Thanksgiving Weekend

This year for Thanksgiving, we went to Utah. Due to weather conditions we ended up taking off a day earlier than we had scheduled, good thing to, the drive took us about 18 hours to get there. We had a blast. We relaxed, enjoyed spending with time with friends and family. We had a really nice trip, it was so good to see everyone and spend so much time hanging out and playing around. The drive home took about 14 hrs, because we again hit Snow, but the fun times we had with family, really made the drive worth while. We didn't use a professional photographer, but we did do some family pictures while we were there. Here's just a few.

October Slow down

For the most part, other than finalizing the move, October was pretty calm in our household, we spent the month putting the new place together, holding Scentsy parties, and working. That's not to say we had free time, with both of us working at least 40 hrs at our Full time jobs, then working our Scentsy business, we stay busy.

Jo's step up with Scentsy!

As you can read with the posts below, it's an understatement to say that September was a busy month for us. But adding to our crazy month, is Jo's advancement in her Scentsy business. That's right, Jo's goal of becoming a Director with Scentsy, happened. If you ask her she'll tell you that she's shocked it happened when it did. She did a party Sept 1, then stepped back for the move and all the craziness going on didn't work her business the way she normally does during that month. Needless to say, each month since then the numbers have steadily increased.

In the past year we have gone from a team of about 12, to now 34. We range in different states from North Dakota, Utah, Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Montana, New Jersey, New York and California. We have some amazing Team Members on the team, and if you ask, they make being a Director not only fun and rewarding, but easy. We love hearing from them, and helping them in their Scentsy journey's.

A common question is what does being a Director entail for Jo, well it basically means that she has a team of people that has joined the Scentsy business under her. She helps them know the business and reach the goals they set for themselves. She gives out challenges to help each of them better themselves, which in turn makes them more money. In order to maintain her Director status, the team has to sell at least $10,000.00 in Scentsy products each month. And of course, you want to keep building the team bigger, because you then it's easier to reach those goals. She prepares a Team Newsletter for the team each month, and is always answering emails and phone call questions from the team. We are so very lucky, that most of Jo's team have become like extended family for us. We get to share in their excitement and help them when they need it. Jo loves being a Director and Darin loves being a Director's wife.

Jo has been hoping to make Director status for quite sometime but was always so afraid to say it, or put the goal on paper, well, back in July right after Convention some girls from her team asked her, you are always asking us for our goals, and you help us reach them, what are your goals to help you. She announced her goal to the team in August, and wouldn't you know that in September we did it! Amazing what team work does!

Darin's new venture

Just a couple of weeks before the "big move" Darin had been offered a new job with a company called Dickinson Ready Mix, he took the job and during his first week we got the word to move, so unfortunatetly the excitement of his new job was moved to the shadows while we moved. But, here's the lowdown on his new job.

Off every Sunday, this is great not only for church, which we don't attend as we should, but this means that we both have a guarentee'd day off together each week!

Hours can vary but they are pretty regular from 5:30am-7:30pm M-F, each day is different but those are about the earliest and latest. And on Saturday 5:30am-12:00pm

He now drives a Concrete truck, and stays pretty local delivering "Ready Mix", or Concrete. He gets pretty excited now when we are driving around, telling me he poured that sidewalk, that driveway, those footings, or that foundation. He is also learning the roads of Dickinson, and actually enjoys driving around town again.

Due to the weather restrictions on his job, he will be laid off during the Winter months, usually about Christmas or just after, until about March or April depending on weather. Jo is of course a lil nervous about this, but since Darin enjoys the job, and we get to spend a lot more time together we'll take it as it comes.

A house into a Home!

When we found out we had to move, it was about 4:30pm on a Wednesday, we were FURIOUS to say the least, then we slipped into a panic mode of what are we going to do, there is a MAJOR housing shortage in Dickinson and the prices are outrageous!!! On Friday, after panicking and dealing with it, we posted on Facebook our situation and on Sat late morning, we received a phone call from a friend here in town. A coworker/friend of hers had just purchased a house and although it wasn't really ready to rent, our friend had told them our predicament and they wanted to show us their place and talk. We met with them on Saturday afternoon, and when we left, we knew all would be ok. We weighed out the options of waiting to see some other rentals becoming available or just going with this one. We prayed and thought about it, and the answer seemed pretty clear. So here we are, our landlords are simply amazing people! They are so sweet, and rushed with everything they wanted to do so we could move in quickly. They offered to help us move, and have been absolutely awesome to work with.

