Minnesota State Fair

This week we went to the MINNESOTA STATE FAIR. It is one of the largest state fairs in the country, second only to Texas. It was pretty impressive!! My favorite part was people watching. I have never seen so many interesting people in my life. I don't know where they all came from. Over 100,000 people visit the fair every day. It is huge! We took the skyride from one end to the other. There is an amusement park with rides, car show, tractors, sheep, cows, pigs, and a live birthing center where you can watch animals being born. But the best part of the fair is the FOOD!!! They have everything that is greasy, fried, and on a stick. We wanted to try everything. We started with a Pronto-pup (it is like a corn dog, except it is made with wheat instead of corn). Then we tried the fried cheese curds. They were actually pretty good!! I could feel my arteries clogging up as I was eating. Then we ate 20 cookies each. They serve everything in bulk. You could buy cookies by the bucket, easily over 100s cookies per bucket. We had a carmel apple, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and corn on the cob dripping with butter. And a diet coke to wash it all down! Needless to say, neither of us felt hungry for the rest of the week. It was an experience I won't forget. I am already planning what I am going to eat next year!

MALL OF AMERICA!!!

This weekend I took Ryan to the MALL OF AMERICA!!! It was a brand new experience for him. It can be a little overwhelming, if you don't know what to expect. I was definitely more excited than he was to go shopping. We have learned that it is not a good idea for us to go shopping together. Ryan doesn't really understand why I have to try on everything in the store......twice, before I can make a decision. So to avoid a meltdown, he went to a movie, while I went shopping. There is no possible way you could go in every store. There are over 500 stores, including two American Eagle stores! The first one I went to didn't have a shirt in my size, so I walked to the other store and bought it. My only regret it that we didn't get to go on the big rollercoaster. Maybe next time? (If there ever is a next time.)

This weekend was a busy one! We ran the Woodbury Half Marathon. It was a beautiful course. It was a cool morning, only 60 degrees when we started the race. Perfect running weather! We ran around three different lakes and through some neighborhoods. Most of the course was shaded. One of the residents that Ryan works with lives in Woodbury with his family. They were our fan club. They rode their bikes along the course and cheered us on when we ran by. After the race they invited us over to their house for waffles!! We both did well and of course Ryan beat me again. His time was 1:34 and mine was 1:45. Both of us ran faster than our times two weeks ago. We have two more races before the Marathon in October.

Gopher to Badger

Time is flying by here in Minneapolis. It is hard to believe another week has gone by. I guess that's what happens when you are staying busy. Ryan and I ran a half marathon yesterday. We are trying to run a race every other week to prepare for the Chicago Marathon in October. Neither of us have run more than 10 miles in a long time. It was called the Gopher to Badger half marathon because it started in Minnesota and finished in Wisconsin. (For all of you non-sports fans: The University of Minnesota's mascot is the Gopher and University of Wisconsin's is the Badger.) It was a gorgeous day, except it got really warm toward the end!! The sun was out and the humidity was high. We both finished and did well. Of course Ryan beat me, as usual. After the race Ryan decided to take a dip in the freezing waters of the St. Croix River. I chickened out!

In other news, I finally got a calling in my new ward. I am teaching the 8-11 year of girls in primary, and also in charge of activity days. I am team-teaching with another sister. Today was our first day. We have a small class of 3-4 girls. I am excited! I have never been in the primary before. It makes me feel old. I can barely remember when I was in primary. They sing new songs that I have never heard before. What happened to the classics like: 'Book of Mormon Stories', and 'I am trying to be like Jesus." Now they have songs for every article of faith. I have a lot to learn about primary. If anyone has fabulous tips for activity days, I am open for suggestions.

Working FULL time

I am trying to Blog every week. I want to have something exciting to write about, but our lives are pretty simple. We go to work, run, sleep, and eat. I am still getting used to working five days a week. It is tough!! I have a lot more respect for all of you that work five days a week. I am used to having at least one day off during the week to go grocery shopping, run errands, and clean up. So needless to day, the house work is falling a little behind. But it has definitely made us appreciate the weekends a lot more!

The most exciting thing this week was the falling gas prices. I filled up for $3.49 a gallon!! That is still higher than I would like, but I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled up to the gas pump.