The world has lost 2 amazing souls

It really seems just like yesterday Grandma passed away, but it's already been 4 months.  Sadly and happily Grandma is reunited with Grandpa once again.  This morning (last night for Minnesotans) at 9:51am (8:21pm Minnesota time) my Grandpa joined my Grandma once again, as he passed away surrounded by family watching him go peacefully in his hospital bed.  And once again I was in India half way around the world, missing the final moments with my beloved Grandpa.  I was very thankful to have my dad pass on a final message from me via e-mail, but of course it's not the same as actually being at his side as he went.

My Grandpa and Grandma were the most caring, thoughtful, family oriented grandparents I have ever known.  Both Grandma and Grandpa went to EVERY single recital, game, concert, etc. that I played in.  Even if it was a minor role, if I was in it they were there.  And as family tradition, after it was done my Grandma always made chocolate covered rice krispie bars, cookies, or something sweet for me to have after it was finished.  My Grandma was the talker of the two.  She could entertain a crowd of 5 - 25+ people easily with her stories.  Grandma was never without a conversation lingering in her.  My Grandpa on the other hand did the listening.  He would always sit their quietly and listen to her stories and every once in a while chime in with a funny joke or missed detail (which was rare for Grandma to miss).  The thing about Grandpa though, yes he was a listener, but when he talked he was listened.  Everything coming from him was wise and genuine.  My Grandma was too, but mostly stories came from her.

Grandpa was completely opposite to Grandma when it came to me playing sports.  Grandpa would always encourage me, never to give up and if I fail to try even harder next time.  Grandma was the loving softy and was constantly worried I would get hurt and not to try too hard that I might hurt myself.  Football season was always the best time of year for them.  Grandma was constantly worrying and Grandpa (played in college) was prouder than ever.  When I first got into running marathons, Grandma would ALWAYS say, "Now Steven, there is no shame if you feel like you can't continue and have to give up during the marathon."  Grandpa (I could see in his head) would roll his eyes and counter what she said with a try your hardest and never give up attitude.  A real air force mentality was Grandpa (served WWII proudly).  Grandma also served proudly in WWII as a nurse, healing the wounded and cheering/lifting up spirits with her stories and distracting the men from their pain, Grandma's specialty.

Grandpa and I both shared a unique common bond no other member of the family shared, and that was the University of Minnesota Duluth.  However, when Grandpa attended it was called Duluth State Teachers College.  Showing how long ago that was!  Grandpa played collegiate baseball and football, while I played intramural inner tube water polo and dodgeball.  However, sports aside, we both went to college for the same reason/passion and that was teaching.  Granted our subjects might have been different (history to PE) but our passion lied within teaching and inspiring children.  Grandpa started off as a teacher, but then fast tracked his way to Superintendent.  I don't think I'll follow his footsteps anytime soon, as I love where I am and what I do.  I know what administration has to go through and no thank you, Grandpa you can keep that position.  But one thing I hope I can be half the man Grandpa was is having the respect from every single teacher that he worked with.  They looked up to Grandpa and Grandpa showed them the same amount of respect and care back at them.

My best memory I have of my grandparents would have to be in 6th grade.  Now back in my day at school, we celebrated Grandparents every year with "Grandparents Day."  Everyone who had Grandparents were invited to bring them along for the school day and have them see what mischief and trouble their grandchildren get into!  So on this one particular 6th grade Grandparents Day I maybe said a little too much, but in an innocent way.  The beginning of every Grandparents Day class would start with introductions of all the grandparents.  Well when it came to my turn, I remember I stood up and said, "These are my Grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa."  Now in addition to introducing them we had to say one interesting or unique thing about them.  Well I introduced them and then said, "Me and my Grandpa play blackjack and poker and he teaches me how to gamble with oreos/cookies.  I win most of the time, because I'm lucky."  The whole class burst out laughing, including my Grandparents.  Again, probably said a little too much, seeing at the time it was illegal!!:)  But the way my Grandparents reacted was who they were, caring, light hearted and amazing people.

