Vikings and Twins Game

This last weekend was a blast. John's family and John and I went to the cities to see both a Vikings and a Twins game. We booked the trip through the radio station WNAX and took a coach bus to the cities. We left Sioux Falls at 8:30 in the morning and made the 4 hour journey to Minneapolis.

We got to the cities early enough that we could walk around Mall of America for a couple hours. I don't mind the mall, but two hours there is enough, especially after being on a bus all morning. We checked into the hotel next, and spent about an hour there relaxing a little. Then it was time to leave for the Metrodome.

The Vikings were playing a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. It was a pretty fun game. It was nice to see Donovan McNabb in a Vikings jersey and throw a few good passes. The second half of the game got a little boring as all the second-string players were in. But we all had a good time at the game!

We got back to our hotel room at around 11:30 pm, and pretty much went to sleep almost immediately. The next morning we ate a continental breakfast and then headed to Target Field at 11:00 am. The Twins played the Detroit Tigers and had lost 7 in a row. They have had an injury-plagued season and there will be no postseason for them this year. However, we had perfect weather for the game and we got to see the Twins win 11-4.

It was a long drive back to Sioux Falls after the game. We watched the movie "Invincible" which helped pass some of the time. It was a great weekend, although Monday came way too fast!

"Toys" Book Review

As I have mentioned several times, I am a pretty big James Patterson fan. I have read probably 90% of his books (and he has written a lot of books). Most recently, I went to the Sioux Falls Public Library and I checked out the book "Toys" by James Patterson. I read the book flap, and decided that this book was going to be a little different than a usual James Patterson book.

Usually a James Patterson book is centered on detectives solving murders, but this book is a scientific genre based in the future. In the book, it is the year 2061, and humans came very close to destroying the world (basically along the lines of Global Warming) so these genetically engineered Elites saved the world from being destroyed. The Elites are smarter, faster, and stronger than humans and are basically in control of the world. The Elites run the government, law enforcement, and most businesses. However. the Elites still need humans to invent items and perform domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning.

Now, I am not going to describe the entire book to you, but what happens is the Elites try to extinguish the human race, and of course the humans fight back. There are many more twists and turns in the book, but basically that is the underlying story.

A couple chapters in, I wasn't really feeling this book. I am not a huge fan of scientific books set in the future. However I really enjoyed this book and let me tell you why.

1. It reminded me that humans can be amazing in times of need. Lately all we ever hear in the news is bad things happening. People being killed, robbing banks/gas stations, or showing other signs of hatred. It was refreshing to be reminded that humans can be inspiring, creative, compassionate, and united when called upon.

2. The book was suspenseful.  I couldn't put the book down, anxious to know what was going to happen next. The ending is fairly predictable, but there are many unpredictable steps along the way. That is James Patterson writing at it's finest.

3. It touched on technology and how it can be a bad thing if not used properly. It discussed how people can become so obsessed with items or "toys". Sometimes people become obsessed with needing the newest "toy" that they lose perspective on more basic things. I agree completely. Don't get me wrong, I love my smart phone and my laptop, and I use the internet constantly. However, there is a joy is being able to disengage ourselves from these things, and take joy in the simple things in life.

If you are looking for a good book, that is a little different from what you are used to reading, think about giving "Toys" a try. You won't be disappointed.

Biking in Yankton

My husband has been telling me that Yankton is a great place to go camping, and they have really nice bike trails. We didn't feel like going camping for the entire weekend, so we just brought the bikes down to Yankton for the day. It's about an hour and 15 minute drive to Yankton. It was also Riverboat Days while we were in Yankton, so we grabbed some lunch in town before hitting up the bike trails.

The bike trails were very nice and the view was beautiful as we were able to bike along the water. The temperature was great, the sun was shining, the weather was just about perfect, and then came the mayflies. I have never seen mayflies so thick. We eventually had to take the trails further from the water, just so we wouldn't be biking through a wall of mayflies. They covered campers, trees, and fences. They took some of the fun out of the beautiful day.

We still enjoyed our bike ride!

We also visited Gavin's Point Dam, which is very high right now due to all the flooding from earlier this summer/spring. All the flood gates are still open, so there is a lot of water flowing through the dam right now!

