"i know this is going to sound like a crazy question to ask you but...do you ever chop wood?"

lol...oh how we've come to love Tosha. today she taught me (bRandy) how you can use a bungee cord to make chopping wood easier and better. she is full of fun and random knowledge, much like Michelle lol. one of the many gifts Tosha has given us is the gift of Silvia. Michelle and I were both taken with Silvia the first time we met her. She lives across the street from Tosha and she is one of the most strong and powerful women I have met. Silvia is from Germany, she creates handmade jewelry (like Michelle), and her late husband was a prolific artist from Ghana whom she clearly adores beyond measure. She welcomed us into her home and showed us some of his work, some of her work (www.ampahgallery.com), and shared so many wonderful stories with us. Silvia is a no-nonsense, take no crap...sweetheart :) She thought we were leaving yesterday so she came over to Tosha's and brought gifts for Michelle and me. They are necklaces that she created with the Adinkra symbolism. Our pendants symbolize remembering to always return (safely) to where we came from. We were so honored and grateful.

We are going to miss having breakfast with Sharon (the very sweet attorney we met in St. Paul). She tells us that the corn pancakes at Maria's Restaurant in Mpls (that's how the locals shorten Minneapolis, look at me speaking "local" lol). We really wanted to meet up with her again before we leave but we are sleep-deprived right now and getting back on the road tomorrow for Texas, so we need to sleep in tomorrow as much as possible.

We miss the kiddos so we're definitely looking forward to getting back to Texas for a bit to see them. But we will also miss the twin cities--we've so enjoyed it here. And the shell shock of going from 70-90 degree weather to 102+ degrees will only make us miss it more. Wheww...I can't speak any further about that--I'm having a hard time with this fact, lol.

We are going out with a bang though...we went to a drive-in theater last night for a triple feature--it was awesome. Got the FULL drive-in experience...Bluequisha let us know she's not really down to play the radio for 3 movie's worth of time. She had NO juice in her battery at 2:30am when it was time to leave. Fortunately, this theater is prepared for this and said this happens everytime. There's a system...just pop your hood and the jump-man will come around and get you on your way. Good stuff. We got back to Tosha's at 3am and got right back up at 7 to go work a carnival in Plymouth. Michelle was in charge of cotton candy-making, and I was the sno-cone maker. We had a good time and made some cash...love it.

Michelle made some of her famous french fries for us tonight and dang it, that just deserves a mention. They are great. That is all. :)

We're going to spend some time with Tosha tomorrow--going swimming I believe, then we'll head out. If you're reading this on Sunday or Monday, please send good traveling vibes/energy/prayers our way.

Austin, Texas....here we come!!!!