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Adventure: My favorite adventure was a two-week trip with my husband and his parents to Banff National Park and Glacier National Park.  We did and saw so many things from shopping in small towns, to small and large day hikes, to hiking on a glacier, to see bears (too close) in the wild, to white water rafting, to swimming in the most amazingly clear lakes, to taking in the most beautiful landscape.  Every minute spent together was so much fun, purposeful, and enjoyable.

Book: My favorite book is "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  I really like books that highlight this time period of civil rights and unifying humanity.  This book had so much down to earth humor, real experiences, and characters that were easy to fall in love with and root for.

Food: My favorite food is the recipe we have for crockpot chicken tacos. This is one of the few meals that everyone in my family of four will devour - not too spicy, but full of flavor. I grew up not liking tacos, but have really grown to love many Mexican meals. My son asks for these weekly :)

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My favorite adventure would probably be when I worked at MN Elks Youth Summer Camp which was an adventure in and of itself but my some of my favorite moments came from leading the biking expeditions. For some reason, there were always times when I had to have a camper help out here and there and they always led to really cool moments like when I had to stay in the back because the other staff member's bike broke down and I had to lead the group from the back by shouting directions for the lead biker to follow.
My favorite home would be the one Sam and I are in right now. When I received my placement to student teach in Annandale, I was really disappointed for some reason and did not want to student teach there. 5 years later I am in love with the town and could not imagine teaching or living anywhere else.
My favorite zoo animal is the whale shark even though I have never seen one in real life. When I worked at camp, (I have a LOT of camp stories) we would use our favorite animal as a way to make team names or random things like that and I remember never having a "good" favorite animal so I would say dog or something generic so I finally decided one day to find my favorite animal. I don't know how whale sharks popped into my head but I just remember thinking they were so cool because they are the largest type of shark so they could be really fierce and dangerous but they don't attack humans or anything like that so they're really gentle and I think that's really considerate of them (this would also make a lot more sense if my satirical tone could be sensed through the text).

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Book:
"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho is one of my favorite books. Really, anything by him is fantastic to me. I love the way that the translation becomes very poetic from Portuguese to English. Also, his stories are always filled with lots of life lessons like in "The Alchemist". "The Alchemist" is also a great book to read if you are wanting a renewed faith journey. It really brings you back to your roots and to what really matters in life.
Home:
My childhood home is definitely my favorite. We were fortunate to have big bedrooms and lots of family gathering places. We had access to a lake so being able to take my friends out on the pontoon was a consistent activity. Bonfires, pool table...lots of great memories were made on 53rd Ave North. This is also the same home that my "window" is looking in on.
Adventure:
I don't have one specific adventure but rather a generic adventure of camping or road tripping. I love being able to unplug for a while and just enjoy the sounds of nature, or if we are road tripping, experiencing different monuments and museums that make a place unique. We are taking a step further into the "unplug" in a couple weeks when we go full primitive camping. No running water or electricity, and just a vault toilet in the camp site. BUT we are directly on a lake shore and I'm looking forward to enjoying card games and reading with my husband and our dog.

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Adventure: My favorite adventures mostly have to do with the outdoors. A few years ago we bought my daughter
a camera which was a great idea because it was a good way to get her to go exploring with mom and dad! My favorite place has been the Black Hills and Custard State Park.  The beauty of the area is unreal.
Saturday plans: The best part is not having to set an alarm clock!! And then I go to work out and get my grocery shopping done and still get home before anyone is up so I still can have my quiet morning.
Favorite Zoo Animals: Growing up in Northern Minnesota, some of my favorite childhood memories include coming to St. Paul to visit my mom's side of the family and going to Como Zoo. Back then I would say my favorite animal was the huge turtle that used to be there. Today it would probably the African animals because they are so majestic. Zoo's are probably more controversial today but Como Zoo holds many fond memories for me.

