Sky Art #2

OK, a few weeks ago I showed you a pretty picture of the sky before a thunderstorm.

Well, on the day of this photo, my job was to push back the airplanes from the gates at departure time. Some clouds were moving out after yet another small rain shower. While I was waiting for the captain to clear me off the headset with him, I took the following picture with my cell phone. This one is looking east over Council Bluffs. The time? I think it was roughly 6:50 AM.

The sun was rising and the clouds were making way for them. At one point there was a defined straight line between the sun rays and the clouds. It was very cool.

Sitting inside the pushback enjoying the sunrise!

I love my job!!! I see the best time of the day. Of course, some days are nicer than others. Usually though, right before the sun comes up is when the weather is at it's best. This day was one of them.....gorgeous.

Almost Done!

Note: If you read this before the actual next post, jump down to the next one so that you see things in chronological order.


I could hardly wait to get home from work today. This is the day the new deck was going to be built! I had been waiting for this since I moved in just over 2 years ago. It was a great sight to see and smell the new lumber being put together like puzzle pieces. They were working diligently in the heat of the day. I had asked Bob to take pictures during the construction as I like having those photos of progression. He took the photos, but I haven't gotten them yet. I'll let you see them as soon as I do. So for now, here are the pics that I took after they stopped working for the day. All that is left to do is put up the railing and build the steps. The steps will be on the end of the deck, which is your left as you see this photo. The new size is 10x14. I'll have to replace a few pieces of siding as well. It was sided around the old deck's railing so I'll need longer pieces of replacements.

I'm very excited to place my outdoor furniture on here! It will be nice and cool each day as there is mostly shade for a good part of the day and evening. My flower pots will look better on here as well.

Come over for a BBQ! It's going to be great! Stay tuned for the completed project photos......it should be done on Sunday.

On Deck!

When I moved into this house 2 years ago, one of the home projects that I was definitely going to have done was replace the little tiny deck. It was literally 8x8 in size. If I had tried to place my square patio table and chairs on it, the table alone would have taken up all the floor space. And having the chairs on it along with the table? Forget that! That's how small the deck is.

This house was originally built as a model home 21 years ago. I'm thinking that the deck was added just to give potential home owners (at that time) an idea of what a deck would look like and to give access to the back yard. Well, here it is still standing, barely. The nails have been working their way back out of the floor, the steps began cracking lengthwise because of age and breaking under feet causing me to fall to the ground on one occasion!

Last year when the tornado came through my neighborhood, it was also the one thing that went untouched. If I had my choice on what did get destroyed by that tornado, it would have been the deck! But nooo.....it stood strong! Go figure!

So due to all the repairs I had to make from the tornado, the deck project was pushed to the back burner until this year. That day finally arrived!

After speaking to my next door neighbor Bob who has his own contracting company called Improvement Experts, we came up with a day to get the job done. Bob is the guy that rebuilt my fence and porch railing last summer after the tornado.

My neighbor Bob...the contractor, last summer during the rebuild of my fence after the tornado.

Here is a photo of the back of my house after the tornado last summer. My fence would normally have blocked this view. And if you can actually see it, you'll notice just how small the deck is!

This is the best photo I could find that shows how old the wood is. Here is Oreo sleeping in the sun amongst melting snow from last year mid March.

Monday of this past week, I spoke with Bob on the phone after I saw that lumber and decking material was on sale at various home improvement stores. He told me that this was a good week for him to get it done as he had a customer delay a job for him. So I was "on deck" for the job if you know what I mean! Thursday they would tear down the old one and begin building the new one on Friday. So I arranged for a dumpster to be brought to my house to collect the old wood and various other trash from the tear-down.

The dumpster on my driveway.

