Opening Weekend (Spring Version)

It was hard to overlook the start of the MLB season this last week.  It was all over Facebook and my MSN homepage.  Over the weekend we were able to go to a MN Twins game for their home opening games!  It was even better because we sat in a box seat!  Oooh that was fun...I don't know if I ever want to go back to the old way of sitting in a regular seat!  Justin and I went to a game at Target Field last summer and he went to two more games without me so it was not our first time there.  We have both been to many events at the poor, old, unloved Metrodome, with its sad deflated roof and its teams abandoning it one by one. 

I used to think Twins games were pretty boring as a kid, mostly because the novelty wore off after a few innings and I can't say I was a baseball fiend in those days.  When I was 16 I went on a high school trip to Chicago and went to a game at Wrigley Field which I thought was very enjoyable even though the week we spent in Chicago was one of record breaking temperatures and it was really hot out.  Outdoor games are a different atmosphere and the atmoshpere is even better now that I am of age and can drink some beer! 

My family was on this trip, as well as a group of nearly 80 people of all ages from my hometown.  We had two boxes with the door opened between them and everyone stayed at a hotel a few blocks from the stadium.  I have to say that it might be hard for me to go back to viewing baseball games in the stands like everyone else!  The boxes had their own bathrooms and hot dogs and popcorn easily accessible.  Also, our view was excellent and there were heat lamps to warm to chilly April evening. 

As we approached the stadium we came upon this statue of Harmon Killebrew and thought my dad should pose with him since one of his childhood barn cats was named Harmon Killebrew because the cat would sit by first base when he and my uncle were playing baseball in the yard on the farm in the 60's.  I think I have told the story before on here.  He reluctantly agreed.  I almost expected a white and black Holstein patterned cat to appear in the picture at their feet!

This was taken right after we arrived.  

Some people stay really focused on the game!  I was more focused on talking to people!  If you can't tell, that is Kirk, Justin and Pete from left to right. 

The opponents were the Oakland A's and I thought this guy's name was awesome...Coco Crisp.  I can't say I am familiar with his work but he must be an OK player. 

When the Twins score the two characters on the sign, who represent Minneapolis and St. Paul, shake hands.  Sadly, the Twins lost 1-0 so we didn't get to see it this time!

This was taken before the game.  You can see I still have my stadium beer in a glass and not the cans that we had in the box.  

We took a nice family photo after the game as everyone was finishing the provisions in the box!  We rarely take a photo like this so I'm glad we did. 

The game was only half of my weekend.   My mom and Andrea and I left on Friday morning (the game was on Saturday night) and shopped.  Our reciept at the Gap factory store at Albertville looked like a receipt from a weekly trip to buy groceries for the Duggar family (the ones on TV with 19 kids).  And Albertville was just the beginnng. 

We Were Rolling Through the Rockies, We Were Up Above the Clouds...

Does anyone know what rather obscure song I reference in the title?  It is called "The Song Remembers When" by Trisha Yearwood and was released in 1993!  I thought about songs with Rocky Mountain references, or mountain references in general, besides songs by John Denver, and that one popped into my head.  I can still see the album cover with sunflowers on it!

I have the Rockies on my mind because my family just returned from our annual ski trip!  The first one happened when I was in 4th grade and we have only missed three years since then.  We have tried a few other places, but everyone loves Big Sky, MT, the very best!  I know that I get excited as soon as I see that majestic mountain peak with the runs snaking down the sides!  It is so BIG!  There are 150 named runs totalling 85 miles of length on three separate mountains.  The longest run, from the summit of the highest peak to the base area, is six miles long (and I've done it!).  That peak really is up above the clouds and is regularly closed for avalanche blasting and because wind and bad visibility. 

