The Boy's Turn

Today we had a fun play day with Luke and Matt. First Luke and Matt came to visit us then we did a Mom and place swap for Zach to visit the A farm. The boys had a good time together and shared really well. Plus both Mom's got their errands taken care of. An all around good time by all.

Reunion with Friends

Sandy & Jacob; Wanda, Andrew & Grace; Sara & Zach

Good Times at the Zoo!

The last weekend in July we went for a little trip to meet up with friends. We stayed with Wanda and crew, and Andrew my Godson & Grace showed us all around the zoo! We had a blast!
Later we met up for a picnic with another one of my friends from my college days, Sandy and her son Jacob. It was so fun to reconnect after years have gone by.

Shower of Songs

This afternoon, I sang with a group of friends for Karla's bridal shower. Some fun and upbeat tunes!

J.T. - You will be missed.

Eternal rest grant onto him, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him.

May J.T. rest in peace. Amen.

John T. Rice

Air Force 2nd Lt. John Timothy Rice, 23, of Maddock, ND, died Sunday, April 17th, 2011, from injuries sustained in a single engine plane crash near San Angelo, TX. Funeral service will be Monday, April 25th, 2011, 11:00 AM in the Maddock Public School Gymnasium. Visitation will be Sunday from 5pm to 7pm with a 7:00 PM Prayer Service and Time of Sharing at the Zion Lutheran Brethren Church in Maddock. Interment will be in the Zion Lutheran Brethren Cemetery at Maddock.


John Timothy Rice was born October 5th, 1987 at Rugby, ND to John and Barbara Rice. Home-educated at the Rice Homeschool from Kindergarten through the 12th grade, J.T. graduated from there in May of 2006. He attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs from 2006-2010, graduating with honors in Geo-Political Science in May of last year. J.T. was currently attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock and in December of 2011 would have received his Master’s Degree in Language followed by jet training at Sheppard Air Force Base. He had a special friend, Rachel Reeder, a 2nd Class Cadet at the academy.


He lived a rich, full life. J.T. loved his studies; he loved geography. That love brought him to the National Geographic Bee in Washington, DC three years in a row, where he captured two fourth place finishes. Two other competitors along with J.T. were chosen to form the United States team that was sent to the International competition. They defeated Germany and France in the Championship round.


J.T. had a big smile and warm personality. He loved to hunt and fish with his dad and brothers. J.T. loved to tease his sisters and referred to them as his “beautiful sisters”. Flying was a passion. He was a member of the United States Air Force Academy Flying Team. While attending Texas Tech, he received his instrument and commercial ratings and was to have taken a check ride this weekend for the instructor rating.


J.T. enjoyed traveling and loved to experience the culture of various countries. He had visited Iceland, Japan, Thailand, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and South Africa. Wherever he was in his travels, J.T. would call his mom, teasing her that he had fallen in love with a “local” girl from that country. Her answer was: “J.T., come home. There are many beautiful girls here in the United States.” His life verse was from Ecclesiastes 2:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”


Surviving are his parents; siblings: Paul, Janna, Katie & Will Rice; paternal grandparents: John and Geraldine Rice all of Maddock; aqnd numerous aunts, uncles, cousins from the Rice, Kenner and Dwyer clans. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents: Tim and Marjorie Dwyer and cousins: Chad and Timmy Morgan.

J.T. - I doubt anyone can do better than our rendition of "Boom Boom ain't it Great to be Crazy" here on earth, but I am certain the angel chorus is better than one can even dream. Love, Sara

Summer Visit 2009

This past weekend my Godson Andrew and his family (Wanda & Michael and sister Grace) came to visit. We had lots of fun! Check out the pics!

Party @ 5

On Zach's 5 month milestone, we loaded up the Chev and headed south for the weekend to celebrate birthdays with friends and family. Alexis had her 2nd Birthday on Sunday and we partied it up with all the cousins Sat night. Then Sunday we hung out with Andrew & family - as it is his 6th birthday this Tuesday. Andrew & Grace and all the cousins kept Zach entertained, he loved all the activity! It was such a nice weather this weekend, they had to wear their shades! (Pictured below: Z, Andrew & Grace) The cousin party was to much of a whirlwind to get a still picture! Hee Hee!

Meet the Ladies!

While the guys hunted this past weekend, the ladies all came over to Grammy Grin's house and had a little "Meet Zach" party. We had lots of fun! My friends Kasey and Lisa were back too. It was nice to see them again.
Pictured above: Sara, Kasey, Zach, Lisa and Emma (Lisa's youngest).

Beautiful Day with Friends

Saturday we met up with Wanda, Michael and kids for a little fun day. We went to the Scandinavian Heritage Center, rode the little express train and did a few treasure hunts. Unfortunately we couldn't find one of the treasures but the adventure of finding second one made up for it! What a beautiful, extremely wooded park! After finding the treasure, Andrew had fun chasing squirrels and collecting acorns (I think he had hopes of baiting a squirrel). :) Always fun to visit and play with these guys - figure we had better take the chance while we still have it. We couldn't have gotten a better day!

Summer Visit 2008

Time again for a visit to my Godson Andrew and family. Saturday, we took a little day trip to Ft. Lincoln which was windy but fun. I have to say I was thankful for the wind as it helped me keep cool. I was also appreciative to have Wanda help me shop for some bigger clothes this weekend! Enjoy the pics for the rest of the story!

