Tag Archives: Minnesota

Running!

17 Jun

Slowly but surely, my body is getting used to running again. Here are my recent runs:

Grand Rapids – 5/31

grrunI did easy run/walk intervals on a trail near Gunn Park. The running portions were between a 10:30 and 12:30 pace. It was a beautiful day and I saw Minnesota through fresh eyes, since it’s sooo different from Colorado.

20130531_121634 (Large)Dandelions!

20130531_123101 (Large)Lakes!

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Rochester #1 – 6/5

timberidgeThis was another easy-paced run, interspersed with walking breaks whenever I felt like I needed them, on a couple of cul-de-sacs near my parents’ house. My running portions were around a 12:30-13:00 pace.

I couldn’t get over how lush and green everything is. The lawns look like they’re a golf course!

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Rochester #2 – 6/7

deerwoodI didn’t have a ton of time for this run, so I decided to make the most of it and do some speedwork. I still did run/walk intervals but the running portions of this run were between 8:50 – 9:50. The Map My Run app says I got up to a 7:45 pace but I’m not sure I believe that.

First Run with Jogging Stroller! – 6/13

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Emma’s pediatrician okayed me running with her in the jogging stroller since our carseat snaps in. But Emma is still not a huge fan of being in her carseat for anything, so I’m just starting small by taking her for a jaunt around the block. This was a very easy-paced run, but I pushed the stroller with my right hand and shook a rattle with my left to keep Emma from crying. She started to crack after just .3 mile.

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Anderson Park – 6/13

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This was actually in the evening of the day I took Emma out in the jogging stroller and was my best run since pre-pregnancy. I treated it like a tempo run with walking breaks – the running portions were done at paces between 8:30 and 9:30. Granted, they were only for about .1 mile each but still. It was fun to run fast again!

I still haven’t committed to any races but I’m thinking about doing a sprint tri relay with some friends at the end of July (I’d do the running) and I’d love to do a 10K or half marathon in the fall. But Travis will be traveling a lot for work this summer so I’m not sure how much running I’ll be able to do. For now, I’m just thankful for any time I can get back out there!

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Memorial Day in Minnesota

16 Jun

For Memorial Day, Travis, Emma and I flew into Minneapolis and met my parents, brother and sister-in-law for lunch – it was my brother and SIL’s first time meeting Emma. She wasn’t in the greatest mood because she had had a long day of travel and naps being interrupted. We got takeout from Cossetta’s for lunch – I was still doing the non-dairy thing, so I didn’t have much of a selection (but that’s typical for most restaurants). I ended up getting minestrone soup and artichoke salad. It was tasty, but it didn’t fill me up. I think I ate about 5 Larabars that day.

After lunch, Travis, Emma and I headed up to Grand Rapids, where Travis’ parents live. Everyone except Travis’ mom had already gone up to their cabin on Lake Namakan in Voyageurs National Park on the US/Canadian border, but she stayed to go up with us. We stopped about an hour from Grand Rapids to feed Emma, sitting behind a gas station in the minivan we borrowed from my brother – such is the reality of parenthood. We got to Grand Rapids and unloaded our stuff, I fed Emma again and then we all went to bed.

At Travis’ parents’ house, there are 2 bedrooms downstairs. When it was just us down there, we put Emma in one room while we stayed in the other, so that we didn’t hear every little sound she made. But for part of our time there, someone was using the other bedroom so we had Emma in the room with us. Probably the worst part about having her in the same room was that the door on that bedroom is the squeakiest one ever. After putting Emma down a couple of times and her waking up shortly afterward, I asked Travis and his dad to please fix it – which apparently required them to take the door off its hinges and make all kinds of noise while I waited in the dark bathroom with a sleeping Emma.

On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Travis, my mother-in-law Beth, Emma and I made the 2 hour drive north to Crane Lake, to Handberg’s Marine where they launch their boats, and pick up/drop off people going to the cabin – the only way to get to their cabin is a 30-minute boat ride. We put all our stuff in the boat, and put Emma in her infant life vest. It was a little big.

