I Go Back...

Who just finds their life long best friend when they are only four years old? Well let me tell you all a little story.. of two girls who were destined to meet and become sisters for life.



When I was four years old we moved from my grandparent's farm to Garrison. And as you all know from my previous post I was definitely a farm girl through and through. Which is probably why I hit it off instantly with the skinny little freckled face tom boy down the street who wore cowboy boots and Christmas shirts in July and danced to her own tune. It all started with raiding her house for "the good snacks" day after day for our "picnics" in the park. Little did we know that was just the beginning of a lifetime of friendship, craziness, and adventure..


Not only did we meet when we were four years old, but my mom was dating her uncle who she married years later. Which meant we were best friends who became cousins (which our family took full advantage of by making us serve punch for EVERYTHING), so we even got to spend holidays and family functions together. She is the family I got to choose, since she was my friend long before.



Doing what we do best..



We spent our entire childhood side by side.. climbing bales and throwing rocks at the cows (I swear to God they were mean and had it coming!), "dominating" the neighbor boys in football, watching videos every morning while we waited for the bus, and eating popcorn and playing poker every single day after school (to this day my mom will joke that she was afraid she'd need to find us girls a Gambler's Anonymous meeting before we were even in 5th grade).



Then came jobs, cars, and concerts (together, of course). That was literally our lives. The things we did for entertainment.. Like filling the inside of my car completely with paper towels and driving around like that. Or waiting in line for 8 hours in 107 degree weather in the direct sun to see Alan Jackson--yes, I will admit now we were out of our damn minds. We spent many days "broadcasting" at the lake. That means we walked around pretending like we had our own countdown on CMT because naturally we were far more entertaining than the hosts CMT actually had. I will never forget the one time I parked behind her at the lake and she didn't realize it and backed up--apparently at about 40mph, because the back bumper of her car was so lodged in my front bumper that our cars were completely stuck together. Only us, I know..


Driving around with paper towels..and yes, that is panty hose on her head.


She enjoys "posing".. especially in jumpsuits, apparently.



How could I possibly resist posting THIS?!



Then came graduation, college, new cities, boys, new friends, and even more adventures (you got it--together). I got married, moved away..She stayed in Fargo to persue more adventures of her own. But of course that didn't stop us from having our adventures together.. We got matching tattoos in honor of each other. She was there for the birth of my son. We went to hundres of concerts. Attended our FIRST Cowboys game. Traveled to San Francisco..



Crazy girls even got Grandma to do a shot with them!


COWBOYS!



Santa Cruz, California





Who just finds their life long best friend at the age of four? I did. My maid of honor, the godmother to both my children, my cousin, my soul sister.. My best friend. The girl I can have a full conversation with without either of us ever saying a word.

My maid of honor <3



Dearest Lindsay, my life would never have been what it is without you, full of craziness, color, and yes--adventure! I could not have asked for a more perfect person to grow up with. To have by my side through the best times and worst. And so today I would like to wish you a Happy 25th Birthday!! I love you more than you will ever know!! Until next time.. <3

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it, this brokenness inside me might start healing..

As many of you know, last week my great grandma passed away. 102 years old--what a life she lived! With the event of her passing, it brought back family members I hadn't seen in some time. And it brought us all back home.. to the farm, to good old Roseglen--the tiny little dot on the map that is now merely a post office and a bar. To where I grew up, to the "house that built me".


Lucas, our crazy cousin Steven, & I

Steven & the girls!


It's amazing how much a "place" can shape who you are and who you become. I haven't always been a hair stylist, a Weight Watcher's leader, a writer, a great cook, a mom. I once was a girl who spent summers with skinned knees, climbing trees, riding horse, playing basketball in the hay loft, drawing pictures in the dirt inside the rims on the tractor tires, staying outside from dawn until dark. Who spent countless hours next to her grandpa in a tractor. Who grew up watching her grandmas carefully kneed bread dough and roll out pie crusts and lefse until one day at a very young age I was "finally old enough" to be taught to do the same.


"That girl" all grown up, zip lining through the barn on the hay chute!



Winters were spent hollowing out the biggest snow pile we could find, sledding at the coulee, and hours of "working on the snowmobiles" in the barn. Spring meant lots of tractor time with Grandpa--the Steiger had a small space next to the seat that was just big enough for me to sit and I was fully convinced it was designed that way for that very purpose. The highlights of my summer were vacation bible school (all those games of Red Rover and singing with Grandma's guitar) and the few times we were lucky enough to get to go to the Makoti swimming pool. And of course Saturday nights meant roller skating at the hall and Sundays meant church. And with that came fall.. or harvest, rather. I can't put in to words what harvest is to me and it wouldn't matter anyway--only a fellow farm kid would ever understand why the sight of a wheat field tugs at my heart.