When I got home from work on Thursday afternoon, I saw that the guys were working on tearing down the old barely-standing pile of wood. I.E.-the deck. I walked around back and there it was....in a pile on the ground just waiting to be hauled around to the front of my house and thrown into the dumpster. The back of my house looked bigger in it's absence. Bob had ordered all the material that would be needed for the new deck so all I needed to do was go there to pay for it. The next day he would pick it all up and they would get started on it. Whoo hoo! I could hardly wait! I would finally be able to get the table and chairs and my grill out of my garage and put them in their proper places. And now I would finally be able to have my turn at the regular cook-outs that my friends and I usually do during the summer months. At least now they could be on my deck and I wouldn't have to worry about the whole thing falling down!!!

The spot where the old deck once stood.

Prepping for the new deck!

Friday isn't going to get here soon enough! I'm very excited to have a normal size deck with ample room for my things and people! Stay tuned!

Sky Art

As you know, I have a job that is performed in the great outdoors. (I work on the ramp for Southwest Airlines.) On occasion we witness many beautiful changes in the sky, such as cloud formations either prior to a storm or right after.
On this particular day, the forecast for mid morning was for thunder storms that would last briefly as they were moving at a fairly quick pace from the northwest to southeast. Today I was working in our baggage room, the area that the bags come into after being checked in by passengers. We sort them into carts for their respective flights here as well. The temperatures were nice and cool at the early hour of 5 AM so we had our 3 big overhead garage doors open to allow the cool breeze to flow into our garage/bag room. This allowed us to keep watch on the sky and see how the storms that were building were nearing the airport.
I stepped outside and upon looking northwesterly, I saw a very pretty sight. Although I didn't have my actual camera, I used my cell phone to snap a quick photo. The storms were moving in quickly and the sunrise reflected beautifully through the clouds.

Here, there is a street light that shines down on the US Airways ramp that looks like the moon!

Our baggage room is on the north end of the building near the ramp where US Airways flights arrive/depart. But here we also have a great view of the northern sky. In between the check-in rushes, we were able to see the changes of the cloud movements. So we watched vigilantly as storms were rapidly moving closer to the airport.

The humidity was growing thicker. Soon the rain was pounding down and the water was running everywhere! A lot of rain fell in a very short amount of time. But it wasn't long before the storms were east of the airport and the sun was shining brightly. It turned out to be a very nice day!

Need a Lift?

It was the perfect evening. Slight breeze, comfortable temperature and a beautiful sunset.

I wondered out onto my porch for no particular reason other than to enjoy the evening air. Upon looking to the western sky I noticed something that isn't really all that odd here in Omaha. A pair of hot air balloons. They looked as if they were just hanging from the sky with an invisible string. Barely drifting along towards the south. They made a nice silhouette in the somewhat cloudy sky.

We often see these balloons while at work. The Bluffs of Council Bluffs are just to the east of the airport. There is an area on the other side of them where dozens will take off early in the morning if the conditions are right. Once they are airborne, we see them slowly rise over the tops of the Bluffs against the morning sunrise. A very serene picture.

But sometimes I notice them over the city near my house. Tonight was one of those times. It would be fun to have a ride in one of them and slowly glide over the treetops and houses. I imagine it would be a very unique experience.

Each year in Albuquerque, NM, a festival is held with hundreds of these sometimes whimsically shaped balloons. I have never attended but would love to be part of it sometime. Here is the link to that huge event. Doesn't it look fun?

Nearing the End of My Vacation

Today I had to leave Dad and Beverly's for home. But I had a stop that I wanted to make along the way. I have more relatives that I was wanting to see that live in Minot. My Mom's oldest brother and his family, Herman, Betty and Jill Roloff. They knew I would be stopping by due to a phone call the previous night.
I found them at home around 10:30 AM. They had just recently celebrated their 50TH wedding anniversary! That's more years married than I am old.....sheesh! They showed me pictures of the party that their daughter Jill gave them.
Then we went to see Jill at work. We were able to chat for awhile before she had to go back to business. It was so nice to see everyone and I can't remember the last time I had. I believe it was when my own Mom died back in 2001. Way too long ago. They look great!

Herman, Jill and Betty

Then I got back on the road and headed south towards Bismarck. Along the way I noticed several fields of Flax. I stopped to get a good picture of it. Some of my friends have never seen where Flax actually comes from. This is what it looks like in the crop stage. Beautiful!