I will and do miss them both dearly.  After Grandma died, I knew Grandpa was not going to last long, and even when I visited them this summer I knew Grandpa was not long.  Grandma was completely unexpected, but Grandpa's time was on the final turn in a marathon.  And sure enough today Grandpa crossed the finish line, leaving in the dust a wonderful, amazing life.  I am so blessed to have gone home this summer and spend the final months with both of them, before both passed on.  Grandma and Grandpa I will never forget you.  Your spirit will forever live on in me, especially the Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish heritage.  The color red will forever symbolize you Grandma and Grandpa your amazing listening skills will forever be engraved in me.  Rest in peace both of you and I am so happy you are both reunited once again.

Happy smiling Grandma and Grandpa!!!!!:):):):):)

Why running?

As I sit here on a Saturday night, alone (Shubhra's in Dehradun with friends), and having some time to think and reflect alone, I can't help but think why the heck is running so important to me?  Why is everything in my life revolved around running?  What is so great about running that 95% of my blog posts are about running?

Because to me running is life.  Running to me is how life should be.  A struggle.  A challenge.  A goal that constantly is changing.  A strive for personal best every single time I go out there.

Now you tell me how does that compare with your life?  Are there moments in your life when you are up against a wall and have no IDEA what to do?  When you think to yourself, do I have the guts, do I have the heart to continue and fight through the pain and struggle?

All of these thoughts today come from watching Sports Day at Wynberg-Allen and mostly from the other teams that show up.  Now I have no physical proof except my eyes and what I see, and I will not name names or point fingers, but what I saw today is the exact opposite of what sports and healthy competition is all about.  What LIFE is all about............finding ways to overcome adversity.  Finding ways to dig down deep and realize you have this gift that you never even knew existed until that person or thing made it come out of you.  However, how can this gift come to fruition if you cheat yourself.  I saw so called "athletes" on the field today competing for external glory and sadly NOT internal glory.  I saw athletes today care more about breaking records and standing on the top of the podium, then to take the risk and actually compete against worthy competition of their own age.  It saddens me, not that Woodstock athletes got slaughtered by these so called "athletes" but that these "athletes" are too scared to face real challenges.

Now if you're sitting here and agreeing with me, I want you to stop and really think about this last paragraph before judging, before saying "oh yeah, how can these students cheat like this."  Because I want you to think about the last time you truly challenged yourself with something, with anything.  If you can't think of anything in the past year or even 6 months, then how are you better than these boys?  If you're not finding ways to challenge yourself, to push yourself to be the best human being out there, then how can you judge these boys?  Yeah, wow you're not cheating, but you're not striving to be the best you can be either.  So I ask you what's better?  You don't cheat, but you don't push yourself either.

So why do I run?  I run, because every single day I lace up my shoes and want to see how far I can push myself, how fast I can go day in and day out without tiring.  I run, because unlike some people in this world who go for that easy external glory, I want to be the best that I can be and not care about anything else.  Does this mean I'll win every race? No.  Does this mean I set records every race I compete in? No.  But this does mean that every freakin time my feet touch that asphalt I will be giving it my 100% and I WILL.......NOT.........QUIT!  Just like in life.  Yeah, I will make mistakes.  I will screw up.  But I WILL learn from those mistakes and I will try, try, try until my heart stops beating I've tried so hard.

I teach my students to always try and never settle for average.  I show my students I try and never settle for average.  I live my life to always try and never, ever settle for average.  Now I ask you, what do you want to do?

Happy smiling!

Mistakes are a part of life!!!!

It's funny being a teacher how much we expect our students to be "perfect" and not make mistakes!!!! Sometimes you just have to think back to your days as a student and remember how hard it was to NOT make a mistake and remember making mistakes are a part of life!!!!!  Mistakes, in my mind, actually make a person that much stronger!!!!  When you make a mistake you have two options to choose from:

1. Learn from it, grow from it, and hopefully never make that mistake again because you've learned from it!! (Granted history repeats itself, but you can learn for most mistakes)!!!

or

2. Brush it off, blame it on external factors and not learn anything from it!!!!!

One thing being a teacher, it is SO hard to not get involved when a student makes a mistake (not in class, but more in life) because it is our job to guide the student and not tell them what to do!!! They need to see what that mistake was and learn from it on their own!!  And I think that is one thing all adults need to remember, mistakes are okay!!  They CAN help make everyone grow stronger in the end!!!! Now I stress can, because like I said there is no guarantee a person learns from their mistakes!!!  We all hope an individual learns from their mistakes and never makes it again, but who knows what will happen!!!