I once was a girl who didn't know of Starbucks. Folgers out of tiny little cups and Grandma's homemade donuts did the trick. I once was a girl who didn't own a single pair of designer jeans. Hell, back then naked in a mud puddle was far more in fashion. I once was a girl who didn't own an iPod. With Grandma's guitar and a family that sings, not only did we listen to music but we made it too. I once was a girl who didn't own a MacBook or an iPhone. I didn't facebook or blog or text. Not only did we actually pick up the phone to make calls but we'd take the time to go and visit those we loved and missed.

Hay loft basketball

Showing the younger generation how its done..

..and showing themselves they can still do it!



"I once was a girl"..

No, I'm still her. And I'm more thankful for that now than I have ever been. Now that Grandpa David and great Grandma Marjorie are gone and we have their legacy to pass on. Now that I have children of my own who I want to grow up to look back on memories like these rather than memories of "things"..who I want to instill with values much like my own. Who I will teach to kneed bread and roll out lefse. Who I will show to look outside and see opportunity and adventure rather than boredom. I am so thankful to be able to raise them on a farm as I was. And as they grow, I will share this part of me with them in hopes that one day it will become a part of them too.. Roseglen. <3


He's well on his way to being "our little farmer"..

And of course our little diva



Until next time.. <3

I feel a full moon coming on..

One month ago today we brought a little miracle in to this world. And two weeks later we got to bring her home. It's funny how the memories of the hospital will forever be seared in to my brain like it just happened yesterday, but it feels like an eternity has passed since then.



Our blog has taken a bit of a backseat to life, but I'm ok with that. Every day I wake up knowing that these early years of my children are going to be gone before I know it so every day I make it my priority to make the most of every day. Of all the lessons I took home with me from the hospital, that may have been the most imortant one. I recently came across a quote that said you should never grumble about getting old because it's something that is denied to many. How sad and how true is that. Which is exactly why we should live every day like its our last.

Easton got a haircut!


3 am giggles


Since coming home, we have finally gotten back to a fairly normal routine. Easton is back to his happy, normal self. Well, he was.. and then yesterday happened. It was 7:30 am when he came out in the living room (dressed in pajamas and boots, dragging his blanket behind him) and declared that he was "Going to work." Awesome. This should have tipped me off. By 10 am he had flushed an entire roll of toilet paper down the toilet, emptied a full salt shaker on his bedroom floor, and filled his tractor trailer with olive oil, which managed to leak all over my kitchen floor. I love my son more than words can say, but by 10 am yesterday I was ready to send him outside to play and lock the door behind him. About that time the UPS man showed up with a new delivery of k cups I'd ordered, surely a direct sign from the coffee Gods who knew I would otherwise likely resort to vodka before noon. Clearly the full moon is coming because this was exceptional behavior, even for a 2 year old--and not in a good way. Fortunately today is a new day and so far so good. The horns have not yet come out, but then again the day is young.

This weekend has big things in store. Auntie L is coming home, the circus is in town (which we may or may not partake in--that will all depend on whether or not my son decides to put the horns away for awhile), coloring Easter eggs, and Easter at Nana Lucy's on Sunday. I even tried my hand at making some fun Easter treats yesterday, and they turned out great. Sorry for you Weight Watchers that follow, I didn't "lighten" this one or figure points. We all gotta live a little sometime, right? :)



I would also like to take a moment to thank all of you for all the incredibly wonderful things you've done--the cards, the messages, the gifts, the letters.. They all mean so much. I am humbled every day over and over again to discouver the lives Little Miss Ever has touched. One day last week we had a shipment arrive--a brand new pink car seat, stroller, bouncer, 2 cases of diapers, and 17 outfits. They came from Noah in Califnornia, a wonderful man who followed Ever's story.. and we have never even met him. We had a car seat for her, Easton's old one--which was green and yellow--and Noah told us a little girl just can't have a green and yellow car seat. How does one even begin to thank somebody for that? My eyes still fill with tears every time I think about it. Words can not even express how much you have all touched my heart in following our story.


If there is anything I want people to take from this its a) always have hope--miracles ARE possible, I watched one happen right before my very eyes and b) never take your children and your blessings for granted. I wish you all a happy and blessed Easter weekend! Until next time.. <3