Two-a-days are over! Time to relax? Of course not.. classes start tomorrow!

Practice this week wasn't that bad actually. We did fitness training in the mornings (aka lots and lots of running) and soccer training in the afternoon (aka lots of possession). I'm glad I ran so much this summer because it helped me to do the workouts without dying. One day we ran a timed mile and I got 7:44.. not my best, but at least it was under 8. Another day we had to run a timed 300 meter shuttle run. Also, yesterday we ran the Yankton Riverboat Days 5K road race and I came in first for the soccer girls and even beat some of the soccer guys! My time was 25:44 and I placed 116 out of 269.

During our practices at the fields, I discovered that already I am playing better than last year. One day we practiced moves and I was able to do all of them with ease. Also, when we played world cup I was pulling moves left and right and taking lots of shots. I think its because I feel much more comfortable doing all that, now that I have more experience under my belt. It all comes more naturally to me than before.

Besides soccer, I haven't done much else this week. My roommate April and I got our room all decorated and put together. The team went out to eat for lunch one day at the Fryn Pan.. it was good team bonding. We only have two freshman to get to know, but its been fun.

Class tomorrow.. I got all my books so I hope I'm ready!

Last full day at home. Only 13 hours until I am back on campus. I got the cars packed up tonight, even vacuumed mine out in anticipation.

Last night my friend Allie suggested that we bike the trails in Jackson, but I had no way of transporting my bike there so I drove over and ran the trails while she biked. We ended up doing about three miles and it was really fun. All summer I ran by myself so it was nice to have a companion this time. After that we rounded up Audrey and Brynn and played soccer at the high school football field. I think it was the most intense soccer I played all summer! And a plus: it was great fun!

My cousin Kristen came to visit my family this week. She is from Pennsylvania and lives and works in Arizona now and has only been to Minnesota once and hadn't seen us in 8 years, so she figured now was a good time to visit! She had never been to South Dakota or Iowa before so she got to see Sioux Falls and Okoboji. We took her to Arnold's Park and she went on all the rides with my little brother. We also went to the beach, out to dinner, and shopping. I think she had a good time here, and I know my family had fun with her!

Next time I blog it will be coming from Yankton! I am extremely excited to be back on campus, playing soccer, and getting to see all my friends!

Warped Tour was on Sunday, and I can describe it in one word... amazing! It was the third time I went and it was still just as exciting as the first..

It started at 11am but we didn't get there until after noon because we made a pit stop at a candy store... but it wasn't just a candy store... they had apples and pickled everything and beef jerky and 36 kinds of root beer! PLUS about ten aisles of candy. It was a good way to start our day :)

Once we got to Shakopee (Warped was at Canterbury Park) we had to buy our tickets since we didn't ahead of time, and there were no lines cuz we got there an hour after the gate opened.

I ended up seeing ten bands: Meg and Dia, Senses Fail, Streetlight Manifesto, Chiodos, Sing It Loud, The Maine, Saosin, Less Than Jake, 3OH!3, and Bayside. Saosin was my favorite of the day... and they were actually the number one band on my list to see... also, to top it off, all the members signed my shirt (I was wearing my Saosin shirt, exclusively for the occasion) AND I got my picture taken with the lead singer. (In years past, I have met members of The Matches, Ludo, Family Force 5, and From First to Last.)

During Senses Fail, my friend Audrey and I got caught on the edge of a mosh pit and rushed across it to get to safety.. I thought I was going to see my life flash before my eyes, but we made it out okay. Less than Jake was really good... the lead singer's banter in-between songs was priceless. And he suggested that the crowd make a human runway with their arms... and they did... and people walked across it... it was ridiculously awesome.

I also really enjoyed 3OH!3... they had such great stage presence and the crowd had great energy... it was one big dance party!

All in all, I had a great day.. I saw nine new bands live (I had already seen Sing It Loud at a concert last summer)... and I got to see a bunch of people I knew roaming around.