2012 210:366 Jeffrey and his Bow

Jeffrey is practicing shooting his bow, especially after watching the archery competition on the Olympics. He says that some day he can competer in there, and it's something that I would love to see. This shot looks like it is going high, but he actually nailed his target.

2012 209:366 Macy and Garfield

Macy loves her animals and this is one of her favorite cats, Garfield. That smile says true love.

2012 208:366 Supper at the fire

Brandy and Tyler have a really nice area dug out for a fire pit, and tonight we decided that supper would be cooked at the fire. Dale, Elaine, Jenna and Jefferson joined us and we cooked supper then enjoyed s'mores. Ahhhh, it's the simple pleasures of life. =D

2012 207:366 Painting the Wheels

Jeff gave this tractor to Jeffrey and Macy for them to have as a remembrance of their Great Grandpa Eddie. He also took up a $70 gallon of paint and told Brandy to paint the rims, so they would quit rusting. Well, Brandy is in grad school this summer and needless to say, this job is not at the top of her priority list, even though her father has been on her about getting it done. We went up there for the weekend and Brandy and Jeff scraped the rust and I started painting. Somehow, there ended up being only one paint brush and I ended up painting all the the wheels by myself. I'm sure what I'm saying here is WTH, how did this happen?!? LOL

2012 206:366 Lavonne

Lavonne and Lefty were in Wilton for a few days, and John invited all of us out for a ride on the pontoon. We stopped at Captain Freddy's for a bite to eat. There's a funny story about untying the boat from the dock. I was pretty sure that we were going to end up on a youTube video, but so far, nothing has surfaced as far as I'm aware. =D

2012 205:366 At the Farm

Lavonne and Lefty were home in Wilton for a few days, so we had a family gathering at the farm. Pictured are: (front) Duane and Brenda Schaefer, Quentin Spitzer, Robyn Spitzer, Lefty Ulrich. (middle): Arden Hagerott, Wayne Narum, Lavonne Ulrigh and Jeff Spitzer. (back) John Spitzer, Sharon Narum, Joyce Spitzer, Pat Hagerott. It's fun to be able to catch up with everyone.

2012 204:366 Lisa and Jill

Here's another couple of lovely ladies that I used to work with. We had a great time at supper, then went to see the Sleepy Hollow production of Grease! A great time was had by all.

2012 203:366 Terry

Jeff and I drove up to Brush Lake this afternoon and visited with Terry, Jeff and Emily. It's been years since we have been up there and boy are there a lot more cabins now. At least it seems that way to me. It was a perfect afternoon.

2012 202:366 Flower

I went out for a short bike ride this evening with my camera. I was inspired by these flowers and stopped to snap a few photos.

2012 201:366 Coin Purse

Almost forgot about the POTD today. This is going to have to be it!



2012 200:366 Vicki & Marla

I used to work with these two lovely women when I was a working woman. We met for lunch so that we could get caught up on each other's lives. It was fun to see them and I decided that I definitely need to do that more often!

2012 199:366 Wind Towers and Wheat Field

I made a quick trip out to the farm tonight to get something out of the Yukon and stopped to take a photo of the wind towers and the wheat fields.

2012 198:366 Cherries and Grapes

haha, the cherries were still sitting there from yesterday, so I just added some grapes today. My back is actually worse today, so no carrying the camera around for me.

2012 197:366 Bowl of Cherries

I have pulled a muscle in my back and I'm not venturing out at all for a few days. My coloring is totally off in this photo, but it's the best that I could do with how I was feeling.

2012 196:366 Williston Research Center

Our pontoon gets stored near the research center in Williston, so I snapped a few photos when we dropped it off. The crops are looking really nice there.

2012 195:366 Leaves

2012 194:366 Lunds Landing

Brandy and the kids left this evening, so Jeff and I headed over to Lunds Landing for supper. The owner has beautiful flowers everywhere and has done so much work with the landscaping. What a nice place for supper.

