Greetings from Fargo!

***Updated 4/12 with more pictures***
Sorry it has been a few days. This is our first quiet night. You might be thinking that's because we're in Fargo, ND and there's just nothing to do here, but it is actually because Daddy decided to eat half a cow for dinner and needs to just sit around and digest. :) Luckily, we ate dessert first, so there was no issue with us not getting our homemade ice cream. Jack was definitely a fan! We're having a great time out on the open road. But let's start at the beginning...

We left not quite early enough on Friday morning for Daddy to get to his talk in South Bend, IN in plenty of time. He made it, but it was close. It would have been one thing if he was just going to a talk, but no, he was giving the talk. He kind of needed to be there. While he was at his conference, Jack and I hung out in a fairly sketchy Days Inn. Yeah, Mommy would only let me play on the blanket or in the crib. It was pretty boring! We did go for a little walk, but it was very cold. Mommy doesn't usually take me for walks when it is so cold. I was happy when Daddy came home and we got to play together.

Saturday, we took Jack on his very first campus visit. We went to Notre Dame and saw "Touchdown Jesus" and the rest of the University. It was a very nice campus! It was a little cold, but a very sunny day. After that, we drove to Chicago for a visit my my friend Ann. She and I went to Italy together, and I hadn't seen her in years.

Sunday was my favorite day. Mommy and Daddy took me to see lots and lots of fishies at the Shedd Aquarium! There were big ones and little ones, plain ones and colorful ones, and even ones with very big teeth! I especially liked when they came to say "Hi" to me. I really wanted to play with them, but Daddy wouldn't let me. We saw a baby beluga named Miki who is just a little older than me, but he was lots bigger! And then Mommy bought me a stuffed Miki, but mommy's friend Matt said his name was really Caviar, and somehow it stuck. So now I have a new friend Caviar. I don't love him as much as Puppy, but he is lots of fun to play with!

Jack is right. The aquarium was very cool. We went with some more of my college friends, Matt and Laura, and then afterwards we went to Michigan Ave to go to the Ghirardelli store. That was also fun. A very sweet afternoon all things considered! And then, to top it all off, we headed off to Milwaukee to see yet another college friend - Kadie and her new husband, Steve - for the night! That would have been a perfect visit except for the part where Mike decided he was done loading the car before he was actually done loading the car and left my main diaper bag and camcorder case with all my camera stuff in it at Kadie's. That's why, after this post, you won't see any more pictures until we get home!

Monday we stopped in Madison, WI on our way to the Twin Cities. It was cold and rainy, but we walked down State St. anyway. Madison is a very cute little college town. I was sorry we didn't get to spend more time there, but we were in a little bit of a hurry to get to Minneapolis/St. Paul considering the blizzard we were scheduled to drive into. Sadly, it was 64 in Terre Haute. There were a lot of scary-looking accidents, but we got there safely despite the 5 inches of snow that fell that day. I wouldn't have expected anything less of Minnesota!

The whole point of this trip was to get to the last 4 continental states that I have not yet been to. Minnesota was the first of these states, so it was very exciting to be somewhere new. We were staying with Mike Smith and his parents, and we were actually there for 2 nights, so it was very relaxing. Mike was an excellent tour guide! We went to the Mall of America, the Walker Art Center's Sculpture Garden, and a driving tour of both Minneapolis and Saint Paul. They are such different cities! I didn't really know what to expect of them, but I wish we had had more time to explore them. I guess we'll just have to go back! And we also got to see Eric Ufferman while we were there. That's 6 old friends we got to reconnect with in all!

Yeah, I don't know about Minneapolis. The only part I really got to see was the giant dinosaurs made out of tiny blocks at the big mall. There were lots of kids at the mall, and they all looked like they were having such a fun time. There were rides and games, but Mommy said I was too little for all of them. I won't be too little for much longer, though! And then I'll be able to go on all the rides I want!

Today we got up and drove to Fargo, North Dakota. We weren't expecting much of Fargo, but it is actually a lot warmer and a lot nicer than I thought it would be. It has a very cute downtown area with lots of stores and restaurants, and it was almost 60 degrees today. We went for a walk and got ice cream before heading out to Famous Dave's for dinner. Like I said, Fargo had a lot of restaurants downtown, but they were all a little too high-class for us. Go figure! Fargo is just full of surprises. Unfortunately, though, I can't show you any pictures because, like I said, Mike left my camera cord in Milwaukee. I was only able to get the other pictures on the computer because I was able to borrow Mike's in Minnesota.

Well, that's all for now. Jack and I will let you know how the rest of the trip is going. And for those of you keeping track, Jack really loves apple sauce, carrots, and ice cream. (Again, Daddy was not amused, but what is a mother to do when her child is begging and whining like a puppy for something that is clearly God's gift to humanity?) Tomorrow we see a little more of Fargo and then start heading down toward Omaha, NE. Not sure how far we're going to get, though, so you'll just have to check back in with us!