Our rent did go up quite a bit, but we should note that we feel we are being charged a pretty fair price for our place. Some 2 bedroom apartments are charging more than what we pay right now. When it was all said and done, we received the notice to move on Sept 9, and we were completely out and getting settled in our new place by Oct. 5. Can we say a crazy few weeks!

During this time, we really questioned our decision to move so far from any family, but going through it and after we realized again that we made the right decision. We had so many friends help us through the move, during the move and get settled. In the short year that we have been here, we have been so touched and so blessed by the amazing people we have been able to meet, and get to know. We can't imagine our lives without them.



A not so great picture of the garage, and most of the house. Very different layout. The door with the wreath on it, is our front door, you walk in and enter our garage, go around the corner and there are the stairs to climb and enter the house. Those stairs are in the middle of the house, so it makes a complete circle all the way around. Confusing, I know. Come visit, it'll make better sense!



The other half of the kitchen. Surprisingly for it's size, we have decent counterspace, and cupboard/drawer space is pretty good to.



The appliance half of the kitchen.



The Guest bedroom. Please note this was before any decorating in this room had been done, and it was still sort of the catch all room. Yes, the carpet is a nasty green shag. It's the only room in the house with the ugly carpet. Just adds character!



Of course, our home would not be complete without our Scentsy Office.



Master bedroom, there is a bathroom with shower only just off this room. Great size!



The living room. There is a deck, and then downstairs we have it all fenced in for the dogs. Also, please notice our make shift pet door. This way the Patio door closes, and the dogs can still be free to roam in and out. We have no messes with out Pet Door trained "kids"



The Dining Room, which also had a lil nook that is the very small laundry room.

The Move!

I'm going to make this very long story short and say that the people we have been renting from since moving to Dickinson last year, have been renting to us illegaly, so we have to move. So as we celebrate our First Year here in Dickinson, North Dakota we celebrate it moving to a new place.

This causes stress because housing here is in very short supply and very very pricey. We got really lucky and a friend seen our plea for help on Facebook and was knew someone who was had just bought a Condo to rent out. We were in luck, such a sweet couple and more than willing to rent to us and let us begin moving in so quickly. We had some great help from the branch here and from some amazing friends. We were so nervous about the move but everyone really came through for us.

We have been so blessed this past couple of months and during this season of gratitude we are so very Thankful for all that has been given to us.

To all our friends that came through and helped us move, we owe you big and we plan to repay you. THANK YOU!!!

Stay tuned for pictures of the new place, coming soon.

Labor Day Weekend

I'm going to make these posts short and sweet, as we are soo far behind in not only posting to our blog, but keeping up with all our friends blogs as well. Sorry, I'll try to do better.

So this year for Labor Day we were both off work and got to spend the entire 3 days together. That hasn't happened in awhile. We decided to take the dogs and a friend that Darin works with named Chris for a ride to the North end of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We seen soo many buffalo it was crazy. Chris and I got out and got really close to them a few times, made Darin super nervous. Other than that we just lounged around and enjoyed a few days off together, nothing special. Here's a few pics of our journey to enjoy.


This one was from the car. We ended up stopping for them for a few but, we literally could have reached out the window and touched them passing by the car.


We stopped to watch another herd and Chris and Jo got out of the vehicle to get a better view, Chris ended up stepping in well something not so pleasant and Jo made him clean his shoes before he could get back in the car with us. But here is a shot of Chris getting up close. And yes, Darin was freaking out!



This is just about as Mountainous as it gets here in North Dakota!



This is a herd just hangin out in the picnic area, they were so calm, we dared to get really close.

Catching up!

Please bear with these next few posts as we catch you up on our life recently and our crazy schedules.

INTENSITY 2010 (Scentsy Convention)

Scentsy Convention this year was yet again, AMAZING! They brought in a great keynote speaker, Amanda Gore, who reminded us to be positive and be a better person, and love those around us! We were reminded again what an AMAZING company we are apart of. Heidi, Scentsy's president spoke of Generousity! And Orville, Scentsy's CEO spoke about getting back to Simplicity, and keeping it Simple. Even with just over 6,000 Consultant's in attendance we were able to bring a lot of new product home with us in Giveaways. We again were touched by Heidi and Orville bringing their entire family into Convention and including their kids in the unveiling of some products.

We are so excited for what the next year will bring to us with this business. We have set new goals for ourselves and we can't wait to reach them. We feel so fortunate to have the team that we do. They are so supportive of our goals, and have goals of their own that are great! We have a great group, and we love being in their lives and having them be apart of ours. We are on the grow, and we couldn't be prouder of our small circle. We LOVE watching it grow! We are sure our Scentsy team is the Best out there! zoot zoot zoot to each of you!
We are currently on the search for a team name, any suggestions?

Here are few pics of Convention, the group of us that made it to Denver. If you look really hard on the Team pictures, I'm pretty sure you'll see the spirits of those that couldn't join us. We know they were with us in Spirit! ;)

So, we are on continuing on with our Scentsy journey, hope it finds you in our future, it's gonna be INTENSE!!!

Wait till next year, we'll be coming at you from Fort Worth, Texas!

SCENTSY SPIRIT!!!!!!!!!!


Darin & BettyJo (from ND),Justin & Jessica (from ND), Dorothy (from NC) & Amber (from UT)



Another Team Picture with Darin. Jessica, Jo, Amber, Dorothy, Darin



Waiting for General Session to start. Jessica, Jo, Dorothy, Amber



Team Pic with our Superstar Director. Jessica, Amber, Dorothy, Lisa, BettyJo



Jo with the Signature board. You can't see but we signed just above her head.



The Convention stage.

Denver or Bust!

So a couple of weeks ago, Darin and I went to Denver for Scentsy Convention 2010! We decided to drive their, and and enjoyed the time together. We had a very busy couple of days while there, and got tons of information, made some great new friends and lost some sleep. Here's a brief summary of our trip.

We checked into our hotel, relaxed for about 15 minutes, me walked the 5 or so blocks to the Convention Center to register, and then headed to our Team meeting, and the Scentsy Tailgate party! The next day we enjoyed the sessions and breakout sessions offered by Scentsy, go TONS of product and seen what Scentsy is bringing up for the Fall/Winter season. Our Superstar director took us all to Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, yummy! We then went to the Scentsy Success PJ party, played some games, and showed some Scentsy Spirit! On Friday we woke up a little late, so we rushed to more sessions and meetings. After our sessions, we took Jo's team to dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory, another yummy meal. Then we headed back to the Convention Center for the awards ceremony. After the ceremony we took a fun little Bike Taxi ride to Coyote Ugly! Darin and I have been to Coyote Ugly in Vegas, and we had fun, Justin and Jessica who we were hanging out with hadn't been before. It was a very fun night, with some great memories made! On Sat. we went to lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, and headed home. We took our time on the drive home, stopped in New Castle, Wyoming at a quaint lil motel. It was a great Convention! Here's a few pics of our journey!



Darin and Jo just outside Old Spaghetti Factory.



Darin and Jo first night in Denver.



Coors Field. Darin loved this and was so excited.



Our Exit to Downtown Denver.

A great gift!

I was given a totally awesome Birthday gift this past week. Due to my visit from Strep Throat our get together with a couple of friends had to be postponed, well, one of those friends decided to visit and brought me my Birthday Gift! I absolutely LOVE it! It is of course, Purple and Green. Which some of you may not know are not only Scentsy colors, but my two Favorite colors, as well.

Liz is the friend that made me this awesome, homemade gift. She is so very creative and crafty, that it too her, I think she said 2 days to make in her spare time, and she dreamed up the pattern and design. She does awesome work doesn't she? She has signed up to do a Craft show this November. If your interested in more information, let me know, I will get you her information! Darin and I had her make a Hat & Scarff set at Christmas for a gift, it was a huge hit!

On a side note, I am feeling much better, and although Strep kicked my butt, I am still a little week, but definately getting back to my old self. Now, to get caught up. Darin and I are super excited, we leave for Denver, Colorado on Tuesday for Scentsy Convention. We will be back in North Dakota on Sun. Can't wait to tell you all about Convention and the fun and exciting things Scentsy has in store for us, this year!