So go out there, take life to it's most and if you make a mistake LEARN FROM IT!!!!!!!! If you have control over it NEVER REPEAT IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!

"We make a million mistakes in life, the only real mistake is not learning from our past mistakes!!!"

THE ROUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

Well after about 2 hours of mapping and figuring out the route, I THINK I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!! It's a little bit longer than the expected 500 miles (583miles total) BUT that's only an extra 5 miles a day!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

CHECK OUT THE ROUTE MINNESOTANS AND RUNNING ENTHUSIASTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/139273345


I don't think I've ever been this excited for a run yet!!!!!!!!!! Well maybe my first marathon!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):)  HAPPY SMILING AND ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

A NEW LIFE GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not to shock anyone, but this new life goal is about............... RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):) Of course, what else did you expect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):) Not to babble and get straight to it:

Life Goal:
To run 500 miles in 2 weeks for a charity before the end of the year 2013!!!!!!!

Now here's what I need from blogger world for once!!! I need ideas what charity to run for, how this charity will work, and if there are any charities out there that could help sponsor this run!!!!  Being Minnesota home grown, I roughly calculated the distance from Northern border to Southern border of Minnesota and its around 411 miles, WHICH MEANS THIS GOAL COULD BE TO RUN FROM NORTHERN MINNESOTA BOARDER TO SOUTHERN MINNESOTA BOARDER IN 2 WEEKS!!! And make the route 500 miles!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):)

So here is the plan for Minnesota when I come back in the winter of 2013!!!  Rest up a couple of days, and then hit the road to International Falls and from there let the journey of a lifetime begin!!!! Oh and what makes this even more fun and extreme, IT WILL BE IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER!!!!! None of this find the warmest and best time to do it, you freakin do it when conditions are harsh and will literally rip your skin from your face with frostbite!!! THAT'S HOW MINNESOTANS DO IT!!!!!!!!!:):):):)  AND SHUBHRA'S ON BOARD, LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):) Hey what is life when you don't have extreme awesome goals to look forward to!!!! I've always wanted to see Minnesota from Northern to Southern most parts, what better way than by RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):) HAPPY SMILING AND RUNNING PLANET EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

Athletes as role models???? Sadly not anymore!!!!!!!!

Today 89 years ago the TRUE Rocky died!! Rocky Marciano!!! Which got me thinking, what was back then an honor to be a "professional" in a sport and actually meant training countless hours with blood, sweat, heart, and determination now seems in this day and age is not needed anymore!! As long as there is an easier "pointier" way which will inject heart into you, athletes take it!!  Now there were no PHD tests back in the days of Rocky or any of these "legendary" athletes, so I don't know if they were injecting or not, BUT what I do know is athletes back then actually had a work ethic for the love of the game!!  Not worried about publicity, commercials, PR chances, etc. they worked hard because they knew that was the only way to be the best!!! There was no "easy" way out back then, only determination and heart!!!  And after their professional life was over with, they kept on working hard, not worrying about the next spot on the new upcoming reality show or some crap that is on tv or sports anchor!!  As a teacher I hear this all the time from my students: I want to be real big, I want it now, what is the easiest/quickest way to do this!!! REALLY?!?!  Is this what the generation is becoming!!  Has hard work, heart, and determination to NOT give up through adversity completely gone extinct with the new athletes??!?!  I remember my 3rd year of college UMD got a "new and improved" weight room, which yes was bigger, had more windows and wasn't in the basement of UMD anymore, but honestly I LOVED the old fitness room!!! It had the personality of what hard work should be, dirty and smelly!!!

