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.

Only two weeks left of summer break.. well, 16 days.. but who's counting? :P

Yes, yes, I am counting. But only because I honestly cannot wait to go back to school. I get there a week before everyone because of soccer. The past two years we have had two weeks of two-a-days, but this year we only get one.. it's kind of discouraging because I love all the extra practicing. It really makes me feel ready for the season. I guess we will have plenty of practice though before our first game, since it isn't until September 1.

Yesterday I went to the eye doctor and found out my eyes are getting even worse. The last time I went, in December, only my left eye changed.. this time, both did. Oh well, at this rate I'll be blind in no time!

When I got done with the eye doctor my friend Jolene called me and asked if I wanted to go to Sioux Falls for a Mayday Parade concert with her and our friend Casey.. it was so spur of the moment. We got to the venue, bought our tickets, and got in line. The first guy that played was Evan something-something.. at first I thought he was too fruity for my taste, but he was pretty charismatic and had a few good songs. To our surprise, the next band was Mitchell Musso.. yes, from Hannah Montana.. it was so ridiculous! And the strangest part was that he sang a song that we knew.. but we knew it by a different person. At least we were able to sing along! Then it was Mayday Parade. They were so good. Metro Station played last because apparently they were the headliners.. I thought Mayday was/should have been. Anyways, Metro wasn't as good as Mayday. But it was still a dance-worthy show and definitely worth the 20 bucks.

This weekend I have to work at the county fair... I just sit at the gate and sell parking passes.. easiest job ever! And on Sunday I'm going to Warped Tour! I'm so excited.. there are a bunch of bands there this year that I haven't seen live so its going to make it all the better!

Isaac came to visit me this weekend. On Friday afternoon we went to Valleyfair. I LOVE VALLEYFAIR! Isaac is afraid of heights but he still went on all the rides with me. My favorite is the Power Tower - the one that shoots you down tho, not the one that shoots you up. My favorite roller coaster is the Renegade.. its the newest one too. Of course we went on the Wild Thing, Steel Venom, and Excalibur too.

On Saturday we took my little brother to Arnold's Park because he was dying to go on the little roller coaster there, since we talked so much about the ones at Valleyfair. He really liked it, but I could tell he was still scared. That night we went to the drive-in and saw Harry Potter and 17 Again. I have only read the first three Harry Potter books, and that was when they came out.. years ago. So I was really lost, but it was still good. 17 Again was good too.. a little too teenie-bopper maybe, but some parts were funny.

Last night we had a card game night at my friend Allie's house. We played poker, hearts, and slaps. My friend Jolene won every game except one! So we ganged up on her, four to one, on the last game. She still won.

Last week seemed to go by surprisingly fast.. and the same goes for this week. Summer's end is coming on quite fast now. As much as I am ready to be done with the summer job and get back into the groove of college, I don't want to leave my friends here and I am definitely not ready for classes to start! I only have one month left of summer, as soccer practice starts August 16th and classes start the 24th.

Last week I had a girl's night out with some friends. We got dressed up and went out to eat, then watched a movie at Allie's house. It was good to see them all again, since we haven't had a good night out in a while. I think the last time we had all hung out was when we stayed at the cabin for the weekend.

On Thursday I went with my friend Sarah to see our friend Laura who lives and works in Estherville. She cooked us supper and then we played Wii. It stormed for a long time while we were there which delayed us coming home. There was hail, strong winds and even a tornado touched down! On our way home the roads were flooded but thankfully we were able to still drive on them. In the dark of the night, we could see thousands of fireflies in the ditches.. it was such an amazing sight! It was like the fields were sparking! I had never seen so many fireflies at one time.

On Saturday night there was a Beatles cover band playing in Arnold's Park, so my mom brought Teague and I there to listen and I met up with some friends too. It was funny to see my mom rock out at concert but was awesome that she knew all the songs!

Today I am supposed to be working from home, but I took Teague to the beach to look for rocks! My newest hobby is making necklaces from rocks.. I'm hooked on it!

Last week flew by, which was surprising since I was looking forward to the holiday weekend and usually the week seems to go slower when you are waiting for something.

On Friday I didn't have work and in the morning I got my new phone.. a Blackberry Pearl. I love it! Its the first 'good' cell phone I've had, since all my other ones were crappy cuz I would always break them :P

After I got my phone I left for Yankton, to spend the weekend with Isaac. That night he had a baseball game in Crofton and he was the relieving pitcher, so he didn't get much play time, but it was still good to see him pitch since the last game I went to he played short stop.

On Saturday Isaac and I went to see The Proposal which was hilarious and ridiculous. I want to see it again. We watched the fireworks from the hospital parking lot because it had a good view and we didn't have to travel far. Then we went and bought our own fireworks.. we did sparklers and fountains.. it was a blast.. no pun intended. After that we watched the movie "The Last Kiss" with Zach Braff.. it wasn't as good as I hoped and (spoiler) the ending sucks.

On Sunday we got all dressed up to eat at the River Rose only to find out it was closed. So we went to Murdos instead, which wasn't bad at all. I enjoyed the view of the river while I ate my lunch. Then we went mini golfing and go carting.. I thought I could get a tan since we were out there for a couple hours, but no luck.. I guess its better than burning though! Isaac was supposed to have a baseball game in Scotland that night and we drove all the way there to find out it was cancelled.

This week is just work and working out for me. It stormed tonight so I wasn't able to run outside, but tomorrow will hopefully be nicer.