Love to all!


My cute new purse, filled with all my goods!


Back of purse.



The front of my cute new purse!

A great day and a not so great weekend!

Just wanted to Thank everyone that I heard from on my Birthday! I have finally gotten around to responding to all of your FB posts, Text messages, and phone calls. I'm a little slow on the phone calls, that was part of my plan for last night, until I ended up with no voice and not being able to keep my eyes open. Story later in the post!

Anywho, I had a great day on Tuesday, and didn't even mind that I had to work. It started early with the texts, and I must say my sister was so proud she was the first text, Thanks sis! I went to work and was spoiled rotten with Cheesecake, Reese's Cake, (do ya think they know I love Chocolate?), I was also given a Maurices Gift card, those girls know me so well! After work, I did some Scentsy deliveries, went to my weight class, then did Dinner with Darin, who finally allowed me to open the Ipod he had engraved for me, (it's a replacement for my ipod that died a few months ago) He had it engraved with a sweet Happy Birthday message. We didn't get home until about 9:30 or that night. We then opened cards, and packages I had received. Let's just say, I have AMAZING people in my life, and love each of you so much! This past year, and with this move, I have really learned who I can really count on, and you all know you are. Thank you for being there with my tear filled phone conversations, venting sessions, and emotional outbursts! I promise that when you need me, I WILL be there for each of you!

I had so many FB posts, Texts, and emails to catch up with, if you didn't hear back from me, please know that I am not ignoring you, I must not have received it.

I appreciate all of you for your thoughts, and wishes! You made me feel so loved and cared about on my Birthday, that's what I think a Birthday should be about.

Now, I promised you a story about Friday night, I'll make it short. I haven't been sleeping well this past week and thought I was feeling all emotional and tired because of lack of sleep, but it just kept getting worse. By Friday afternoon, I had no voice, and felt horrible. I came home to lay around and rest. Darin sent me to bed early and all doped up on NyQuil. I woke this morning, feeling worse and with even less of a voice. I showered hoping for a better feeling and knew right away it wasn't coming. I figured it was too late to get into the Clinic, since it was about 11 already, but what the heck I tried. They took pity on me, and the Dr allowed me to be seen, I went right in, and was told it looks just like all the other cases of Strep they are seeing, so they are treating it like it is Strep, but took a swab to make sure. So, I had plans of getting things ready for our Denver trip the end of this month, this weekend, but since I can't make it off the couch or out of bed without getting dizzy, there is no need to worry, I am following Dr's orders and resting with plenty of liquids! Really, Strep throat in July!!! Seriously!?!?! This bites!

That's what's new here!

Scentsy Special, and Happy Birthday Jo!!!

Being today is Jo's Birthday, we have created a way for everyone to Celebrate with us, and of course, we are adding some AWESOME Scentsy Specials! If you leave a comment here on the blog, you will receive 5% off your order placed on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Wanna know more about the special, leave your email in your comment, or email us at darinandjo@yahoo.com and we'll make sure you get the email!

We would love to hear the stories or memories you have of yourself and Jo!

Happy birthday Jo!!!!

Happy commenting!

Our journey to having a baby!

I'm going to warn you now, before this post goes any further. You are going to be reading into something that is VERY personal, and you may just get to much information. Some of you may be offended, some of you may understand, some of you may try to understand, for our benefit please whatever you do, DON'T tell us that you understand our pain, it truly doesn't help our situation at all. Another warning is this will probably be a very long post, as it is a post that we struggle with daily, and we have yet to give out each and every detail as we are going to now! And so it begins...

