Day 2 - On our way to Dickinson, ND

I had planned to meet a running group in Aberdeen, SD to run on Saturday morning but the guy I was planning it with got injured and the other runners were running their local 5K/10K that morning. I needed to run early so we could get on the road. My training plan called for 8 miles but I headed out solo at 6 am and logged 4 of the most boring miles ever. I ran around some new construction homes, villas and duplexes on a golf course for 2 miles and then ran 1 mile out and back down the main road our hotel was on. I went back after those 4 miles and Russ headed out and got us McD's breakfast. We all ate and then packed up and were on the road by 8 a.m. As we are pullling out of town (about a mile from our hotel) we see a really nice park area with a fabulous running path/bike path around the park. (Note to self - next trip we drive around the night before and plan out the running route)

It didn't take us long the next day to get to North Dakota:


We drove without much problems or stories most of the morning. We stopped in Bismark, ND for a break, gas and snacks from a gas station. That's when Ryan popped off with "I love candy!"... He's definitely his momma's son - I have such a sweet tooth! As we drove from Bismark to Dickinson we texted updates of our location to Ross' dad so they knew when we were arriving. We gained an hour due to the time change and gained about 30 minutes due to mom's great driving skills (ok, I was a bit fast) :)


Ryan chose to sit in the back the 2nd day... but he still didn't want his picture taken:


Finally got a smile... I don't remember how:

We arrived at Ross' house and went down to the basement where he was working out with his dad and surprised him. We were all happy to be there and to see Hockey Ross again.

We hung out at the house and played bubbles, legos, trains, etc. We also went for a little trip for Reid to shoot some hockey pucks and Ryan to ride on a tractor with Gregg (Ross' dad). They really liked that and thought it was cool that we ALL piled in Cher (Ross' jeep Cherokee) to get there so Reid, Simin (Ross' mom), and Meryl (Ross' sister) were in the back part. Ryan had to sit back there with Ross on the way home.

The boys had so much fun playing bubbles with Simin and Meryl. Can you believe this girl is going to be an 8th grader? She's so tall... and GORGEOUS! (I got a better picture of her on the next day).

The first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was at 6:00 so we went back to the house to watch the game and hang out. Ryan was melting down BIG TIME and ended up passing out before 7:00 and slept through the night in his clothes.

The boys watching the hockey game...

Ryan... after I finally forced him to sit down... passed out - not quite 7:00 (although mountain time so almost 8:00 central):