It was a fun trip to Yankton, and I look forward to going again and actually staying for the weekend to do some camping. Hopefully the mayfly population won't be so high the next time!

Our Anniversary, a week late...

Last Sunday, on August 14th, my husband and I celebrated our One Year Anniversary. I know everyone says this, but I cannot believe it has been an entire year since we got married. I can still recall the details of our wedding day like it was yesterday. This last year has been amazing, and we have taken a lot of big steps as a couple. We moved in together, bought a house, and we went to Hawaii together.

On our anniversary, it was my weekend to work. I did get VTO at 3:00pm, so John and I went to eat at Bracco's for supper. We sat on the patio, and it was a really fun environment and the food was good, but it was pretty expensive as well. We finished up our evening by eating the wedding cake that has been in our freezer for the last year. It kept really well. The flavor was still good and it was still pretty moist. We also watched our wedding videos that we hadn't sat down and watched yet. It was fun to relieve the day and remember some things we had forgot all about.

It was a great first anniversary, and I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with the love of my life and my best friend.

Turner County Fair

For the third year in a row, John and I hit up the Turner County Fair. The fair is located in Parker, where John grew up, so John has been going to this fair all his life. It reminds me of the Renville County Fair, the fair I grew up going to. They both have pretty boring commercial exhibits, the same old rides and food stands in the same places every year, and the same entertainment every year. However, we still attend every year just to see people and socialize with them.

This year we were only at the fair for a couple hours. We walked the grounds, ate with John's parents, and then headed back home, feeling that we had seen everything. Even though it wasn't super exciting, I still like going. There's nothing like going to a county fair in the middle of August to make it feel like summer time. John promised that maybe next year we could go to my not-so-exciting Renville County Fair. :)

Sioux Empire Fair

It's that time of year again, fair time! I love going to county fairs. As a 4-H member, I grew up attending the Renville County Fair every year. Since I usually had a horse at the fair, attending the fair meant being there for three full days to clean out stalls and take care of the animals. So, anyway, I get excited for the fair.

Now that I live in Sioux Falls, I thought it would be a good year for me to try out the Sioux Empire Fair, which is located just a few blocks from our house. This year the fair allowed you to pay admission at the gate and then get into the grandstand for free. John and I went to the fair on Tuesday. We walked the grounds, and then of course had some amazing fair food.

At around 7:00 we went to the grandstands to get a good seat. Then, we got to watch an awesome show by Thompson Square and Jerrod Neimann. The show was a ton of fun, both groups were very entertaining and I knew most of the songs they played. Unfortunately, we didn't think to bring our camera along, so I don't have any pictures to share.

We left around 11, and Jerrod Neimann was still playing, so we listened to the last couple songs from our driveway. It was a long 12 hour shift the next day, but it was so worth it!

We listened to Ted Nugent from our driveway last night and tonight Tracy Lawrence and Steel Magnolia will be playing. Friday night Hinder is playing. So, for the next couple nights we have some good entertainment heading our way. Like I said, I love fair season :)

Weekend with my sister

My sister, Rachel, lives in Mankato, Minnesota, and we have been talking about getting together for the last couple months. We finally found a weekend that worked for the both of us. So, Rachel headed to our house on Friday.

Friday evening Rachel arrived I started off by giving her a tour of our house. Then since it was so nice out we decided to set up some lawn chairs in the driveway and drink some beer. My brother Ryan also stopped by as he was parking his truck in our driveway while he went camping in West River. We grilled some steaks and drank some beer, and had a good evening. We then decided to rent "True Grit" and then we called it a night.

On Saturday, we ate lunch at Casa del Ray. John went to go shoot a wedding, so Rachel and I went shopping. We pretty much shopped away the afternoon. At 6:00 I got ready and went to Steve and Melanie Pierson's wedding It was an outdoor wedding, and it was really beautiful. Steve was John's RA in college, so we know him really well. It was one of those things where I knew about three people at the wedding, so I got pretty bored once the meal was over. So, I ditched out at about 9:30 and I went and saw "Bridesmaids" at the cheap theatre with Rachel and her friend, Sara. Let me just say that "Bridesmaids" is a hilarious movie.

We rounded off Sunday by eating lunch at Taste of the Big Apple and hitting up a few more stores. Rachel just headed out of town about an hour ago, and I am ready to unwind and enjoy the rest of the evening.