After being married for under a year, we headed to the Dr for a yearly exam on Jo, we went together even though Darin was not excited for the venture. We were also going to discuss with the Dr why we can't seem to get pregnant on our own! The day came and went and with it came an order for a Semen Analysis for Darin, he did the test and the results came back that it couldn't be properly tested for one reason or another. At this point we were referred to a Fertility Dr in SLC, we made our appointment and then made the 4 hr drive to it. We performed another Semen Analysis the same day as our consultation and got the results while we were there. There should be millions of little sperm in one small sampling, and Darin had a wopping 20 live mobile sperm! We were also informed that Darin's testosterine levels were incredibly low, and this would be why his energey levels were so low etc.
We were then told that he had a Varicaseal on his testicle, and this could be fixed quite simply, and may solve our entire issue. Off we went to the Uroligist in Provo. We met with him once and scheduled the surgery, it was supposed to be an easy in and out procedure, so the very next day Jo was scheduled to have a bothersome tooth pulled at a Dentist specialist down the road. Good thing, we have wise and loving parents who not only know what's best for us, but fight for it as well. Nothing went according to plan. We left early in the morning for the surgery to Provo, Jo, Darin, and Jo's dad. Darin was taken into surgery, and after about double the time we had been told he'd be in, the Dr came out to discuss. They had found a hernia as well, and in repairing the hernia, the testicle in question was without blood for quite a long time. The chance that he would lose the testicle was higher that originally thought. Darin had a rough time coming out of the surgery and they kept him overnight. The next morning a quick visit to the hospital, and Jo was rushed off to have her tooth extracted. After that procedure it was back to the hospital to pick up the waiting and in pain Darin. At this point, we were so thankful Jo's dad had insisted on escorting us for this endeavor, because we both slept through the entire trip home. What was supposed to be a quick maybe 2 days off, was a full 6 week recovery time.
Then the waiting began, a full 6 months of waiting to let the surgery work and run it's course.
We went back to the fertility Dr for another Semen Analysis and was told that Darin had in fact lost a testicle, but no worries, you only need one to get a baby! The count had stayed about the same, no major changes. So we met with a nurse to go over the entire In-Vetro process! Although we both had insurance the entire process would not be covered. HOW? WHAT? WHEN? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? This all went through our minds. How do you come with this kind of money, and up front as well? What are these technical terms this woman keeps saying? When can all of this happen, we so desperately want a baby? What are we going to do, are we going to be able to pull this off? Off we went, totally overwhelmed with information, and lost in our own thoughts of dispair, and not sure how to really talk about it with each other, let alone others.
In figuring out the money part of our situation, Jo started to have some health problems, and was seeing Dr after Dr trying to get it all figured out. Basically it was problem after problem, struggle after struggle! Very frustrating! However, we trudged on through the problems, because we both believe that things happen for a reason, when they are supposed to happen.
When we made the move to North Dakota, we both felt so strongly that it was where we were supposed to be, so off we went. We both have good jobs with Insurance. Jo's employers are incredibly supportive of helping us with the issues, that they have said they will help out with days off for the Dr's visits, time off for the procedure's and so on, which has helped incredibly since it is a travel to the nearest Dr, and there is so much involved.
At the beginning of May we had our appointment for another yearly for Jo, again we both went to talk about the fertility and get some insight and opinions. The dr referred us to a Fertility clinic in Fargo, who meets with patients in Bismark. We got our appointment set up, and off we went to Bismark for the afternoon. We were ecstatic to feel completely at ease with this Dr, and as he talked about the process and listened to our concerns, we felt this was it, it was time! It had been some time since Darin's last Semen Analysis, so the Dr wanted this repeated, as well as a class about In-Vetro at his clinic and so forth. We got scheduled for the next available date and went to Fargo (a 4 hr drive) for both. We felt so strongly that this was our time, we got all the insurance information taken care of, and we learned that it was going to be covered by both companies, we of course couldn't be happier about this news. On the way back to Dickinson from Fargo, we received a phone call from Dr. Christensen (our new fertility Dr), it's never a good thing when the Dr himself calls, right? Well, it wasn't good news. Darin's test had come back with NO live sperm, initially this meant that he couldn't be the donor. However, the Dr felt strongly about some other tests being performed and Darin's bloodwork being ran as well. He'd call us back shortly with more results. This was on a Thursday, and we had a very agonizing weekend before we heard from him again. It's official, there is no longer a count for Darin, the Dr has spoken with yet another Uroligist and together they feel very strongly that a Byopsy of the Testicle is needed and the sooner the better. The good news is, the Testosterone levels are back up in the normal range, however Darin is still having some severe symptoms of low testosterone, which they can't treat until we know more about the sperm count. The Dr has discontinued Darin's medication, as it may be counteracting the count, by bringing up the levels. Another 4-6 weeks to know if it's changing things!
We are in the process of making this appointment, and are waiting for a phone call back from the Uroligist. Some of you, like us may be wondering what exactly will be byopsied, and what it will tell them, let us explain. Darin will be put to sleep, and they will take a sample directly from the Testicle, this will then be analyzed to see if there is any sperm there. Basically, if his body is making Sperm. If they find it, there is a blockage somewhere, if not Darin fathering children has become a Dream not a goal.
We had very high hopes of not involving our family in this process, not because of how wonderfully supportive they all are, but because we wanted to be able to surprise everyone with, GUESS WHAT!!!! We have decided that with this added difficulty we need all the support we can get. We are trying to stay positive, and we both know that there is still the possibility of Donor Eggs usage, or Adoption. Both of which is not something that we consider to be ideal for us. We wanted the chance to have a baby together, a baby that is both of ours. Don't get me wrong, both of these instances would give us a child that we would treasure and love deeply, but when your goal has always been to be a parent, you feel as though a part of you is being taken away with the knowledge we have just been given.
As we stated before, we have tried so hard to remain positive and upbeat about this entire process. As Jo likes to say, we are being thrown this for a reason, let's make the most of it and run! However the unknown that lay ahead of us right now is proving to be very trying. The thought of being let down over and over with adoption, or not knowing the person that donated an egg to us is very scary. It gets hard also, when we hear the wonderful news of our friends having babies, again, don't get us wrong, it's so exciting and we wouldn't dream of holding it against you or having ill feelings about it. But, we do continue to ask, why it must be so hard?!?!?!
We are not looking for your sympathy, your understanding (unless you've been through this process you can't possibly comprehend it.) We are however asking for you to keep our situation in your thoughts, your prayers and in the back of your mind, when you meet someone without children, please don't let your first question be, why you don't have kids? or when will you begin your family?
Infertility is very common and through this process we have learned of quite a few people who have conceived using In-Vetro, this however doesn't mean it's easy to deal with or talk about!
We plan to keep you updated on our journey as best we can, please be patient with us, and this news came to us about two weeks, and our closest family just found out late this week. It takes time for us to digest and come to terms with the information we are given before we can even dream of spreading it.

