Heard tonight

"Dad," Maya says standing by her door. It's bedtime and Evan just put Maya in her bed and is in the kitchen hiding.
"Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad," in tiny little whispers getting a little louder.
A pause.
"Guys?" Maya says wondering where her parents are hiding.

Camping

We lived! Actually, not only did we live, but had a great little weekend. It was the last warm weekend on the horizon here in the freezing tundra so we opted to take advantage of it. We decided spur of the moment, as in Friday during the day to head out. We took little provisions, making it at easy as possible, and only ventured about 30 minutes away. We went to a great little park and had a scenic little campsite with a pond 100 yards away. Maya was in heaven. She sat herself down in the dirt as soon as we let her out of the car and went to town throwing rocks and other debris into the bushes. She thought she would be able to throw rocks into the pond from where she stood: we had Evan hold her to make her feel like she could "make the distance" better. :) We roasted hot dogs, Maya ate 2 whole ones....you know she has this thing for hot dogs only when camping and at ball games. We made smores and sang campfire songs, and I was trying to remember all the fun songs we sang at the Rawlinson campouts. It was a beautiful night. And Maya slept great. And I was even comfortable! A happy little weekend.

1st day of FALL

The leaves aren't exactly this bright, but I'm patiently awaiting them to turn these colors. The first day of fall found it's way to Minnesota, but was windy and warm. Yuck! I'm ready for the fall to actually happen. And although there really aren't mountains to speak of here, the lakes at sunset are amazing, and are quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

Loving

We haven't ever lived close to a Trader Joes. Now one is 10 minutes from home. Maya even gets to shop with her own mini-cart. She wandered around sneaking turkey, large chunks of cheese, pita chips and anything else she fancied into her own cart.

Bless Minnesota

There are a few things that I LOVE about Minnesota:

*We can leave any unwanted items behind our garage in our alley and by the next morning they have disappeared. Case in point, we moved up here with an old record player and stereo that didn't work. We set them outside, and the next day they were gone! Now, how's that for fast junk removal?

*On another note, in nice neighborhoods people throw out amazing treasures....I found an ottoman on the side of the road. I am not too ashamed to pick up things off of the side of the road.

*Fall is coming....the air is crisp and I can see the leaves changing. I can't wait to break out sweaters. Evan had a job offer in the south and I was so excited knowing we would be moving to a colder climate just to wear sweaters and such.

*I met a friend who happens to know EVERY amazing thrift, consignment, great music venue and truffle shops in the city. What more could I ask for?