the month of many celebrations

November is a big month around here ...

Just to name a few celebrations: Corey and my anniversary (wow FIVE years already!), Corey's birthday, Caitlyn and Chaz's anniversary, birthdays for Corey's brother Jesse and his wife Megan, my uncle Bob's birthday, election day, and of course Thanksgiving!

Other fun dates:

November 1 is Bison Booties' birthday. I opened the Bison Booties Etsy shop on November 1, 2010, and what a fun and exciting two years it has been! More about that over on the Bison Booties blog.

photo credit: http://www.facebook.com/NDBison

November 1 is also National Bison Day. What is that you ask? A special day for bison, the day was selected by a grassroots effort to name the bison as the national mammal. Personally, I think the bison is deserving. Anyway, I guess it's a fun day to celebrate the mighty bison.

photo credit: http://www.luvnd.com/

November 2 is North Dakota's birthday - 123 years! As a fifth-generation North Dakotan, I find this reason to celebrate! www.luvnd.com put together a bucket list of 123 ways to love North Dakota and I'm proud to say I've experienced over 50 of them!

photo credit: http://www.prideofdakota.com/

November 30 is the first day of the 2012 Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase in Bismarck. This is the largest show I sell Bison Booties at and it's a blast ... and busy insane! I'll be a wee bit preoccupied with this between now and November 30, so if I don't return your phone call or e-mail right away, know that this is my excuse.

Bison Booties video

{squeal!}
I'm so excited to finally be able to share this video! Bison Booties was one of five North Dakota businesses selected by Pride of Dakota for a video feature (wow - what an honor!). This video is an amazing opportunity and filming was a wonderful experience ... but best of all, this is a very realistic peek into my life as the "Bison Booties lady."
enjoy!

. . .

The other four Pride of Dakota videos showcase:
- Amberland Foods 
I met Tami a few weeks ago and Corey and I have been fans of their products for many years.
- Earth-Kind 
Kari is a mentor of mine and her story is nothing short of an inspiration.
- Touch of Honey
This business is in Linton - a favorite destination of mine and hometown of Corey's parents. We've been buying their products for many years. What's not to like about honey?!
- Givinity Press
Ellen is a very talented artist and I'm looking forward to see her work in person.

halloween fun - 2012

This Halloween was extra special because cousin Connor spent the night on October 30. Connor (and his parents: Corey's brother Jesse, and wife Megan) are moving from Boston to Fargo. We were more than happy to have them stay the night on their way to Fargo.


Pyjama party!



Halloween morning was full of fun and giggles.

These two are looking more and more alike each time I see them together. Adorable!


Jesse, Megan and Connor took off for Fargo and kya and I headed to town to make the rounds visiting friends and family for daytime trick-or-treating.


Little Red Riding Hood's first stop was Grandma Rene's house ... of course.


Funny grandma!

Then Kya and I went to see Aunt Caitlyn at her office ... Kya had great fun playing with all the physical therapy exercise equipment.


Then we went to downtown Bismarck to see Aunt Ronda.


Since we had to drive by the library (and Kya almost jumped out of car seat with excitement) ... we also visited the library.


And then we explored every nook and cranny of the kid's area.

We went home, and Kya took a great afternoon nap and then we went out for more Halloween fun this evening. We made it home in time for greet any trick-or-treaters that may visit our house ... but I'm sad to report we didn't have any visitors for the third year in a row. Maybe we can stop buying Halloween candy now?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Kya is Little Red Riding Hood!
Cape and skirt handmade by her mama.

Last year: http://bisongirllife.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-2011.html

fall is all about pheasants and leaves

Kya and Corey had lots of fun on Saturday.

Corey's day started with a morning of pheasant hunting in the backyard.

Kya and I watched from the dining room window.

He didn't bring any pheasants home, but he did scare up a few birds and fired a few shots.

Later that morning, Corey put Kya in the hiking backpack and took her for a walk down the property to the tree/bush grove.


They explored and found a 'tree tunnel'


they crunched leaves


and then had a snack of dried apples (thanks to Grandma Irene)


Hello fall.

sunrise on the prairie

today's sunrise:



I love it here.

NDSU Homecoming 2012

This weekend we made our annual trip east to Fargo for North Dakota State University (NDSU) homecoming weekend. Corey graduated from NDSU so it's always a ton of fun to visit and catch up with lots of good friends. Nowadays it's even more special because Corey's sister Maria goes to NDSU - so it's a family trip too! Corey's parents joined the fun this year and it was extra fun having them along for the festivities.


Waiting for Dad to get home from work so we could leave on our road trip, and so excited!


Kya was an excellent traveler, sleeping the entire way from Mandan to West Fargo.


Corey, Kya, Maria, Andrea (Corey's mom) and I went to the NDSU Homecoming Show. It's a great gathering of skits and acts from campus organizations, and of course - the band! I was hesitant to take Kya (the show started at her normal bedtime) but much to my surprise, she was quite entertained and didn't make a peep. What fun!


On Friday night, Corey and I went out for a quick beer at his old college favorite The Turf. It was packed, but we had a fun time reminiscing and seeing friends.


Homecoming day!


Meeting Thundar the mascot, on the way to the parade.


Waiting for the parade.






In the Fargo Dome ... killing time before the game.


Kya was very excited to meet Thundar again in the same day.


Ryan, Corey and Kya during the game (Ryan is the son of friends we sat with).


The Bison won 48-7!

Last year's blog post: Homecoming 2011