Mountrail County Promoter - Columnists

How Much Can You Cram Into 48 Hours
Last weekend, we had Jozie and Abel at our house while Amanda and Zach went to Montana for a wedding. Carter was spending the weekend at the lake with his other grandparents and his cousin.
The kids showed up early afternoon and once Amanda and Zach got back on the road, we made our first excursion to Dakota Drug for Whirla Whips. Abel was again having a chocolate and dill pickle one. Jozie tried to taste it but it was definitely not for her.
We had to make a trip to the grocery store to get appropriate fruit, snacks and beverages for the kids and then grabbed sandwiches at Subway for supper.
With Inside Out 2 showing at the Regis Theatre, we had made plans to go to the movie. The four of us got in the car and headed up about 7:45 and got our popcorn, treats and drinks in time to settle in and wait for the movie to start. I don’t know about you, but I love going to our local theater. You can’t beat the price. It was less than $50 for all four of us to go the movie and get all those snacks.
By the time we got home, the littles settled in with their books and finally fell asleep.
Saturday started early. Abel is our early riser and nothing makes Buddy happier than someone that will get up early with him. The two kids were out in the living room playing on the PS5 for a while before breakfast.
Then it was time to hit the dollar store. We found great treasures like a bug catching kit, some air dry clay, a second bubble gun, and some needed things like a new toothbrush for Joz and some new toothpaste. There might have been some candy picked up too, but don’t tell mom and dad.
The morning was pretty cloudy and cool, but the kids spent some time outside playing with their new finds before asking if we could go to Joyce’s for lunch. We came out of Joyce’s and the sky was clearing and it was warming up really well.
That opened our afternoon for what we really wanted to do. The kids really wanted to check out the new outdoor pool. They’ve been waiting for this for two summers and they were excited.
We made it to the pool to find out that the water was gloriously warm with the new mechanical system. Both of the little ones quickly took their test so they could go into the deep end. This wasn’t hard for Joz, but it was a first for Abie. Thank you to the lifeguards that made it possible for both of them. They could have still gone in the deep end, off the diving board and on the rock climbing wall, but they would have had to wear a life jacket and neither of them wanted to do that.
Dale and I found the most comfortable seats at the pool and settled in. Mind you, when we first left the house, the kids weren’t sure if it would be warm enough and this might be a short trip. Two hours later, after playing on everything in the pool including the slide, rock climbing wall, floaties and with some diving toys, along with having snacks from the concession stands, they were finally ready to leave. Because they were “hot”, they decided to run through the splash pad to cool off. They thoroughly enjoyed that as well.
We headed home for some showers and another snack. The kids played for a little while, and then it was off to Palermo for supper with Don and Connie. The kids love to go to Palermo for supper and they really like it when Don and Connie come with.
After supper, it was some quiet time with a movie and popcorn in our bed. Both of the littles were tired after a full and busy day. There was no arguing at 9:30 when I told them they needed to brush their teeth and get into bed, even though the movie wasn’t over yet.

Sunday started a little later. Buddy ended up waking Abel up and gave Joz an extra hour to sleep. After breakfast, it was a trip to the park and then home for more outdoor playing as we waited for Amanda and Zach to come back to pick them up.
I made sure they had some lunch before mom and dad got there a little after noon. We were back outside playing when they got here.
We visited for a little while, and then the kids packed up to head home.
It was a busy 48 hours and we were all pretty tired when it ended. I can’t say enough about how blessed we are in this small town. If you say there’s nothing to do you’re really not trying hard enough.
Kudos to the Stanley Park & Rec for the foresight to give us a new pool. I know it’s been a tough two years without a pool, but it was so worth the wait! Kudos to the lifeguards and staff at the new pool for making it such a great day for our kids. We’ll be back when the whole family is here over the 4th of July and Jozie is already looking forward to when she gets her week to visit. I’m betting we’ll end up there with Carter as well during his week, but he’s coming during the State Fair, so there will be other things to do while he’s here.