Crop of Flax

Then I saw another field of yellow. I asked Dad what it was because I simply couldn't remember from when I was young and having been told back then. He told me it is....um, uh, OK, I've forgotten again! Help Dad! What is it? Here is a photo below. It's also very pretty!

Can't remember what this is....but it's pretty.

The day was nice for driving. What wind was actually blowing was behind me for a change! Usually on these trips, I'm driving into it which makes for very poor gas mileage! Not to mention I get tired out quicker. The sky was mostly cloudy and wasn't very hot so I saved on use of the air conditioning.

I eventually arrived home around 11:30 PM. I had to stop for gas a couple of times and also to clean off the many insects that decided to use my windshield as a landing strip! Ishta!

My vacation is nearing the end..........only 3 more days off. Boo hoo.

Thursday Ritual of Entertainment

Whenever I get home, I try to help out doing any job I can that is just getting to be too difficult for either Dad or Beverly. So on this trip, I went outdoors to offer some assistance.

Dad has been getting the majority of the grass cut in the yard with his riding mower but trimming is just too much for his legs to handle. So he helped me get set up with a weed eater. I started out around the house and knocked down the tall grass and Canadian Thistle . They are very thick stocked weeds with little prickly leaves. If your not wearing leather gloves, you don't want to handle them! Nasty little weed! I continued around to the front yard around the big evergreens and all the bird feeders and shepherds hooks for flowers.

Then I walked down to the Quonset (see below) and cleaned that up as well. I could have done much more but Dad said,"No, you've done enough." But at least when you drive into the yard, the majority of what catches the eye is now gone. I like neatening things up like this. You can actually see what you've accomplished when the job is completed!

These photos of the house are from last November. I trimmed the weeds all around the house and trees in front. Then I went down to the Quonset (silver building on the left primarily used to store farm equipment) and trimmed all those weeds. There were several years of dead grass and weeds that had grown over each other year after year.

You can kind of see under the fuel tanks the growth of weeds that is now no longer there!

I also cut many thick weeds and grass from around the red propane tank near the corner of the house. It looks much better.

Because it was Thursday, it meant that Dad would be making his weekly drive to Tioga to the Long Term Care. Each week many volunteers gather with their instruments and entertain the residents with singing and playing. Dad plays his accordion. Others play guitar, piano or keyboard or just come to sing along. We took Bandy (Dad's dog) with us and some of the residents enjoyed her kisses and greetings!

Dad and Don Anderson

There were several people there that aren't residents that came just to hear them play. This week was special too. I have a second cousin getting married the 11TH so relatives were in town for the big day. Rose and Elton Gudvangen and 4 of their grand kids, my uncle Curtis Roloff, aunt Verena Roloff and my god parents Carl and Gisela Wold. I tried to get pics of some of them but due to lighting, they didn't turn out. I forgot to re-do them later. Grr!

The music was great and as always, some of the employees made popcorn and served this with coffee and water to those that wanted to partake. A few people danced and the residents even clapped their hands and tapped their toes to the beat. It's amazing how music affects even those that are physically unable to thoroughly enjoy it! It gets to the very core of anyone that hears it!

After two+ hours of fun, we drove down town to a cafe and met the Gudvangens' and Wolds' there where some either ate and others just had something to sip on. Soon it was time to say our goodbye's and go home.
Tomorrow I would be leaving ND to go home to Omaha.

