The Great Minnesota Get Together....

or otherwise known as Minnesota State Fair! There is a huge hype here about what an experience it is to go to the fair, so we decided to check it out. And it definitely lived up to the hype. We had a great time seeing all the different things especially the people.

This is my favorite picture. Jensen doesn't really know what to think. But he was able to hold the baby pig for a bit. It was really cute!

Here we are in the Birthing Barn. That's right, the birthing barn. They say that there is a birth every few hours. There were 12 little piggies born while we were there. There was also a cow in labor for the last 4 hours. It was definitely an experience. We didn't post pictures of that for those of you with weak stomachs.

This baby lamb is 3 days old, so cute. Jensen really didn't know what he was supposed to do here, but he was brave enough to touch it. After we were done here, he kept trying to turn around to see what the baby lamb was doing.

Like father, like son! This was actually THE BEST roasted corn I have ever tasted. It was amazing and definitely one of the favorite things at the Fair. Jensen loved the corn and was very sad when it was all done.

Here's Reed with his fried Twinkie. Definitely a dream come true. Most of the food at the fair was either fried or on a stick, or both. You name it: fried twinkies, sausage, egg wrapped in sausage fried, fried pickles, sweet potato, hot dogs, french fries, polish dogs, fried cheese curds etc. Well you get the picture.

Everyday life!

Jensen got a sweet bike trailer for his first birthday present. My parents decided to give us Jensen's Birthday present early so that we could still get some use out of it while the weather is still nice. Thanks Vovo! We've taken it out a few times and he seems to really like it. He's still a little small for it (as you can see with my sweet make-shift pads).

This is Minnehaha Park behind our house that we jog or ride our bikes in the morning then take a walk in the evening. It has miles and miles of parkway. And it's a beautiful ride. Thank goodness it's so close. We only have one car, and this keeps Reed and Jensen occupied when I have to work in the evenings. I don't know what we'll do in the winter.

We like to go to the park a lot and let him just crawl around. He loves to explore everything. I can't wait till he starts walking. Then we'll really have our hands full.

My Favorite Things!

My friend Andrea did a "things she loves" blog and I loved reading it. So these are things that I love and can't live without:

1. Armani Code, the perfume. I got it 2 Christmas' ago from Vern and Ruthie. I absolutely love the smell (it's not quite as seductive as that picture, though)



2. So as long as it's been around, I have loved "Friends". Even when I was on my mission when I called home for Christmas, my brother Leo filled me in on what was going on with "Friends". I know, pretty pathetic, but I still really like it. I always makes me laugh.


3. This is the only picture I could find of hair bands. I know, kind of ghetto, but I couldn't live without them.


4. These are my favorite running shoes ever, Saucony women's running shoes. I have bought the same ones the last 5 times. I ran the SLC marathon in these babies, and I only lost one toenail (they tell me that's a good thing). Anyway, I really like them. And I think my next pair at the Salt Lake Running Co. are free.
5. Now I'm a Jazz fan thru and thru. I don't think they get the credit they deserve. The Jazz have some pretty good players, but never really get much hype. I love to watch them play, especially when they win. They're going to have a great season this year. Go Jazz!


6. I love my slippas (it's what they call them in Hawaii). I wear as soon as possible in the Spring and as late as possible in the Fall.

7. I love my scrubs! I practically live in them, but it can't get more comfortable than that. One of the main reasons I chose the medical profession is for the fact that I get to wear scrubs. I also look just like these girls in my scrubs (yeah right!)


8. And of course, My Boys! Gotta love them! They are the joy of my life. I don't know what I would do without them.

What we've been up to

Well we've now been in Minnesota for 2 weeks now, and so far so good. If some of you have been questioning our decision to come out to Minnesota and said that you probably would never visit us, my goal is to get you to love it as much as we do (or just peak your interest enough to come see us). Here are some reasons why Minnesota is so great.

1. It has one of the highest literacy rates in the country.
2. It has the best health care system in the country. You may have heard of the Mayo Clinic.
3. It is one of the greenest places I have ever seen with all the trees and lakes everywhere. They definitely mean it when they say 10,000 lakes. It's absolutely beautiful.
4. We have all major professional sports teams. As you can see we're definitely taking advantage of that.
5. It has the largest mall in the world (for those of you that love to shop!).
6. It has one of the largest scenic byways (trails), that connect all the near by lakes, in the country.
7. It has the Grand Old Creamery that has one of the best ice cream cones I have ever tasted (and that's saying a lot).
8. It has one of the countries top ranked MBA programs at the University of Minnesota (one of the major reasons we're here).
9. It was voted one the healthiest, active cities in the country.
10. And the fact that we're here should be reason enough to come visit.

Needless to say we are loving it and hope you all will want to visit now.

This is the St. Paul temple which is about 20-30 minutes away. It's one of the small temples, but very beautiful.

We went to a Twins game last week and Jensen just loved it. He even has a Twins shirt already.
Go Twins!

Then we went to our first NFL game to watch the Vikings play the Seahawks. It was a lot louder and crazier than the Twins game. It took Jensen some getting used to. People here are definitely true, blue (or should I say purple) Vikings fans.

Here we are in Minnesota!

So we made it! We've in Minnesota now for 6 days and so far so good. Everything here is so green and beautiful. There are parks and lakes everywhere we turn. There are two just 5 min

from us. We going jogging or just walking every day. I love it. So far the humidity is fairly tolerable. My skin feels great. And it helps with Jensen's skin too. Reed's not a huge fan. I started working on Monday and that definitely has been interesting. It'll just take some getting used to. We miss everyone back home very much, but we just want you all to know we are doing great and loving it. Thanks for all the support!

On the way to Minnesota we stopped in Rapid City, SD. We went to see Mount Rushmore, but it was raining. So we weren't able to spend a lot of time there. It was a lot smaller than it I expected, but still pretty cool.

Wakeboarding

So Reed and I aren't the best wakeboarders, but we love to go. And Reed's friend JD took us out on his boat down in St. George. We had a great time. It was my first time in 2 years going. Needless to say we were both very soar the next day. Thanks again JD!

That's Reed doing a back flip (just kidding, that's JD)

California Trip!

We went to California to spend the weekend with Reed's brother Stan and his family. We had a great time playing with cousins, on the beach, swimming at the pool, and attending Sophie's baptism. We had a blast. Thanks Stan and Kerrie for a great trip!

Ian loved his popsicles!

I just love this picture of Jensen and Ian.

Grandma and Grandpa Edwards with Jensen.

Sophie after her baptism. She was just beautiful and glowing that day. We are so proud of our Sophie.