yeaw you betch'a

It's really no joke. There are varying levels of minnesota talk but its quite entertaining and I realize this probably only from living away from here. I enjoy going to stores and talking to the cashiers because its fun to hear them say oh hi! how are you tOday? and re-live all the little sayings. one of my favorites from a best friend's mom: OOh but fun! Here are some more: OOh suure, OOh yeaw, well ya knOw. As i write this i find that its maybe too hard to pass on the sounds of these words to make this worthwhile...

So I'll move on to one of my favorite sights since i've been back:

• Today I saw a man with a flannel shirt on, walking down the road carrying a metal cage. I was approaching him as I was driving being very curious. As I drive by I see a grey squirrel pacing back and forth in the cage. WHAT?! was my reaction. I was so shocked and amused that I hurried back to my parents house (the direction the man was walking) to park the car, get out and hoped to get a picture. I got one - but unfortunately he entered the woods across from the house and the tall grasses hid the cage with the squirrel. So i have a pic from far away of the man but no squirrel in the cage. I am a bit saddened. What do you suppose the squirrel was - a pet or dinner?
  

precious times

I'm back in Minnesota this week for my best friend, andrea's wedding which is on Saturday. I've been having so much fun and been able to see so many friends. It has been a full year since i was back last time for gabe and my wedding. It hasn't seemed like a year- until I saw my nieces. Jewel and Anika have grown up so much in a year, its amazing how fast we grow when we are young. We have had a blast playing many games: hopscotch, teeter toter, swinging, going to the zoo, hanging upside down on the jungle gym...

Dad and I went fishing yesterday and got many bites but unfortunately we didn't get any fresh fish to fry that night. It was great to be out on the lake again though. We saw 5 bald eagles and a juvenile loon that was eying our large bait.

I love fall in minnesota. It is absolutely beautiful and allows you to enjoy hot coffee, which has been awhile for me to do. One thing i've observed from living in arizona is that i feel like it has made me "packing dumb". I never pack enough warm clothes for up here, or it may be that i no longer own warm enough clothes. In arizona it's always sunny and warm - not so much the case else where in the states and especially in the fall of minnesota. So lucky for me my parents allow me to store warm old clothes here and i'm using those more than i always think i would.

I' have fun pictures I'll post once i'm back in arizona, so check back.