4 months

Our trip to ND has been enjoyable thus far. We had a good flight schedule and managed to land nearly 24 hours later only having encountered one MAJOR meltdown despite alot of lost sleep. We were all excited to see my parents when we landed and I was especially excited to hit my favorite shopping destination--Target. Ahhh, Target. How I've missed you! I walked out of there with some flip flops for the girls (It is very challenging finding decently priced children's shoes overseas. I typically order them, but knowing I was returning to the states, I held off.), and an outfit for each. Our next few days are kind of a blur. We didn't experience jetlag per say. We all have managed to adjust rather quickly to the time change, but are still catching up on our missed sleep with long naps whenever we can manage. I squeezed in a dentist appointment, we took in a trip to the park, opened & played with my birthday presents (I had a WONDERFUL birthday--thank you Chris!), mowed my parents lawn, played, and rode bikes, then left for Bismarck to see my sister Lisa, Phil and their kiddos--Olivia, Luke and Ava. We will be here for a few more days. It has been so nice to reconnect. I love these kiddos like my own and there is simply nothing like a sister! Thankfully I have 3!! They are truly my best friends. Claire and Mya are loving the selection of toys and activities, not to mention the delightful playmates. They are getting along so well. One year makes a world of difference. So far we've made a couple trips to the playground where Mya has continued to show her lack of fear, shopped at all my hot spots, played in the pool, slip and slide, and camped out in the backyard (Claire made it ten minutes after bedtime before she returned inside to Momma's arms :) and a trip to the zoo, which was open despite the recent flooding where they evacuated all the animals and diked immediately behind the zoo. It has been very interesting seeing all of the sandbags around the city. We took a drive down to the river where just a few years ago people docked their boats next to the sandbars, but now the water level is so high that playgrounds are flooded, volleyball courts and parking lots are nonexistant. It is so sad. Minot is in far worse condition, so I can hardly even imagine what that poor town looks like. Minot is where I went to college and where Chris and I met, so it certainly holds a special place in our hearts. Anyway, this trip is going well. We are having a fantastic time and I am loving "home." There certainly is no place like it. Just wish Chris were able to be here. We all miss him so much!