The trip started on Saturday for me and Friday for everyone else (and a few days later for Justin).  We take a rented bus (Haha, I know, it's weird!  My dad obtained a CDL license with a passenger endorsement jsut for the purpose of driving this bus!  We've used it three times now).  The crew set out on Saturday morning even though the interstates were closed because of a blizzard the night before.  They made to to Bismarck on state highways and when they arrived around 2 pm I-94 was still closed although the sun was shining and the ice was melting off the streets!  Soon we noticed other drivers were driving on there even though it was closed so we followed and found conditions to be perfect.  It was a very strange and annoying day of travel.  It didn't matter, though, because we made it to Billings, MT, without incident and had time for a quick supper and Fuddruckers (YUMMY!) and some hot tub/beer time at the hotel. 

There I am with my cousins Katie and Brenna!  I felt that I needed to sit next to the big container of chocolate and peanut butter cookies. 

We arrived at our rental condo on Sunday and were delighted that it looked exactly the same.  We have rented it before.  It is a five bedroom, four bathroom place (owned by fellow ND residents!) that has sleeping room for up to 16 people or more (there is a bunk room).  It is also ski-in so we don't have to worry about shuttle busses or parking when we stay there.  We got out the wine, beer and snacks right away and I was in the hot tub pretty quickly!

What followed was a lovely, snowy week.  One night it snowed 12 inches while we were sleeping.  It was the night Justin arrived and the car was buried when we woke up. 

Here is a nice family photo!  From the left...Justin, me, Pete in his outlandish blue pants, Kirk in his outlandish green pants, Andrea, Mom and Dad.

Here is a shot of Justin!  It looks like he is in a snow globe!

One night some of us walked to our favorite bar at the base area called Whiskey Jacks.  My hair looks really bad because I wore my hat all day and then I was in the hot tub when they decided to go at the last minute.  If there is a drawback to this trip it is that you have to accept right away that you will look like crap the whole time, with a red face, flat hair, and unnattractive clothes. 

It was snowing out on the way home so insisted on taking some winter wonderland style pictures.  I didn't think that my camera lense might be fogged up with moisture. 

Such nice brothers-in-law!

This is the view of Andesite mountain from ouside our condo!  It contains some of my favorite runs!

That little figure sitting on the run is my mom...her first day of skiing was a mess because her skis were not working properly.  She said they felt out of control and like they were unsteady beneath her.  I knew something was amiss because she usually is toward the front of the group, that the last one!  She brought them to a ski repair shop and they informed her that they were tuned for someone who races competitively.  She had brought them to a local shop a few weeks before the trip and asked for them to be tuned and waxed and they sharpened the edges drastically and waxed channels into the bottoms!  I am very baffled wny they would do that for someone who didn't ask for it and who brought in some not fancy, 10 year old skis!  Maybe they swapped two orders or something.

There is a run on the edge of the Big Sky property that borders on a fancy gated community.  You can see some of the houses.  Naturally, we gawked at them like a bunch of tourists!  Well, everyone else did.  I am no tourist!  This mansion in progress actually belongs to me!  I bought it after I won the Powerball drawing.  My next property is going to be a beach house in Mexico.  Hahaha.

This picture was taken in "The Bowl", which is just like it sounds.  It is above the tree line and shaped like a big bowl.  It is one of my favorite areas of Big Sky.

St. Patrick's Day landed during the trip.  It was also the anniversary of my cousin's engagement at Big Sky two years ago!  We went to Whiskey Jack's again and my mom surprised us with a bunch of novelties that she had secretly purchased before the trip.  Those beads will also work for Bison games!

My sister and cousin snuck away from the table and returned with these green shots for the ladies (the men had some stronger, boozier selection).  Thanks girls!

Mom and Kris are so excited they can barely focus on the camera!  Actually, I think there were probably several cameras competing for attention so someone else probably has a photo where they are looking and the rest of us are not! 

What a lovely family photo!  I think Dad wishes he had some shamrock antennae!

It was a fun trip that, as usual, ended way too soon!  And now it is Tuesday and there is some crazy spring ND storm going on outside that has it all...sleet and snow combined with thunder and lightning!  Yeah for real!  I have never seen anything like it before!

Ski Trip

You won't be hearing from me next week because I am going to Big Sky, MT, for a ski trip!  Oh, I am so excited...It has been two years since I laid eyes on Big Sky and it feels like way too long!  My family started going on these trips (when I say family I refer to my family of origin and my aunt and uncle and two cousins) since I was in 4th grade.  There were nine of us for all those years and now there are 13 since three of us kids are married now!  I will spare you multitudes of old vacation photos but I have to show a photo of Big Sky in case anyone is wondering...it is so beautiful!  That mountain peak stands out, taller than the other mountains in the range and I have been at the top of it and skied down it many times beginning when I was 14.  I found this photo on Google images and I chose it above all of the ones I have taken because I love the perspective...that deck in the corner is at one of our favorite places to stop for refreshments and to warm up if it is cold or to enjoy the sun if it is warm. 

We have come a long way since our first trip, which was to the upper penninsula of Michigan in the early 1990's! 

Look at Pete...if I was in 4th grade that means he was in Kindergarten at the time!  Hard to imagine!  

This was our first year at Big Sky and I loved it right away!  Our clothes are bad but the backdrop is just as beautiful today as it was then!  I am almost certain that this photo was taken on "Mr. K", the long (3 miles!) beginner run that is popular with kids who are learning and ski schools.  It is a run I prefer if I have to go to the bathroom and want to get to a base area fast!  Haha. 

I bet, on that day, that no one imagined what might be happening 15 years later...little Katie, the one in the dark purple coat above, got engaged!  Haha it was too perfect!

So, I will see all of you when I return! 

Oh, I have to follow up with the post about the basketball tournament...the cousins' team won!  Here is a link to the newspaper photo gallery...it's awesome.  I love the joy in the pictures!  The girl named Taylor is one of the cousins. 

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/photogallery/id/787/

Bozeman Bound!

Justin and I went to Bozeman, MT, this weekend to see the Bison play the Montana State Bobcats in the playoffs.  We went with a group of friends who included my cousin Katie!  I was very excited to go because I love going to the Mountains of Montana!  The only drawback was that there wasn't time to ski.  It seemed absurd to drive all the way to Western Montana and not ski! 

We drove with our friends Aaron and Andy in Andy's SUV. It is a family vehicle that has a DVD player in the back seat! While Justin took his turn driving Andy and I watched a movie like little kids! Haha. It was a great way to travel. I say that when I have kids I won't let them spend every trip staring at a tv screen and that they will instead learn to entertain themselves as I did, by reading, listening to music, and doing crossword puzzles. There is no denying, however, the power of a screen to entertain a kid for hours. We took our nephew Dylan to Minneapolis last year and the dvd player was like magic. Anyway...

 Here we are with our headphones on! 

Bozeman has enchanged me for years, since my family started going to ski trips when I was in elementary school.  After hours of driving across the quite empty Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana, Billings is where the mountains finally start and Bozeman is right in them.  It is the point that you leave the Interstate to go to my favorite resort, Big Sky!  Being in Bozeman meant being almost there!  I had  never spent more than a few hours there, so it was fun to be there for a whole weekend.  It is a pretty small town (well, compared to the small towns in my life it is a metropolis, but for a town with a state university and a Walmart it is small, with a population of about 28,000).  Right before we arrived quite a bit of snow had fallen, so the whole place looked like a Christmas village.  It was almost too beautiful!  The streets are lined with historical houses surrounded by pine trees and the main street is old-timey and pedestrian friendly.  The national chain businesses and restaurants are built to fit in with log cabin motifs.  The city Christmas decorations were very nice.  Oh, and to top it all off, everywhere you go smells like a fireplace burning pine logs.  It's a real winter wonderland.  On Saturday night there was a annual Christmas street fair so people were walking outside and pulling kids around in sleds!  Too perfect...

Enough gushing...we went to see a football game.  The stadium is outdoors so that was a change from what we are used to here!  I know many people are nostalgic about outdoor football but I'm glad I only have to watch it occasionally.  It was freezing and the metal bleachers became treacherously icy from people walking on them with wet shoes.  It would be really fun if it were earlier in the season.  

Here are some of the guys getting into their warm clothes!  I wore my ski outfit and thought it might look kind of prissy because it is matching and the pants are white.  But it was either the white ski outfit or my "Carhart" style coveralls, which I inherited from Justin (they were his in middle school) and which I only wear once a year, if even that often, when I go hunting for opening weekend.  They have rips in the crotch from occasions when I tried to climb over barbed wire fences.  So...I went with the ski outfit and I didn't stand out at all because there was quite an assortment of apparel at the game.   

There was a tailgating lot for NDSU fans which was fun.  It was a considerably smaller crowd than the crowd at a home game, but it was alot of fun.  Everyone shared with everyone else and it was like one big party.  Check out the lovely snow covered trees in the background!   

How do you like the new Bison hat I bought for this occasion?  I had to have something to identify my allegiance!

Brrrr...outdoor football!  Those bleachers can get so cold!  I remember it from high school football and baseball games!  The Montana fans were all prepared and many people had seat cushions and blankets to sit on (not that we did very much sitting!).  Fortunately, my cousin Katie and her mother-in-law Mary Beth rememberd to bring several blankets so I got to have their benefit! 

It was worth it to look at this during the whole game!

Here I am with Katie during the game.  As you can see, there were Montana fans behind us.  We were in a small group of about 15 NDSU fans and we were surrounded!  It was kind of challenging for me because, although I know the basics, I don't know the technicalities of football and also my attention can stray.  Often I end up cheering when everyone else does.  It works out fine except when everyone else is your opponent!  I had to pay better attention during this game! 

Another view of the stadium. 

We won!  It was apparent from the dismay of the fans and the newspaper reports the following day that this team did not expect to lose, let alone lose to NDSU.  Hahahaha we showed them!  The game was close for the first three quarters and NDSU was even behind for a short time but in the end we pulled ahead and won big!  The local newspaper the next day gave credit to the offensive line which is awesome because I think line players deserve some attention every once and a while.  Montana has a stud quarterback who is a freshman named Denarius McGhee.  The quarterbacks for Montana stood out because NDSU is kind of lacking in that area.  McGhee's family was staying at our hotel!  They were very nice.  If Denarius ends up in the NFL I will be his fan. 

The final score was 42-17!  I love this picture...I lifted it from facebook!  It had been awhile since Montana had lost a home game.  Later that evening NDSU beat SDSU in basketball!  It was a great weekend all around.  Bozeman is a really fun town with a great atmosphere, an enjoyable bar scene, and great scenery.  The people we were with were a blast and I don't remember when I've heard so much male giggling or laughed so much myself!  The only dissapointment was that NDSU had a chance to have their next playoff game in Fargo but the other games around the USA didn't play out the right way so the game will be in Eastern Washington.  Who knows what will happen...the football field looks like this! 

I think turf like that might throw me off but who knows...Montana thought the outdoor aspect would throw NDSU off and it didn't matter! 

Oh, while this was all going on my crazy parents were in Las Vegas running a 1/2 marathong...I know...YAWN...nothing new there!  Haha!  They said it went fine.  Here is where you can look up results if you want...

http://running.competitor.com/cgiresults_search?eId=27&eiId=33&seId=67

Good job, you crazies!

Weekend Fun II

OK, I'm back for the second time in one day to continue with what I was saying this morning. On Saturday we all got up early and the guests left for their hunting trip and Justin and I went to Fargo to meet my parents. Then we headed to Minneapolis for a MN Twins game! I was excited because I wanted to see the new Target Field. My parents, brother and sister have all seen it this summer but I had not. It was steamy hot and bad weather threatened. When we drove by Alexandria the clouds were so dark it seemed like it was night time even thought it was 2 pm. As we entered the Minneapolis area it started raining! Ugh! We were staying at a hotel downtown so we could walk to the stadium and we ended up taking the hotel shuttle because of the rain. Fortunately, by the time we arrived the rain had stopped! Perfect! We got a beverage and explored the stadium, which is much better than the Metrodome, at least for baseball purposes.


