The joy of Christmas time

This was my first Christmas away from home. We went up to the UP for the weekend. It's a 13 hour drive from here, so we didn't have much time there, but I had a good time. A really good time.

Christmas eve company. Aren't they cute?!

My mother-in-law (still feels strange to say that :) and some of her sisters.

A boy and his dog. Comrade was so happy to see Mark, and Mark, Comrade.

At one point, Mark was lying on the floor cuddling with the dog, and I thought he should get up. He and other family members assured me it was normal. It was kind of cute...

More Christmas eve company. It was nice to see some fellow Minnesotans (at heart, anyway :).

The ladies exchanged homemade or thrifty gifts. Mari got a paper wreath from Kendra.

Jessica got this plate from Aleena.

Everyone's gifts were so nice. I got an adorable chalkboard from Jessica. I have always wanted one; I thought maybe my husband will write cute notes for me. So far, it's been the other way around, but oh well.

The married couples got Tupperware from Margaret and Gary. Margaret thought maybe it was a gift more geared toward the ladies, but the guys proved her wrong...

It was strange not having little kids running amok during the holiday. We just got to see Jory on Christmas eve, and Tessa and Piper on Christmas Day. They got lots of attention!

The men exchanged homemade/thrifty gifts too. Here Ryan is showing Aaron how to use the shop vac filter he made.

We got to see some snow, Mark got to use his 4 wheeler (a strange Christmas sight), and we got some good visiting in, both with family and friends. We also took two saunas! It was truly a joyful time.

Song services

We went to song services last night. It was fun to see all the single guys that we know are out here, but rarely see. I told my cousin "Grease" that some night I'd have him over for dinner, and he proclaimed, "that would be awesome!" I'm sure they're really missing home cooking. And we're all missing the fellowship of our church friends, which was why it's so great to get together!

Frost

For a few days, the trees and ground were covered in a beautiful white frost.


The valley near my work was a sight to behold.

Town is in the distance, near the tower/elevator thing (I'm not very well-informed).

Merry Christmas, Ann!

Ann wanted pictures of a rig for Christmas, and I'm giving the man in the red suit a helping hand by providing them for her. :)

Sorry about the lack of pretty wrapping paper and a bow, Ann.

The presence of these tanks lets you know it's an oil well site.

Here's a rig. Keep in mind it's a workover rig, not a drilling rig. A workover rig goes to a well site and fixes problems to keep oil flowing after a drilling rig has been there to drill the well and start the flow. Mark is on a workover rig, whereas my b-i-l Mike is on a drilling rig.

The tall ladder-like thing is called the derrick. The platform half-way up is where the derrick hand stands and does his work. I'm not sure exactly what he does... I've learned a lot from Mark, but there's so much more that I will probably never learn.

The tall black things running through the platform are rods. This rig is "tripping rods". That's taking the rods out and putting them back in (I checked with M to be sure I'm right).

The other workers (they're called floorhands, although they have other titles like "tool pusher" and "operator" too) stay at the bottom, near the back of the rig on the work floor, and get 'er done.

Like this man. He's working. No idea what he's doing, but something important, I'm sure. Mark thinks he about to climb the derrick. Mark's crew has to wear company coveralls (currently thicker, winter ones) and a hard hat. Most things are FR (or Fire Resistant), and I constantly hear and see those letters in clothing stores.

This is not Mark's rig. It's one that is just west of town, right next to the street. Mark works about an hour away from home, usually.

Hope this was informative, and slightly interesting.