One nice week

(This is an actual bill board along I-94 just west of Steele. I knew Jason would enjoy some ND humor.)

This past week I flew to North Dakota with Sam and Livia to go to my Aunt Donna's wedding. I was a little worried about getting two kids there without Jason's help, but they did pretty good. Fortunately it was a direct flight from Salt Lake to Bismarck.

Waiting to board the plane. (They are in PJs because we arrived at 11 pm.)



Sam got pretty restless on the plane so he buddied up with the flight attendant. She was so sweet and patient with him. She gave him a personal tour of the plane. Right before we got off she showed him where the pilot was... but he didn't stay long enough for me to get the picture on time.


Looks like seasoned travelers...



We spent the first night at my parents' apartment in Mandan, so we got to see Nancy, a very close family friend. The kids played on the pony until my dad finished his half day working.


As always, we had to stop by the local cafe, Carol's Kitchen.




Jason finds it funny that Carol is the owner, the chef, the waitress, and the cashier. This is Carol: (yes, she is sitting at the table with us)


And this is Carol eating our fries:

She gave us extra because she forgot who I was. And then ate some.

The hours board made me laugh. (Look at the closing time for Mon-Sat.)

At least Carol was willing to let me take pictures... even though she told me what she thought I could do with my camera.... (I won't tell you since this is a family friendly blog.)


Another usual.... stopping by the bank. The bank ladies always love the company of the kids. If you're wondering... yes, the kids are behind the counter. They're pretty chill there.


Sam and Preston were just wild and crazy.


Our next adventure took us to the Tuttle Store.


Just to give you an idea of the size of this store... this is the entire produce section.


This was new since my last visit. I laughed out loud.


The left side of this formerly-refrigerated section is now a lil' bookstore. You can read the books and then bring them back. The right side is a lil' craft store. I love Tuttle. (Go ahead all you North Dakota knockers.... let the jokes begin!)


A major highlight for Sam was my Uncle Duane's 4 wheeler. He spent a lot of time at the farm with us, most of the time giving rides to the kids. Sam loved it!



Now for the main reason I went... My Aunt Donna got married! She married a great guy, my new Uncle Mike. Welcome to the craziness, Mike!


The happy couple:



Congratulations Donna! We're so happy for you!

My little cutie:


Sam had a lot of fun with Jill's little boy, Preston. I was worried they would fight, but they didn't all that much. They were pretty much inseparable... and I now know what the term "double trouble" means....


Livia with her Papa:


And her Nana:

This is at the airport when we arrived in Bismarck, Sammy was so excited to see both Papa and Nana.




Just a little glimpse at their week long fun together: