Grasshoppers Galore

When I was watching Bug's Life when I was little, I always wondered about some of the bugs.  Back in Vegas and California, we didn't encounter very many bugs.  If you did, they were your run of the mill spiders or cockroaches.  Until I moved to Minnesota, I didn't understand why people complained about bugs.  Normally if you were clean and sprayed your house a couple times during the year, you didn't get very many bugs in your house.  Well, once we moved to Minnesota my bug tolerance was thrown out the window.  There are a lot of bugs here.  I was eaten alive by mosquitoes when we first got here until I made my own bug repellent, and couldn't believe the amount of spider webs around our house.  We cleaned them, then the next day they were all there again.  Those spiders work overtime in the Midwest to make sure you are stuck admiring their webs day in and day out.  We have gotten the spider webs under control, but I am continually amazed at all of the new bugs I get to see for the first time.

Our younger golden retriever, Lola, was staring at the same bush for at least 10 minutes and I couldn't wait to check out her new obsession.  I smiled when I saw this large bug lifting itself onto the top of this flower as our golden nudged it with her noise to make sure it kept moving.  I saw my first grasshopper!   They are huge, and they jump and scare the crap out of you every time you walk in the grass.

Minnesota Colors of Fall

It is so amazingly beautiful here in Fall.  Autumn brings out colors I have never seen before, and I cannot believe how warm the weather has been this year.  I guess it is rare out here to be 80 in October, so I am sucking up all of the sun and warm weather I can get.  I took a walk through Haas Lake Park with Lola today and captured some of these awesome pics of the leaves changing on the trees behind our house.  My photos will never do the colors justice, but you can get the idea.

Haas Lake and Lily Pads

One of my favorite new getaways is right in our backyard.  Lola and I have been doing our morning runs through Haas Lake park, ending at the amazingly beautiful and serene Haas Lake.  Haas Lake is covered in thousands of lily pads, with gorgeous lotus flowers that bloom during the summer.

I come here sometimes just to relax and think, allowing myself to disappear in this new environment.  Moving can be tough at times, but we moved to such a beautiful and friendly place.  I am really starting to fit in, find my way around, and enjoy everything this active and wonderful place has to offer.  It is such a slow pace compared to Orange County, and trying to slow myself down has been hard.  I am realizing life is too short to speed through.  I know this is going to be the perfect place to raise our future children.  And when I need a break or just a breath of fresh air, Haas Lake is always here, waiting for me.

This State Fair is HUGE

This week is the Minnesota State Fair.  Everyone has been talking and talking about this state fair, and it seems like it is the only thing covered on the news here in the Twin Cities lately.  I had to go and see what the hype was all about.  And everyone was right.  The fair is huge, with tons of food, rides and random stuff.  We entered the fair into The Birthing Barn. Yes, I said birthing.  People stand around the watch farm animals give birth....live.  Yes, right in front of you.  We just missed the birth of a cow, but we saw well more than I ever wanted to see.  The only thing that was amazing was seeing mini piglets that were just born.  So freaking cute.

We took off and headed to grab some cheese curds, one of the things this area is known for.  Now I know why I will be gaining 15 pounds.  They are SO GOOD.  Fried cheese, is there anything better??

The grounds of the fair were covered with people.  It is one of the largest fairs in the country, and we decided to go on Sunday of opening weekend.  It reminded me of Oktoberfest in Munich, with swarms of people everywhere.

I ate a ridiculous amount of food, including corn on the cob, a funnel cake, bites of pretzel, local beers, and more food on a stick.  Oh, and we rode a ride for good fun. Thanks Katie for forcing me on at least one.  It was one fair to remember!!