June--summer is finally here!

North Dakota is so dry that this little

Goldfinch decided to take a shower in my garden

Inspecting my tomato plants :-)

Devils Run car show the first weekend in June.

This guy doesn't know which way to go!

Local schools sell this popcorn for fundraisers.

Bob's cousin Frank in his Model A

Later we ran into Frank and his family at the park.

Doesn't look like we are in 100 degree heat, does it?

View from our deck at Lake Metigoshe

Pickleball friend painting a mural in Bottineau

Grain bin twisted by a tornado is displayed

at the museum in Bottineau.

Jimmy, Kelly, Trina, and Ana made it home 

for Uncle Jerry's funeral,

and they brought a few kids with them.

T

Mary Kate wanted the food, not the photo

Are you telling Caiden a secret, Mary Kate?

Mary Kate's turn to make a good impression...

We took all the kids to church on Sunday.

We went to the Northern Plains Electric Coop

Annual Meeting on Monday, June 21st, 

and had our gelato (ice cream) dessert

before Mylo entertained us after the meeting.  The cooks

 were late, so we had our meal after laughing for an hour.

On Tuesday we headed to Lake Metigoshe to play pickleball, 

and on Wednesday Bob's cousin, "Captain Ron,"

 took us on a tour of the lake in his pontoon boat.

Bob needed some repair parts for our steps, 

so we drove down to Bottineau and had lunch 

at the Pride Dairy on Thursday. 

June 26th is the earliest I have ever picked

anything in the garden. Found lettuce, 

spinach, grape tomatoes, and mint today!

View of my garden from the north side. 

Fabric under the tires is treated with weed preventer.

My garden gets "re-tired" every year. :-)

 

 

May Days 2021

On May 1st, after helping with the Germans

from Russia food stand at the Rugby museum,

we drove to Jimmy and Kelly's in Killdeer.

Check out the temperature change from our

April snows!

We drove over Lake Sakakawea and 

saw the inlets to the Garrison Dam.

Then we zipped through Zap

Something new to us in Zap...fracking sand

Cashing in on the fracking theme...

Zap City Hall

When we got to Killdeer, I checked out the progress

on their addition to their home.

Grace made "Dump Bars"  

for Andrew and Mary Kate's 

birthdays

Naptime

The kids surprised me with flowers

for Mother's Day

Alstroemeria...they last forever!

Matthew helps light the candles

for Andrew and Mary Kate's cake

Andrew turned 15 on May 4th

Mary Kate didn't seem to care that she 

was celebrating her first birthday on May 6th.

When we were in Texas, we saw the launching

of the rockets from Boca Chica near Brownsville.

After we came home, we had to view Starship XV

on our TV.

In spite of the drought...our trees are blooming!

We drove to Buffalo on the 20th,

and I spent almost two hours in the pool

with the girls. Needless to say, I was 

asleep by nine that night!

After our swim, we walked to the A & W behind the motel.

The A & W was closed to indoor eating, but we could order 

at the drive-through. Only problem was that we walked 

from the motel and the drive-through would not 

recognize bodies. So, I walked back to the hotel, 

got the car, picked up Bob and the kids,

and we drove through to order.  Then, we were

able to eat at the table outside the restaurant!

En route to Trina's, we visited the Veterans' Museum

in Waterloo, dedicated to the five Sullivan brothers

who died in World War II.

The brothers insisted on being on the same ship.

When the ship blew up, four brothers died immediately.

100 men survived the explosion, but by the time help

arrived, only ten were left, but not the fifth brother.

A plea for Women's Suffrage

Ana and her girls and Kelly and the kids came to Iowa, too.

Ari, 16; Andrew, 15; Jett, 14; Caiden, 13; Claire, 12;

Matthew, 12; Annika, 11, holding Mary Kate, 1;

Grace, 10; Cecelia and Lydia, 9; Luke, 5.

Ari and Mary Kate

Lydia and Mary Kate

Mary Kate with two phones

One for each ear?

Rub-a-dub-dub: three girls in a hammock

Trina was hoping that her peonies would still be

blooming for the Grad Party on Sunday.

Relaxing on the front porch while 

some of the boys played ball.

Game in progress.....

The family across the street said the kids could 

swim in their pool. They have quite a menagerie

of really cute pool toys!

The swimmers return for supper!

The celebration begins!

The graduate with Grampa Bob and Gramma Diane

Tom, Trina, Ariana, Bob, Diane

This is your life.....

Growing up...

Cecelia, Lydia, Ariana, Ana, and Claire

Pope Francis hopes Ari will share

some of the Pringles we gave her!