IMG_4580 (Large)Don’t worry – we took it off after taking that picture. She wasn’t a fan of having her cheeks squeezed together.

The boat ride there was very uneventful, thanks to Travis’ brother Matthew’s good driving. \

For the next 3 days, we spent a lot of time outside, holding Emma.

IMG_4598 (Large) IMG_4591 (Large) IMG_4596 (Large)The weather on Sunday was really nice, but it was cooler and windy the rest of our time there. I wore pants and a sweatshirt pretty much the whole time, but I also spent most of my time in the shade.

IMG_4604 (Large) IMG_4608 (Large)Even though having a baby meant I spent a lot of time in our room feeding her, I got to go on a boat ride, walk to “Whiskey Point” near their cabin where a bunch of empty booze bottles have collected over the years, play bocce ball, sit around the campfire, and shoot a .22 rifle at pop cans (I missed though). Things are always pretty low-key up at the cabin.

On Wednesday, we made the trip back down to Grand Rapids for the ‘weekend of Matthew’ – his birthday was Thursday, graduation on Friday and open house on Saturday.

We went out to eat for Matthew’s birthday with his girlfriend and girlfriend’s family. Emma fussed a bit at the beginning but Travis got her to sleep and everything went smoothly then. At this point, I was still doing the no-dairy thing and man, it is hard to find stuff in restaurants that don’t have dairy and still sound appetizing. But I made it work. I got a grilled chicken sandwich and fries (At that point, I wasn’t worried about any trace dairy ingredients.)

IMG_4653 (Large)On Friday, I went on a 2 mile run near their house (more on that in a separate post) and then went to Matthew’s graduation that evening.

IMG_4667 (Large) IMG_4702 (Large)Emma got all dressed up, though we quickly discovered how impractical dresses are for little babies.

IMG_4684 (Large)Travis and I were able to stay for the entire ceremony but I did have to put Emma in the Baby Bjorn and stand in the back of the arena. The things we do for babies.

Saturday was the open house. It ended up being cold, rainy and windy, which was a bummer, but it was fun to see some of Travis’ relatives again and have them meet Emma. I had her in the Baby Bjorn again for the first part of the party because she was being fussy and everyone was busy getting stuff ready, but later she got a bottle and others got to hold her.

Sunday morning, Travis, Emma and I drove back down to the Twin Cities because Travis was flying back to Denver and I was meeting up with my parents to go down to Rochester for a week. Emma had a very rough start to the car ride but she finally fell asleep.

IMG_4775 (Large)My time in Rochester was pretty low-key too. My mom and I sat around and talked a lot, played with Emma, watched Scandal (I’m now officially hooked!), organized their basement a bit, and went shopping at the grocery store, Trader Joe’s, and the mall. I also got out on a couple of more runs, which was really nice. AND for Mother’s Day, my awesome mom treated me to a haircut, highlights and some new clothes.

20130608_102409 20130608_102331I finally have mint green jeans! I’ve been wanting some for over a year.

We also tried some new stuff from Trader Joe’s:

20130608_060738It was all delicious. I had forgotten how amazing the Crunchy Cookie Butter is.

So how did Emma do with being away from home for so long? Really well overall. She LOVES being held and there were lots of people willing to do that – so she lived it up but might have gotten a little bit too used to it. She’ll only sleep about 45 minutes in her bassinet for a nap right now. But she still consistently sleeps between 5 and 7 hours for a stretch at night in her bassinet, which is awesome and has helped me feel more human.

And that was our trip to Minnesota!

