ND Memorial

I went home to ND for the Memorial Day weekend.  Highlights of the trip are below.  There may be some repeats with one or two of my thankfulness posts, but that's OK, right?

1. Seeing family - both immediate and extended.  Mom, Dad, Muggles, BIL-Dan, Geneva, Palt and Wearl, and a whole host of cousins and their families that are too numerous to name here.
2. One cousin - Riley - graduated from high school, so it was interesting to go to a graduation for the first time in more than 5 years.  Some good advice from the ceremony:  Find what you love and do it.  Life is too short to wear shoes that don't fit.
3. Playing air hockey with Wyatt (he's 3 years old I think).
4. A reminder of how teenage boys can be.  They're good kids, but their thinking ahead and initiative skills are still a work in progress.
5. Was in the house I grew up in that my parents don't live in anymore.  With all the decorating and addition changes and stuff, it doesn't even feel like the same house.  And that's OK.  Because home is where Mom and Dad are.  What is the same is the gravel yard that turns into a mud pit every time it rains.
6. I looked for the arbor day tree - as expected, it's not there.
7. Rode in the tractor while my cousin was air seeding soy beans using GPS technology.
8. Slower life pace there - which is a good thing I think.
9. Eating at Cafe Aladdin with my old friends Weeds, George, and Alley Cat.  I had forgotten how funny they are.  I think I laughed through the whole meal.
10. Tons of good food:  flank steak, Mom's homemade potato salad, BBQ shredded pork, steak from a corn fed cow, Scotcheroos, and so much more.  Mom's homemade potato salad has just the right ratios of mustard, mayo, pickles, and hard-boiled eggs in it.
11. Seeing some special non-relatives too:  Kathy, Curt and Vonnie, etc.

Some pictures from the trip are below.  They're not all-encompassing of the weekend, but they'll have to do.

The Gene part of Geneva and their son's dog Rio.

North Dakota fields....hard to beat.

Wearl and one of her grandsons.

The graduate