All our love!

Visitors from Utah Day 4

Day 4 of the visit to North Dakota, was spent relaxing. Jo and Darin went back to work, so everyone else just relaxed and went around town. For dinner we had a Barbeque, visited, then off to bed. Tuesday morning as Jo went to work, she said goodbye to her Parents, and Korbin. We had a great visit, and wasn't really ready for them to head home. Jo's fears of Korbin forgetting her were quickly subsided by the smile on his face when he seen her and the fact that he went right to her and gave her a big hug & kiss. He was pretty lovey with her the whole trip, which she of course loved and ate up. Although, the visit wasn't for long, a good time was had by all!

They left North Dakota on Tuesday, and made their way to South Dakota, to Mt Rushmore, and a few other stops along their way. They are now back in Utah safe and sound. Here a few miscellaneous pics from the visit!


Another loving morning. Korbin and Aunt B


Korbin doing his Cartwheels


Korbin and Aunt B. He was feeling very lovey this morning.


Korbin & Aunt B


Jo and her Dad


Darin and Mom Bills


Although a very unflattering picture, it's the only one we got of Jo and her mom.

Visitors from Utah, Day 3

Day 3 of the visit was also Fathers Day. We took Jo's dad to a Fathers Day brunch then we went to the Carnival that was in town for the weekend. Korbin had a blast, even though it was past naptime and he was really tired, he did great! He picked out his rides and which order. We bought him and Jo a wristband to go on whatever rides he wanted. He choose the Carousel first and both Darin and Jo went on the ride with him, next he wanted to drive the cars, then he insisted on going on the Dragon Roller coaster for kids. We tried to talk him out of it because it looked to be a little too much for him, but when he gets his mind set on something that's it! After that he was afraid of everything. To help get him back into it we did the Ferris Wheel, that was all it took, he then wanted to try all the rides! We choose to do the tiltabears next, then the Tiltawhirl, which he LOVED and had to do twice! After that Darin and Jo did a ride on their own, and then we walked through the crazy house, which he didn't love again. After that we decided to grab a snow cone and head home. Korbin didn't make it to far before he was out! We all came home and took a nap and enjoyed the rest of the day together. Another long tiring day, but the weather was in our favor and we had some fun! Here are a few of the pictures we captured of our Carnival fun!



