WI WI WI WISCONSIN!!! AND MY BIRTHDAY!

So my week last week started like any other until I got this!!  My friend Justin made me a package and sent it all the way from Washington D.C.!! What an awesome friend!  Love him so much!  The pictures, lotion, card, photo album, and personalized CD's (my favorite!).  Justin just knows how to make a girl feel special!  

So since we were leaving early for WI, My co-workers decided to celebrate my birthday the Wednesday before I left.  They decorated my office ( I can't show you all the pictures until later since I am not done decorating) :/

Then they treated me to Bonanza for lunch (Chelsie please hold back on your jealousy!  And it was pretty good I have to admit!) Kim and I laughed when she suggested it and then my other co-worker Natalee (who was not in on the previous convo) wanted to go there so we went.  It was funny....maybe you had to be there! 

My Heart shaped chicken breast! Just what I needed  SOME LOVE!

Umm who knew my fork was a TREKY! LOL

Thursday we started out on the road for WI.  I had the furthest drive of anyone on this trip. :(  I drove from Dickinson to Bismarck.  Jumped in with Lindsey, Scottie, Rick, and Colby (the pup). Then we ventured to Fargo, dropped Colby off and got Mardee.....LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!!!

1ST LEG OF THE TRIP!!

Mardee giving the camera some leg....we were hanging out in the camper we stayed in! It was a legit situation not going to lie.  Loved that thing!

Lindsey with one of the four dogs.  They are all the same breed.  Loving dogs!!

Scotty, Me, and Mardee at Jolene's softball game! This was on my birthday and it was such a good day!

Scotty's aunt Leeann got me a bottle of Mascoto Champagne and a cool glass with a straw to drink it out of!  It was the best thing ever!!  So thoughtful!  And then Scotty's Aunt Lana made me some brownies!! So sweet! This family just embraced us and took us in as if we were part of the family!  Mardee and I couldn't have asked for a better mini vacation and better people to spend it with!  I just love them!!!!
They took us up a butte where we got to see all of Lacrosse.  There was history about the town and such.  So neat!  

Then afterward we went to the River.  Down at the river three rivers meet the Mississippi, Black, and Lacrosse.  I believe....  The picture down below is me standing infront of the area where all the rivers meet.  You can take rides on a river boat as well!  We didn't get a chance to do this but I will return for that ride!! Dinner and music on a boat.....HECK YES!!!
There was also this garden that was made with different countries in place.  There was like one decorated for China, Japan...etc.  It was neat to walk through and we found two different plants that Lana liked! One was a fern with a rose/carnation flower at the end! I have never seen such a thing!  It was just beautiful and I can't imagine what it looks like two weeks later with some sun and rain!

Ok, I just put this picture up of the Buffalo to set the scene for this story.  Mardee brought her camera with us and wanted to take some pictures of whatever she could find.  Anywho while we were out there these Buffalo (one pictured below) were down the road from the house we stayed at.  So Lindsey, Holly, Mardee, and I all went to the gas station and planned on stopping to take a picture of these on the way back.  Mardee jumps out of the pickup and gets right up to the fence and is taking pictures (I stayed in the vehicle the whole time).  Mardee started out just taking what she could from the fence and then she wanted to get as close as she could so she starts feeding them with thee DELICIOUS grass on this side of the fence.  I know that many of you "ranchers, farmers, intelligent people who know about buffalo" are yelling in your head right about now "NOOOOOO don't do it!"  What does Mardee do?!?...She DOES it!!  Lindsey and Holly were those people saying no and to get back in the car.  Me.... well I was cheering for Mardee!! "get it girl!! You're just fine!"  Something along those lines.
Well.... as the feeding progresses Mardee starts to hear a snort from afar and it is the BULL!!  He stomps and snorts his way over.  Lindsey and Holly proceed to get in the vehicle and start telling Mardee that she needs to get in.  Mardee's response "Do you think I could feed him?!"  Lindsey is like "Mardee GET IN THE VEHICLE!!"  Holly..."umm you probably shouldn't do that."  My response "DO IT!!!"  So Mardee gives me her camera and I proceeded to capture the moment!  The Bull slowly approached the fence and Mardee takes the DELICIOUS grass and makes a nice ball for that beast!  I continue to encourage Mardee and take pictures.......Lindsey: "You guys are SO your mother's kids!!"  Mardee hands shaking....she reaches out...the bull snorts and then he slowly approaches the fence ...opens that huge jaw of his and grabs that grassball and chomped it like it was Christmas Dinner!! We were all like tense in the car and freaking out!!  I wish I had her pictures on here because I have a picture of Mardee running back with her arms in the air and a HUGE victory smile!! We all were screaming in Victory!! It is the coolest picture! Conquering the world one day at a time!! Proud moment for this sister right here!!!

