GooseBerry Falls

On our trip to Duluth we went a little further north to Gooseberry Falls. It was so gorgeous! There are 3 falls that run into Lake Superior and we were able to walk down into the falls. It was a lot of fun. We took a little hike around all the falls. It was one of the most beautiful places I have been to.

Creepy

Today in Duluth we saw this awesome clown at a snack stand. Watch the video its awesome!

Duluth

Today (Aug 28th) Justin and I took a day trip to Duluth, MN. It is northern Minnesota and it is where Lake Superior is. The Lake was huge! It looked more like the ocean. Justin liked all the awesome bridges, and I was a fan of all the cute lighthouses. We took a scenic drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior. There were old mansions and lighthouses and all kinds of fun things to see. We ended up at Gooseberry falls and Split Rock lighthouse but I will blog about those separate.

Atkinson City (literally)

Today on our way up to Duluth Justin and I came upon a city called "Atkinson". We were pretty excited so of course we had to get out and document our find. We drove past all 14 houses and even took a stroll through the cemetery. We saw the whole town in about 7 minutes and it was all conveniently located on "Atkinson Road". Now thats my kind of place!

To my mother in Law

While my Mother and Father in law were here helping us with our move, my mother in law was in search of the best ice cream in Minneapolis. We went to a couple of places that she had heard about and the verdict was...so so. The ice cream was pretty good but overpriced and in tiny portions. Justin and I came to the conclusion that we were spoiled in cache valley in the dairy department. We lived in an agricultural town with fresh dairy products in abundance. You can't beat Aggie ice cream, Charlie's, or LeBeaus fabulous homemade ice cream in huge portions at great prices.....or can you? We found Sebastian Joe's Ice cream or as I like to call it, "Heaven on Earth". We both had the "Pavaratti" which is banana ice cream with caramel and chocolate chips and it really was some of the best ice cream I have ever had! We also tried the Raspberry chocolate chip which was heavenly and the Chocolate coyote which was chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. It had a really spicy after taste and was crazy but pretty good. All in all it was a great find and we are sorry that you missed it mom and dad, but hey,more reasons to come and see us again real soon!

Minnesota State Fair!

On Saturday the 23rd we went to the Minnesota State Fair with some other couples from our ward that are also in the MHA program. It was way fun and pretty crazy. Everything to eat was deep fried and on a stick like fried candy bars, fried alligator, fried twinkies, HUGE pieces of bacon fried and on a stick, pork chops on a stick, etc etc etc. We ate some fried cheese curds, huge corn dogs, amazing cookies, and our favorite, All you can drink chocolate milk for a dollar. There were so many people there that you couldn't see the end of them. Another highlight was the miracle of birth center where we saw live animals giving birth. It was awesome! I have never heard a cow scream until before that!

The boys and some Large corndogs

The Sea of people

Angie and Natalie with the tub o' cookies! Delicious!

My favorite find at the fair!

Minnesota

We are finally here in Minnesota and here is the week in review

MONDAY- The boys hookup up the car and trailer in the morning while I finished cleaning. We left Logan at 11 in the a.m and drove for 24 hours straight. And when I say we, I mean mostly my father in law Brad and Justin drove for a couple hours too. Lots of gas stations and junk food!
TUESDAY- We arrived in Minnesota and checked into our apartment that afternoon. We unloaded everything we brought and we all just about died from the humidity. We took turns taking showers in our shower-curtainless shower and then took off for the mall of america, which was awesome.

Dad Mom and Justin at the Mall of America


WEDNESDAY- This was our first really busy day. We went sight seeing around the city and saw some really cool old houses and went to the St. Paul Cathedral and then we found some good/pricey ice cream that my mother in law heard about. Then Justin and I went to a reception for the incoming MHA students are the University. There was an open bar, it was quite awesome! We met a few couples that are in our ward. Then we went to the Spaghetti factory for an amazing dinner and we also tried to unpack and furniture shop. Whew!




THURSDAY- Ma and Pa Atkinson left us in the big city to head back to Utah and Justin had an orientation at the University most of the day so I stayed home and unpacked the house. Then we went to Ikea to get some things for our house and also to Wal-Mart. Its amazing how fast things like garbage cans and condiments add up!
FRIDAY- We spent the whole morning shopping for furniture. We needed a bed, couches a tv stand and a t.v. It was so tiring and difficult. We had never had to buy furniture before and we are both so indecisive. Lets just say we didn't actually purchase a single thing! Then that night we got together with 7 other couples from the ward and had some food and played a game and got to know eachother.
SATURDAY-We went back out and finally bought some furniture. We bought everything we needed and it was so fun! We got an awesome new tv that we are really excited about and then we got together with some ward couple to go to the Minnesota State Fair. I am going to do another post about this.

SUNDAY- We went to our new ward for the first time. It is a good sized family ward and we are really excited to get to know everyone!
Well that was our first week here in Minnesota!

