Wet and Windy in Williston

No Scandinavian Saturday supper tonight. The girls had a swim meet in Williston today, so we ate there instead. We left around 6:45 A.M. and drove through some drifting snow on the roads until Watford City, but we made our way to the E. J. Hagen Aquatic Center in Williston without incident. My aunt Lucille, who lives in Williston, spent the day with us at the meet, cheering on the girls and catching up on family news with us. My dad and stepmom drove to Williston for the meet, too. My dad's cousin Jay and his wife were there from Minot with their son Daniel, who was competing, too--and Jay cheered on our girls whenever they were racing (and, um, he's a very audible cheerer). So our daughters had lots of fans in the stands while they swam!

That's Abigail sitting on her grandma's lap. Beverly is sitting beside Dad, who is beside me, and Lucille is to my left.

It's not so easy to get good photos of the girls at a swim meet. We end up with a collection of photographs of diving blocks with blurs on them as a daughter leaps for the water, or of splashing water as she heads down the lanes. So, in lieu of pics of our children, here's a cool photo that Suzanna took of the lanes between events. (Orange and black are Williston's school colors.)

After the meet, we went with Lucille, Dad, and Beverly to Gramma Sharon's Family Restaurant for a mid-afternoon meal courtesy of Lucille. It was terrific to spend so much time with her today. She certainly didn't have to sit in the heat of the pool facility on the hard concrete bleachers with no back support for four hours to watch her great-nieces swim, but she did. She also didn't have to buy us supper, but she did that, too! And it was good to visit with her throughout the day. It had been a long time! We got some visiting in with Dad and Beverly, too. They brought early Valentine's Day gifts for the girls (red and white stuffed animals with long, floppy, super-soft ears), and we gave Beverly an early birthday gift (the real day is Tuesday).

The wind was bitterly cold in Williston today, and the weather was none too pleasant to drive through on the way home. The darker it got outside, the windier it got, and the drifting snow swirled in mesmerizing patterns across the road, making it difficult for me to focus. From Grassy Butte to Belfield, snow drifts were forming on the road, too, giving us a few jolts as we plowed through them in order to stay in our lane when meeting oncoming traffic. But we're home now, safe and sound. Time to hang up the wet swimming suits and get into comfy pajamas!