Continuing Vacation at Dad and Beverly's

Dad and Beverly had some errands to run in Tioga today so I rode along with them. Bandy went too because it was nice enough that she could stay in the car. She kept a watchful eye on me when she wasn't sitting with me. Here she is staring me down; she is sitting on the arm rest in the car looking at me in the back seat. She was my little buddy while I was at Dad and Beverly's. She even slept with me....;)

Bandy

Bandy had just recently had a haircut and nails trimmed so her hair was very soft to the touch. She was very excited to be home after being in Bowbells while Dad and Beverly were in MSP for the reunion. You would think that she hadn't seen people in months by her reaction of getting home! So cute!
We stopped at a local cafe to eat dinner and I saw more friendly faces! Cousin Jeff Moberg and his wife Wanda, high school friends Juli Strid and Susan Wolla (I used to babysit for Susan and her hubby Jay a long time ago!) and 2 uncles from my Mom's side, Curtis and Lawrence Roloff! I'm bummed though as I didn't have my camera with me!
That night back at home and after we were done eating supper, Dad was in the garage and Beverly asked him to play his accordion. He agreed. So I went and got his other accordion and attempted to play along with him. It was fun but oh, so horrible! I had a hard time figuring out the buttons for the left hand. Just when I'd get those down and try to play the right hand keys at the same time, I would fail miserably! Quite sad! Dad was laughing at me but it was fun to try the craft that he's mastered after all these years. Plus, the accordion was big enough that I had to stand just to play it. No chair for me. And, I couldn't tighten the straps enough to make it fit me right! Ugh! Good times!

North Dakota Bound

All good times come to an end eventually. Including our huge family get together. Today I was going to be taking my sister Cathy back to the MSP airport so she could go home to Oregon. My brother Kevin was going along.

After dropping Cathy off at the airport Kevin and I began our journey to Dickinson, ND where Kevin and his family live. His wife Susan and their girls were going to spend some time in their old stomping grounds of East Grand Forks, MN, to visit with friends. Kevin needed to get home to go to work so I gave him a ride and made their home my next pit stop of my travels. As we drove through the Cities, Kevin had my camera and I asked him to get a picture of downtown but thought of it a little bit late and almost missed it! But here is what he got.....(ignore the window reflection).

Downtown MSP

We drove as far as Fargo, ND before we decided we needed lunch. We ate at Extreme Pita. I hadn't eaten there before and it was indeed a treat! Kevin took over driving after we made a stop for gas in Valley City. So I took advantage of riding and had a nap! We had a short night and got up fairly early to go to the airport.

Kevin made us a supper consisting of Omaha Steaks and after eating he took care of a few chores in the house while I paid bills online. We had short walk later in the cool night air and then retired to the basement to watch a little bit of TV before going to bed.

The next day I left for Dad's via Williston. I stopped along the way in the Badlands to snap a picture of the beautiful scenery! Yes, ND does have nice scenery in some spots!

Gorgeous!

I was hoping to stop and see some relatives on Mom's side of the family. I found my Mom's sister Lucille at home. She then called 2 of her kids, Joan and Jerry and they joined us. I haven't seen these people in a very long time! My Aunt just retired (again!) from nursing after 50 years of service!!! Congratulations!

Joan, Lucille, Jerry

After a nice visit with them, I left for Bethel Lutheran Home. This is where my other Aunt Shirley works as well as Joan. I surprised Shirley. She knew I would be in ND but did not know of my impending visit! It was a short chat but great to see her just the same.

Me with Aunt Shirley

After leaving Shirley to her work, I hit the road again for my Dad's farm an hour's drive north of Williston. Dad and Beverly were working their way home from the Cities and had stopped to pick up their little dog Bandy along the way. We arrived at the farm 30 minutes apart from each other. I had stopped at the grocery store to buy ingredients to make supper for all of us after our long day of driving. We unloaded the vehicles and I commenced to making supper. We ate hamburger hot dish (casserole for those of you not from ND!), pears and bread. For dessert I made Cookies N Cream pudding.

We stayed up fairly late chatting. I know, visiting and chatting happen a lot in this family! Finely, I just had to get more sleep and turned in for the night. We had a couple busy days ahead.