We had Lindsey and Scottie's picnic reception and then the following night we played Apples to Apples with the family!  It was just a great time.  One thing I don't have a picture of which I am super sad about is this "meat butter."  So what is meat butter you ask?!!  It is this meat that comes in a roll (kinda like summer sausage type of roll) and they spread it on buttered toast.  Now I am not one to judge, and I will usually try anything once....but this woooo I could not!! Bruce even tried feeding me it and it got all over my face....YUCK...and no I did not ask him to feed me!...AND not only do they eat this but it is for breakfast out of all of the meals in a day!! The whole family just loves this stuff!  And it isn't really called meat butter...this is something I somehow someway made up and they thought it was just funny!  So now its called Meat Butter! This truly was a great weekend and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday!! Thanks WI family!!

I come back from the WI trip and Katie is waiting up for me! Guess what this girl did for me!!! Yup made me cookies!! How awesome is this!! Love this girl....this was such a great surprise to come home too!
Now back to business.....I got this awesome name plate for my desk!! So fancy I know!

A little project I did..on break of course!  This is my co-worker Kim showing us her fanny pack!   Isn't she such a good model!!  No one does it like Kim does it!

Katie and I were watching TV in our last week  together (TEARS!!)  She looks at me and goes "did you hear that?  Me half asleep and deaf to begin with go "No what,"  She replies "There is a mouse!"  So after she unplugs the heater, turns the TV off and goes over to my counter she points to this spot and goes "right here".....Now seriously!  How she heard that thing I have NO IDEA!  Anyway there WAS a mousey in the housey! OK!! We sent the picture above to her mother (who was at the store) and she brought traps for us to put up!  So nice!! And nope there was no mouse caught and they (Charlie and Kris) took all that stuff and threw it so if it was in one of the bags it is gone now!  Great parents!!

Below is Katie and I at this carnival thing that came to town.  It was a mini one....I just wanted that Lemonade! It took me 3 days to get it! And to be honest it wasn't as good as I was hoping....but at least I got one!

POPCORN 30!!! That is what popcorn time is in our office!! We got this cool little popcorn maker and I make us it at POPCORN 30 time!! So delicious!  I just love popcorn and we don't have a Stop-n-Go here in Dickinson so I have to make my own...however ACE-Hardware does make a competitive comparing popcorn to Stop-n-Go!!

Ok so here we are at a fancy restaurant in Dickinson.  This was Katie and my's last night together.  We went to a Jazz concert thing at the Brick House Grill.  Remember those little paper things you made and you would have to pick a number, then you picked a color, and then you opened up one of the corners and it told you what guy was going to be your boyfriend or something of that sort!  Anyway they folded their napkins that way, so here I am explaining to Katie how awesome this was!

Like any adventure I go on there is a story about the Brick House!  We walked in there and I immediately felt under-dressed.  Like it was call and make a reservation fancy!  Katie told me that I was making it more fancy than what it actually was but I don't know it was fancy!! Just saying!  So we were sitting at our table and this guy in jeans, t shirt and suit jacket walks up and stands right in front of the chair next to me.  Thinking he was wanting to sit down at the chair behind me I go "did you need to sit down"....obviously I was confused as to what this man was doing.  He looks at me and starts laughing "hahaha yeah let me just sit right here" and then pulls out the chair next to me....Now ....I know what you are all thinking "Nicky just met the man of her dreams and they are getting married".......NO stop that thinking,  it's not true I tell you!  Then this happened....After pushing the chair back in the guy goes "I'm just kidding" and walks away.  Now I sit there WAY confused at what in the world just happened.  Katie looks at me red in the face and goes "That's the owner".....YEAH...way to go Nicky!!

This is the front of Bruce's card that literally took me 1/2 a day to do with the paint program!  The joke behind this is that Jesse (the face on the Turkey) kept saying this quote one night when we were in WI. They were drinking the Wild Turkey and he would repeat over and over "Did you know that Ben Franklin petitioned to have the Turkey be the National Bird" For those of you who don't know that is Ben Franklin pointing at the paper in the card! Bruce loved the card so it was well worth my time!

Found an old friend at the party...who also happens to be Bruce's friend and Neighbor!! The world just gets smaller and smaller!

My beautiful sister and I at the party! Love her sooooo much!!

All in All I can tell you that my life continues to be one adventure after another!  I moved into my apartment this last Saturday and week one is going well!  I will update with photos and such next week when I put my clothes away! Right now I can't even walk on one side of my room! I finished my first home assessment and got "this was beautifully done" from my boss!!  Such a great feeling!!

Thank you as always for the continued love, support, and prayers!!  You all mean so much to me!!

So Much Love,

Nicky

I chose this song for my sister Mardee!! So proud of you and your BULL accomplishment!! haha...YES!