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Emma: 2 Months

7 Jun

Our little baby Emma is 2 months old today! It’s hard to believe that that much time has gone by already. I go back to work in a month. 😦

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During our Minnesota vacation, Emma has been quite busy! She has:

* Flown on a plane for the first time
* Ridden for 6 hours in the car at once (with stops for nursing)
* Gone boating 3 times, crossing into Canadian waters
* Gone out to dinner at a restaurant
* Attended a high school graduation and open house
* Shopped at Trader Joe’s, the regular grocery store and the Apache Mall
* Gone on a long walk with Grandma K and mommy
* Been bathed 3 times in 3 different tubs/sinks
* Spent lots of time outside at the cabin
* Been held almost all daytime hours by loving relatives
* Drank many bottles of expressed breastmilk

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At 2 months, Emma:

* Gets excited about things she can see, like the mobile on the swing my parents have, people’s faces, and noisy rattles – her little arms and legs really get going!
* Loves to lie on her back and kick or have her legs bicycled
* Smiles often
* Talks when she’s starting to get sleepy
* Is starting to want to be entertained when she’s awake
* Likes getting a bath but not getting out or having lotion put on
* Eats 4-5 oz per feeding, or nurses for 45-60 minutes
* Generally follows an eat-play-sleep routine – she nurses every 3 hours for 45-60 minutes, plays for 30-45 minutes and sleeps for 1-2 hours
* Often nurses every 2 hours in the morning
* Sleeps for 4-6 hours as her longest nighttime stretch

We don’t have Emma’s 2 month pediatrician appointment until next week so I don’t know her growth stats yet, but I’ll post them when I do.

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Minnesota!

25 May

We made it to Minnesota. Emma did great on her first-ever airplane ride. I’ll post details later because we’re heading up to Travis’ family’s cabin near the Canadian border. I have Emma’s 7 week update for tomorrow but after that, I’ll be MIA for a few days. 

Have a great Memorial Day weekend! Thanks to all those who have sacrificed for our freedom.

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Minnesota Baby Shower

15 Feb

A week ago, I flew out to Minnesota for a baby shower. I got in around 3:30 pm on Friday and we had some time to kill before having dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. I was still searching for a shirt to wear for maternity pictures so we went to Macy’s at Southdale Mall. Their maternity selection was awesome! It was about three times as big as the maternity selection at the Macy’s in Denver. I found 3 shirts I liked – one I wore for the shower that weekend and another I’ll wear for maternity pictures in Florida. And with that, I think I’m done maternity shopping. Thank goodness.

My parents and I had dinner with my brother and SIL at a restaurant called Faces and then we drove up to their cabin about an hour north of the Cities. We stopped at the grocery store on the way and even though I was exhausted by the time we got to the cabin, we turned on the first episode of Downton Abbey (my parents haven’t seen it). I slept through pretty much the whole thing.

The next day, we slept in until 9 and then had French toast for breakfast. It’s especially delicious when you put blueberry pie filling on top. Mmm… Then we just hung out. I helped my mom put together a simple website for her business (using WordPress), we ate lunch, picked up the centerpiece and groceries for the shower on Sunday, got a pedicure, and then ate dinner at Pizza Pub in Pine City.

Sunday morning, my mom woke me up at 7 am because we had an issue – the cabin plumbing had frozen where it leaves the house, meaning we couldn’t use the shower or toilet. Enter Plan B. Luckily, my brother is nice and was willing to let us take showers at his place. So we packed up all our stuff, grabbed breakfast at McDonald’s and hit the road.

After getting ready at Chris’ house, my dad drove my mom and I to Travis’ aunt’s house where the shower was. It had started snowing/sleeting and there was a lot of slush built up on the road, making the drive a little sketchy. We started to wonder if people would decide not to come, or if we should even cancel the shower. But that seemed so sad since I had flown out just for the shower. So we decided to play it by ear.

An hour later, the snow was really coming down:

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I think it ended up snowing around 5-6 inches, which isn’t too bad for Minnesota, but it was the slush that made the roads so treacherous. Nonetheless, everyone who RSVP’ed for the shower showed up, minus 4 of my college friends and one of Travis’ aunt’s. I was very appreciative to everyone for venturing out in such weather! My aunt Sharyn even drove all the way from Rochester (about 2 hours away)!

