high waters

The day our parents left Minot, 31 May, the town announced manditory evacuations due to the water level of the river.  We had a record 82 inches of snow last winter so the ground was saturated and the dams north of us had to let out water so they didn't break!  We thankfully were not in the evacuation zone but many of our friends were.  We took our parents to the airport, set up beds in the house, and welcomed our friends, the Ehns, into our home.  Over the next few days we watched the river levels and waited.  The town worked to build up dikes and sandbagged with the help of 900 National Guard personel.  The day before the river crested, Abbey and I went out to take photographs of the river while Matt and Eric helped with the sandbagging efforts.

The water crested at 1555.1 ft above sea level on June 3rd (if I remember correctly) and we were able to contain the water!  Everyone was allowed back in their homes two weeks after the evacuation with the understanding that they may be required to leave again.
.katherine.

captain promotion weekend

The weekend of May 28th we had both sets of parents in town to celebrate Matt's promotion!  On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we hung out, played cards, worked on the house, prepared for the party, and played with the babies.  The parents were all able to feel the kids move and hear their heartbeats...it was wonderful to be able to share that experience with them.

On May 30th Matt was promoted to Captain in the Air Force.  The ceremony was done by Col Walker, the group commander and Matt was one of six promoted at the ceremony.  Jannel and Nicole did a wonderful job at putting everything together and making sure things ran smoothly.  Syd, Matt's dad, did the swearing in oath; Mom and Dad removed Matt's old rank; Janet, Matt's mom, and me put on Matt's new rank.  It was a beautiful ceremony and privilege to be a part of it. 

 Once we got home, Matt opened his gifts.  He got some very nice things!

Then it was time to celebrate!  Mom's gift to Matt was the party...and what a great one!  There was tons of food and kegs in the kitchen...everyone had a wonderful time. 

It was a great weekend and a wonderful ceremony!  Congratulations Matt!
.katherine.

a trip to South Dakota

There has been so much that has happened since I last wrote!  In a nutshell: we went on a small "babymoon"/birthday trip, Matt was promoted to Captain, we had the babies, the NICU was evacuated due to the flood, and the babies and I are currently in Fargo while Matt and the Dads have been busy working on rebuilding our basement that was flooded.  Instead of rushing through all the stories, however, I am going to try to play catch-up and write what I can! 

The weekend of May 6th, Matt and I went on a trip to Rapid City, South Dakota to get away, relax, and celebrate our birthdays.  We have been planning to go to Rapid City for a while so we were both very excited that we could finally make it work. 

On Friday our first stop was Mt. Rushmore.

The museum had a lot of the original models, tools, equipment, and photographs.  There were also personal stories from men who worked on the project.  It was incredible to see all the documents!

We also took time to walk the founders trail.  It is a beautiful nature trail around the monement so you can see it from all different angles.

 

It was such a beautiful day and we loved seeing the monument!

After leaving Mt. Rushmore, we drove down the road to the Crazy Horse monument. 

This is another monument built in the mountain, however, this one is still in progress!  It is all privately funded and has been worked on for many years.  It was amazing to see the work being done while we were visiting.  We were able to take a bus to the base of the mountain to get a closer look at the monument.  While we were there we could see and hear the people working, it was a very unique experience.

We also visited the rest of the facility.  The goal is eventually have a education and cultural center.  We visited the museum, a gallery of the artists work, and a cultural center.  Some of the displays were also in the home the artist built on the site for his family.

The project is incredible and well worth the visit!

On Saturday we started out by going to the Comos Mystery Zone.

 It was deffinatly hokey and touristy but we still had fun.

Next we did the Norby Scenic Trail.  It is a beautiful driving trail and we loved it!  It was a great way to relax after doing so much walking the day before.

While we were in Rapid City we also enjoyed several wonderful meals at local resturants and just relaxed.  We had a wonderful time!  We would love to get back to Rapid City for another trip some day!
.katherine.