Mall of America

Saturday we made the trip to Mall of America (MOA)!

We ended up spending 8+hours and we really only made it around the 1^st floor! That place is HUGE!

http://www.mallofamerica.com/home/ 

Ansley did great for being in the mall that long….she was a trooper! We were going to take her to Build a Bear, but the line was super looonnnggg, maybe next time! They have a 2 story American Girl Doll store that we didn’t even go in because I knew that if Ansley saw all those ‘bay-bees’ we would have to get her one and I’m not ready for that yet! One of the coolest part of the mall is Nickelodeon Universe, which is like an amusement park inside the mall. Since it is Nickelodeon I figured there would be Dora stuff and there was! We were actually standing in line to meet Dora, but she went on break. That was probably a good thing, because Ansley was kind of starting to freak out, like she did with Santa.

We did find a non-real Dora to take pictures with, but if you look close you can tell Ansley still wasn't sure about it!

The American Girl store                                            These characters are made totally of Legos!       

 

Nickelodeon Universe

Other than our trip to MOA we didn't get into much this past weekend or week. I actually had to work 3 days this week! Sheewww! :) We have managed to find an ice cream place that we LOVE! Blast Soft serve has a huge menu of ice cream options, my fav is the cookie dough flurry and Lance likes the Carmel sundae. Not only do they have great ice cream, but upstairs to Blast is a small pizza joint called Rose Street Pizza. Although is as good as Big Ed's, this place is definitely our version of Big Ed's here in MN! During one of our evening walks, Ansley has found a new place to ride in the stroller....

Only 23 more days till our visit home!!! Continue to pray for us and our adventure!

We love and miss you guys!

HOT HOT HOT!!!

Last week we had a pretty busy week. I actually had to work! :) Well, I had orientation for Allina (which is the health system that is over Owatonna Hospital) 3 days in Minneapolis (Monday-Wednesday) Then on Friday, I was at the hospital getting an idea of what I'll be doing by following the other therapist around. Lance had a midterm exam. He did great, made a 89 on it…way to go bud!!

Saturday, while Lance played golf, we went shopping. We went to the outlets. Nowhere near as big as Tanger in Pigeon Forge, but has all the essentials: Gap, Old Navy, Gymboree, Children’s Place, Carter’s, and some others. I had some coupons and there were some great sales going on. I found Ansley some warmer weather clothes…18months seems soooo big!

Sunday we went to church. I think we have found one we really like. It doesn’t come close to Dutch Valley :), but it will work as an alternative. After church we went over to Jennifer and Andrew’s to watch the World Cup soccer game. Not sure if we will ever get invited back, we all feel asleep during the game!

 After the game, we decided to try out River Springs Water Park, the local water park. It isn’t huge, but it has a great kids area with a zero entry pool. There is also a small kiddie slide, that Ansley LOVED! They also have a couple of water fountains that shoot out of the ground that she liked.

(this is part of the water park)

This past week it has been super HOT! The heat index has been around 105-117! This weekend it is supposed to be a lil cooler and not as humid with highs in the mid 80’s.

 (This was taken from Lance's phone one day last week)

I had another day of orientation Tuesday. This time it was in St. Paul. Then on Wednesday I had an interview with St. Lucas Care Center. http://local-nursing-homes.com/nursinghome.cfm?detail=general&home=st-lucas-care-center&provNum=245067 This is a nursing home in Fairbault (about 25mins North of us). I got the job on the spot! All they need is a respiratory therapist to work 8hours a week, with the chance to pick up more hours if wanted. They are actually paying me more than the hospital and I can work my 8 hours when I want. If I wanna work it all in one day I can or if I want to work it in 2 days I can and I can also work in the evenings when Lance gets out of school/work. As far as Lance this week, things seem to be a little calmer and slower now that his midterm is over. Instead of having numerous tests throughout the week, he will only have one for the most part.

Enough about us, I know you really want to know how Ansley is doing!

She is into anything and everything! She has always been very vocal, but lately she will repeat absolutely anything! She loves to sing‘itsy bitsy spider’ and we are working on ‘Jesus loves me’. She loves to eat blueberries and watermelon and she isn’t liking ‘nanas’ as much right now. She still loves her bay-bee, we don’t go too many places without it. One of her new words is stuck. If she can’t get something she says ‘stuck’. She loves hide-n-go-seek. As long as you can’t see her eyes, then she is hiding!

Only about 4more weeks til our visit home! Continue to pray for us and our adventure!

We love and miss you guys!

Dates for our first trip HOME!!!

Yep-we are heading home for a visit soon and we couldn't be happier!!! Although we are enjoying our time up here...we are ready to head home and visit our family and friends! We will be leaving Minneapolis/St. Paul airport bright and early Saturday morning AUGUST 20TH and arrive in KNOXVILLE around 12:30. Lance will fly back to MN Sunday the 28th, but me and Ansley aren't heading back til Friday SEPTEMBER 2nd...so we will be home an extra week!!! Lance wasn't sold on the idea for me and Ansley to stay an extra week, because that would mean that we would have to fly by ourselves. But he finally gave in....thank you buddy :)...cause he knows how much it means to me and Ansley to stay the extra week. We CANNOT wait to see everybody!!!

As a teaser....here are some random pics of Ansley...enjoy!

She loves eating 'nanas'

She loves playing at the park and on the playground

She treats our lil table as her own playground

She is one cool chick! :)

Please continue to pray for us and our new adventure...We love and miss you guys!

Garage Sales and the City

This past Saturday morning we thought we would try our luck at garage sales. Some of the other wives kept talking about what good deals they have found, etc. We didn’t get off to an early start, but that doesn’t matter in Owatonna. Most garage sales start on Thursday, which is kinda different, and they don’t start till 9 or 10, not bright and early like they do back home. They have a website dedicated to all the garage sales (http://www.owatonnagaragesales.com/). It list where and what items they have. From this website you can make a list of all the sales you want to go to, makes it pretty easy. I was looking for a snow suit for Ansley and some cheap toys/clothes. Well, we hit the jack pot! We found her one Columbia brand snow suit and another snow suit that isn’t as thick, but has fleece lined pants. They were both just $5 each!!! Now I’m hooked on garage sales.....next on my list is to find her some snow boots! 

After our morning of garage sales, we made a trip into the big city (Minneapolis). Lance and another couple, Jennifer and Andrew, wanted to check out a golf expo/liquidation sale that was going on at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The Minnesota State Fairgrounds is very impressive….over 320 acres! The state fair is schedule Aug 25th-Sept 5th and yes if we can, we plan on going! It was nice and toasty that day, so after sweating through the golf sale we went to eat at Lance’s favorite restaurant (so far) Seven Sushi. After an early dinner, we walked around the city and then we meet up with my friend Tina. There was a big block party going on in the city at The Basilica of Saint Mary. Which is a huge beautiful Old Catholic church (http://basilicablockparty.org/ ) and it happens to be super close to Tina’s apartment. So we got to hang out with Tina and enjoy some good music. Tina has an amazing apartment with BEAUTIFUL views of the city….on her left; the beautiful church and on her right; downtown with a great view of the Twins stadium…pretty cool!!!

 these are some pics of The Basilica

We stopped by the Twins Stadium

 

                                                           Our view from dinner

                                                           

                                                     One of the views from Tina's apartment

Please continue to pray for us on this new adventure and we miss and love you guys!!!

“From the lakes of Minnesota / to the hills of Tennessee…”

This was Ansley’s second 4th of July and we were excited to see how she would handle the fireworks this year. I don’t think last year really counts considering she wasn’t even 4months old yet and she sleep through them! We started the day off by going out to Cabela’s big 4th of July Sale, where we didn’t buy a thing. I know, we did good! J

Then we met some friends out at Lake Kohlmeier. Ansley has this sand beach thing down now and LOVES playing in the sand and water!! After hanging at the lake we had a cookout at Allison and Patrick’s house along with little Parker and another couple, Jennifer and Andrew. Lance manned the grill while I chased around after Ansley and we all played washers or a Texas form of washers. After we ate and hung out for a bit it was time for the fireworks. Ansley started to get a little fussy/whiny at this point so we just decided to watch the fireworks from our front yard. We live about 2 blocks away from the Steele County Fairgrounds where they were being shot off from which was nice. We had a great view! Ansley at first was a little nervous, but then she started to like them. She was even ‘ooohhhhing’ and ‘aaahhhhing’ at them! Here is a short video of Ansley watching the fireworks.... http://www.youtube.com/user/LGFreeman1#p/a/u/0/4oGH18HuPTA

On a side note, we figured out why Ansley was fussy/whiny….she has a slight ear infection! Poor girl….her first MN sickness! She woke us up last night with a bad cough and we had noticed the past two days she had a snotty nose so needless to say we went to the urgent care at the Mayo Clinic where they said she has a slight ear infection. Other than a snotty nose and a cough...you can't really even tell she is sick. Hopefully we caught it early enough!

Continue to pray for us and this new adventure....we love and miss everyone!!!

Happy 4th of July!

This weekend it finally set in…we aren’t in AC anymore. Me and Lance had just talked earlier this week about if either one of us was homesick and we both said no not yet. I guess with it being our first holiday away we are both feeling a little homesick and missing our family and friends. Although we missed a fun weekend on Norris, we had our own ‘sandy beach’ we went to on Kohlmeier Lake. We had a blast! Its no Norris Lake, but given the circumstances it was a great alternative! Ansley at first didn’t want any part of the sand, but she eventually got the hang of it and LOVED IT!  

 

Kohlmeier Lake...Owatonna's version of 'sandy beach' :)

Ansley and her buddy, Aria

Ansley taking a break....eating blueberries!

One day last week me and a couple of girls (Jennifer, Allison, and one lucky little boy, Parker who is almost 4months old) went to Straight River Farms and went strawberry picking!! We had such a good time! It happened to be on one of the hottest days so far, I think it got into the 90’s. We didn’t pick very long, but we had fun! I do believe Ansley ate more than she picked. When I saw ate….I mean she ate stems, leaves, and all the strawberry!!! Needless to say chasing around and making sure Ansley didn’t eat all the strawberries resulted in a small quantity of strawberries that actually made it into our bucket!

Ansley and her buddy, Parker

The weather has been great this past week! It kinda feels like home….hot and humid! Other than strawberry pickin’ we have spent time at the pool. One of the perks of working for Federated is that they like to take care of their employees. One of the ways is that they offer a discount on the Owatonna Country Club. Yep-we are members of a country club….fancy! LOL! The part that sold me on the membership, other than the discount, was the pool. So while Lance is working away at his job/school, me and Ansley go hang out at the pool or in the evenings while Lance is playing golf, me and Ansley will hit the pool up.

Before we moved up here, lots of people warned us about the mosquitoes and black flies. Once we moved up here i was thinking, I don’t see any of these huge mosquitoes/black flies. Well, within the last week….we are all ate up with mosquito bites!!! They came out of nowhere and yes, they are bad! The town sprays a couple times a week. They have a truck with a big sprayer on the back that is really loud….you can hear the sprayer coming! Not sure how long these mosquitoes will stay around, hopefully not long!

Saturday night we went and ate a really neat restaurant called the Hubble House, it was a stage coach stop built in 1854. We went with two other couples. It was a great meal with great company! The Hubble House is a designated national historic site located in historic Mantorville, MN. A brief history of the Hubble House can be found at http://www.hubbellhouserestaurant.com/.

Tonight we plan on watching fireworks at the Steele County Fairgrounds, which is about 2minutes from our house. The only bad thing is that the fireworks don’t start til 10 because it doesn’t get dark til then! I guess we will let Ansley stay up! Hahah…if you know Ansley, you know that she is a night owl so it won’t be a problem! J I'll post pics later!

Sorry for the long post! I’ll try and do multiple post throughout the week next time! Continue to pray for us and our adventure….We love you guys and miss you like crazy!!!