Once everyone had arrived, we had some coffee and punch while chatting and then played games. For the first ‘game’, everyone had to say their name, how they knew me and give me either parenting advice or a story. There were lots of great suggestions!

The next game, my mom had packed my diaper bag full of essentials for a newborn to 3 month old and we had to guess what they were. Whoever guessed the most won. I got a lot of good ideas from the answers, but didn’t even get close. My friend Brittany, who isn’t a mom herself, actually tied with my cousin-in-law Laura (a new mom herself) for the most right!

Another game we played was matching things in our purse to the first letters of Emma Grace. Brittany and my aunt Sharyn won that one!

The final game we played was a word scramble – all the words related to baby stuff. It was actually pretty tough! It didn’t help that my brain seemed to have stopped working.

After the games, we went upstairs and dug into the goodies.

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Gourmet cupcakes from Cupcake in St. Paul

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The candy bar

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The awesome diaper cake (made out of diapers, so it’s not edible) that my MIL made – she did a great job! I even brought it back to use at my Colorado baby shower in March.

We also had cucumber sandwiches (one of my favorites), cheese and crackers, fruit and dip, and a delicious, easy punch – raspberry sherbet and ginger ale. Try it.

Once we were full, it was time to open gifts! My very generous family and friends gave Travis and I lots of great stuff, including:

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Diapers

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A cross-stitched blanket made by one of Travis’ aunts

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Plus a carseat, diaper pail, pack-n-play, swing, bath tub, baby outfits, blankets, baby monitor, baby bath stuff, and some picture frames for the nursery. I was able to fit everything in the two suitcases I had brought along, minus a box of diapers, the diaper pail and the bath tub (the other big things were shipped directly to our house). My parents will bring the stuff that I left behind with them when they drive out when Emma is born. We won’t need it before then anyway.
MNBabyShower 035 (Large)The group

By the time we said goodbye to everyone and packed everything up, it was past dinnertime and we decided that driving all the way down to Rochester just to drive back up in the morning was a little ridiculous. So we rented a hotel room, had dinner with Chris and Meg again, and then hit the hay. I was so relieved to not have to sit in a car for a couple of hours. My back was hurting. (Though I know a lot of it is my own fault – I have even worse posture pregnant than I normally do!)

The next morning, I was able to meet up with my 4 college friend who hadn’t been able to make the shower on Sunday. We met up at Panera and it was so fun to see them and their kids!

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MNBabyShower 052 (Large)It was a little more chaotic than the previous day’s shower but all our church friends have kids, so Travis and I are pretty used to the mayhem. It was so much fun to see my college friends. My friend Jen gave me handmade burp clothes, plus a bunch of other baby stuff. Katie gave me a really cute little outfit, Samm bought us loads of diapers, and Holly gave me stuff for breastfeeding plus baby care. We’re getting closer to having everything we need!

After everyone left, we had an awkward amount of time to kill. My mom and I shopped for some baby clothes at Carter’s next door (so much fun!) and then we just hung out at Panera until it was time to go to the airport. Despite the weather, my flight was on time and the airport was pretty much dead, so it was a breeze checking my bags and getting through security. I arrived back in Denver around 6 pm.

It was a great trip! My parents made the weekend so special, and it was fun spending time just the 3 of us, knowing that it’ll probably be the last time for a very long time!

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Speaking of trips, Travis and I leave for Florida this coming Sunday!! I probably won’t be posting much (or at all) the week that we’re gone, but I’ll be back with lots of pictures and stories once we’re back.

