New Tattoo

On a quick side note. I got a new Tattoo over the last week. It wraps all the way around my arm and let me tell you the underside of your arm is really pretty sensitive.

Catching up

I know it's been a few weeks since my last post but I've been a little bit busy at work. Anyways we finally got to take our family Vacation to Valley Fair. We had a blast taking the kids on as many rides as we could. They loved it and were so much fun to take on each ride. We took them on the Log Ride and although they screamed all the way down the final hill they both said they loved it. The antique cars were another favorite. Both kids had the chance to drive the cars and both did pretty good during the daylight but once the sun was down it was a completely different story. Thank goodness for the bumpers on the track, without them there's no telling where Megan and Grant would have taken us.

The kids had a great summer and spent lots of time playing in our backyard. Both of those kids are such good climbers. Grant tries so hard to keep up with Megan and for the most part he can but when he can't he will try and try. Grant got into Beth's lipstick a few days ago. Don't you think he did a good job putting it on. I don't think he missed a bit. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I'll try to keep up better next time and will put more pictures up as I can.

Pushed Back Vacation Plans and New Cars

Well it's Monday morning and we should be on our way to Minneapolis for a few days of fun with the kids. But Mother Nature threw us a curve ball in the form of a fault. We were within 1,300 feet of finishing up this well and ran into problems.

We are drilling in a formation which is sandwhiched in between two shale formations. We try to stay in a "Target" zone within this sandwhiched formation and we have to stay out of the shale because the shale will collapse in and you then have more expense to maintain production. With only 1,300' left to drill we ran into the lower shale. CRAP! We spent about four days trying to get back to drilling ahead again and it has been painfully slow. I hate to speculate on how many more days we have left of drilling but I really want to tell Beth to go ahead and make reservations at a hotel. Oh well, we'll just take it as it is thrown at us. I have been gone from home for 27 days now but I got to spend one night with Beth and the kids while on a short casing break.

We've been so blessed with this job. Beth gets to stay home. We can pay ALL of our bills and still put money into savings and a retirment. For the first time ever we both have NEW CARS. Beth drives a Hyundai VeraCruz and I drive a Nissan Titan. The best part of having two new cars is that my company gives me a vehicle allowance which more than covers my truck payment and they still pay mileage. It's a win-win situation for us, two new cars and only one payment. We know we're really lucky and it's a really strange feeling after living so tight for so long.

Work Work Work

Hard at work

My Office at the Rig
Patterson 183 south of Killdeer, ND June 2008
Pipe racks and catwalk on Patterson 183 June 2008
Nabors 556 west of Tioga, ND September 2007

Since I spend so much time out in the field with my job I thought it might be nice to post a few pictures. I work for a directional drilling company as a MWD Field Supervisor. MWD (measure while drilling) allows the directional drillers to see how much angle and which direction the drilling assembly has given us. We also provide information about the formation we're currently drilling in to on-site geologists who then tell us to steer the bit up or down to follow the target formation. North Dakota is currently enjoying an Oil Boom and I'm lucky enough to work within a few hours of my front door. This is great because when everything is working good I can sneak away in the evenings and meet my wife and kids in Dickinson, ND. It's been a great job so far and I enjoy it more than working as a roughneck but the time away from home gets to be too much some times. So far this year I've worked just over 150 days in the field and I'm sure I'll easily reach 300 + days by the end of the year. It's alot but we've got a few plans for the future that we have to keep in front of us and this job is allowing us to continue forward with those plans.

Summertime

Megan and Grant got to spend part of this morning outside blowing bubbles. It is supposed to get into the 90s today. For Bismarck that is pretty warm so Beth broke out the inflatable pool, the kids both love to play in it. We're taking the kids to Mineapolis next week. We'll spend one day at Valley Fair http://www.valleyfair.com/, and then we plan on spending a day at The Mall of America. We should have lots of fun and Beth and I are both really looking forward to a vacation with the kids.


If you can't read Megan's shirt, it says,"Born and Bred in TX". I bought this for her while working in South Texas at the end of last year. I was giving Beth a hard time because no matter where we live, Megan and I will always be native Texans. She can't argue that fact no matter where we live. HA! Beth and I got Grant his shirt while visiting Memphis, TN last May. I thought it was pretty funny.

Camping Last Summer

We spent the week after July 4th at Lake Tschida with a few friends. It just so happened that it was the hottest week of the summer at 107 degrees. The kids had a great time splashing and playing in the shallow water. The drive out to the lake was an adventure. The camper we were using was the same camper Beth grew up camping in. The kids loved sitting in the back watching the road go by and waving at every big truck. We haven't had a chance to go camping this year but I sure hope we get the chance before too long.