At Mom's Request...

Wow, I'm really on a roll here with blogging! At your request, Mom, here are a few pictures of the boys (and Wade and I -- Isaac actually took the picture of us. Wow, huh?).


Isaac doing his favorite thing: making a map. On this map (and most of his others) you will find a schoolasaurus, heffalumps, woozles, and the homes of pretty much everyone Isaac knows and loves.


Lukey atop a nearby jungle gym. The boys like to play "spider" on it, which includes catching insects (leaves) and after eating them (crumbling them up in their hands), dropping their bones below (letting the leaf bits fall to the ground).



Levi on the world's best merry-go-round. Give it a good push and it will spin forever! Lots of fun, even for me (but not for Wade -- just watching makes him nauseous!).



'Lijah having a really good hair day!



Me with the studliest man in the state of North Dakota (and beyond).

Culture Shock in North Dakota

Okay, so we've been here three weeks and the culture shock keeps... well, shocking me. A few strange things to point out about North (and South) Dakota:

• Tumbleweed blows across the highway in moderate winds. Seriously, you'd think we were in Texas.
• Cattle guards, even on freeway off-ramps. And of the course the related experience of driving through areas where the cattle have free reign, even on the roads.
• National Grasslands. I can understand National Forests and National Parks, but National Grasslands? It's grass -- who cares? Well, out here it's a lot harder to grow things, so I guess grass is a lot bigger deal than it is in Washington.
• Petrified wood everywhere (and I thought it was only found in certain parks and museums).
• Lefse, a Norwegian snack, is available at the grocery store year round (and I thought it was just a strange thing Wade's family ate during the holidays).
• The hardware store sells krumkaka makers (another Norwegian snack Wade's family has at Christmas). I didn't even know there were krumkaka makers!
• The town sirens go off every day at noon and 10 p.m.
• Grain elevators in almost every town.
• The sun rising in the west and setting in the east (okay, so I'm a little disoriented here and can't seem to get my inner compass to adjust).
• Everybody waves at you, especially when driving. We're learning to drive with one hand on top of the steering wheel so it's just a flick of the wrist to return (or initiate) a wave.
• No rain. I just don't get it. I just don't.

We're here!

Me and the boys in front of our new home


Yes, we are alive and well in North Dakota, and now that we're not on dial-up internet anymore, you might just hear a lot more from us!

The boys did amazingly well on the 20-hour trip, and now that we are all unpacked, moved in and mostly back to a normal routine, they are starting to settle down and act like themselves again. During the time that Wade was in ND and we were still in Washington, and during the move and the couple weeks following, the kids were a little off kilter. They may not have been able to tell you what was wrong, but they were definitely stressed out. It's nice having them normal again (as far as normal goes for little boys!).

Wade is enjoying his job and learning lots. I'm keeping busy teaching Isaac kindergarten, trying to transform the landscapeless yard into something beautiful and doing all the regular mother-of-young-children things that life demands.

Speaking of which, my to-do list is demanding my attention.