 

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Back at it

11 Jan

We’re back from Minnesota. It was a good trip. The Focus got us to Minnesota, we stayed in a nice hotel on Tuesday night in Grand Island, Nebraska, and I got to re-meet a lot of Travis’ relatives that I briefly met at our wedding (and couldn’t remember…). As far as traveling while pregnant, my only complaint is that I need my own bed and body pillow to sleep decently well. After 10 hours of sleep last night, I’m still pooped today. It was worth it though. (Now I just have to figure out how to bring my body pillow to Florida…)

I finally had a stranger comment on me being pregnant! We were at the airport going through security and the guy behind me was like, “Whoa, so are you like due really soon?” I told him I was due in April and he said, “So you can tell your kid that you took them through airport security.” Yep. It’s not the first time, and (if all goes according to plan) it won’t be the last.

Tomorrow is our first childbirth class! We’re both really excited, but bummed that it will overlap with the Broncos playoff game. We’ll still be able to see the end of it though, so at least we won’t miss the whole thing. (And worse case, we could just DVR it.)

Anyway, have a great weekend! I’ll be back on Monday with a third trimester pregnancy update!

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Thanksgiving 2012

29 Nov

Since you’ve probably read everyone else’s Thanksgiving posts by now, you’re probably wishing you had just one more to read. Right? No?

Well, even though I really dislike it when people say this, I’m going to say it – this post is mostly for me to record what we did this year for Thanksgiving so that I have it for the memory book I was supposed to make in April. (That’s a post for another time.)

I flew to Minnesota on Wednesday and Travis and my younger bro picked me up from the airport (Travis was already out there for a work trip). We went out to eat at Axel’s Bonfire in St. Paul with my parents, older brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew. Then we all (minus my younger bro) drove an hour north to my parents’ cabin and went to bed (it was about 11 by then I think).

The next morning, we got up and had a delicious waffle breakfast with every topping you could think of before Travis and I headed up north to Nevis (where Travis’ parents live… sort of… long story). I actually thought to take a picture before we departed ways:

It was a 3.5 hour drive up to Nevis but it went by pretty fast. We amused ourselves along the way by imagining what it would be like if we lived up there. (It is the area we’re thinking about moving back to.) By the time we arrived in Nevis, it had started to snow. We ate our delicious Thanksgiving dinner and then played Catch Phrase – pretty much a holiday tradition at this point. I’m amazed we don’t have all the answers memorized.

The next day, we slept in (ahh!), ate breakfast (Monkey bread!), and then I went shopping at Walmart in the nearest town with my SIL Carolyn. She found some presents but I only bought a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly and underwear for Travis. I know, exciting. After Walmart, we only had a few minutes before Travis and I met up with some friends for lunch. It was fun seeing them again – we only see them about once every couple of years so it’s good to catch up. The rest of the day was spent napping, crosswording and reading until we packed up and drove over to Grand Rapids (where Travis’ parents also live…).

Saturday also started out as a lazy day. We ate breakfast around 9 am, I took a shower and then did a puzzle while the guys ran some errands. I completed the puzzle in record time (though it was only 330 pieces instead of 600). That afternoon, Travis and I headed to the Verizon store to get me a new phone – I’ve had a free upgrade for almost a year and still hadn’t used it. Verizon didn’t have the free phone I wanted but we found it at Walmart. And they had a deal where if you bought a new smartphone (even one for $.97 like the one I got), you got a $100 gift card. (The deal is good until Dec 1 so if you’re looking for a new smartphone, check out Walmart – I would assume the deal isn’t just a local one but I’m not sure.) So I pretty much got paid to get a new phone. How cool is that? (I got the Samsung Galaxy Stellar if you’re wondering.)

There was a little snafu with the upgrade (long story) so Travis and I had to go back to Walmart on Sunday to get the phone then. And I discovered the downfalls of getting the free phone that no one wants anymore – cases and screen protectors are near impossible to find in a store. I was able to find a case at the Verizon store but still need to buy a screen protector.

