Apologies, News, and MN trip

Sorry for my nearly 2 week hiatus... It seriously has been non-stop for me lately. As soon as we got back from MN, we got surprise tickets to the Barenaked Ladies concert (with Ben Folds Five and Guster) and then on Friday night, we went to a Bees game (Utah's minor league baseball team) with Brady and Katie (Sean's brother and his wife). Now we're just trying to fall back into normalcy. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep and house cleaning.

However, even our normalcy is something other than that. Sean and I are still trying to figure our situations out. I'm on the look for a new job, preferably something in the Utah Valley area doing something along the lines of Proofreader, Copy Editor, Reading Tutor, the like. If you know of anything... let me know.

We started looking for a new place to live just North of SLC but then we found out today that our ward needs us to revamp the nursery. It's a problem for our ward that's too big to just fix in a few weeks before leaving, it seems. It seems like there are more things keeping us here than there are opportunities for us to move. It's just something we've been questioning for a while and we finally have a bit of an answer.

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know what's happening. Also, on a side-note, Sean and I started our Academy Award Best Picture Winners movie challenge. We're still in the middle of the first one which we started yesterday. It's a silent movie from 1927 called Wings about a couple of pilots in the war. It's interesting but pretty long (2 hours).

And remember how I promised that I would tell you about our trip and have pictures.

This is one of the first places I saw in the Mall of America. IT'S A FREAKING AMUSEMENT PARK. ridiculous. Of course, I didn't go on any rides... Roller Coasters are not our thing. We also had lunch there and then  went shopping. I got a new pair of pants at H&M. By the end, my feet were so tired!

 This is some incredibly delicious lemonade from Matt's Bar (Home of the Jucy Lucy) in Minneapolis. It's the best bottle of lemonade I have had, I think. 

 This is the afore mentioned Jucy Lucy burger with grilled onions. Absolutely magnificent. If I talk about it too much longer I'll have to change my shirt from drool. If you're in Minneapolis, GO HERE. 

Go TWINS! This game was seriously SO much fun. We sat so high up, I almost puked. They shot off fireworks during the national anthem (while I was still trying to get used to the height) and I almost collapsed from fright. The Twins won the Phillies that night 4-3. It was a great game and we ate nachos out of a Twins helmet bowl (YUM). And we got to hang out with a couple of Sean's friends from MN. 

Overall, it was a fun trip. After all these things, we went to the family reunion and that was a blast too! I met so many great people and, if you can believe it, I can remember everyone's names. I also learned how to make little creatures out of sewing and felt. I'm thinking about selling them or making them for needy children. 

Anyway, I thought I'd just send you an update. Have a great week!

love, Ellen