2012 193:366 Boating

Baby it's hot out here! What a perfect time to be at the lake and enjoying the pontoon.

2012 192:366 Camping

We've headed up to Lewis and Clark State Park for the weekend to camp and boat. Brandy and the kids will be camping with us for a couple of days. It's fun to be able to spend time out on the boat and the water has warmed up nicely.

2012 191:366 Happy Birthday to US

One of my favorite people in the whole wide world and I celebrate our birthdays on the same day. Mavis is one of the sweetest people that you will ever meet. We went out to dinner with Gina, Larry, Hunter, Quentin and Joyce then headed up to Mavis' to wish her a happy birthday. She even had chocolate for me. =D

2012 190:366 Golfing

Gina, Larry and Hunter came up this afternoon and we went golfing. I took my camera along, but it was so hot and there was someone right behind us, so I didn't snap any photos until we were done. Shame on me!!

2012 189:366 Happy Early Birthday

Papa Jeff took Jeffrey shopping today for his first gun. They bought a .22 rifle for an early birthday present. I think that the smile say it all.

2012 188:366 Get set...Go

We were having road races in front of the house before everyone leaves today. It's been a good week. I just love it when we can all gather at my house.

2012 187:366 Fishing

Everyone (except Grandma) went fishing this afternoon up at John's Lake and I think that everyone caught fish. It sounds like they all had a good time.

2012 186:366 Family Picnic

We had a family picnic down at Seratoma Park on the 5th. Gina and Larry were home, along with Hunter so we decided to have a little gathering. We spent the day at the zoo and the amusement park before heading over to the picnic. There was a playground very close and the kids had fun. It was nice to see all of the extneded family that we don't see very often.

2012 185:366 Celebrating the Fourth

Sony and her family were home, along with Dylan and Darrin, so she and Brandy planned a get together out at the farm. Derek smoked and barbequed ribs, then it was a potluck. Quentin and Joyce joined us and we had a great time. The big kids and the little kids enjoyed a game of soccer in the afternoon. We had a great time.

2012 183:366 Farm

Jeff went out to help a friend for a little bit this morning, then I went out to pick him up. I just snooped around a little bit and snapped a couple of photos.

2012 182:366 Pretty Flower

2012 181:366 Dragonfly

I was doing the dishes this evening as the sun was getting low and I noticed all of the bugs flying around in the back yard, so I took my camera and tripod and set out to find out what they were. Turns out they were dragonflies and there were hundreds of them. (Yay, they eat mosquitoes.) It was fun to find them when they had landed on the trees and they would pose for me. I ended up with lots of photos.

2012 180:366 Cousins

Well, we are not all cousins, some of us are second cousins, but that's OK. We had been trying for a couple of months to get everyone together for a 'cousins supper'. We wouldn't do it unless everyone could make it and trying to coordinate five peoples' schedules is pretty tough. We were finally successful though and we had a great time. I think we were at the restaurant for over three hours giggling and catching up.  I think we need to start planning now for the next supper.

2012 179:366 Ditch Weeds

I went out this afternoon trying to find a couple of canola fields to photograph, but was unsuccessful. I was successful in capturing the warmth of the afternoon colors though.

2012 178:366 Golfing

We joined the golf course in Washburn this year and have been trying to get up there at least a few times to golf. I have made it to a couple of the Ladies night golf outings and have had a lot of fun when I have gone.

2012 177:366 Jeff's Garden

Jeff's garden is looking pretty darn good, especially considering the fact the he wasn't going to plant a garden this year. He has lettuce, peas, onions, cabbage, beets, radishes and a few other veggies planted out there. I think that the tomatoes didn't make it through a frost, which is a real bummer, but everything else looks great.

2012 176:366 Sun Flare

2012 175:366 Approaching Storm

All of a sudden it got very dark outside and this approaching storm was the reason. When we checked, the forecast was for 80 mph winds and hail, so Brandy, the kids and I headed down to the bottoms to stay at her in-laws. We didn't make it in time and ended up driving through heavy rain, but at least the wind didn't blow too hard.