Now the mindset has gone from hard work and determination to what supplements/powder can I take to become bigger or what weight loss product can I eat to make me skinny!?!?  The scary thing is, all of these supplements and pills are SOOOOOOOOO new to the market, that who knows what the side effects will be in the next 30 years of their life!!!  For me personally, nothing is more satisfying then working my butt off for a goal (usually a marathon or personal best) and accomplishing it knowing my hard work and healthy eating was the driving force!! ALL ME!!!!!!!! NOTHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!  No shortcuts, no extra protein whey supplements or whatever!!!!!  All sweat, heart, and the love of working hard!!!!!:):):)  What are these professional athletes who get caught using PHD's showing our youth!??!  Especially the ones that are past their prime and using just to keep the game going for them just a little bit longer?!?  Oh, it's okay to use as long as you don't get caught!! It's okay to forget what is good and valuable about a hard work ethic as long as you are a "professional" a little bit longer or at all!!!!

Call me old school, traditional, whatever, but what is life if all you're doing is finding the easy way to get through!!  What is life all about if you never are challenged and never have to fight through an adverse situation??  Where is your personal gain and feeling of accomplishment??!  Not there!!  And honestly this is not even a feeling that has to be associated with physical, it can be anything or any type of situation where you put yourself into an unknown outcome, work hard, and try to be successful!!! And if you're not, you damn well try and try again until you are!!!!!!! It's as simple as that!!!! There is no shortcut to life, you live by pain!!  The pain of failure, makes you want to try again!! The pain of losing someone, makes you want to live life to its fullest because you realize how short life can be!!!  The pain of heart break, makes you sad but teaches you there is still an entirely open and wonderful world out there!!!  Pain is essential to a happy and fulfilling life!!!  Which is why you don't get pain when you try and cheat your way through, because you really never put your full heart into it!!!  Yeah you feel bad when you get caught, but I guarantee you don't feel as bad if you were to really try, put effort into it, and fail!!!

So who can we "look" up to anymore, if everyone that we think is honest and good in life fails with allegations and cheating!?!?  Well I would suggest the people that are closest around you!!!  The people in your life that are with you every single day!!! The people in your life that go through the same pain  you do, the same hardship you do!!! Not some figure on a tv or internet who you don't even know on a personal level!!!  Yeah you get those "emotional" stories every once in a while, but honestly how long does that last?? A week, month, year at most?!?  You want someone to inspire you, try someone who you actually have made an emotional bond with!!!  That will be way more inspiring then any celebrity or athlete on tv could ever be!!!!!  And the great thing is, that person who inspires you will be in your life forever!!!  Even when they pass on!!!:):):)

HAPPY SMILING AND INSPIRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

3 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TOO LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First, play this song while reading the blog post!!!! The perfect music, coming off the plane in Minnesota 5 weeks ago!!! It's from the "Da Vince Code," beautifully written by Hans Zimmer!!!!!!:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY1OJyaWBJ4


July 15th, 2009, boarded the plane from Minneapolis Airport and wouldn't come back to a Minnesota summer for 3 years!!!!!!!! Granted, there was a visit after 1 1/2 years, but those who live in Minnesota know there isn't anything like a Minnesota summer!!!!!! So after 3 long years of being away from green grass, lakes at the perfect temperature, and EVERYONE outside on bike paths, running, or just walking around the neighborhood, it was time to REVISIT MINNESOTA IN THE SUMMER TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that meant SHAKOPEE SUMMER TENNIS!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):) I had mixed emotions about what that was going to be like, after being involved with Shakopee Tennis for 17 years of my life, it was a nervous type of feeling!! But nonetheless boarded the plane in New Delhi, with Shubhra, and in a short 32 hours we would be stepping off the plane, together, in Minnesota during the summer!!!!  We arrived and was met by my mom, dad, sister, Cindy, and my sister's boyfriend Dusty, who I physically met for the first time!!!  The very first time Dusty and I met, it took maybe 5 seconds to figure out we had the EXACT same sense of humor!!! Because at the moment I went to shake his hand, we BOTH were thinking of the scene in Tommy Boy "brother's don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug!!!"  Needless to say he was good to go in my book in record time!!!:):):)

Now the reason for an early appearance in Minnesota was for Grandma's Marathon Weekend, something again I haven't done for 3 years!!!  Not only was I planning on just running, but running for ACS's Charity Runner and raised over $1,000 for their charity!!!! So that felt awesome!!! We arrived in Minnesota on a Wednesday afternoon, so that gave me a couple days to quickly get over jet lag and get into a normal Minnesotan routine again!!  That Thursday morning we started off to the cabin and Duluth (this was before the floods, luckily) and took the whole day to drive around Duluth, visit UMD AND THE RED COUCH (PE majors know what I'm talking about), and of course around Canal Park!! Whole thing gave me shivers and a couple tears!!:):)  We finally arrived at the cabin, again not being at the cabin since the July 4th weekend a week and a half before heading off to India, so that also was pretty emotional and special!!:):) We spent all day Friday relaxing and that night getting into "marathon mode"!!!!!! That of course meant dad shaving my head!!!!!!!!!!! Hey it's a tradition!!!!!!!!!

Saturday morning it was Grandma's Marathon time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now of course the weather reports from the night before predicted cloudy skies, some chance of sprinkles, and NO sun what-so-ever!!! We get to the bus that will take us to the starting line and of course no clouds in the sky, a beautiful sunrise, and could feel the humidity rising as we waited around!!!  Arrived at Grandma's starting line at 6:30am, and waited around until 7:45am, STARTING TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again, it was a pretty emotional 3 minutes with the Blue Angels fly by and the American National Anthem!!!!!! THEN COUNTDOWN 3.....2......1....BAM, gun goes off and 36th Grandma's Marathon is off and running!!! Not knowing where my pace would be at since I've been training at about 7,000ft higher than sea level, and Grandma's is basically sea level, maybe 100ft. higher, my goal was 3:05 and the first couple of miles felt really good and pushed it a little and set my new goal at a sub 3-hours!!! A mistake I would later regret!!  By the half way point I was right on pace for a sub par 3 hour marathon, which I was a little nervous if I could hold that pace!!! All the way until mile 20 I was feeling on pace and strong, but then my body felt a little over exerted and that's where the pace began to fall, rapidly!! I was running at a 6:50 pace for the first 20 miles, but then out of no where ran a 7:32, so I pushed the next mile back to a 7:00 mile!! But that was apparently my last stitch effort, because then it was a 7:35, 8:14, 8:46, and my final push for the finish line it was a huge struggle but at no point at all did I walk and finished Grandma's Marathon at 3 hours 12 minutes and 2 seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Granted not my goal time of 3:05, BUT took 18 minutes off my personal best, and now I know exactly where I'm at!!!!! Seeing this was my first actual focused attempt at a marathon since 2008 Grandma's (my personal best)!!!!  No more will I let that much time between focused marathons!!!!!!:):):) SO THAT FELT GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND AFTER I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE, TEARS BE A FLOWIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):) After 6 months of training, and all the built up emotion of Grandma's and being back in Minnesota and Duluth, they just came FLOWING out after the finish!!!!!!!!!:):):)

We left Duluth that Monday, NOT AFTER A VISIT TO JAY IN GRAND MARAIS!!!!!!!!!!:):):) That was an awesome visit to see Jay, former Woodstock staff, and see what his new digs were like!!! Not gonna lie, they were awesome!!!:):):)  There place is like a 5 minute walk to Lake Superior, and the nature trails they have around there were beautiful as ever!!! Previous to visiting, I've been to Grand Marais twice, so that was fun to see that town again!!!!! Jay seemed to be liking the place and that was the main thing!!!:):) I wish I could have stayed longer to see him in action on fixing up old bikes, something deep down I've always had a passion for but know NOTHING except for riding them!!!!! LAME!!!!!!!!!! Maybe, in time, there will be a place for repairing bikes!!!!:):):):)

