Falls Park

This wonderful little park is in Sioux Falls SD. Just to keep you updated, Sioux Falls is about 1hr 15 min from us and it is the closest "mall shopping" for me. It also has many restaurants and has Target and a big scrapbook store. We make it over there about once a month to do some shopping and just explore. They have a zoo and butterfly house that we are hoping to get to soon.

We found this park and had a blast!! The waterfalls were pretty and fun to watch. We all had fun playing on the rocks. They have an outlook tower that we went up and that was neat to see the rest of the city. According to the Doug and the kids, the water was rather chilly. I was not brave enough to play in the water. =)

Off to Preschool....

Sept 10 was Gabriel's first day of preschool here in MN. (They start school after Labor Day here, but I am not sure when they get out in the summer.) He had a good time and I think he enjoys getting away from me and Anna. Anna loves to walk him over to school each afternoon. As you can see, she had to find her backpack to walk him over the first day. He is in school 4 days a week. He has Friday's off. That is nice since Doug has Friday's off also. We are still able to get out and explore MN.

Apple Pickin'

Labor Day weekend Wendy and Leah came for a visit. Although, it is quite a drive for such a short amount of time here. We were able to go pick some apples. They are varieties that we are not used to. Thank goodness we were able to taste them before we picked them. The owners are members at church, so that made it easier to ask lots of questions....ie good for baking, eating, etc. It was nice to get to explore and learn more about MN grown apples. Since that time, we have tried another variety...Honey Crisp...and they are good too. They have told us that there are 2 more varieties that I may like still coming later in the fall. Since I told them my favorite was Golden Delicious and that kind is not up here. Hopefully I will find one that fits my taste buds.

Waterpark...

The city pool is so cool. It has a couple waterslides and a kiddie pool/play area. Gabe has named it "The Waterpark" because of the slides. This was an instant hit with the kids. Anna was always trying to put on her swimsuit to go to the waterpark. When she gets something in her head, she is determined to do it. And many days she wore her swimsuit in the house because I was NOT about to take both kids without Doug. I have a hard enough time keeping track of Anna some days. =) Anyway, we enjoyed spending some evenings at the pool. Although, the wind up here is terrible. So, a couple days it was too cold to even be at the pool because of the wind whipping around. Of course, it wasn't too cold to go home for the kids...even through their chattering teeth. LOL

Playing at the park

After being here awhile, we ventured out to find the parks in town. There are actually 4 parks plus the school playground. We have lots of choices when we decide on parks. There is only one that is easy to walk to. The others are better to ride bikes or take the car. We have been riding bikes a lot, but Anna doesn't like to stay close by. So, we have given her Gabe's 'one wheeled bike', but of course that causes problems also. He gets tired and forgets that it takes pedaling to go. So, for the rest of this year, we are just going to ride bikes in the church parking lot and alley. One day during Doug's lunch break, we went to this park which is near the pool. The kids had a blast and so did Doug and I. A family favorite is the mouse wheel. At least until it gets going too fast and someone falls. (Or I start to feel sick!!)

New House

For those of you who haven't seen our house, here you go. It is in town and on one of the main roads. So, we can get to most things easily. We can even walk to a lot of places. We love to go to the library which is just up the street. We can also walk to the grocery store, post office, Pizza Ranch and other downtown businesses. Oh, and I can't forget the church!! It is behind the house. There is the driveway, an alley, then the church parking lot. I am not sure what happened to the pictures of the church, so I can't add them.

Ordination, Moving, Installation

Alright, so we need to back up just a bit. I am trying to get a few posts in for things that we have done since we have arrived in MN. But, I forgot to add the most important event in the past few months. The reason that we are even in MN - Doug's Ordination into the Holy Ministry.

On June 10, 2007 Doug was Ordained at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Waterloo. This is the same church we were married in and both kids were baptized. It was a very wonderful and special day for us. We were able to celebrate with many friends and family. We were honored to have Pastor Bergelin (our Pastor from Vicarage in WI) be there and preach. As well has other clergy Doug had gotten to know and learned from.

After Ordination we had 2 days to finish packing before we started loading the U-haul truck. What a few days!! We finished packing no problem because we had been gradually packing since Graduation in May. We picked up the U-haul Wednesday morning and started the heavy labor. It was midway through the day that we realized not everything was going to fit! Now, we had the biggest U-Haul plus our Saturn was being towed, so we had room to pack stuff in there. We had to stuff things in the Jeep also. I guess that means we have a lot of stuff?!?! I guess we didn't realize that with our last move because LOTS of our stuff has been in storage for the past 4-5 yrs. Anyway, I started to have a mental break down, but decided now was not the time. My sister was coming to MN the following weekend and she would bring the rest of the stuff. Which mainly consisted of outside toys, vacuum, bikes and a few other odds and ends.

On Thursday June 14 we were ready to head out to MN. Doug was driving the U-haul with the Saturn behind. Gabe insisted on riding in the "big, big truck" I was driving the Jeep with Anna and Leah. Leah was our helper for the trip and week as we got things unpacked at our new home. She did just wonderful and we were sad to see her leave that next week. We drove to Cedar Rapids IA where we then rearranged the packing of the Jeep, so we would all fit into one car and drove 1/2 hr to see my Aunt Dot and Uncle Maurice. We had dinner with them and Gerald and Linda and Timothy also. It was nice time to visit, but after a short time we were tired and ready to head back to the hotel for bed. Friday morning we were on the road again. We pulled into MN about 1:30PM and still had a few hours to go. (It was slow going because Doug wasn't supposed to drive over 45 MPH with the Saturn on the back.) We finally found our home in Slayton MN about 5p that night. It was excited and yet exhausting to finally be here. Remember, we still had to unload everything and then unpack....UGH!! A couple from the church took us out to eat at Pizza Ranch, so at least we didn't have to worry about that. That night we slept on air mattresses and just explored this new, huge house. Saturday morning, we had about 10 men come to help unload the truck. That was so awesome considering there were only 5 of us loading. What an adventure we had just had!!

On Sunday June 24, Doug was Installed as the new Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Slayton MN. We had visitors from IL that came to see the event. Once again, it was so exciting to see Doug become "official" after so much hard work at the Seminary. Unfortunately, with 9 people in the house, my camera was misplaced, so I don't have any pictures from that. I have gotten pictures for other people, so don't worry, it will still be scrapbooked!! After Installation we had a family marshmallow roast in the back yard.

Ok, that is all the important stuff from June. I still have a few more fun things we did this summer to catch you up on. Enjoy!!!

Fishing Poles

Before we left IL, the kids were given fishing poles. Since we now live in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Well, the kids absolutely loved playing with them. When they get tangled up that is not fun, but we have always gotten them untangled.

Hooray!!

Hiking

We found a State Park nearby and did some hiking. The kids enjoyed the hike and got to use sticks for walking. We also saw a deer as we were hiking. Doug tried to give the kids a lesson about leaves. While we were walking back to the car we found a frog. Gabe had a blast holding the frog - until it jumped out!

News from Minnesota

Well, look at this. We have found the internet!! =) I thought this would be an easier way for everyone to keep up with us. I still have to add some pictures, but at least it is started. Most of you know this, but we are pretty well settled into our new home and town. We are finding our way around pretty well. With it being such a small town, we see church members all the time, so we have to be on our "best behavior" at all times. Oh, the joys of living in a glass house! Gabe is in preschool at church and is having a good time. Anna is at home with me and is doing well. Doug has started a radio ministry on the local radio station. For one minute a day he is a radio personality. (It is prerecorded and is called Moment of Meditation.) I am keeping the house together and keeping up with my scrapbooking. It is going pretty well - I am getting a lot done.
We are officially MN residents now. We have MN drivers license and license plates. Woo-Hoo!! So, there you have it - an update from the Mintons. I will add more and pictures soon!!

Love to all,
The Mintons