Korbin and Uncle D on the Carousel.


Korbin driving on the Cars.


Korbin on the Dragon Roller Coaster.


Korbin & Aunt B on the Ferris Wheel.


Darin and Jo on the ride Jo wanted to go on. It went up and did a circle. Super Fun!

Visitors from Utah Day 2

Day 2 of the visit started with breakfast in Belfield, at a fun restaurant called Trappers Kettle, very yummy food. We then drove about 40 miles to Medora ND. Medora is a small western town that has some fun stops/stores in it. We made it to town just in time to see Joey O's performance. He's a comedian that is very uplifting and from Iowa! After his show we took a drive through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is beautiful country, with plenty of wild flowers and wild creatures to be seen. (this is where we went in March where we seen the Buffalo) After the drive we went through the museum and took the tour of one of Roosevelt's cabins. We then went to the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum, then went through a few of Medora's stores. We also stopped by an Ice Cream shop for some Homemade Ice Cream and Fudge. By that time it was time to head to our Dinner and show reservations! We had made reservations at the Pitchfork Steak Fondue restaurant, super good food, great ambiance, and a beautiful view, topped off with a live band. All in the great outdoors. It was awesome. We then walked across the parking lot to the Medora Musical which is an Outdoor Ampitheatre, that has a show playing every night from June 2- Sept 15. This years show is very patriotic and very worth the time and money! The Medora Musical is a play that changes each year, during the intermission, there are different acts that are brought in from everywhere. We got to see an awesome Dog Trainer and her dogs do some pretty neat tricks. It was pretty kewl watching her and knowing she had been on Jay Leno, and David Letterman. That's two performances in one day that had been on these popular shows. Lucky us! At the beginning of the show they invite all the kids down to the stage to do a little dance, of course Korb wanted to go, so Grandma opted to take him down. He loved it and was not a happy camper to have to go back up to our seats. All the kids were given a really cute little Microphone to remember their visit. We had been a little worried that afternoon of our dinner and show being rained out, but the rain cleared out and returned to a beautiful day. Not to warm, not to cold, just perfect! After the show we drove the 40 miles back to Dickinson, and went straight to bed. Saturday was a very long tiring day, but we had oh so much fun!



The Badlands Overlook in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, a very pretty drive with lots of wildlife to see.


Sorry if the sight of rare meat grosses you out, but had to show you how they cook it.


The view we had during our yummy dinner. Of to another side was some Elk, and another was the ampitheatre for the Medora Musical.


Korbin thoroughly enjoyed the show, he sat really still like this for pretty much the entire 2 1/2 hrs. This picture happens to be during the dog tricks.


Korbin on stage at the Medora Musical.

Visitor's from Utah Day 1

Jo's parents and lil nephew came into town last week. They got into town on Thursday afternoon, Jo has an amazing job, that let her leave when they got here. We went to lunch then came home to relax and get settled. When Darin got home from work, we played a game of Phase 10, visited for a bit, then headed off to bed. Friday brought us a beautiful day with lots and lots of WIND. There was probably a steady wind of 50-55 MPH, that doesn't count the gusts. So, with the wind we decided to have breakfast, and take a drive to Regent, ND and show Korbin, Mom & Dad the Enchanted Highway. Off we went. We stopped at each of the displays, but only got out of the car at one of them, the stage coach with horse, Korb wanted to sit in the stage coach. Afterward we came home, mom and Jo made a really yummy Fried Chicken dinner, and we pulled out the Wii and played a few games. Then it was off to bed to prepare ourselves for another long day of touristy fun for Saturday. Here's a few pics of our Friday adventure!



Korbin and Barkley get along great! Korb plays with him so well, and Barkley follows him around like crazy, SOO cute!


Korbin playin Wii Fit, with the help of Grandma, of course!


Korbin, Papa, & Uncle D with the Military tank in Regent.


Korbin with the lil Buffalo at the Gift shop in Regent


Korbin sticking his face in Mama tinman-erwoman, at the gift shop in Regent



All the important men in Jo's life. The story behind the stop sign is that it's short, like Jo's dad, so we convinced him we needed a pic with it. Love you daddy!