More winter storms, More proms, Another year for Tim and Karla, and Goodbye to Abi

No, we weren't celebrating Christmas again. I think even the snow gets tired of itself, and tries to get creative in these late-winter storms. All the windows were coated, along with outside walls. Once the blasted wind stopped, it was pretty fascinating.



I never get tired of the beauty of hoarfrost. But it's hard to capture. This tree, and all the others, were sparkling like diamonds in the early sunlight. I hope you see more than a bare tree with a little flocking on it...



Mel went to two proms again this year. Though she won't like me posting the pictures (she had a funny expression in every single one), I thought you should see her handsome Minot friend -

- and the group of girls who went and made the evening a lot of fun.

For CHS' prom, she got a gold dress (her heart's desire) that she designed, and a nice guy to take her - a good friend who graduated last year from BHS, so Prom was nice and relaxed.




I didn't take any pictures on our anniversary, and there were no jokes played, so it was a nice, but mellow (maybe slightly boring to some)day. Still, I want to mark the passage of time: 34 years we have been a married couple...No wonder I didn't take any pictures. ;-)

This one just shows my honey being a loving grandpa...Happy Anniversary, TimChucks. We're halfway there (give or take a few) in earth years.

And, Abi. For most of the years we've lived in this house that Tim and the boys built, we've had Abi. She's loving, she smiles, she's smart, she's pretty - and she bites people. She tries to herd them, but that cut it for anyone, including us. So she had to go. For all of you who liked our Abi, here are a few farewell pictures. Mel posed with her, Suzie stayed away. Predictable for their personalities...
Anyway, she's living on a ranch now, with cows and horses and other animals who don't mind being herded.I hope she's happy. Bye bye, Abi.

About Mel, and Suzie

This girl is busy by choice. From a school winter "formal"

to a "Rave" - black lights and loud music and in this case, a peacock costume;

to the midwinter play (more costumes)

to a vocal recital, she fits it all in - along with church, school work, and work for the all mighty (or at least all necessary) dollar;

...Always with a smile and a good argument for why we should let her try everything.

I think she will do fine at BYU. I'm mentally preparing already. 'Scuse me while I grab a tissue...

And while the pictures do nothing for the energy and fun Suzie exudes, be assured that this girl keeps us moving, and guessing, and laughing.

Not hard to tell who her best bud is. Don't know if she's mentally preparing, but she's definitely appreciating. And of course that's good for all of us.

Ah, caboosies. What would we do without 'em? More pointedly, what WILL I do without them to keep me busy and entertained? Glad it's not yet...

So slow to post: January trip to AZ

I just need to post.
Tim and I went to Arizona at the end of January - he for business, I for fun - and took Alisa and Karly with us (we drove through Denver and flew home). Although I don't have a great selection of photos and didn't shoot everyone, I just need to share some with you. So without explanation (hopefully you can figure out who's whom), here's my overdue post!

MEL IS A STAR!!

Ok,not really, since anything can be posted on Youtube. This is from Coffee house last year at Century, but my friend posted it just a couple months ago.
Mother thought it would be nice for you all to see, so here ya go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WweXXmDOUvU (just copy and paste in your browser)

Yeah mon, Christmas was different...

So, what do you do when you have a big, loving, wonderful family, but you know you need to share the marrieds and grandies with the "outlaws," as we call them (those wonderful in-laws on the other side), or sometimes just give them space to have Christmas in their own way?
This was an "off" year for us, with no claim on or expectations with any of the married kids. So we decided to make Christmas an experiment, and go on a trip - just the four of us who still live in the cruel cold of Dakota du Nord. Of course, we looked for warmth, and somewhere we hadn't been... We made our plans to spend Christmas on a beach in the Bahamas. By way of Florida.


I wish how it sounds was exactly how it was. But don't assume the worst, either.

I can't say it was paradise, or that everything went as we hoped/expected. The Bahamas were unseasonably cold this year at Christmas (so was Florida and most of the country - no secret there); our Bahamas hotel was a bit of a joke. (Don't ever schedule through travelfun.com or thetourcenter.com; we are sorry we did. That's all I'm saying.) But Tim, aka Santa, fixed what he could, and overall the trip was unique, pleasant, and a great learning experience. And amazingly, we were never separated from our luggage, and only had one flight delay that threw things off-schedule - and it didn't mess up anything important. While I'm probably the first to tell what was wrong, I am also the most verbose about what was great and worthwhile about the trip as a whole. So for intimate details, talk to me. The pictures can do the rest.

The view from the first of many hotel rooms...

Notice the tape on the poor baby aligator's snout, so tourists can hold him safely

The Florida Everglades

That big boy was heading over to give me a kiss -- or to take my face off. The guide was pretty clear which was more likely.
At least it was warm in Florida (it got really cold there after we left)







Tim checking out the first conch shell we found. Turns out the Bahamians eat them, so the shells were all over.



Ah, the sea...







One picture of Mel is Florida, the other the Bahamas. Can you tell which is which?






It did get better... But the irony never went away (this sign, however, was not on the beach, but in the alleged longest freshwater cave in the world). And the mangrove "swamp" (clearest water I've ever seen) was a biggie as well.









But for general appeal, the ocean always won. This particular beach, at highest tide possible, is actually one used in filming "Pirates of the Caribbean." Yeah, we thought so too.




But THIS was what we were looking for. We enjoyed this hotel, beach and slightly warmer sun for a day, before sailing into the sunset back to Florida. (FYI, we didn't go on a cruise; it was a five-hour big-boat ride to and from the island. Don't want any confusion there... We still hope to cruise someday.)

One final comment (you knew I couldn't do it, didn't you?): We enjoyed our trip and are really grateful we could go. Our experiment gave us new experiences and new friends. And we learned a lot, including some things about ourselves; especially this: Christmas is for traditions. Christmas is for families. Even if we have to take turns. ☻ So Smile, Mon! And try to visit the islands when Mother Nature isn't freaking out. Oh, and have a Happy New Year!