I'm actually diggin' this.

I remember way back in the day when I was a kid, driving from the Chicagoland area to northern Minnesota for our family vacations. My mom's parents owned a small a-frame cabin on a beautiful lake. I remember a lot of things from those wonderful summer trips. How teasing became an art form in the back of the Chevrolet Celebrity wagon. How no matter what deep sleep mode you were in, a bat flying around your head always woke you up. How watching grandpa tap his toes to the Lawrence Welk Show never got old. How sand just got everywhere. How smores never tasted bad. I didn't want those vacations to end. They were dreamy. Heavenly. Never a dull moment. So, fast forward twenty years. Wow. A lot has happened since then. To spare you the details, I went to high school (where I incidentally met my husband), went to college, my parents moved to Minnesota, got married, worked, had a baby, moved from Salt Lake to the middle of no man's land (that's Ohio for those of you that don't know), had more kids and missed my family somewhat terribly. So, we started looking for jobs. And here we are today! In Minnesota once again. So, to all of you who ridiculed us when news spread that we were moving to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, mocked us, told us to pack our parkas, asked if we were going to take up ice fishing, to you I now have the pleasure of saying, "No, you go pack YOUR parka!" Just briefly take a peek at this. That's right haters. It's nice here in Minne-soooooo-ta! The only dusting of snow we have had this winter is, as I type, melting it's way down the drains. Momma's dusting off the outside running gear 'cause early Thursday morning looks like a nice time to get after it. True, not every year is this pleasant. As a quick reminder, this happened last winter. So, we take what we can get around here in the weather department. For runners, it couldn't be better. Those with nice shiny expensive snowmobiles and decked-out ice houses may be getting a bit angry with Mother Nature at this point. Whatever the case, I think Minnesota is a pretty swell place to live.