This is a shot of the grounds crew removing the tarp from the field after the rain let up.

We sat in left field on the home run porch. No balls came close though! It was a really nice night. It was still hot and balmy, but the sky was overcast which made the heat tolerable. We enjoyed several cold beers and some kettle corn as the game progressed. After a few innings I got up to use the bathroom and when I returned I couldn't find where the rest of the family was sitting so I scanned the crowd, looking confused. I finally saw all three of them waving at me and I waved back and started climbing up. I soon realized, however, that they were actually waving at the beer vendor that was on the stairs near me. Haha.
After the game, we decided to walk around and find a bar where we could hang out and eat. We made our way to Dan Kelly's, a nice little place a few blocks from the hotel, and on the walk a violent wind came up and it started downpouring! Ahh! Everyone on the street ran for cover and by the time we got to the bar we were really wet, complete with stringy hair and smeared eyeliner for me. It was a relief to get inside with a bunch of other dripping wet fans in Twin's gear who looked as disheveled as we did. My brother was at the game as well with a group of guys that were in town for a bachelor party. Since the "party" was the night before they were feeling low key and he and two of his friends met us at the bar.

It was kind of uncomfortable being in damp clothes for the rest of the evening. I called it the "JV player, Varsity bench warmer" feeling, because it reminded me of when I played JV basketball, and then, instead of going to the locker room at the end of the JV game, my teammates and myself would sit on the bench as the last resort, emergency, unlikely to play unless the game is a total blow-out, subs. At first, we would be flushed and hot from our game. As the night wore on, however, we would cool down and be stuck in a damp, sweat soaked uniform and socks for the next 1.5 to 2 hours. Soon, the chill would set in. Icky. This weekend was quite different because, although we had damp clothes on, we were allowed to drink beer, eat nachos and burgers, and not have to live with the embarassment of sitting on the bench all night!
The next day we subjected Justin and my dad to some shopping, and, big surprise, they found stuff they wanted to buy! Justin even picked out a pair of shoes for himself at DSW! As did I. . .
Fun weekend. . .
On a sad note, a friend of mine, a law school classmate, died over the weekend. He had been battling cancer for two years. He found out about it the day he and most of my other classmates got sworn in in October of 2008 when he had to miss the ceremony because he had severe stomach pain. He thought it was appendicitis but it turned out to be cancer of the colon, which spread to his liver. He was 40 and has two children. I'm not really sure what I want to say about it yet, but I felt the need to acknowledge it somehow. I might write more about it later.

Vegas, Jump On It Jump On It Jump On It!

My previously mentioned trip to Las Vegas has passed. I am going to share a few pictures, whether anyone else likes it or not!

We stayed at Bally's, which is a nice hotel and casino, although not the newest or most fancy. This is appealing because it also means it is cheap. It doesn't have a theme like many of the other hotels do, but it is affiliated with and connected to Paris, so if you want some cheeziness you can walk to Paris through a walkway that features a phony Parisien cobble-stone "street" lined with little shops. I stayed in a room with Andrea and Katie, my often mentioned sister and our cousin.



Here is a shot of the hotel.

This was taken when we were walking around the strip on Saturday. Notice that we are holding GAP bags. Yes, we travelled all the way to Las Vegas only to shop at the same boring store that we have in N.D. There was a good sale though!

I took this photo in the Bellagio. I love the whimsical balloons! The last and only time I was in Vegas before this trip was in the middle of December. The Bellagio had the most impressive Christmas decorations, so I am not suprised to see something like this there!
One night the whole group went to the "old strip", also known as Fremont Street. I was excited because I had never been to that part of the city before. We were trying to arrange our taxi transportation when my uncle Steve made arrangements for us and a large strech SUV limousine pulled up! It was pretty fun.
This is a photo of Fremont Street.

This photo was taken at the Egyptian and pyramid themed Luxor. We were comparing that statue to the way Andrea's dog Jake sits. Haha, we are so clever and touristy.

