Up North-Part One

This is alot of information so I'm going to separate it into parts.

June 6th of 2008 we said goodbye to our first apartment together. I will always remember that place and forever remember the memories there. I don't think I will ever forget the first week after we were married. It was Tuesday June 12th and we were both returning to work. But this was our first day of work as a married couple. Aaron normally left around 6:30 and I was just waking up. I remember standing by the window crying just waving at him as he drove off. I have no idea why I was crying but I guess just feeling emotional that all the hype of the wedding was done and thinking I'm a wife now which means a lot more responsibility than just living with your parents. But anyways, that is my first memory of that place! My last memory is standing on the sidewalk leading up to our apartment just starting at the building while the guys were loading the car onto the trailer. So on June 7th of 2008 we left my parent's house at 3:30am to make the drive up to Minnesota. I was feeling excited but nervous and happy but sad. This was such a big change for us. It wasn't like we were moving across town or just a couple hours away. We were 7 hours and 475 miles away from most of our family. It was a good feeling because we felt like we were truly on our own now but we were also a little worried since neither one of us were really away from home at all growing up. We both went to college close by and lived with our parents at that time. There wasn't going to be any stopping by my parent's or my in-laws house once or twice a week to say hi and see what was going on. We did however have some family up there. Aaron's two brothers (Josh and Jeremy) and sister-in-law (Brandi) and our niece and nephew (Ava, Eli) lived just across the border in Wisconsin. They were about an hour away so it wasn't that far but it was far enough that we usually only saw them on weekends. So it really was just Aaron and I for the most part. I really do think this was so good for us. We really got a chance to be on our own and depend on one another for support. I think it was something that we needed and I truly enjoyed it. As I'm writing this my mind is being flooded with all the memories I have from up there.

We got to the apartment in mid afternoon and got all our papers signed and the keys to our new place!! At this point I was overwhelmed with excitement and just trying to take everything in. We spent the next few days unpacking and spending some time with my parents. I think the first place we went to eat was obviously TGI Friday's (no surprise there). We then headed back to Illinois for a few days to pick up the other car and our last few items. I remember the 7 hour drive back ended up taking 10 hours due to all the flooding that was going on. Which this gave us alot of time to think about this new chapter in our lives.

Aaron didn't start his job until after July 4th so we had almost a month together of just hanging around and getting settled in. We ended up in a city called Maple Grove. It was about 15-20 mintues northwest of Minneapolis. When we look back on this we think of how God provided us with such a great place. Before we had moved up there we spent one weeekend in April looking for a place. Actually we drove up on a Friday, looked for an apartment on Saturday and then left on either Sunday or Monday. Caterpillar picks a realtor for you and that person drives you around to places that are close to your work. Aaron and I went into this totally blind having no idea where anything was. We did little to no research before we left. We were pretty lost just with all the interstates around and having no clue how we were going to figure this out. But God provided us with one of the best realtors. She was hilarous and very easy to work with. Her and I had a great time actually. Aaron was feeling pretty sick with a cold this day so he sat in the back of the car just sleeping from one destination to the next while the realtor and I were chatting about this, that, and the other thing. The last place we went to was Mallard Ridge Apartments in Maple Grove. We took one look inside and less than five mintues later we were filling out paperwork. We absolutely loved Maple Grove. For days we just drove all around trying to find everything and explore the area. Shops and restaurants galore!!!! Every girl's dream right? Stores and places to eat at that I normally had to drive at least 20 mintues to in Illinois were literally two minutes down the road! It was great! The one thing we did notice very quickly was the traffic. One day we decided to get on the interstate and head 10 mintues west to the next town and the traffic was horrible. It was bumper to bumper on a Friday at 1:00 in the afternoon. We soon came to realize the phrase "Up North." Very common in Minnesota but we had no idea what it meant. Well apparently everyone in Minnesota has a cabin on a lake or someone they know has a cabin "up north" and they all go up there on the weekends and hang out on their boats and other watercraft that they have. I guess that explained the traffic in the middle of a Friday.

At the end of June I got a job at a cancer clinic. I was reffered to as a floater. I would do scheduling one day then reception another day and then medical records another day. This job didn't last long at all though. They were having me switch between two different facilities. First of all it took 45 mintues to get to the one clinic and the other clinic was about an hour away. So first of all the drive was horrible. Then, I just didn't really care for the people or the doctors at this clinic. I think I started June 30th and had quit by July 20th.

July 4th came around and my in-laws came up for a visit. We spent July 4th at my brother and sister in law's house having a cookout and just hanging out. The rest of the summer seemed to slip through our fingers pretty quickly. Fall was around the corner and so was my birthday! We ended up going to the zoo and just out to dinner. Turning 22 was no big deal. Kind of a boring number so we didn't really do anything too special. Aaron did take the day off though. I remember getting up that morning and he hadn't left for work yet and I asked him why and he said, "I took it off to spend the day with you." What a sweet guy God gave me!

Well that is all for now! Part 2 will come soon!