Busy, busy, busy

Well I've been keeping busy lately, if you couldn't tell from the title of this post. I recently took a trip to L.A. to visit friends. I hadn't been back in awhile, so it was really good to catch up with people and hang out in the city. I went to the beach twice, which is probably about 1/4 the amount I went the entire time I was living there. The weather was great and I packed a lot in the days I was there. Here's a photo from the beach (I'm second from the left, and yes, the water was quite cold, but I braved it).

From L.A. in August

If anyone is interested in seeing more photos from the trip, you can click here or on the "L.A. in August" link above.

I got back to Omaha from that trip at midnight and left the following morning for Minneapolis to help my sisters move into their apartment at the University of Minnesota. It was a quick trip that involved a lot of unpacking and trips to IKEA, Target, Trader Joe's, etc. I guess that was just practice for my big move-in that has already started.

We then drove from Minneapolis to Hancock, Wisconsin for a relaxing few days at the cottage. It was also the first time I was able to witness the Labor Day parade. Parades in Hancock are one of my favorite things, and this one did not disappoint (despite its close resemblance to the 4th of July parade). The main difference (and main attraction of the overall parade) was the float with free potatoes and carrots, which parks on the street after the parade and provokes total mayhem. You would think we were back in the Great Depression days. I felt like I was in a scene from The Grapes of Wrath. I did, however, manage to grab a few carrots and potatoes. Here's a photo from the chaotic scene:

From Hancock Labor Day

And if you are so intrigued by that photo that you can't wait to see the rest of the parade excitement (believe me, that was the most exciting part - although there was a crane with a man throwing bouncy balls off of it, but you don't quite get the effect from a picture), then you can click on that link above for more photos in an album.

And now to the present: fall classes have started up again and I've got what seems to be a good group of enthusiastic students. I've also started moving into my house. It's a slower process than I would like, but it's going good so far. I'm still mostly in the cleaning, sanding, painting, removing carpet phase. But the living room actually started to look like a living room today, so that was very exciting. I'll post some pictures when I get further along.

Hope everyone is doing well!