After a SUCCESSFUL visit to Duluth and Grandma's Marathon our next stop was back to the cities and SHAKOPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):) Time had passed enough, and enough was enough it was now time to visit my home, the Shakopee Tennis Courts!!!:):) Buuuuuuuuuuuut my body wasn't having it, because the next morning I woke up and pretty much almost vomited 4 times and was pale as the killer monk from Da Vinci Code (yes, I loved that movie and the blog post kinda revolves around it)!!!!!!!!! Soooooooo my visitation to Shakopee Tennis would have to take a day layover in my mom's bathroom!!!!!!!:):):) BUT Wednesday morning came, went for a run and then to the Shakopee Tennis Courts, where I saw my tennis crew at it again!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):) Hugs all around, none from the students because after 3 years who knew all the ones I taught would go on to bigger and better things, so knew none of them, but DEFINITELY KNEW THE COACHES!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):) Just kinda walked around, not really knowing what the heck to do, for the first time EVER, soooooooooooooooo that felt out of place!!!!! But after that lesson was over talked with my old friends and began the joking around and bruising once again!!!!!!:):):):)

Throughout the next couple of weeks being back, spent time seeing old friends and doing various awesome things...............LIKE GETTING MARRIED FOR A 3RD TIME, SEEING THE NEW TWINS BALLPARK (TARGET FIELD), AND SPENDING A DAY AT VALLEYFAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):) So not knowing how Shubhra would hold up spending time with the entire Luukkonen clan and some of the Olson clan, but she held her own!!!!!!!! Now, usually a couple gets married and that's that!!!  Well we had our official wedding July 9th 2011, right after I returned from Bandaarpunch!!! Then we had the official government court marriage down in Dehradun, and then this one was a kinda renewing vows ceremony so my side of the family could witness us all dressed up!!!!!:):)  We had a beautiful ceremony at the University of Minnesota arboretum, with my family and friends!!!!!!  My mom was the head pastor, so that was really special, especially when I tried to make her cry throughout the ceremony, but I think in the end, looking back at that I made her laugh more than cry!! So plan failed!!!!!! I don't know how, saying stuff like "ooooooh here come the tears........... uh oh someone's about to wet her face.......with tears!!!!!!!!" Either way, she emotionally leaked a little close to the end, which put a big smile on my face, and all throughout that Shubhra was giving me the smile of death!!!!!!!!!:):):):):)  Then we had a wonderful dinner after the vowing ceremony and showed a little slide show of India and got to answer question!!!! OF COURSE PLAYED THE HINDI VERSION OF FINAL COUNTDOWN IN THE SLIDE SHOW!!!!!!!:):):):)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxd6po6wL4w

Hey the quest for The Final Countdown in all nations will never end!!!! So far I'm up to 3!!!!!!!!!!! Britain, USA, and INDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):) Anyway slide show was a big hit, everyone was in AWE of Woodstock and where we lived and worked!!!!!!:):):) Then we all said our goodbye's and our final wedding ceremony was over with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So mark up ANOTHER day of emotions, seeing Target Field for the first time and passing the Metrodome along the way!!!!! From past to present!!!!!  However, can't lie but got most emotional passing the Metrodome!!! I'm sorry but no matter how great Target Field is, all of my memories and Minnesotans memories will be forever with the Dome, just like the older generation will have the old Met Stadium!!!! 2 World Series Championships, Homer Hankies flying non-stop during the playoffs, and the LOUDEST stadium ever created!!!!! I remember the '91 World Series and they were measuring the decibel level during Kirby Puckett's Game 6 home run and it reached around 115, they were comparing that with a jet engine!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!:):):):) Anyway hopefully Target Field will have similar memories down the road, ESPECIALLY A FREAKIN WORLD SERIES VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!! That would be nice!!!!!!!!!!:):) But the game was AWESOME!!!! We won 4-1 and got to experience a great night OUTSIDE watching my favorite baseball team with my favorite people under the stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):) Of course after the victory fireworks went off, which was equally as awesome!!!!!:):):)

