Hauta Celebrate Fall

Nolan and I celebrated fall yesterday by going to Sever's Corn Maze and Fall Festival. Sever's, which started in 1997, is the second oldest corn maze in the United States. The oldest began a year earlier in Pennsylvania.

Nolan, who was a big fan of mazes on paper as a child, was happy to lead us through the adult-sized maze. He did a fine job. This year's maze was dedicated to firefighters. The center of the maze was shaped like a fire truck.

The maze was very well manicured and kept us out of the wind that was blowing that day. We found all 26 signs that gave us interesting information on firefighters and the history of firefighters in America.

For me the runaway hit was the corn pit. 10,000 bushels of corn contribute to a corn pool you could sink into. when I stepped in I sank down almost knee-high and I don't think I was quite at the bottom. It was surprisingly fun to trudge through and crawl around in.

Nolan got his kicks by burying me up to my head in corn. We had to be careful of the kernels which can be lodged into ears and nostrils. The last thing I wanted was ears of corn. The corn, however, found its way into other crevices and we spent the rest of our day shaking it out of our pants and pockets. Totally worth it.

Along with the corn pit and the corn maze there were many other attractions. There was an area called Parakeet Landing where colorful parakeets fly free. They will gladly land on a feeding stick for a while.

Nolan enjoyed the opportunity to see and pet the baby zebra at the exotic petting zoo. Also present were kangaroos, owls, cavies, emus, water buffalo, and many more. This zebra was Nolan's favorite.

Along with magic shows, pumpkin launchers and zip lines, I really enjoyed the dixieland music of the Blue Ox Jazz Babies.

We even had time for a little tractor posing and some roasted sweet corn. Fall is a great season to celebrate!

A Week of Candy

Not wanting to be outdone by Crystal's candy factory or Brittany's chocolate tasting, Nolan took me to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store the day after I returned from Utah.

The store (which lacks a website, social media presence, or even a phone number) began as an apple orchard which fell upon hard times one year when a hail storm damaged a significant portion of their product. They used the battered apples to make lemonade and have been selling candy ever since. At the beginning of the store we tasted a Haralson apple, which Nolan said were his Grandpa King's favorite.

They also stock a number of different popcorn kernels. We ended up buying the blue kernels which may take a little more time to pop but are also supposed to be a bit sweeter than other types.

There were so many different kinds kinds of candy it was hard to process them all. They had candy from all over the world! Along with our popcorn we bought two kinds of taffy off the many tables. It was hard to choose!

We might have to make it a tradition to come to this fun oddity. Next time we come we could try some of the many sodas, or pies, or salsas, or chocolates, it's so hard to choose!

Mabel and Utah

After my great day with Crystal in Colorado I was happy to fly to Utah and meet my first niece, Mabel Iris Nuttall. She's adorable at 2 months. I learned a lot about holding babies. And I learned not to worry too much when the baby cries. It usually meant the baby was tired and hungry and not that I did something wrong. Because I wasn't there when Mabel was born I was happy to be present for her baby blessing. I'm sure she'll remember the day fondly.

While I was in Utah, I was able to tag along on a tour Brittany gave of the Bean Life Science Museum where she works. Here she is showing the boy scouts how they preserve mice skins for future study and information. She also showed them platypus skins, bats, raccoons, and shrews. Afterward Brittany took me to see some of the live animals they use for presentations including snakes, lizards, and tarantulas.

While Brittany worked I took Mabel to the BYU Museum of Art. They had a very neat installation called Plexus No. 2 by Gabriel Dawe. It's is created from a bunch of colored filaments which are thread between the museum's walls and the oculus skylight. Each angle refracted the piece differently. It was very beautiful.

Brittany and I visited Taste, a new chocolate factory in downtown Provo that offers chocolate tastings. We sat at the bar while a worker handed us small pieces of chocolate and explained how and where they were made, what they would taste like, and how to get the best flavor while eating.  It was fun and interesting to take the time and appreciate what goes into the art of chocolate making.

Whenever I didn't have a baby in my lap one of the cats was happy to take the space. They were so very sweet that I was reminded why I want one. Maybe Nolan and I will have to make an addition to our family soon.

It will be a while before I see Mabel again but it looks like she was starting to get used to me. I feel very lucky to have flow to Utah to meet her and be the first house guest in John and Brittany's new home!

Greatest Day with Crystal

Saturday I flew to Utah. Well, first I flew to Colorado on my way to Utah. And I had a 12 hour layover in Colorado. Lucky for me Crystal lives in Denver and had Saturday off! She picked me up bright and early from DIA and began our greatest day with breakfast at Village Inn. After breakfast we bought a pie and went shopping.

Following the shopping we went on a tour of the Hammond's candy factory. Hammond's is apparently the largest national producer of handmade hard candies. They still do things the old fashioned way including using the old machines from the 1920s. Here we see a candy chef pulling and twisting before cutting and shaping candy canes.

Crystal knows me well. Not only will I run for candy, I will also fly to Colorado for candy. And luckily enough, the tour gave free "Oops" candy at the end. I got a birthday cake candy cane and Crystal gave me her strawberry one.

We weren't too stuffed for a trip to Tocabe, an American Indian Eatery. The Indian Taco was delicious. Afterward we went back to Crystal's apartment for more pie and a little Nintendo. I left Colorado tired and full. I'll certainly miss Denver but more than that I'll miss Crystal.

MEA Camping

We took advantage of MEA weekend and drove up to camp in Gooseberry Falls State Park. The day we arrived it rained off and on which made it colder but also provided us with some beautiful rainbows along with the fall colors.

Set up was easy and gave us enough time to hike around the area.

Nolan is always very cautious when approaching a precipice. The water looked pretty tropical in color but we knew better than to go in.