Saturday night, we played Yahtzee and had root beer floats. Delicious. Sunday we watched more football and just hung out reading and doing Sudoku. If you can’t tell, it was a very mellow trip. I didn’t really do much of anything. And it was wonderful. Unfortunately, we had to leave Sunday afternoon for the Cities. Our flight back to Denver left at 7 am on Monday morning so we wanted to be as close to the airport as possible. It worked out nicely though because we got to see my younger brother, SIL and parents again for a few hours. We went out to Chinese at a local restaurant and then my parents drove back down to Rochester (about 1.5 hours south). They drove up just to have dinner with us! Aren’t they the greatest?

Monday morning came early but we got to the airport with plenty of time. After we landed in Denver, we got our luggage, took the shuttle to our car, and then headed off to work. Boo. This week has actually gone by really fast though. Tomorrow’s already Friday! Yay!

 

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Off to Minnesota

21 Nov

I’m currently sitting in the Denver airport waiting to board my plane. I ended up getting to my gate almost 2 hours before my plane leaves because I expected the airport to be nuts. It’s busier than normal but not crazy.

We’re spending tonight and tomorrow morning with my family (I get to see my nephew again!) and then heading up north to spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with Travis’ family. It should be a very enjoyable, relaxing time.

Hope you have a great holiday wherever you are!

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Labor Day Weekend

7 Sep

I guess since I said I’d post again this week, I’d better do it, huh?

Our Labor Day weekend was great. The time for my flight into Minneapolis Thursday night got changed about 15 times but I finally landed only about 45 minutes later than planned. Travis flew in to the other terminal from Fargo (where he was for a work trip since the previous Sunday) and my dad picked us up from the airport. We made our way over to my older brother’s house, who is moving to San Francisco this fall and renting his house out. My mom met us there and we went out to dinner at a local burger joint call Flameburger. It was delicious. Travis and I split an order of fries and a chocolate malt, and I still managed to eat my entire cheeseburger. Then we made our way to my parents’ cabin, which is about an hour north of the Cities, and crashed.

The next day, we drove back down to my brother’s house to help him out with cleaning and packing. The renters were moving in on Saturday, giving him just one day to get everything done.  Needless to say, he needed help. We worked until 4:45 when we got pizza delivered. In the meantime, my oldest brother, sister-in-law, and nephew (!!) arrived and after we ate our pizza lupper (lunch/supper), we headed back up to the cabin, making a stop for groceries and beers on the way.

On Saturday, the brother that was moving and my youngest brother and sister-in-law arrived. They brought tons of fresh vegetables from their local Farmers Market – sweet corn, green beans, potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes. Saturday was my oldest brother’s 35th birthday and we celebrated with 24 candles (that was all we had) on an buster bar ice cream cake. It was actually really easy to make and it was delicious – you just mash up a box of Oreos and combine with 1/2 cup melted butter. Press into a 9 x 13 pan and top with sliced vanilla ice cream (I bought the kind that comes in a box). Top that with 1 1/2 cups peanuts and a jar of fudge sauce. Freeze and voila! Deliciousness.

On Sunday, we celebrated my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. I spent hours upon hours the previous several weeks making them a scrapbook of family memories and gave it to them at breakfast. My oldest brother smoked some BBQ ribs for dinner – they were delicious, even if the texture still grossed me out a bit. For dessert, we had an angel food trifle with strawberries and bananas.

Besides eating, we spent a lot of time enjoying the lake on the pontoon and floaties, playing cornhole, bocce ball and ladderball, skiiing (just the guys), and watching my absolutely adorable nephew do all sorts of stuff – crawl, pull himself up, play with his toys and torment the dogs.

 

 

 

Travis and I flew back to Denver Tuesday night, on another delayed flight. Get your act together Southwest! Travis was a sweetheart and dropped me off at our house before going to get the dogs from our friends so that I could go to bed. I was ridiculously tired!

