Minnesota bound!

I get to go home next week - yeah! Home for me is Sunburg, MN a tiny little dirt spot on the map in the middle of MN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburg I'm pretty excited since I haven't been home since January, 2007. Um, yes, that's nearly two years. I won't be home for too long - Nov 6-Nov 11 - but it will be nice to be in a place that actually has seasons. I'm hoping for weather that will require me to wear real shoes (preferrably with socks!), pants and long-sleeved shirts. I might even get to wear a coat!

While I'm home, Gypsy will also be on vacation. She's staying at the Animal Keeper, a kennel not too far from our house. I wasn't too kean on the idea of kenneling her, but Chris and I took a tour last weekend, and it is pretty great. It's really clean, there is a big play yard for the doggies, and they can play in a large group, or in small groups, several times a day. She will also get to go to the doggy "spa" to get a bath and have her nails trimmed. She will get frozen doggy treats every day, too! It sounds totally nuts, but it makes me feel better about leaving her if she'll get let out to play several times each day, and will have 24 hour on-site care. Check out the link: http://www.theanimalkeeper.com/oceanside.html It almost makes me want to stay there!

The reason Chris isn't watching Gypsy, or going with, is because he left this morning for another at-sea training period. He'll be gone for a few weeks, returning the weekend before Thanksgiving. We aren't sure what we'll be doing for Thanksgiving, but Chris does have a long weekend, so he might head back to St. Louis to visit his family. Tickets should be good and spendy by the time he gets home and is able to decide, but that's the fun of living by the USMC calendar!