Next big adventure would have had to been the morning of July 4th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the Red, White and BOOM Half Marathon!!!!!!!! Except, the day before the administration of the race decided "for the best interest of the runners" it would be in best interest that the half marathon would be changed from a half marathon (13.1 miles) to a 5 miler!!!! OUTRAGED, a number of us runners e-mailed that decision and asked if they could allow the runners who wanted to run the half marathon to run the half marathon!! Of course they responded with a general e-mail to all of us, giving us some bullcrap about heat and making the best decision for the health of the runners!!!!!!! Either way, I was running the half!!! Morning of the race, ran the first mile on the 5 miler/half marathon route, but then when the turn left to continue on with the 5 miler route came, I went straight instead!!!!! Which is the half marathon route!!! I look behind me, and of course no one else decided to do this, sooooooooo I was the only runner that day competing in the half marathon division!!!!!!!! Granted it was hot, about a 95 heat index by 9am!!!!!:):):) But finished the half with a 1:45 time, not my personal best, but in that heat I was pleased!!! AND showed it to the race officials, that on this day of Independence you cannot tell us what to run and not run!!!!!!!!!! BAM!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GOT AMERICANIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

Later that week SAW DAVE WIEBE AND THE FARLEY'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With Greg, Devan, Kate, and LAURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):) All former and current Woodstock staff!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!:):):):):) Now at first I saw Laura, Kate, and Greg at some Guiequilla Mexican restaraunt, because Laura couldn't make the next meeting on Saturday!!!! So that was SO awesome to see Laura and everyone else at a non Woodstock location!!! Oh and by the way, huge difference seeing these guys driving!!!!!!! At Woodstock it's walking everywhere, NO ONE owns their own car, unless they're over 40!!!!!:):) And then the next Saturday saw the Farley's (all 3 of them) and Dave Wiebe and Kate and Devan and Greg at one of the many beautiful lakes in Minnesota, Lake Calhoun!!!!!!:):):):):) Greg of course, with his GPS, got freakin lost for an hour and was yelling on the phone (which yes was very hilarious) and of course when I saw Greg he swore off driving forever in Minneapolis!!!!!!!:):):):) Then after hanging out at the lake for a bit, we went off to get some dinner at some fancy Gastro-pub!!!!!!! It was an AMAZING evening with friends who I wish were all still at Woodstock!!!! But, life is life!!!! It's all about getting back together every once in a while!!!!!:):):)

Throughout the weeks after that it was full of Valleyfair, Arby's, movies at home, tennis lessons, and just hanging out with friends and family!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):) It was amazing how FAST this break went!!!!! There were some days I wished time would slow down so I could really soak in all of Minnesota, and then there were some days where I wanted that Woodstock routine again and couldn't wait to be back!!!! Either way though, I look back now at break and there is nothing I would have changed!!!!!!! I think I did everything I wanted to do, granted didn't get to see everyone that I wanted to, but in that short of time I had to have some down time and actually enjoy a vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Minnesota will always be "home" in my heart no matter where I am in the world, and yes you can say home is where you make it, but you know, sometimes there's that one place in the world, that no matter what, whenever you go back you think......... I'm home!!!!:) 24 wonderful years of my life were spent there, shaping who I am, spending time with the people I love most, and doing things only true Minnesotans would understand and creating some of the most special memories ever!!!!!!!

It's funny to hear and read what people say about not being home in so long and oooooooooh man I miss home so much, and they live like a 3 hour plane ride away!!!!!!!  I just want to smack people like that!!!!  And then it amazes me whenever I go back and hang out with friends who, themselves, haven't seen each other since the last time I was home!! It just baffles me that they are about 4 hour drive apart, and it takes me coming back from India for them to see each other!!!!!!!  Living in India has definitely given me an entire new perspective on truly appreciating the time spent with people!!!  Do NOT take that for granted at all!!! And honestly, if you live within 4-5 hours of someone and you haven't seem them in 1-2 years because life is "too hectic," well that's crap!!!!! Take a weekend, schedule it in your planner and go visit each other!!!!  It should NOT take someone coming home from India to finally make time!!!!! Good gracious!!!!!!!

I cannot wait for the next 1 1/2 years to fly by, and once again be in the nice COLD, -40 degree below weather of Minnesnoooooooooooowta!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):) Until then, HAPPY SMILING AND SUMMERING MINNESOTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):):):):):)