MN: a day in the life: August 2007

Munsinger Gardens

My mom and I enjoyed some quality time together last Sunday afternoon at the park. The flowers were so beautiful, as we chatted along the garden paths. A local jazz band was also performing in the park that day. Sun, songs and good scents made the day quite special!

XooXoXoXOxoxoXox

HOORAH!

wE ARe ThE cHamPIOns!!!
(don't ask...)

big BiG BIG thanks to Tina for organizing a fabulous end of the year party! we appreciated your hard work and enthusiasm!

finally

a cold, rainy relaxing weekend spent @ the cabin

with my mom, dad & dustinfish, golf & fun

Last week @ the daycare

Here are some pictures of my last couple of days working w/ the little tykes. I have enjoyed nearly every minute working with these peanuts! At a time in which many of my friends are beginning to have families of their own, I really enjoyed

the feeling of 'temporary' motherhood. :)

Japan: 1 year ago

It is hard to believe that I left Japan one year ago this weekend. It was with much sadness (and sake) that I said my 'temporary goodbyes' to so many wonderful people that I came to love. I remember spending the nearly every single day during the last 6 weeks at ceremonial farewell parties thrown by the schools, the office and the villagers. It proved to be some of the happiest/saddest, exciting/exhausting of all my days in Japan. And so, I thought it only fitting to retrace my last 24 hours in Japan and my first 24 hours in Minnesota -chronologically in ascending order:

First dinner in Minnesota. American food - YUMMY!!!!

My family took me to my favorite restaurant and low and behold 2 of my favorite buddies just happened to be there....

It is true -- the world is VERY small!

My parents greeting me @ the airport.

My luggage was lost and my IPOD stolen, but being able to read signs and understand PA messages for the first time in a year seemed to offset my frustration. :)

On the flight home.

After nearly 14 hours of flying - we approach Denali State Park in Alaska (just in time for sunset). Aerial views of this beautiful park were a wonderful welcome to the USA.

This was my last photograph taken in Japan.

My first and last homestay families took me to the local shinkansen station where they saw me off. Wearing a traditional summer outfit ( jinbei ) and unparelled queasiness - I managed to keep a smiling face. (Excessive crying would be frowned upon as it draws unnecessary attention to oneself and shows emotional weakness.) As the shinkansen pulled out of the station, my eyes became fixated on the waving hands of my friends....and then, almost immediately, blurry.

I didn't stop crying until Sendai.

And this is my final picture with the Sasaki family. After graciously inviting me to live with them for my last 6 weeks in Japan, I often looked for ways to repay their kindness. On this final nite, I cooked (what appeared to be) my favorite American foods. I made spaghetti, garlic bread and a (tofu) chocolate pie. Though the meal was probably tastier than 90% of the meals I had had that year... on this final nite, I remember it not tasting very good at all. Knowing that I would be eating a zillion more of these italian meals in 24 hours, made this final meal in Japan all the more sad...

We Are the Champions!

This summer marks my first attempt at playing slow-pitch softball. I played on two leagues this summer and am actually starting to kinda enjoy playing this mock-fast pitch style of game. So, Dustin asked me to play on his work team. As it turned out, the team ended up being really fun and quite competitive! We played well together and seemed to really start playing as a team in these final weeks going into play-offs. So perhaps it is without surprise that our team took the championship, winning 10-6, in front of a packed house of fans and fellow INH coworkers! Thanks INH for letting me pitch in this season - looking forward to a repeat performance again next year! :)

Congratulations INH!

catching up

...At long last, Kari and I are reunited!

As always, we SO enjoyed your company!

I'm disappointed that we didn't see much of each other this summer, but am hoping that we will have better luck this Fall!

Green Lake ~ Spicer

My buddy Justin invited us over for a weekend of fun in the sun. We cruised around on the lake and enjoyed a fair share of beverages (if my memory serves me right?) Below are a few pics from our boating outing:

This is Traci = Justin's fabulous girlfriend

Below, listening to some tunes @ Melvins on the Lake.

Outdoor concert + beer + great friends = :)

they are so cute....

Minnesota's North Shore

(above) Palisade Head

The rocky coastline was breathtaking!

Last weekend, Dustin and I went up to Silver Bay to visit his Grandma and other relatives. The weather was chilly and breezy and much welcomed after all of the heat we have been having these last couple of weeks. While up North, we biked, ran, hiked and relaxed (a bit). The North Shore is one of our favorite places to be and we really enjoyed the gorgeous scenic spots along the way...have a look at some of the places we visited:

a "black beach" made of taconite
Tettegouche Falls

My camera went dead just as we got up to the High Falls. Huge bummer - the water was so low that we actually crossed the river and sat on top of the Falls! Would have made for some spectacular shots...bummer.
Dustin is such a daredevil!
OR Am I just that good of a photographer?

Making a pitstop on our bikeride to enjoy

the magnificent Lake Superior

We biked from Silver Bay to the Split Rock Lighthouse. Unfortunatley, I got us a little lost and we ended up racing down some crazy hills - I even rolled my bike! ouch... Neither of us had been in this Lighthouse for years and years - so we enjoyed touring the beautiful scenery.

The North Shore coastline

workin'

just another day at the office...

petting animals @ the fair
i made jewelry for Maddie and Rosie

touring a local radio station

Someday, Jack wants to be a DJ...

out on a bike ride around the neighborhood

(Buddy is the dog pictured)

picnic @ a park

@ the zoo in Little Falls

to the zOO

Yesterday, we took our daycare kids on a fieldtrip to a local zoo. It was SO fun! The kids enjoyed the tigers, bears and wolves. But their favorite part was the petting zoo, of course.

Check out some pics on the day: