Where we Live

We live in Grand Forks, a town of 70,000 in eastern North Dakota that extends partly into Minnesota. It's an hour north of Fargo, 2 hours south of Winnipeg, 4.5 hours away from Minneapolis (where Maria's family is), and an hour away from where Troy grew up (Park River). Grand Forks is a nice town to live in, honestly. It's a university town with some events and opportunities, but small enough for everything to be within 5-10 minutes' drive.

Some things we're enjoying here: Dairy Queens in abundance, nice people (who wave at strangers), very limited traffic (there is no rush hour), citywide spraying for mosquitoes (praise God!), a culture that understands and appreciates hockey, living 1 mile from the church, owning a home, living among Twins fans, Midwestern accents (they're endearing), & living close to family.

Some things we're adjusting to: longer winters (soon to come), stores closing after 7pm, and Troy having a job that doesn't often end at 5pm.

Some Interesting Facts about North Dakota and our town:
1. It's the only state in the nation where you don't have to register to vote (you just show up at the poll).
2. You can get your drivers' license at age 14 (if you fulfill all the requirements early; this law changes next year).
3. It gets cold in the winter (down to -40 F even), but summers are actually warm & beautiful, even if shorter. People revolve their lives around maximizing summer weather here.
4. People in Grand Forks love hockey (even more than elsewhere in North Dakota). Attendance at university hockey games is almost the highest in the nation. Here few care about the "Final Four," since the "Frozen Four" (the NCAA hockey finals) is what matters. ...And the University of North Dakota (UND) is usually in it.
5. Every Fall Grand Forks hosts the "Potato Bowl," a football game with rustic festivites beforehand, including the world's largest french fry feed. Think McDonald's french fries. Lots of 'em. (We participated; now we're famous.)
6. What's unique in Grand Forks? ...Chippers: chocolate covered potato chips. They're actually very good, with thick chocolate (or almond bark, if you like). The local gourmet candy store makes chocolate covered anything (including pickles).