We had a few cocktails in our room every night to defray our costs. . .

On Sunday we spent the morning at an outlet mall. I love outlet mall shopping, and yes, I know that they stores generally just carry lower quality merchandise manufactured specifically for the outlet stores. I still think its fun. At one point I realized that most of what I bought was the same color and also the same color as the shirts I was wearing.

I took this photo with my "nightime" setting on my camera. It turned out OK!
I haven't yet mentioned that it was hot! Every day it was near or slightly over 100 degrees. It felt pretty good, actually. There is no humidity, and my hair was like the hair of a different person! The last time I was in Vegas it was cool and I wore a sweatshirt most of the time so it was fun to be able to use the swimming pool at the hotel. We spent a few hours there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I used mass quantities of sunblock and avoided burning except for some angry red streaks on my chest where my swimming suit top shifted during the day and a big red blotch on my back, in the area I can't reach myself, where I tried to get by with only using the sunblock that comes in an aerosole can. (I have learned my lesson in the past that this product doesn't cut it for me but yet I tried again!)
Here we are, minus the grandmas and my aunt and uncle, Cindy and Steve, who live in Fresno, CA, and have their own pool and aren't impressed by the opportunity to drink (wayyyyy) overpriced drinks at a pool in 100+ heat. Notice my hair. If you have nothing better to do go back to my posts about my family's trip to Mexico in January and notice that it is almost three times the size in the humidity of MX! So crazy. . .
Truly, the heat wasn't prohibitive. Also, there are these misting sprinklers, similar to outdoor heaters that many restuarants and bars in colder climates have on their smoking patios.
On Sunday night we went to the theatrical version of Disney's "The Lion King". It was excellent. When the animated movie came out in 1994 it became an instant favorite movie of mine. I have it on dvd but haven't watched it for several years. As soon as the opening African chant started I was instantly enchanted the way I was the first time I saw the movie. It really is an intense story, if you think about it.
In middle and high school English classes, non-book loving students inevitably ask "Why do we have to read this? What good will reading this do me?" (not me, of course! Reading literature was one of my favorite parts of school!) I heard my own English teachers repeat often "This story has a universal theme." I hope everyone knows the plot of "The Lion King", where there is a favored brother (Mufasa) who is the king and the second in line brother (Scar). When Simba is born Scar realizes that his chances of being king are reduced so he orchstrates a plan to kill both Mufasa and Simba. Poor little Simba survives, unknown to Scar, but blames himself for his fathers death and is afraid to return home to claim his rightful place as the king. Meanwhile, while Simba is hiding from his problems, Scar is bringing ruin to the kingdom with his incompetence. Simba gets a wakeup call and comes to terms with his pain and returns to get revenge on Scar. Remember the theme from "MacBeth", that amibtion uncontrolled ambition (and especially murderous levels of ambition!) will lead to that person's downfall? The same thing happens to Scar. And of course, stories about favored brothers (and sisters) are rampant in literature, popular culture, and in biblical tales, as are stories of prodigal children who eventually return to face their challenges or shame. Although Disney movies always have lessons, The Lion King went beyond the usual princessy subject matter.
And of course, the music was so good! We had the cd back in the 1994. (I'm sure it is still at the farm and I must find it!) and hearing it again in the musical reminded me how much I liked most if it. I also had the piano book of the score. Hahaha. And the animals were so cute! Andrea and I had stuffed animals (she had Nala and I had Simba) and I still have it at the farm. Maybe I will change Allan's name to Simba. . .Hmmm. . .no. . .it is too dignified. . .
Aaaah. . .anyway the theatrical production was very good and I would recommend it. The costumes were unique and the portrayal of animals was creative. The singing was very good-these performers were definitely at the top of the Broadway world.
It was a good trip. I will close by stating that I hope I don't see a slot machine for a very long time and if I do I hope I don't have any cash in my possession at the time.

Four Years Ago. . .

