Going Home for the Weekend

After school today Kerri and I are going back to Cedar Rapids to visit my family for the weekend. This will be our first time back in CR since we moved to Minnesota so we're really looking forward to seeing everyone. The big reason why we are going is because my brother Mitchell, whose birthday is on November 4th, is having a party thrown for him to celebrate. So we want to be at his party and celebrate with him and the family. It'll be great to see everyone, watch some of the Iowa game, maybe play a little football and hopefully eat a lot of food!

Fishing on Crystal Lake

So yesterday afternoon Jimmy Fry, Kerri and I went fishing on Crystal Lake on the south side of Burnsville. The water temp was very cold (46 degrees) so I didn't expect to catch much of anything, especially bass. So Jimmy and I threw crankbaits, hoping to catch a few northerns. Kerri fished for crappies over the side of the boat. She did get a bite but missed the fish. Bummer! I did end up catching a bass on a crankbait. I thought it was either a northern or a walleye but to my surprise it was a bass. It weighed 2lbs 10oz. That was all the fish that we caught unfortunately. Jimmy and I caught our fair share of weeds. We could have taken them home and had a nice salad! At the very least though, it was a beautiful evening to be out fishing and we had a really good time. Jimmy came over for dinner after fishing and Kerri had chili waiting for us. Mmmm...it was really good! Hopefully we'll get a few more nice days before winter sets in and we can get the boat out some more!

So this afternoon once I was done with class I decided to do a little fishing. I went to Holland Lake and actually caught a couple of bass! I lost three others because there is so much vegetation around the bank it makes keeping the fish on difficult. There's also no boat ramp so I had to walk around the shoreline to get to the other side of the lake. It's a good thing that I had my boots on! The first fish I caught weighed at 3lbs 3oz. The second fish weighed 3lbs 7oz. I have enclosed pictures of the nice fish. I also fished there yesterday evening and caught a bass in the 3+ lbs range. Right after I released the fish last night, I remembered that I had my scale with me. Oops! Oh well! I'm hoping to get out a few more times before winter sets in.

Today's Monday and I'm through my first day of Midterm exams. They went very well today and I've been practicing/studying for rest of my exams. Kerri's mom and sisters came up yesterday to visit us. It was so nice to see them! We hung out and watched a weird sci-fi movie that her sister, Sarah, was totally engulfed by. Then Kerri's cousin, Kelsey, came from college to visit us as well. We all took a walk together and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Once we got back, Wendy Lum and Chris and Kim Hoch (family friends) came up to visit us as well. Our first major get-together! We played Apples to Apples and Wendy won both times (beginner's luck-her first time playing).

Kerri's going to be singing in the church choir this weekend. They've been working very hard and should do a very good job. I'm planning on getting my fishing license and hit a lake or two this weekend! It's my way of celebrating the end of Midterm week. We're now off to sleep. Kerri is teaching all day tomorrow and I have to be at school rather early.

Our Nature Walk 10/11/08

Kerri and I took this walk along the Minnesota River yesterday. It ended up being about a four mile hike when all was said and done. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. The trail is part of the Fort Snelling State Park and is only a mile from where we live. The last time we were there we saw an albino squirrel but not this time around. Maybe someday we can get some bicycles and ride the whole trail. It supposedly goes all the way to downtown St Paul. The tree that I am standing in is Kerri's favorite tree along the trail.

I took a nice motorcycle ride this afternoon and the fall colors are beautiful! Too bad the motorcycle season is almost over and I'll have to put it away for the winter. Kerri and I are going to Wal-Mart and then get gas for the car. Gas is $2.74/gallon! Hurray!