17!

Alex and I went out to Josh Duhamel's restaurant (Tranformers, Las Vegas, married to singer Fergie) for our anniversary dinner. It's the most upscale place to eat in Minot and it doesn't have a dress code. This is a town of multimillionaire farmers who wear overalls to dinner. Josh grew up in Minot, attended the school that Alicia will attend next year. The place is called 10th North Main and features pheasant and bison (Gent, salivating yet?) Alex had a pheasant appetizer and duck for dinner. I ate a few pieces of the appetizer to say that I did, and skipped the duck. I had to snap these pictures quick while they were seating people and the bar area was distracted with Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird racing at the Preakness. It has a great atmosphere and the food was delish. Our evening was mellow compared to people who went to see Snoop Dog in Charleston and got kicked out of the Music Farm... I'm wondering when I'll get the rest of that story!

Golf

Alex is taking golf lessons in town. He's the only "baser" on the team. Thankfully, he wore his Miami Dolphins jacket so he was easier to spot (or stand out - thanks Aunt Sherry) with the "towners". I just made up the towners name - they call us basers and so I figured that it was only fair. ND is serious about sports and this is a course designed especially for kids.

Last Jam Session

That's right - my baby still blows kisses at me - in public!

Hard to keep up with or see this fella. He's playing the big drum (insert technical name) like a pro.

Now he's on the smaller drum and playing beside his buddy Anthony.

He's not playing a different drum and keeping us all entertained.

The boy bounced from drum to drum and showed his multi talented musical skills with each song. How he kept up with that, I'll never know!

May Hail

While I was talking to mom the other day... I said, that rain sounds vicious outside and she said to check and see if it was hailing. Sure enough, I had to race outside in the pelting hail to get my baby in the garage.

BandORama

Alex's 5th grade band performed for an early morning judging last weekend. The judge's comments were: Something, something, something about the other kids and great job to the drums who kept everyone on a nice beat. That's right, my boy was holding this band together!

before and after

So, I bet you want an explanation for this! With great cats, comes great responsibility. (I might have stolen part of that line from Spiderman.) Lily, the princess and most dainty kitty on earth had a matting problem stemming from our Christmas vacation. You can't see the mats, but oh you could feel them when you tried to pet her. They grew, and I cut, shaved, trimmed, brushed and drove her crazy. She started to avoid me and I realized that I was losing the battle. We knew she had to be uncomfortable trying to sleep on the lumps (or tumors as we affectionately called them) and it's obviously not good for her skin. Lily had to be knocked out and it was an emotional event for us. I picked her up 4 hours after I dropped her off and I tried not to giggle when I peered into her kitty case. I asked her if they beat her with the 'ugly stick' on the ride home. She was drugged and I'm sure doesn't remember the conversation. I was so relieved to have the mats gone! She's quite soft and has been enjoying the attention since she's been home.
The problem that we didn't foresee was Marshall. ; Marshall and Lily are BFF! He cried all morning for her and waited by the door for her return. Well, guess what... He's scared to death of her. He stalks her and hisses at her, every chance he gets. I assumed that cats knew each other by scent and that appearances were nothing to them, but boy was I wrong. He stalked her through Alicia's room from 3am until 4am until Alicia came down to tell us that she was wide awake. (No worries, I confined the cats and let Alicia sleep in this morning.) I am hopeful that Marshall will get past this animosity. Lily is acting like a spring chicken and is really excited about her new body. She has been prancing, springing, and occasionally pouncing Marshall, like she's a kitten. Marshall has hissed at least 10 times while I've been blogging. Seriously, take a chill pill, cat!

Guest Photographer

The boy snapped these pictures. We would seriously like to know where these deer keep their IDs; they sure treat the base like home!