Grilling and Bonfire Party

Saturday was a beautiful day a bit windy but perfect for a evening outside in our yard. We had Andrew, Renae and Tressa out for a barbeque, outdoor fun and later a little bonfire. Later on Daryl, Susan and girls joined us. We all had a blast!

What's Up? - Current Events for May

May so far has been a pretty busy month. I have been feeling lots better in general and have more energy to do my fun outdoor projects. Although the month started off with cold & snow, now we are dealing with mowing & gardening. I have been able to enjoy the tulips blooming, and have fun with the horses.
With Andrew, Renae and Tressa closer, I have been able to go for some fun walks we Renae and Tressa. She loves outside and keeps on going like the energizer bunny. Just last night Tressa got to meet Sassy. She was pretty excited and kept saying WOW! as we walked up to the horses. Sassy treated her well and even let her sit on her back for a few minutes. (Chester was much more leery of a little person.)
This past weekend we went to a graduation for Paul who I used to babysit for, and this coming weekend we will have more graduation fun with niece Jessica, nephew Brandon and Dean's cousin Ethan all graduating. Unfortunately they aren't all in the same location so we will have to make the rounds. I guess Brandon and Jessie are having a family get-together in June. So that should be fun.
Baby Bugs has been jumping around like an acrobat since the beginning of the month and getting stronger all the time. Daddy was even able to feel him/her jump around the other night. Looking forward to see "Bugs" & all that movement on the ultrasound in June! Vote for your guess on boy or girl to the right!

Visiting Andrew

This week I got a chance to visit my Godson Andrew, his sister Grace and of course parents Wanda and Michael. As I was in town for work. We had fun exchanging Christmas gifts, eating pizza and playing. It was fun to see him and his whole family for an evening!

Holiday Hunting

This Thanksgiving was a bit different from our usual. We went down to Mom & Dad's but we were the only kids home. So our plan was to hunt with Mom & Dad. We went out in the morning, before our Thanksgiving feast and Dean helped Dad get a nice little bambi for eating. Then we had our neighbors Richard and RaeAnn over for a late dinner. Afterward Richard joined us for the rest of the days hunt closing the day with Dean getting his buck! It's rack was damaged so it was a 4 x spike. But a nice big & fat one!

Friends! Camera! Action!

This weekend we had company. My college friend Wanda, husband Michael, my Godson Andrew and little sister Grace. We had lots of fun, took lots of pictures (one of Wanda's and my favorite hobbies). I think I let the many pictures tell the rest of the story in this and the posts to follow.

Fall Leaves

Another fun thing we did was make a HUGE pile of leaves and play in them. We all had a blast!

Carving Pumpkins

Saturday evening we carved pumpkins. Andrew thought the insides were gross! Wanda brought a neat tool that you put on your drill to help clean out the insides.
Andrew made a happy face on his pumpkin and was going to make a scary face on the on he had at home.
For my pumpkin we made a bat. Wanda had lots of neat carving tools and patterns!
Our finished Jack o Lanterns! Spooky!

Riding the River

Monday afternoon, I went for a ride with Barb and Katie in the riverhills. We had a nice long ride, nice to catch up with them. I thought we might get rained out but it turned out to be a good ride. A few mosquitos but not to bad. I used to ride with them weekly when I worked for Barb. Katie was just a little baby then, now look at her!

Pictured is Katie with Dixie.

Fun Times

Boy has it been busy, I haven't added anything for awhile, there is so much to tell. One blessing is that I have been able to visit my Godson Andrew and his family quite a bit this summer. We had made a trip to visit them in June thinking that would be the one time this summer. Then it worked out to stop and stay with them on our way back from Medora and now just last week I was able to visit them and have a pool party at my hotel, since I was in town for work. Andrew loved the pool! In the picture I am with Andrew(Batman)and his sister Grace.

Medora Memories

We're back from a trip to Medora. We left on the 20th and came back the 23rd. Medora has many fun memories for us. Our last trip there was 3 years ago, Dean proposed (7-30-04) near the Peaceful Valley Ranch in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. So we visited our spot again this trip.
This time we had a wedding to go to. The couple getting married were college friends and had an outdoor ceremony on the terrace by the Medora Musical location. It was a HOT!!! but beautiful wedding. We had a nice time catching up with old friends and dancing a bit. Friday night we went to the musical with Kasey and Wade and then Saturday before the wedding, went through the park. This was the first time we have seen the horses in the park so that was the highlight.
On our way back home we stopped in Mandan and went to the Raging Rivers water slides. What a blast! Again HOT!!!, so it was the best place to be. Later we got together with Wanda and Michael for supper. Had a great time playing with Andrew and Grace.

Summer Visit 2007

We went on a little trip this weekend for our bi-annual visit to my Godson Andrew's house. I have been friends with his mom Wanda since college. We have a fun time getting together with her, husband Michael, and kids Andrew and Grace. Andrew and I had a lot of fun fishing with his new fishing pole and accessories.
And as you can see Grace is a happy, smiling girl. We had fun with her too! She is ready to walk, and is making a few steps on her own and was always kicking her legs in excitement!
It was a blast to see these guys again!