Happy Monday!

These just make me happy!  Hope they make you happy today too!  Have a good day!

Blog Friends Are the Nicest!

I got to meet another blog friend and now she's my real friend who I met through a blog!  :)  Anyway, I met up with Cindy from Consider it All Joy recently in Phoenix.  She lives near my mom and we had a wonderful lunch at Mimi's.  We almost didn't eat because we talked the whole time.  We had such a nice time getting to know each other in person and really have a lot in common.  She is as nice in person as she is in her blog and what a talented woman she is too. I even think that we resemble each other a bit!  

I still love meeting new people and finding new friends even in my 50's.  I think you never have enough friends and I think Jesus would say the same thing too!  

Road Trip with my Mom

I had the privilege to take my mom back home where she grew up on the farm in Underwood, North Dakota. I've been back to see the farm a few times in my life and it's always exciting to me to see where I came from. This time it was a little different because it may be the last time for both my mom and I. You never know. My mom is 72 and has been battling Parkinson's for 12 years. I call it a battle because I watched her for a week...trying to make her body function as it should, trying to walk when the muscles wouldn't and all she could do were little shuffle steps, getting out of bed first thing in the morning with a body that is rigid and doesn't move even though her brain was telling it to. She wakes up to taking a pill to get her moving and continues all day long taking one drug after another to battle this disease just to be able to walk, eat and talk. My mother made it look easy when I know it's not! She always has a smile even when she's dead tired. We slept well because we went on a week long road trip to North Dakota and Minnesota to see 4 of her 8 brothers and sisters. What a treat for me to be able to come along. My aunts and uncles and cousins were so glad that my mom could make the trip and had me to bring her along. I enjoyed every minute even though at times it was hard to see them in all the different stages of life...one aunt in the hospital with pneumonia, another aunt in the hospital with a broken hip and fractured vertebrae, another aunt house bound due to a stroke and a cousin finishing up with some kidney stones. All were so glad to see us and we were so glad to see them. So enjoy the scenery today as I show you the beauty of North Dakota!
I fell in love with the sunflower fields and had to stop and take a few photos. Loved this scene.

I didn't see much cattle...just mostly fields of something growing but when I stopped to take a few photos this guy got up to see what I was up to!

More sunflowers and the grass all rolled up neatly along side the freeway.

Isn't that pretty?

My mom's hometown...about 600 people call Underwood, North Dakota home now. It's kind of sad because mom remembers a busier thriving town and it's not that way today.

The grainery where her father brought his crops to market.

The grainery from downtown.

Downtown today...mom said the hardware store has always been there. The soda shop is on the right (you'll see that in a moment) and the brick building on the left used to be the bank.

The soda shop is still there but a bit rundown and is now a little bit of everything store, gifts, snacks, small everyday items and a soda shop(lunch counter). Mom used to get nickel ice cream cones here and buy her sheet music when she came to town with her father.

The Hardware store with it's old painted signage on the side of the building.

This was her Uncle Bill and Aunt Vira's house. Uncle Bill loved his chokecherry wine he made in the basement.

This was a house in town that my mom worked at one summer as a house girl. She helped clean and iron and cook.

Her grandfather's house and my great grandfather's house. It needs some badly needed TLC but was still being lived in today.

My mom standing in front of the high school she attended. They had a one room school house near the farm that she attended prior to high school.

One the road to the farm from town. It's now paved!

I love these old buildings and would love to know their history.

Beautiful farm land. I love it. There is usually a farm house where the trees are.

Lots and lots of sunflowers!!!

More fields all rolled up!

And more sunflowers!

There's the farm in the distance where the trees are...the road is no longer paved.

My mom standing on the driveway to the house on the land that her father farmed and she grew up on. Amazing!

Looking down the road to the house...mom said it would have been past the trees and to the right. What a view they had! The property is now owned by a cousin and all along the road we read the names of the cousins who still farm the land. Thanks Mom for taking me along and for the memories!

A little beach and a little Disneyland!

My brother and his wife came for a visit from Arizona.  They enjoyed the cooler weather, 

a beautiful day at Newport Beach and celebrated their girls 8th birthday at Disneyland. 

 I got to tag along....Thanks Tim and Kathleen!

Taking a walk along the boardwalk.

All they wanted to do was play in the sand at the beach.

Me ~n~ Brie...my god daughter!  I love her!

Enjoying the cool water with Brie, Cassidy and Angela.

We wrote our name in the sand!

Then it was Disneyland!  My brother and his family~2009

My brother enjoying a snuggle with Angela!

Enjoying Mickey's house

Cassidy was so tickled by Minnie!

All of us with Minnie!

Eating a bite in Minnie's kitchen!

A photo with Mickey!

A photo with Tinkerbell!

The girls and I in front of the castle!

And finally the tea cups and we were ready to go home!  The girls were still going strong but mom and dad and Aunt Connie were too tired for any more!  It was a great day and Happy Birthday girls!  I love you!

I'm getting visitors!!

I'm so excited...my 3 little nieces are coming to visit tomorrow from Arizona.  We will have a taco dinner tomorrow night and then to the beach on Thursday.  They want Aunt Connie to spend the night in the hotel with them.  So that's the plan!   It's their birthday on Friday and we are going to Disneyland with their parents, my brother and his wife to celebrate their 8th birthday.    I got to go to Disneyland and California Adventure with them last year and they wore me out.  I love going to Disneyland but seeing it through the eyes of little ones makes it even more enjoyable.