Moving Sucks!

I hate packing! Trying to fit everything we own into a pickup truck and a honda accord was quite the adventure! At least my mom and Julie were there to help! My mom was a lifesaver and Julie was....cute to look at? Just kidding she helped a lot too! Even though it has been a nightmare, it has also been really awesome to get rid of over half of our belongings. It will be nice to move in and not have all the junk! Jordan and Aubrey came up to say goodbye and it was great to see them, even though I was stressed and getting cranky. We will miss everyone so much!
Justin and a popsicle

Julie, Mom, Jordan, and Aubrey in our almost empty house

Melissa and Justin's Wedding

On August 15th Justin and Melissa were married in the Logan Temple. It was so wonderful to be able to see them sealed in the temple and to celebrate their marriage and to get "new guy" (aka Justin) as a member of the family. We love them both so much and we are so excited for them! The reception was gorgeous and Melissa was a seriously beautiful bride! It was a perfect day but seeing them leave at the end of the night for their honeymoon was really hard since we moved and we wont get to see them until Christmas. Another thing, my mom and Julie came up that day and came to the reception with us! Julie will be going to BYU this fall so they came to see us for a couple days before we move!

Just Married!

The siblings at the temple

The "New and Improved" Atkinson family.

Julie, My mom, and uncle Don at the beautiful reception.

Wedding Dinner

On Thursday August 14th we went to Justin and Melissa's wedding dinner. It was at the Iron gate grill in Logan and it was so beautiful! The food was delicious and it was great to spend the night with family and friends before their big day! My Justin and I had a lot of fun playing with the little cousins. Kade has learned to stick his tongue out at people and he loves it! It is too cute!

Twins

Sat. Aug 13th
Justin and his dad were putting a new battery in our car and they were dressed alike. I thought it was too cute not to take a picture!

Windrivers

Me, my dad, my brothers and my uncle Josh recently took a backpacking trip to the Wind Rivers in Wyoming. Packing a 40-lb pack a couple thousand feet uphill may not sound like very much fun, but the amazing views at the top are worth every step. We camped at a few lakes, including Diamond, Big Sandy, and Black Joe Lake. We spent a lot of time fishing and went on a couple of day hikes. The highlight of the trip was a grueling day hike to Jackass pass (we soon discovered that the name describes anyone who thinks they're up for the challenge) which overlooks the Cirque of the Towers, a semicircle of enormous granite peaks that make for a breathtaking view. Overall, the trip was a success considering that the fishing was great, the mosquitoes weren't as bad as we expected, we didn't have any run-ins with bears (unlike the last trip).

Melissa's Endowment

Melissa(Justin's little sister) took out her endowment at the Logan temple on Sat August 12th. It was wonderful to go through the temple as a family. After the temple we had an awesome dinner at the Sizzler. Woo Hoo!

Greetings From Minnesota!

The Atkinsons in Minneapolis!


Hey All. Well we are finally in Minnesota. We are still getting settled and we just got our internet hooked up last night so I am trying to update our blog. We have been really busy with a wedding, a BIG move, and our first adventures here in minneapolis so stay tuned and we will be posting a LOT in the next day or so. Much love! Justin and Jess.

Krystal's Baby Shower

Our sister in law Krystal is due in September with our very first niece. She had a baby shower here in logan on Sat the 9th. Lets just say there was a LOT of pink. There will be no doubt that its a girl with all the adorable frilly little things she got! It was a lot of fun, and it is making me very excited for that little girl to arrive!

Wal-Mart at the Break of Dawn

Okay I hate to admit it but I was one of those crazy girls that went at midnight to get my copy of Breaking Dawn(even though I had to work a 12 hour shift starting at 7 the next morning!) I pre-reserved my copy at Borders, and my wonderful husband and I went a little after 11 to join the fun. We sat and read until midnight and then I met up with my mother in law, sister in law, and cousins in law to get my book. Justin did not want to lose his chair so he stayed put. Borders was very poorly organized and so chaotic. After over 40 mins and hardly anybody getting their books it was getting tense! We heard some rumors that Wal-Mart had lots of books so we all ended up leaving and heading there. They had piles and piles of books and not a single line. Within 5 minutes we had our books payed for and we were in our cars. So much for Borders. And I even saved a dollar!
We can hardly stand the wait can ya tell?

Once again, Wal-Mart saves the Day.

Rasmussen Family Reunion

On July 26th we attended the annual Rasmussen family reunion. My Grandparents work so hard every year and they go all out! Every year we get to learn more about our ancestors as well. The theme this year was "Luck of the Irish" and we learned about our Murphy ancestors. We also had a baby shower for Aubrey and my cousin Megan. It was great to get together and see everyone, especially since we are moving soon. Oh yeah, and I kicked major butt at Bingo!

My Bro, Aubrey and Grandpa and a shirt for my first nephew!

Justin and I

The family learning about our Ancestors.