This was a fun filled day! A little background on what led to our plans for the day...a few weeks ago, I was texting back and forth my friend JoEllen (one of my very best friends from high school), and found out that she was going to be in Minot this weekend for a wedding. We thought it might work out for us to get together, maybe meeting in Stanley, which is about halfway between Williston and Minot. She lives in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and I haven't seen her in February of 2015. Since then, she's had another little boy, who is almost 3 years old! So, with all of that being said, if there was a chance to see her, it was worth a little bit of drive time to make it happen. She let me know last night that she wasn't going to have time to meet me in Stanley, but if we were ok with driving to Minot, we'd get a couple hours together before the wedding they were there for.
We headed out of town late morning to head to Minot. We found a park where we could hang out until they had to go. It was a beautiful park and an absolutely lovely day. We beat JoEllen's family there by about a half hour, so we hung out enjoying the day. It's funny that I was wearing this rainbow shirt because there was a Pride event going in the park that day! Perfect!
I miss trees....
Here we are together after 3 1/2 years! JoEllen and I were inseparable for about 2 years until she left for college (2 years before me), and they are 2 memory filled years. She's now a successful cardiologist, mom of 3 with her 4th baby on the way. It's funny because she swore she was never having kids, and here she is with twice and many kids as me! I wish we had a better picture together, but this is as good as it got at the park.
We did get a great picture of our girls together though! Here is Paizley (age 5) and Zoey (age 7).
With the last little bit of time we had together, we decided to head over to DQ for a treat together. After that, we said our good-byes and they headed off to their wedding. We figured since we were in Minot and were in no rush to get back, we headed to the mall. This mall is the place of many childhood memories--school clothes shopping every year, swim meets and hockey games, and pretty much any time we went to minot. We headed in and had a little lunch, and then wandered around Scheel's Sporting Goods, one of the best sports stores there is. Dave found a softball glove he's wanted for years, and Ava got her new backpack for school. Here she is showing it off....we got in the car and were getting ready to head out when I got a text from JoEllen that the wedding was over and they had another hour and a half to kill before the reception, and that they were at.....the mall!
I looked in the side mirror of the car while responding to her text, and there they were, walking behind our car! What are the chances?! We headed back into the mall and hung out awhile longer. It was awesome! I'm so glad we had a little extra time together. Here is a picture of Porter....such a cutie! You can't tell here, but 2 of JoEllen's 3 kids have her adorable dimples. I wonder if #4 will too?
It's been over 25 years since we became best friends through the high school swim team, and although we don't see each other much or keep in touch nearly enough, some people are just lifetime friends. Hard to believe all these kids belong to us (and the 4th on the way, luckily her and not me). I'm so glad we had this time together today. I'd love to get up to Minnesota for a visit one of these years--maybe next summer? They have a new lake house that would be a pretty great place to spend a few days. Let's make that happen!
After the Minot trip, we headed out to Blacktail Dam to spend the night. My aunt Jannette had offered the cabin to us, so we enjoyed a nice evening out there. My dad brought out some shrimp and steaks for dinner, so we had a great time.
We dug up some worms and Ava did a little fishing off the dock, without any success.
This girl is a very patient when it comes to fishing. It was a lovely evening on the water!
Dad suggested we take the boat out for a cruise around the lake. It's so great to feel chilled. We had to put on long sleeves, and that's always a good feeling after months of hot weather. I always talk about this memory I have from my years in ND--when you've spent the whole day outside in the sun, but when it cools off in the evening and you need to put on jeans, long sleeves and tennis shoes. I don't know what it is, but I love that feeling. We don't get that in Arizona....it just doesn't cool off enough. Do you know what I'm talking about?
I love these pictures of Dave and Tyler flying the drone. The got some cool videos of the lake. I'll share some of the drone videos later.
This is such a great picture of the kids with Grandpa Jon! It might have to go in a frame for his place.
It's not a trip to Blacktail without a bonfire! What a fun day!