On May 14th I was sitting at my job staring at a computer screen for 10 hours. All day I kept thinking about what I did on May 14th of 2006. . .I left for a 2 month study abroad trip in Oslo, Norway with 15 of my law school classmates. I was feeling pretty terrified about the trip. Compared to how I know them now, I barely knew the others on the trip. Of course, after a few weeks we were like lifelong friends, sharing hotel room beds and tiny ferry cabins on our weekend adventures, consolidating loads of laundry and walking tipsy through the city streets arm in arm at all hours of night. I remember turning my cell phone off right before boarding the red eye flight around 10 pm in the Newark airport in New Jersey and hardly believing that I wouldn't hear a familiar voice for weeks. ( I didn't, either! I communicated with everyone through instant messaging and other internet methods!) We landed in the beautiful and serene Oslo airport the next day feeling haggard and jet lagged. A kind Norwegian student met us and made sure we made it to our new home for the next two months. I was living in a room with my classmate Mike, who I barely knew. (We hit it off right away and stayed good friends after). During one of our first nights, when we were still jet lagged, I woke up in the middle of the night and sat up. He was awake also and we realized we had both awakened at what would have been dinner time at home! This wasn't my first tangle with jet lag and I will never forget the first night my family spent in Yemen when I was wide awake and hungry all night but didn't understand why. It is a crazy experience and it is fascinating how circadian rythms affect us.

At the beginning of the trip it rained every day. . .it was hard to get used to because it wasn't just a downpour like we have on the Great Plains. It was a constant light rain that never quit. When May turned to June it got nice out and we went to the beach after class many days. I used to buy these gummy strawberry candies from the bulk candy bins at the convenience store where we bought our train tickets to head to the beach. . .my mouth is watering just thinking about them! I haven't seen them anywhere here. . .

I better get on with this. . .I could write volumes about my memories of Norway and Yemen. . .but I am just going to share some photos of Norway so I can remember it. It was an amazing time and I still feel the urge to have such adventures. I think it is something everyone should try. (By that I mean that everyone should step outside the box and do something that makes you uncomfortable. It is very invigorating.)



This the law school! It's so beautiful. . .I can't believe I went here every day. It is located on a main street in Oslo, Karl Johan Gate. It is only blocks from the Royal Palace!
This a close up shot of the entrance of the law building.

This is Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark. I loved the city of Copenhagen! We went there on a ferry for a long weekend.
That is a shot of me when we went north of Oslo, past Lillehammer and into the mountains for a weekend. We went hiking and also white water rafting. We stayed at a historic farm that now is an inn. It was one of the more fun weekends I've had in my life (seriously!)

That is at Tivoli, a famous park in Copenhagen. It was Walt Disney's inspiration. The two girls are my classmates.

This was taken on Constitution Day, which is tomorrow! The 17th of May! This day was kind of a blur because of the jet lag. Two of my classmates slept through it and got up at 7 pm! I experienced the whole day. That is Karl Johan again, the street in front of the law school. It was packed with people! They really party on this day. It was very cold and rainy and there were so many umbrellas you could barely move through the crowd!

This a McDonald's we encountered in Bergen, Norway, during a weekend trip! We ate there! It was the same food as any other McD's.

This is a historical part of Bergen. Bergen is a beautiful city.

This looks like a sunset but it was taken around midnight! It was on one of the longest days of the year. We experienced the "midsummer" celebration, on the summer solstice. It never gets dark this time of year and we stayed out all night and at 4 am it was as light as if it were noon.

This was taken on a Fjord tour we took near Bergen. It was so beautiful! Dierks Bentley, a modern country singer, has a song called "Prodigal Son's Prayer" and the lyrics of the last verse say "Father meet me in the cool green valley, in all of your glory, when my days are done.." It was on a cd that was released around the time if this trip. I couldn't stop thinking that this was the cool green valley that he imagined could be heaven. The air smelled like flowers from blooming trees! The water in the fjords is turquoise from the glacial water, although this photo doesn't show the color very well.

Thanks for letting me reminisce! If you ever go to Oslo and feel like you might like a tourguide take me with you! I can show you many great places!