Busy Bee....BUZZZZZZZZZZ

So this Month called May has just flown by.  I feel as if I blinked and it just happened.  From the last post I have traveled.....A-LOT!  I have put more miles on in this last month than I felt I did last year alone.  I have had a few adventures and tons of laughs!

We like to celebrate birthdays in the office!  This is the first one I have been apart of but it was fun!  It was Barb's TOO! :)  I don't know if I have said this before but I just LOVE my co-workers!!  Honestly this is such a positive, supportive, loving environment!  I hope I can say this for the rest of my life,  I look forward to coming to work to see them!!

Anxiously awaiting for Natalee's arrival.  Carla, Kim, Nicky, and  Barb

Happy Birthday...Barb was upset because she couldn't bend her arms to hold the cake...

I don't know the last time I even had one of these!  All day celebration for this girl!

Barb playing hide and seek........YEAH about that!

Our Birthday Girl!!

The card with the picture of all of us!  We are so adorable!
We don't normally wear swimsuits and strut around like that. 

We had some veggies, fruit, and some good conversation with all of us and then went back to work.  It was a fun celebration!! I look forward to celebrating more birthdays in the future!

So I had to go to Beach, ND. If any of you don't know where that is, it's literally on the edge of ND. Like 1/2 Mile from the Montana border.  Well I mean, how can one go that close and not go take a picture! It was to irresistible.  My co-worker Kim road with me due to having a meeting as well.  She kinda looked at me as if I was crazy! But like I told her you only live once and how often do you get awesome opportunities such as this! NOT OFTEN!  So this picture is the result of our 1/2 mile adventure!   Thanks for taking the picture Kim! And for not judging to much, LOL you are the best!

On our way back Kim (who is native to the area) took me through Medora. It has been YEARS since I have been here.  So she thought it would be neat to take me for a little drive right on through.  Nothing was opened because it isn't tourist season quite yet.  This is a collage I made as we went through. 

Sunday Funday....Well that phrase has taken a whole new meaning!  Katie (my side-kick) and I decided to do some Sunday shopping at the......That's right folks you guessed it THE DICKINSON MALL!  Some how we shopped for three hours.  I am pretty sure we looked at and touched every item in that whole building!

Claire's!  Yup we went there!

Katie trying to balance on this board.  We laughed a lot!

But with some persistence and balance she made it!
Then almost died getting off of it!

Its a JAM-IC-A...That is how I kept pronouncing this thing!
It was recommended to try it so I thought I would, we found this
beauty at Dan's Super Market...to say the least...it was interesting.

Katie and I before we went

Katie and I at Walmart.....Rare sight to see....not really! We find ourselves there quite often together
because neither of us want to go alone and we seem to "need" a lot that Walmart has to offer.
Update: Still a bunch of crazy, weird, stalker people there!
Who would think that when it is "your Friendly Local Walmart Store?!"

The hit and run on our work vehicle! Sad news my friends!! I was super depressed about it! People are just so dishonest these days.  I however, was very thankful in this situation because I was going to park my car on the left side of this one and take this car home for the night since I needed it the next day.  Something told me not to take it....Luckiest girl ever! My car would have been destroyed!

 For the weekend I went up to Williston and met up with My mom, Atati, John, and Kylie.  We got to stay at the Hampton Inn.  We went out to supper then came back and swam in the hotel and screwed around in the workout room for a while.  I really needed some fun family time!  That is exactly what that night provided!  When I checked into the hotel they were having a Kentucky Derby party in a banquet room.  All these people were dressed so fun!  Then outside our window we saw this!  I bet his horse won!! :)

When I got back to Dickinson, Katie and I decided to break out the Nintendo I bought before I moved out here. I was concerned with not having a lot to do so I bought this baby!  I have Dr. Mario, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong.  This machine plays both regular Nintendo games and Super Nintendo games. 2 for 1 special right here!  Brought back some good ol' memories, that's for sure!!

 Here is a mug from my sister!! She made this for me at Clay your Way.....Please stop being jealous because I can feel it all the way through the computer! JK...but Honestly could my sister be any sweeter or cooler!  This mug made it's first appearance in the office today.  Everyone loves it just as much as I do!
                                                                BEST SISTER EVER!!!!

A little hint for all you followers....this may match my office colors ;)

I had to transport one of the children that are going to be on my caseload here in a couple weeks.  The child was visiting a potential family and needed a ride back home.  I got a rental car and we headed on the road.  As you can tell from this picture the child was such good company.  I mean kids don't come any more social than this little one here!  The child didn't say anything but...."I have to go to the bathroom" and " I would like to eat at a Chinese buffet so I can eat all the shrimp I want"....OK.....

This last Saturday I ventured up the dreaded 85 and went to Watford City to watch this man throw some items!  He placed 6th in a Varsity Regional Track Meet with a personal best of 113.11!! Atati is Freshman in high school so that is really really good!  Proud sister here!!!