Reunion Vacation.....Day #3

Today was our last day of the reunion as a group. Some would be leaving to go home and some were staying another night. Here is a recap from day one and here is a recap from day 2. You can also check out my brother's blog as he had other photos and did other activities that I may not have.
Church service was offered to those that wanted to go. It was held at Easter Lutheran Church not far from the hotel that we were staying at. Those that stayed behind had another great breakfast at the hotel and did more visiting. Once people returned from church, my sister, my brother and his family and I had decided that we wanted to visit the Mall of America. It was only open until 7 PM on Sundays so we didn't have a lot of time! [that's bad when you visit a mall!]
First we went to have lunch across the street from our hotel at the Dairy Queen. Then we rode the hotel shuttle to the mall. I hadn't been to the mall since I moved away back in 1995. Things have changed drastically in that time! Of course, a photo opportunity came up as soon as we stepped off the shuttle bus. (I know, shocking!)

Front: Suzanna, Hillary, Abigail. Back: Kevin, Cathy, Susan


Nickelodeon Universe which used to be called Camp Snoopy when I lived in the Cities.

There were a few stores in particular that we wanted to shop in before we ran out of time. So one of the first places we stopped in was for the girls. Friends 2B Made. It's very similar to Build-A-Bear. Last summer when my brother's family visited me on their vacation, the girls each got a friend at Build-A-Bear. Anyway, the girls each got another new friend at Friends 2B Made. The clothes for the 2 stores are interchangeable with all the little characters.

Here are the girls giving their new dolls all the traits they need to have to be alive!

Lego Land is awesome! It's something that needs to be visited in person! It is on the main floor right next to Nickelodeon Universe.

Here is an airplane that hangs from the ceiling. See the pilot?

After going to several more places including Le Gourmet Chef which I love, we visited an M & M store because my sister Cathy loves the green ones! Then we found Archiver's and Swatch. Susan loves those stores! And while we were walking around we saw a familiar face. Who'd have thought we would see anyone that we knew in that place? It was our Uncle Ray! He was on his way to the airport to fly home but had gone to the mall with our Aunt Penny and his wife Connie. (I think)

Time was passing quickly and we had to ride the shuttle back to our hotel at 6:45 PM. We made our way back to the pick up area.

That night we were going out to eat with my Dad and step mom Beverly. There was a restaurant next door to our hotel called Green Mill. We ate heartily and asked our server to take our family picture. She graciously agreed.

Beverly and Dad in front. From the left: Me, Hillary, Cathy, Suzanna, Susan, Kevin and Abigail.

After eating and making our way back to the hotel, we found yet again, more people visiting in our common meeting area. So we joined them. One can never have enough time for chatting when you rarely see all your relatives! Tomorrow we would all be leaving the Cities to head in different directions.

Reunion Vacation......Day #2, Part 2

I keep forgetting that today is the 4TH of July! So, happy holiday!

It was time to head back to the park for our evening meal and entertainment. This was the last night we would all spend together.

After getting out of the car and walking up to the pavilion, we saw our main course being prepped. It was a pig roast. The entire pig was on the BBQ complete with apple near the mouth!

The roasting is almost complete!

It wasn't long after arriving that we were invited to dish up our plates and eat. The rest of the meal included potato salad, coleslaw, turkey and pork with the BBQ sauce on the side. Our dessert consisted of Norwegian cookies, a Norwegian wedding cake, snacks and drinks.

Here is my remaining great aunt of the Aune family.....Bea and her husband Bert Wilson. They and their kids and families hosted all of the rest of us. They had everything planned out nicely! It was a great weekend.


This is our dessert. Kransekaker ("wreath cakes"), also called Norwegian wedding cakes. They're made of ground almonds, powdered sugar, and egg whites.

There was a nice playground area and a volleyball court at this park which several of the kids took advantage of, including myself! There was also a nice path to walk through the park. Check out my brother's version of today.

Once our meal was concluded, there was a small program. Anyone that wanted to contribute a talent was invited to do so. We have many musical individuals and so they performed.

My cousin Renae Gudvangen-Sherwood and her daughter Rachel.


My cousin Brenda and her daughters Rachelle, Meghan and Katrina.

My niece Abigail, my sister Cathy, Uncle Ray Moberg, Me and my cousin Brenda.

