"Minnesota, hats of to thee!"

Day 185: One final piece of Minnesotan beauty!

Day 184: So mom is making me clean out my room while I’m home. I say “making me clean” like it’s a really hard thing to do, but I do realize she’s been waiting 4 years to do it. She keeps giving me hints like “I wouldn’t mind if you went through some things while you’re home” or “I can help you go through your room if you want” or “Ben, go ahead and tell Lupus they can stop by here on Friday to pick up some items”. Anyway, that being said, I waited pretty much until today to start any of it and I leave tomorrow. This picture is of my sand from different beaches I travelled to in high school…Okay, so I guess I can see why mom is ready for me to move on. Hawaii, Florida, and South Padre Island.

Day 183: Fourth new park of the summer and finally the one that was most important to me! I felt a twinge of guilt as we passed the Metrodome standing alone in the setting sun; I really will miss that place. Phew though, walking up to the new park was pret-ty sweet. Met up with the Laurion’s and Michelle met me, my dad, and Dave there—all my favorite Twins fans (minus Bekah and Ben, yes). Anyway, the park is beautiful with the Minneapolis skyline making a beautiful backdrop with the sun shining on it. I found the organist I have been wondering about for years (she’s real!) and took a picture with the infamous Wally the Beer Man. The Marines raised the flag and every single Twins team and player ever had a picture around the outside. We had great seats on the first base foul line and sang loud to the stretch. Unfortunately, my record stayed strong in seeing the home team lose this summer, but they put up a good fight and the company and Minnesotan atmosphere definitely made the night!

Day 182: Beautiful update picture of Baby Engebretson!

Day 181: Baked some delicious Mrs. Field’s cookies with dad!

Day 180: Camped at my favorite spot on the Temperance River! When I see these wonders up North, I can't help but think what an amazing God we have who creates this beauty...oh it's just breathtaking sometimes!

Day 179: Trekking through a river somehow adds extra adventure to a hike. Starting at Lake Superior, a trickling river can be followed deep into rock formations that grow into ravines that soon tower over you, with each curve threatening to produce a hidden waterfall. We tried a new one this year and had quite the bonding experience with Ike. The river was moving pretty fast, so there were times he was pretty worried about us crossing the rocks, and he wasn’t strong enough to handle the current on his own. We went a good hour and half, before crossing one pretty big rapids via a family chain (passing Ike from one person to the next), and finding a small falls. Dad went ahead (much to Ike’s great concern) to look around the next bend, but the high falls were further up, waiting to be found on another day.
Day 178: One of my favorite memories of camping with the fam is the early morning drives with dad. Whoever was willing to get up before the sun was treated to a donut and hot chocolate from down the street and then we’d drive into the hills in search of whatever wildlife the Northern woods could offer. These moments have grown more and more cherished as I’ve gotten older and now I rarely miss a ride. Didn’t see much this week, but we did get this moose!

Day 177: New puppy, Ike! He loves small places, so he’ll crawl under your legs when you’re sitting in a chair or under this table whenever he’s in the basement. I’m not a huge animal person, but this little dog is quite the sweetie!

Day 176: Writing about home will hardly do it justice. I spent a wonderful week at home relaxing with the fam and really didn’t do much aside from spending time with them! This picture is Ben driving with his permit! I definitely noticed that while I think girls are excited to drive just to drive, boys are excited to drive and really learn to do it well. I was pretty impressed with his questions throughout the week no matter who was driving! I took him out for the first time and we went to Walgreens, Festival, and the Post Office, all on busy roads. On the drive home we saw a cop about a block away and he got pretty nervous. He made it back, but much to my horror, pulls into the driveway and says, “EB, there is a cop behind us”. My heart plummeted as it often does when I see the po-po behind me and no excuses came to mind because I knew he hadn’t done anything wrong! To my relief, I suddenly realize that it was Courtney’s dad, chuckling and thrilled at the scare he gave the Heil children…poor Ben was still shaking when we got inside!