lo-and-behold in my age group, I was third place! Yes, me, third place with a time of 51 minutes! I run that in under 30 all the time, so I was laughing so hard about winning at 51. So, next week, my picture will be in the paper as a 3rd place runner with a time of 51 minutes. That's right, the representative from Carrington Fitness Center finished in 51 minutes. It still makes me laugh!

This is the way we walk the dog...

Brooklyn and Ryan call it fun. I call it lazy. Whatever you want to call it, Rascal loves a good run.

Rylee's home from camp!

And she's not tired. I'd let you ask her yourself, but she's currently passed out on the couch! The whole drive home she insisted that she's not tired. Here's a few of the pictures she took.

Rylee Goes To Camp

On Monday, Rylee left for her first camp experience. Carla and I drove Rylee, Aishlee and Amber to the camp (a little over an hour away) and did a little exploring and picture taking before we left them in the hands of their counselors for a week! The kids were so excited. The camp is on a lake called Crystal Springs. They have cabins and dorms. A mess hall. A Gym. A field. A play ground. Lots of playground equipment in the lake, including a water slide. They also have a chapel, and since it is Bible camp, the chapel should come in handy. It looks like so much fun. Makes me want to go to camp. I kept threatening to show up in my swimsuit on the water slide, but the girls didn't think I was very funny. There looked to be well over 100 kids at this camp, and only 5 from Carrington. The three girls and 2 BOYS! Oh yeah. There were lots of giggles and squeals in my car when we realized that the car in front of us was Kim's and Kim was driving Garret and Hayden to camp. Silly Girls. Anyway, we are missing Rylee's quick wit and endless energy and can't wait to pick her up tomorrow. I sent a camera with her, so I'm sure there will be lots of interesting pictures. Thanks to all of you who sent letters. I had over 20 letters to drop off with the office when I left her. I think she'll be thrilled.