The campsite is right next to an ancient lava flow. I revisited my childhood of climbing boulders in Colorado by scaling the lava rock.

It rained on our hike but we were able to find shelter and were then treated to a rainbow over Lake Superior.

We brought extra blankets for the cold weather which dipped to 30 degrees at night. I woke up to a caterpillar husband. Nolan said he was warm the whole night through. It's good he didn't know the sleeping bags were only rated to 40 degrees.

Nolan happily got the fire roaring for our dinner and breakfast of hot dogs on a skewer. It provided good heat for the cold morning.

I was glad to have my ninja winter coat.

On our Thursday morning hike we were able to see some more fall colors in the park.

We walked the Gitchi Gummi Trail and were treated to a different angle of Gooseberry Falls.

We're so happy to have had time to visit the North Shore!

Nolan and the Mark Miller Band

The Eden Prairie High School Band had a fund raiser on Sunday at Champp's Kitchen and Bar. A local group called the Mark Miller Band provided the entertainment. They reached out to the band directors asking if anyone could play along. Nolan brushed up his bass guitar skills for a set beginning with Summer of 69 and Walking on Sunshine.

The director of the Eden Prairie High School Band program, Dr. Liz Jackson, put her clarinet to the side and joined the group singing Born to be Wild.

Nolan finished off his set with Proud Mary and Mustang Sally. Quite a few people got up to dance. I wanted to get up and dance too but my favorite dance partner wasn't available!

St. Matthew Passion

Last week Nolan got tickets from a colleague to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. So on Saturday we headed to the Ordway Concert Hall to hear Bach's St. Matthew Passion. We were very surprised to see that our seats were in the choir loft behind the musicians! It was like we were a part of the performance. The pressure was higher not to fidget or fall asleep. We performed pretty well.

The orchestra was phenomenal. It was a double orchestra and double chorus. They had 4 singers who traded off parts and sang all the chorales together. They even had two organs! Although I'm sure Nolan appreciated the view of the conductor we moved seats during intermission to get the other view of the performers. Nolan and I both found the chorales very touching. I think the chorales are probably touching to me because they are attached to church nostalgia. It also reminded me of how my Aunt Joan has been told (negatively) that she has the ability to make any song sound like a hymn. If she could make every song sound like a Bach Chorale she should be very proud.

Harping to Pink Water

I started volunteering this week by playing the harp at Park Nicollet Medical Center in Hopkins, I've played harp at a number of hospitals in the past and I'm happy to have the time do it again. People are always so gracious at the hospital and I think the harp is a perfectly soothing instrument. It's also not terribly common and gives me a the chance to allow children and adults to see and touch one who have never before had the opportunity. I try to go twice a week for 1 1/2 - 2 hours each time. I depends on how much my fingers hurt. I'm a little out of practice!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the hospital dyed the water in their fountain pink! What a fun reminder. It certainly caught my eye and made me pause and think of all the strong women I know who have battled with breast cancer.

Dinner and a Lesson

On Wednesday Nolan and I were the guests in a Young Women's missionary activity. We were invited to a house for dinner and afterward the "missionaries" taught us a quick lesson. The young women did a very good job covering The First Vision, Christ's Earthly mission, and the Love of God and Jesus Christ. It was fun to get to know a few of the young women in our ward and have a delicious meal. Our chef for the night is a food scientist for General Mills!

Hauta See a Movie

Nolan comes home early on Mondays which gave us just enough time to get the matinee price on a movie together. There is a movie theater nearby which shows movies that are out of the big theaters but not yet on DVD.

We saw the movie Shaun the Sheep for only $5 total! What a deal. It is a cute stop motion film based off a British television series. I remember adults telling me how much their children loved Shaun the Sheep while I was in Germany. It was fun to finally see what the kids were watching!

A Musical Tribute

We drove to Edina High School yesterday to attend a musical concert honoring William A. Webb. This man has been a large figure in the Minnesota band scene and Nolan found out this year that he has been very ill. A combination of Levaquin (a fluoroquinolone) and Prednisone put him in a wheelchair and he has no promises of recovery. His mind is still clear, however, and his arms and hands still function.

The concert was very touching. The Edina High School Concert Band began with a tribute to the Pops concerts Bill established during his decades of teaching there. I was very impressed the band could play so many numbers so early in their school year. There were a number of well-known band composers and conductors including Daniel Kallman and Timothy Mahr.

A fanfare written for Bill was premiered and a music education scholarship for Edina High School was established in his name. I don't even know the man and I had a difficult time not crying! It's incredible how one person can influence so many. The theater was full to capacity with people who felt such gratitude for Bill and the lifelong love of music he instilled in them. Nolan met Bill from a tour that he played in as part of the Minnesota Ambassadors of Music. This tour was extraordinarily meaningful for Nolan and he feels grateful that he had the opportunity to meet Bill Webb. I was happy too because the performance was very good and extremely moving.

Walking the Dogs

Our friends, John and Tina, have an adorable Border Collie name Jessie. Tina got Jessie from the Border Collie Rescue of Minnesota (BCRofMN) 8 years ago. Since John and Tina live in the Cities now they help BCRofMN by volunteering and fostering. Their latest foster is Sam, a German Shepherd/Corgi mix and the most adorable dog ever! If our apartment complex allowed dogs I would adopt this sweetheart in a heartbeat. John and Tina are very close to us so I walk the dogs every once in a while.

This week I had to take a detour to my apartment during our walk and Jessie and Sam found a treat: the chipmunk hole right outside our patio door. I walked outside to find them face first in the tiny burrow. It was cute watching them try to poke their noses in at the same time until they started digging. The fun had to end then. If little Chippy (or Oakley, or Alvin, or Gadget, haven't picked a name yet) were home I'm sure he had the scare of his life.