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Adventure:  Getting up at "dark-thirty" in the morning and driving to my favorite hunting spot.  Walking out into the darkness as quiet as can be and climbing a tree.  Sitting in anticipation of what the morning brings.  Watching the sun come up and wondering if this will be the day that the trophy will walk by and if I will be fortunate enough to be able to make dividends for all of the preparation put into the hunt.

Food:  All of it!  Well, not really since there are certain foods that I know I don't like and some I have yet to try.  It certainly depends on the time of day but it is hard to beat that brunch with fresh eggs, bacon, and some fresh fruit.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Saturday Plans: This would certainly depend on the time of year for me since Minnesota is so seasonal but since it is summer, I will focus on that. My first thought would take me to whatever my kids are doing and being a part of that in any way. If that means a fan, I will be there to support and enjoy. If that means being a coach, then I will teach and enjoy. If that means just being dad, then I will do my best and enjoy. If it were just up to me I would love to get up early and head to the lake to enjoy some morning fishing time and then have the family meet me for some quality time on the lake for some leisure and sun.

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Adventure: hiking at Zion National Park with my husband and children.  Zion has some simple to moderate hikes for families.  Normally, when we hike in Minnesota, our children complain quite a bit during the hike.  On our hikes at Zion, we all had to concentrate so that we did not fall off the side of the hiking trail and down into the gulch below.  After we had successfully reached the summit and returned to flat, even ground my husband and I realized the kids hadn’t complained at all.  Moral of the story:  the more chance they have of falling to their death, the less they complain.

Book:  You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie.

Sherman Alexie is a Native American that grew up on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest.  This book was his memoir about his complicated relationship with his mother.  This book contains deeply moving poetry and insightful stories into how this man healed from the death of his mother.  This book inspired me to write poetry to heal from the death of my father and helped me to better understand the lived experience of families growing up on reservations in America.  The best part of the book was that he would retell stories he had written in previous books but he would tell the true accounts of what happened not the fictionalized versions he had made up.

Saturday Plans: Urban Bike Adventure with my husband and kids.

I love it when we put the bikes on our van and park in Minneapolis so that we can ride on the Midtown Greenway, around Bde Maka Ska, Lake of the Isles, and stop at our favorite bakery, Isles Bun and Coffee.   The views around the lakes are spectacular and the puppy dog tails at Isles Bun are only eclipsed by my new favorite the fruit-topped coffee cake.  Our children enjoy this ride because it’s not too hilly but has some challenge to it, and the enormous cinnamon rolls at Isle Bun can even satisfy my teenage sons’ ferocious appetites.

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Food: My favorite food(s) are dark chocolate and coffee. I find this sort of funny considering in high school I didn't like either of them, but my taste buds must have changed! I look forward to a cup of coffee every morning.

Book: My current favorite book is titled, "Brain on Fire." It is an autobiography about a woman's struggle and recovery with an autoimmune/neuro disorder. I LOVE to learn and teach about the brain so this book was really interesting to me. It has also recently become a Netflix movie!

Saturday Plans: I enjoy just being home and spending time with my loved ones. My favorite Saturday plans would include being able to wake up (with no alarm clock), make a pot of coffee, and not have anywhere to be right away in the morning. During the summer, I would love to either be on the water of some sorts, golfing, or anything outside!

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Book: Nightingale by Kristen Hannah
- If you have not read this book you NEED too! It is historical fiction from WW11 (which is typically my favorite kind of book) and it is just beautiful and tragic at the same time.
Saturday: Fresh Coffee in a mug and reading a book
- Saturday is the only day of the week (during the school year) that I get to drink coffee out of a mug and for as long as I want/slowly. I often brew some coffee, sit in the morning sun and read for a few hours (something I typically only get to do on a Saturday as well)
Adventure: Cass and I went to Germany for our honeymoon and it was amazing! Not only did we manage it on our own with trains and hotels, but we got to see some of the coolest things! We saw castles, the Alps, churches, and even some lederhosen! Not to mention I ate the best food I have ever had!