A weekend to remember!

Well, I'm home again (as of Monday around 6:30pm), and what a weekend it was! I was feeling completely exhausted that night and knew I needed to get a good nights rest before babysitting all day yesterday, so barely even looked at my computer. Last night, I got most of this post done, but then it once again got too late, so here it is at last!

After packing my little car trunk (full) the rest of the way at Lauretta's place, we headed for MN...the land of lakes and trees!

 After a quick stop to pick up Michael (and then he drove), the next destination was the Marriott City Center in Minneapolis. It was nice to have GPS, and it didn't get us lost even. :)

 A beautiful looking church we drove by...

 We don't see this view just any day around here (and I'm glad)! It was amazing to see everything, but was also pleasant to leave it all after the conference was over. Guess I'm still a country girl at heart.

I haven't done much traveling, so this was the first time I'd been to Minneapolis.

It was also the first time seeing the inside of one of these large parking ramps. We found a place to park on level D, then went inside to find the hotel and to figure out where our rooms were. 3 elevators later, we were on the 25th floor, looking at what would be our home for the next couple of nights. Lauretta, Josephine and I shared a room, and Michael had a room that was adjacent, which made it convenient in the evenings, when we played games all together and watched movies. After finding out where our rooms were, we traveled back on the 3 elevators to get our things. Thankfully, there were enough of us that we only needed to make one trip.

 The view from our window...

 ...and looking off in another direction...

 ...and finally, what the big city looked like at night.

Josephine and I, unpacking...

 The "Weekend to Remember" (a Bible-based marriage conference) was excellent! The main focus was for married couples, but the things that were taught are helpful for singles pondering marriage (and they had a couple break-away sessions just for singles), and it gave us all things to think and talk about.  I'm glad we went! There was one part of the talks I'd suggest singles skipping, but other than that, I'd recommend the conference to everyone.  (I didn't get any pictures during the conference, as I left my phone in my room.)

There were about 1,000 people in attendance, so I hope and pray that many were blessed with wisdom to go home and make changes for the better in their marriages and homes!

Saturday night (which was my 28th birthday), Michael had made reservations for supper at a fancy restaurant nearby.  Before we left our rooms, he handed me a box (inside was a corsage!) and a thoughtful card!  He sure knows how to bring a smile to my face. :) 

(I took this picture the next day, so they were starting to look droopy by that time.)

 Lauretta & I...

 It was a very happy birthday!!

 We went across the skyway to get to the restaurant and then, after eating, walked around and did some "window-shopping" before returning to the hotel, where Lauretta took our picture... 

 We carried all of our luggage out to the car Sunday morning before the last sessions started, and once the conference was over, we left the city. Hooray! ;)  

 They look plenty happy too...

Michael wanted me to meet his grandma, Violet, so we stopped in Little Falls on the way to the farm and visited with her for a few minutes. She showed me a bunch of pictures of their family over the years.

Then, Michael decided to pay for another car wash, so we went through the fully automatic one in Randall. Michael paid for it with cash and he got some interesting change back ($1 coins), which we were investigating in this picture...

 This one makes me laugh every time I see it!!  He looks so mischievous.

 Pink and green soap bubbles. Wooo hooo!

We arrived at the farm just a little before the afternoon chores began.

Getting the barn ready...

Some of the girls...

It was a beautiful, sunny day...

Sisters...

For dessert after supper, Kathy surprised me by bringing out an ice cream cake that said, "Happy birthday Cora" and had a candle on it! :) It reminded me of home, as my family usually gets me an ice cream cake for my birthday...

Michael's brother, James was there and we 5 younger people played Skipbo and then Balderdash for quite a while that evening and had lots of laughs!

Monday morning, I got up early to keep Michael company as he milked. After chores, breakfast and visiting, we went for a walk on the riverbank. Then we went in and played a card game for another hour or so before it was time to leave.  Saying goodbye is never easy. :(

We got home to water being in places where there'd been snow when we left. The geese were flying and it really felt like Spring! Lauretta had to leave right away, but I stayed and visited with Thaddeus and Josephine for a few minutes before heading to my own home.

And that's the end of my story.

Now I'm off to do some babysittin' again.

Excited!!

I spent most of the day babysitting again. Vonn LOVES the baby carrier and I like it too, as I can actually do something while holding him, so we're both content, until my back gets tired or until he falls asleep. He's a big boy already (nearly 20 lbs, his daddy said)!

 I came home to my favorite supper (tacos) and birthday presents spread out on the birthday tablecloth. There was a banner printed out with birthday wishes and there was Moose Tracks ice cream for dessert. :) Yes, my family decided to "party" this evening, as I'll be gone on the actual day (Saturday) and when I return, Andrew will already have left for Texas for a week, so this was the best time to celebrate.

After the ice cream was half-gone and the presents were all opened, I finished most of my packing (took a lot of it out to my car too) and did a little baking. My brothers spent time getting my car road-worthy today, (and they even vacuumed it out for me!!) so I'm very grateful.  "Thanks again, guys!!" 

And now, I'd better go take a shower and then get some sleep before the vacation begins.  

I'm SOOOOO looking forward to tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next!!!!! :) 

An exciting day!

Wow! It's been a busy and eventful day!

Sadly, I can only tell you bits and pieces of it, due to 

#1. Part of the information is a secret for now, but I hope to be able to relay it to you someday in the future,

and

#2. Another part of the day was eventful, but in a negative way, and I wish to spare somebody embarrassment. :)

BUT, I can say that:

• Dad and Jacob went to the customer-appreciation meal at Titan in Kintyre at noon
• Mother stayed home (still not feeling the best)
• Andrew and I went to Bismarck for most of the day
• Andrew & Jacob bought an expensive laptop together as a treat with money from calf sales!
• I bought a pistol as a treat with money from calf sales!
• Important business decisions were discussed and options were explored
• Andrew bought some supplies for his trip down to Texas (he's leaving Sunday) for the Christian Worldview Film Festival (http://www.christianworldviewfilmfestival.com/).
• I bought supplies (groceries/clothing) for my trip to MN this weekend (leaving Friday and taking Lauretta & Josephine along this time!) We'll be attending a conference with Michael in Minneapolis.

Exciting times! So much to think about. So much to pray about. So much to learn and dream about....

I think we'll all either sleep very well from pure exhaustion, or won't be able to sleep at all because of excitement!

Just a couple more recent soap projects....

(now posted on Etsy also)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/dakotaprairiesoaps

Cow and calf (peppermint scented, with luffa and ground walnut shells for extra scrubbing action):

 Side view:

 "Anise Star" horse soap (also with scrubbing "bits" in it---to get all that cowboy and cowgirl dirt off)...

 ...again:

It's been a busy and very windy day. Our mailman claims it's blowing warm air in. I hope he's right.

Andrew went out grain cleaning for the first day of the season! He was home before dark and wasn't quite frozen stiff.

My dad did a ton of paperwork and made a trip to town too. 

My mom wasn't feeling well, again, so rested a lot. She did help me with some cooking though.

Jacob, I'm not sure what he did, besides oiling the bread pans for me and helping Dad feed cows?

I tried my hand at baking kuchen again and got a B+ grade. The last time I made some, I got a D-, so there was improvement. ;)

Soap!

Well, I got busy writing several e-mails to friends last night and forgot about my poor lil' blog here, so I'll post some pictures this morning instead of my usual bedtime post...

Since I had a fair-sized soap order last week again, I decided it MUST be time to make more soap, you know, to keep my inventory up. ;)

I experimented with an idea I'd seen on-line for rubber ducky bath soaps for "Littles"...

 Wonder if "My" Littles would like one of these?

Think I'll have to find out....

 This one is called "Spring Green". It is made with a blend of 3 essential oils:

Bergamot, peppermint, and mandarin and just smells "Spring-y".

 This soap smells very tempting to taste! 

"Cinnamon Speck-tacular" smells almost like apple crisp. Maybe it's the almond and wheat germ in it, or could it be the vanilla, honey, and cinnamon? I don't know, but it's a new favorite of mine!

That is all that I made this time. See, I had self-control! ;)

Sorrow

 Fern's funeral was today. I was not feeling at all well, so stayed home, but the rest of my family attended and my dad was one of the pall-bearers. We're praying for comfort for Fern's family in the days ahead.

Oh wow!

The sale went very well and we received the highest prices for our calves ever (again) this time! We're thanking the Lord greatly this evening!  Sure does help pay the bills, and makes up for all of those calving woes and fence fixing days and cattle working and feeding and watering and moving and hauling and.....

After putting checks in the bank and buying some ice cream to celebrate, we went home and I promptly spent some of my calf-sale money by paying my dad for a bunch of hay,
 and then placing a large flower/garden seed order. ;)
After all, Spring is a comin'!