It was a great trip – even though it seemed like we would be there for many days, the time flew by. Hopefully we’ll get back to Minnesota sooner than a year from now!

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Walleyes, Logging Camps and an Eagle Scout

7 Dec

Our trip back to Minnesota last weekend was very enjoyable. I was kind of bummed that there was no snow but I was happy that it was a mild 20 degrees, instead of a frigid negative 20. Seriously, giving up Denver winters is going to the hardest part about moving back (someday)… I never knew what it was like to enjoy being outside in January until I moved to Denver.

Anyway, our flight arrived Thursday night and Travis’ wonderful aunt, Cheryl, picked us up from the airport. We drove over to Nyle’s house (Travis’ uncle) to borrow his pickup and after chatting for 20 minutes and driving to Cheryl’s house, we promptly went to bed – by then it was about 11 pm, Minnesota time.

The next morning, we were planning on getting up at 6:30 but even though I set the time for the alarm on the clock in our bedroom, I didn’t actually turn the alarm on. Whoops. So we ended up getting up at 9:30. We were tired! It was really only 8:30 Denver time, so I didn’t feel quite as lazy and pathetic. I told Travis that was his birthday present from me (it was his birthday that Friday).

We got on the road about 11:00 to make the 3 hr, 15 min drive up to Grand Rapids. I read a Psalm in honor of our Advent calendar, we talked about where we’d like to live when we move back, and listened to Christmas music. And we had to make a stop at the Walleye in Garrison.

It was really windy and I tried balancing the camera on the car trunk but I decided I’d rather not get a picture together than have our camera break.

Finally, we got up to his parents’ house. We ate lunch, toured their finished gazebo (a little too brisk for comfort in December!), and went shopping for a new pair of shoes for Travis – his old ones were so worn that his toe touched the ground and got wet all the time. We also stopped by the liquor store for some beer and wine. We picked up White Truck Chardonnay and Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon. I liked the White Truck, but not so much the Yellow Tail. We had steak and potatoes for dinner and for dessert, we had “strawberry shortcake” (with angel food cake instead of shortbread) for Travis’ birthday – his favorite. He is the big old 2-7. 

Saturday, we got up around 8 and had blueberry sourdough pancakes for breakfast – Travis’ dad has been tending a culture of sourdough bacteria (smells like beer) so he was the cook. They were delicious. Then we all piled into the car and went to the Forest History Center to tour an old logging camp.

These horses were named Bud and Mick – Budweiser and Michelob.

This was the sleigh that the loggers loaded with water to ice down the logging roads.

It was really interesting. I am always amazed by the fortitude and determination of people from the “old days.” They were fighters. On the way home, we stopped to look at Matthew’s Eagle Scout project.

He built a compost shed for the local food shelf. They often received donations of perishable food but couldn’t do anything with it, and then had to pay to have it removed because they couldn’t throw it away by law. So these compost bins save them money, and will provide them with great fertilizer.

Sunday was the day of Matthew’s Eagle Scout ceremony. After breakfast, we all sat around talking, waiting for it to be time to go over to the church. Then the activity of setting everything up commenced. We had a lot of help so everything, including the ceremony and reception, went very well.

I was the designated photographer. I tried my best to get good pictures with the dim lighting, and I think most of them turned out decently well.

Before long, it was time to head back to their house for the family dinner and gift opening. I got to see a lot of relatives from Travis’ dad’s side of the family that I hadn’t seen since our wedding, so that was good – even if it was a bit awkward at times  (because I didn’t remember meeting them in the midst of the wedding day blur). Around 6:30, we left to drive back down to Blaine. I was able to meet up with my best friends, Brittany and Holly, at Perkin’s. It was short but sweet and I loved laughing with them again. I really hope they still live in Minnesota when we move back (you hear that B?).

Monday morning, we flew out bright and early at 6:45. We arrived back in Denver to a temperature of 5 degrees and snow on the ground. Now that’s more like it!

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