Every year my brother and I take our boys and go to North Dakota for Thanksgiving and grandma’s birthday.  This year, the trip started on Monday, November 24th and ended on Friday, November 28th.  Here are some things that I will always cherish:

Priceless time with my son:  The day before and the day after the trip to North Dakota are spent with Dillon and I making the 3 1/2 hour drive to my parent’s house.  We take our time (it usually ends up being about 5 hours) and spend time together.  It is so great to have that uninterrupted one on one time with my kid.  It gives us a chance to really talk.  But more importantly, it gives us a chance to sing along to the radio at the top of our lungs :).

Bonding with my brother and my nephews:  This year the trip was quite interesting.  None of the boys agreed that I deserved Princess Treatment just because I was the only girl.  How dare they!  But seriously, we had some great laughs.  We sang along to 80’s hair bands, remind me to never play music trivia with Rhett.  He is that good.  We told really bad jokes.  What do you call a cow with no legs?  Ground Beef.  We decided that Dillon really needed a Chevy Luv.  I wonder if we could even find one??? We had a riveting conversation about the placement of rock piles in fields.  Did you know that rock piles are formed around rocks that are too big to move?  We threatened to trade Dillon for two horses.  He thought we would have better luck trading him for an ass.  We told the boys stories about how we really were in high school.  I’m not so sure that it was such a good idea.  Especially since Dillon is a senior and the twins are juniors.  The hardest part was when we realized that our kids may soon be too old to want to take this trip with us.  That was hard.  I look forward to this week every year.  I love having quality time with my brother and my nephews.  Dillon loves having the time with his uncle Bill and his cousins.

Family Tattoos:  I had sent Sherri a text a couple of months ago telling her that I really wanted to get a tattoo while I was there.  I knew that she was the one person who wouldn’t let me chicken out.  She took the ideas that I had sent her and had the artist design something (that she didn’t let me see ahead of time).  She made the appointments.  She paid the deposit.  There was no going back.  I was nervous and excited all at the same time.  We got to the tattoo parlor and I saw the design.  It was beautiful and so much bigger than what I had wanted.  I was scared.  They made me go first.  I held my arm out for Savannah to put the design on my wrist and when I saw how big it was on my wrist, I was terrified.  I sat in the chair, turned my head so that I couldn’t see and made Dillon hold my hand.  Savannah was amazing.  The entire process took under 30 minutes and the only part that hurt was right at the top of my wrist.  Sherri went next and agreed with me.  Savannah kept us calm and relaxed.  Dillon went last and almost fell asleep in the chair while she was tattooing his chest.  And to top it all off, Savannah is auditioning for the next season of Ink Masters.

Family:  I love going home and spending time with my family.  Thanksgiving is at Auntie Anne’s and Uncle Jerry’s house.  The house is full of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and most importantly grandma.  This year we were fortunate enough to celebrate grandma’s 93rd birthday on Thanksgiving.  I love sitting by her and listening to her tell stories about when my dad was little or about when I was little.  I have been writing her stories down for the last several years and would love to write a book from her memories.  I have always been extremely close to my grandma.  I spent summers with her growing up.  She taught me so many things, but most of all she taught me the importance of family.  My family is loud, kind of crazy, at times dysfunctional..but most of all they are mine.  I love that I have cousins who are like my sisters.  I love that Crystal, Phil and Dillon decided years ago that because they are all only children that they would be each others brothers and sister.  I love our tradition of Black Friday shopping, not because we want to shop, but because the contest of who is getting to the store first for the best parking spot is super fun.  I love sitting around the table playing pinochle and trash talking.  I love that my son gets to be a part of the traditions that I grew up with.

Home:  North Dakota will always be home.  I have to get my “fix” at least once a year.  All I have to do is see the “Welcome to North Dakota” sign, and I feel a little more at peace.  However, it is harder only going to Bismarck and not going all the way to the badlands.  I miss that fix.  I miss their raw beauty.  I also have a hard time being in North Dakota and not going out to Oakdale to sit and talk to Curt.  We had planned on taking grandma back to Dickinson on Friday and going out to Oakdale to see Curt and decorate his and grandpa’s graves for Christmas.  However, Mother Nature had other ideas and we ended up heading home a day early to try to stay one step ahead of the storms.

The Trip Home:  This is the hardest part for me.  I am sad for the first couple of hours, even though I know that I can go back at any time.  I think that the boys are a little bit sad also.  They are always more subdued on the ride home.