Getting There

He is still rolling to get places, but I noticed today that he's getting ready to crawl! It's not going to be too much longer. Thank goodness for baby gates and outlet covers!

*While yes, I AM actually a fan of the Pina Colada song, I wasn't actually listening to the song per se. We had the movie Grown Ups on in the background.


I have so much to do before we leave to go visit everyone in Montana soon. All of the trips we have taken in the last year have been emergency situations. Coming home to a dirty house drives me INSANE, but I didn't really have a chance to get everything the way I wanted in my house before leaving. So this time, I want to have the house nice and clean before we go - much more relaxing to come home to a nice house after a trip.

And then there's all the laundry. It might be nice to have clean clothes for our trip. I think the people around us might appreciate us a little more if we DON'T smell like gym socks.

And then there's the extra fun situation on our bed. I noticed the sheets were starting to show signs of wear. I kept meaning to go find the other set we have, but never did feel like rummaging around in my very packed basement.* My mom got us a nice set of white sheets, but I didn't want them to get dingy. But then, this morning, when the blankets were thrown back, Surfer Pirate's side of the bed has a HUGE hole, about 2 feet long. Okay fine. Time to change out all the bedding. And I guess I'm going with the white sheets because I'm still not willing to go dig in my basement.

*Beware buying a house with a lot of storage space. It becomes WAY too easy to fill it all up. Then, when you move to a smaller (although much more charming) house, you have to do some major purging. But even then, quite often, it isn't ENOUGH. So you still have a TON of crap in your basement that you still have to sort through and decide what stays and what goes. I've been procrastinating that part. Today is exactly one year after moving to Northern Middle of Nowhere, ND, and I don't think I've even dealt with 10% of the boxes down there.

I'm looking forward to this trip a lot. My dad gets to meet his grandson for the first time! Many of my friends have had babies since I've been gone, and I can't wait to see them. My cousin and his adorable wife just bought a house. We're talking about possibly going to the drive-in movie theater when we're there, and my home town has a SONIC!!!! CHERRY LIMEADE, HERE I COME!! Plus it will be nice to get away for a little bit.

There is one really interesting thing I have noticed. In the three (horrible) years that I lived in Utah, I went home to Montana every chance I got. And every single time, having to go back to Utah killed me. I didn't like living there, and I really missed my beautiful home state. When I moved back there 10 years ago, I vowed to never leave Montana again. But life changes, things happen, and we ended up taking this opportunity to move to ND.

And you know what??

I LOVE it here!

This trip to Montana will be just that - a nice trip. I'll be more than happy to come home when our vacation time is up.

Home to my beautiful North Dakota with the fields of wheat, soybeans, corn, sunflowers, and the stunning bright yellow of blooming canola. Home to my beautiful Victorian house. Home to my small town where two different people remembered my name today without me even telling them.

Home.