2012 174:366 Bridge

Brandy and the kids and I went to the old bridge crossing the Yellowstone River just east of Fairview. The bridge leads in to ND's only tunnel. I did not know that until this weekend. It's a cool place, but the sound of bats inside the tunnel gave me the heebie jeebies, so we turned around. As we were crossing back to the other side, it started to lightening and thunder, so we didn't hang around on the metal bridge for long. I'll definitely try to take the kids back for a photo shoot some time though.

2012 173:366 Kids' Tractor

Jeff has a tractor that he wanted to give to the kids, so we took it up to them this weekend. He made it clear to them that it was theirs, not mom and dad's tractor. I guess that he is busy cleaning out and getting rid of stuff. As he says, that's four less tires and one less battery to take care of. The kids were happy to get it though.

2012 172:366 Apple

The apples are growing! And, the tree is full of them. 

2012 171:366 Jeff on his walk

Jeff walks every day, sometimes twice per day. I just happened to drive up as he was walking down the street.

2012 170:366 Rocks

Yep, sometimes I just step right outside the front door and snap the first photo that I can. =D

2012 169:366 Flower

The bank has a flower garden out front that is beautiful. I was laying on the ground taking photos and someone stopped by to make sure that I was OK. 

2012 168:366 Sakakawea Driveby

We are on our way to Minot to meet Brandy and Tyler and take the kids home. It's been a good week, but boy am I exhausted. I took a three hour nap this afternoon and I never nap!

2012 167:366 Saying Goodbye isn't easy.

Lora rode with me and spent the week in Fargo visiting Julie. Poor Lilly was devasted when it was time for us to leave. She didn't want her Auntie Wowa to go home. 

2012 166:366 Roasting Marshmallows

We are so lucky to get to spend time with Julie and her family when we are in Fargo. Julie has a great back yard for get togethers and it's fun for the kids to play with each other. Tonight we got to go over and roast marshmallows and have s'mores. Yum!!

2012 165:366 Miniature Golfing

The kids love to go miniture golfing. 

2012 164:366 Park

We met Julie and the kids at the park this morning, then headed to the library for a presentation from the zoo. The kids love being outside and getting to play at the park. This one had a lot of green space where they could run around. 

2012 163:366 Bike Riders

All of the kids can ride their bikes now, however they definitely go at different speeds. We would ride the bikes over to Julie's or to the parks that we went to. The older kids would ride to the next corner, then wait for the rest of us when we went someplace. We just had a single file line with us all spread out. Jeffrey was first, then Abby, Macy and Payton. I would bring up the rear on foot, however by the end of the week I was having to run to keep up with them. It was great exercise for all of us.

2012 162:366 Happy Birthday!

I can't believe that Abby is going to be EIGHT this year! Where does the time go? We celebrated her birthday a little bit early, because she wasn't going to be here for her birthday. We invited Lilly and Gabriel and went to Chucky Cheese for some pizza and game, then came home and had an ice cream cake. We had a great time. I love getting to spend time with her. There just seems to be an extra special connection with that first born grandchild.

2012 161:366 Little Miss M

What can I say about her? She is stubborn and independent and can melt your heart in a heartbeat. She is lovable and kind and caring. She tries so hard to fit in and keep up with the older kids. We had all four kids for a week (yes, just Grandma and Grandpa). Macy came to me to tattle and I stopped her, told her that if she was going to tattle I didn't want to hear it. She hemmed and hawed for a couple of minutes, then said "Ummmmm Grandma, I love you!" and ran off to play some more. What a sweetheart. I just love this kids with all my heart.

2012 160:366 Best Buds

These two are best buds, there's no doubt about it. They are excited to see other and when they do get together, they pick up where they left off the last time as if it were only yesterday. From the time that they have been born, it is like they have an understanding of each other and can read the other's mind.