A little collage I put together for him!

What does one do on a rainy Saturday night??  Well Katie and I explored within the basement (of her house).  We were laughing about their child hood things and such.  I picked up this box you see in the picture and I was like "Look Katie a Polly Pocket!!".....Not Quite!

 More like an old retainer! So disappointed not going to lie!!  But the laugh we got from it was great!

So this is pretty much up to date!  Nothing stalkerish to tell you this time! I have been very careful on where I am at and what my surroundings are.  Things are going well here.  I just finished my first Family Assessment yesterday.  I sent it to my supervisor for review.  I am excited because it was a lot of work and a lot of time spent in it.  I never thought my writing skills would be that necessary but I have found that they are needed in this job.  At this time I wish I would have been a little more studious in that class! But you know how the beginning of college works everything is "Drink this, Do that, Let's skip class......YOLO YOLO YOLO.." $60,000 mega ones later....Yup I shouldn't have been so......YOLOish.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!! I will be in Wisconsin for round two of celebration for Lindsey and Scott Haugen's wedding! I will take lots of pictures and update you on how that wonderful trip went when I get back!  

So Much Love,

Nicky

One of my new favorite songs!

ADVENTURES......with BARB!!

  MEET BARB!

Most people describe Barb as a nice, friendly, caring, compassionate, helpful, and sweet kind of gal!  

We inherited Barb from a child within the program and we are caring for Barb for a while.  Natalie my co-worker left on vacation to Chicago.  You know what they say...when "Mom's" away the children will play.....AND SO IT BEGAN.......

Looking Fab together!

Barb reading up on Social Work...she wants to be us.

Barb being ever so productive....NOT

We told Barb that this is inappropriate in the office.  She was kinda  rude about it not going to lie!

Office Tour!! Look how excited she is! PUT YOUR HAND IN THE AIR!!

Headed to get a cart to move some stuff in our office.

BEE safe storage!  People are so creative it kills me!!

Barb riding the chair through the hallways

Barb trying to beat Kim down the hallway...she is crazy competitive

Barb pushed Kim out of the way and stole the cart and rode it back to the office....Like I said COMPETITIVE!

 So, for the past month there has been a mystery smell in the offices across our hallway.  At first we didn't really care to much because it was not effecting us in our office.  Well soon that changed and the smell was unbearable. It was leaking through my window into my office and into the hallways.  So before we all were going to die due to this AWFUL smell I suggested a search in the basement for the source (dead body is what I was really looking for).  So pulling my big girl pants on, grabbing my co-worker's Kim and Carla, and Barb we ventured to the depths of the basement.  

Barb riding the slide into the basement.  Making Barb go first ;)  She didn't know Teehehe

Barb being a creep in the corner of the basement!  Looking for dead things

So what did we find on our investigation.... a whole lot of NOTHING....We did find where the smell was coming from in the depths of the basement but could not find the exact point of the source.  In the long run it was the furnace and it had to be replaced.  Smell is still lingering a bit after the replacement, but it is 10x's better then it was!

So we went out for lunch and this is what the security cameras captured while we were gone.

Spotted...Barb getting soda

Shaking the pop machine....She must not have know you had to put money in the machine....

Then, the camera spotted Barb trying to put her arm up the candy machine.....
Barb was mad because she couldn't bend her arm that way

On to the next adventure....THE COPY MACHINE

Results of this little activity....

After Lunch.....

Barb posing like a pageant girl?! That's what she was saying but we all know what that looks like...Hail _______! You fill in the blank!

Right after that picture she turned and started to attack Carla!  Trying to take her job!

She succeeded but then when she went to type and answer the phones she couldn't because all of her fingers are glued together so we convinced her to do another job

Barb all depressed :(  "My poor fingers"

but she decided to punch some papers instead! No finger separation needed!

After her episode she decided to be nice and delivered the flowers from the Marshall's to me! She was trying to make peace within the office.

 As Barb tried making peace with all of us in the office we got into a discussion of tattoos...and then she showed us what the cameras didn't capture while we were out......

SKULLS

Back Tattoo! Who would have thought!  Barb is TOUGH as nails

 YUP....exactly!  SHOCKED!  Barb is like a Goth, Biker, Rough around the edges type of girl.....Who would have known by the first initial smile and greeting!?


****Side note:  I was asked by 3 different people why I had been carrying a Barbie around the office.  I was looked at as a weirdo and they were judging me!  LISTEN PEOPLE...Life is what you make it OK! And if I have to carry a plastic doll around to make myself laugh in between tasks....I'M A GONNA DO IT....MMMKAY!

So Much Love,
Nicky

Song selection....You guessed it I'm sure! Barbie Girl!! OOOO 90's you were so good to us!! :)