My nieces Abigail and Suzanna. Hillary wasn't feeling well after being in the sun so she was unable to join her sisters.




My cousin Joann Brown and my second cousin Tammy (Bea's daughter) Smith's daughter, Erica Post.

My Dad Arlo Moberg, sibling cousins Randy Gudvangen, Renae Gudvangen-Sherwood, John Gudvangen, Joann Brown. Notice the Norwegian flag in the background?



Here is our huge group all assembled! We look great! I brought my tripod in order to make sure no one was left out of the group photo.

The last part of the program included my Dad and cousins playing their accordions. Many of you just don't know how fun it is to hear this kind of music. You would need to hear them to truly appreciate it! Several people took advantage of the chance to dance along!

Fireworks were going off all over the city. Several people were going to find a high hill not far from our location in the park in order to view the many displays. We chose to go back to the hotel not only because of the mosquitoes but also to gather again in a little conference type room for more visiting and yes, eating! This is a huge thing in my family! If you're getting together for anything, there is always plenty to snack on! We were up to the wee hours of the night. We reminisced and told stories of when we were younger. The laughter at some points was uncontrollable!

It was sad to know that tomorrow many of our family members would be departing and going back to the respective homes. These are times that I wish could go on every day! Families are definitely a blessing.

Reunion Vacation......Day #2, Part 1

Today was a day of many scheduled activities. Some would be golfing in the morning. Some would be going to a water park called Cascade Bay. The first cousin ladies of Dad's generation including Bea, would be having their regular luncheon at the hotel. It was a catered meal. This is a tradition that was started back when these reunions began in 1997. My great aunts, Bea, June and my own Grandma plus all their daughters and daughters-in-law gathered for a women-only lunch.
After sleeping in and enjoying a big breakfast that was furnished by the hotel, Cathy, Kevin and Susan and the girls and I went to get ready for our day at the water park. It was over cast but the temperature was about 70*. Not very hot but that was OK. We didn't need anyone to get over-exposed by the sun.
We met outside the park at 12 noon. Once we knew all were there that had planned on showing, Sean and Chad Kilgore (whom were in charge of the admittance of our group and are grandchildren of Bea, the family hosting our reunion) had us follow them in and gave us tickets that would take care of our lunch as well while there! How over-generous is that!


The park had a lazy river, 2 big water slides, a smaller version for little kids, and a splash area for toddlers and parents. Here are a few pictures to show the fun times had by all!

The entrance....Cascade Bay.


Just waiting for everyone to show up so that we could go in......


......and waiting.....

.....and waiting some more.

The two large slides. The green one is very fast. The white one on the left is a little bit slower. I personally liked the green one best! You had to lay flat with your hands crossed over your chest. You actually make a jump going around one of the curves! It's awesome!

After getting through the gates, I went directly to the water slides, followed by my nieces. We were the only ones in line! Due to the cooler temps and cloudy sky, there were hardly any people there. It made it nice for us! The first slide we went down was the white one. The top of it is uncovered and one can sit up whilst sliding towards the waiting pool at the bottom. The green one, however, is much quicker and also enclosed with a small window in one section. But, anyone that chooses this one must lay on their back, feet first and cross their arms across their chest! It is so fast! During one of my turns, I was trying to pick my head up to see when I might near the pool in order to plug my nose before the destined plunge. I was unable to lift my head for what seemed like the entire way down due to the momentum from the speed in which I was traveling! It ultimately made my neck muscles achy the next day!

Later, I went down the lazy river with Hillary, my youngest niece. We entered the lazy river by going down a slide on a double-rider tube. Then it was just relaxation at its best.

Hillary liked this little water slide....

Me, John, Susan, Cathy

My niece Suzanna

My niece Abigail

I had to take a break from all the water and lounged near one of the pools with my sister Cathy, one of my cousins, John and my sister-in-law, Susan. Hours later, after having our free lunch, a few of us decided to head back to the hotel to clean up for our evening get-together at the park. Not long after leaving, a big thunderstorm that had been nearing the city, gave way and rained very hard. We left at the right time!