the minneapolis post

hello! it's been a couple weeks since i've posted, but i'm back! i'm excited to share our adventures from minneapolis. i love doing recaps of our trips. we were gone for 9 days and did so much during that time, so i will try to just touch on as much as possible without going overboard. but no promises! ;) 

we had an wonderful trip home. the first day or so, minneapolis felt a little "foreign" to me, but after that, it felt like we never left (except for the staying with our parents part, which we never did when we lived there). we stayed with thatcher's parents for the first couple nights, then stayed with my mom for a few nights, then went back to thatcher's parents' again. it was a nice mix and hopefully we didn't wear out our welcome at either place ;) it's still strange to be at my parents' house without my dad there. when i'm in seattle, it feels like he has been gone a long time, but when i come home, his loss feels so fresh. everything in their house (and neighborhood and entire city, for that matter) reminds me of him. in seattle i don't have those triggers. it can feel overwhelming and at times, it's still hard to believe it even happened. mostly i felt comforted and close to him when i was in my parents' house, especially when sleeping in his bed or sitting in his favorite chair.

as i mentioned, it was a really busy week, but filled with so many fun things. most of the days were hot and humid. oh the humidity! i forgot how spoiled we are in seattle with dry heat. i was so happy thatcher was able to take a week (plus a couple days) off work and really get a true break. here's a run down of our days:

we flew to minneapolis on june 9th, which was also our 9th wedding anniversary. we had arranged for thatcher's parents to watch the kids that night, so thatcher and i could go out together and celebrate. we walked to uptown and went to french meadow cafe for dinner and then to milk jam for ice cream. i had heard so much about milk jam over the last few months and i'm so glad we got to go. it was delicious! here's a picture of us before we went out for the night:

and one from milk jam:

friday was hot! the kids and i hung out at the wading pool with thatcher's mom and our nephew jack in the morning, and then i did a little work at a coffee shop in the afternoon and we ate dinner at thatcher's parents'. then i met up with my friend diana for fro yo!

saturday we met up with three different families who are good friends of ours. ian, joanna, and kyla had us over to their house for waffles and bacon, then we met joe, liz, jake, and max at yum! bakery for lunch. we tried to take a picture after, but it was a bit bright. ha! 

that night we met becky, jeromy, linnea, and britta at pizza luce. great pizza (that we've missed!) and even better company. 

sunday was thatcher's 34th birthday. we invited a bunch of friends to a potluck picnic at a park near his parents' house. it was a beautiful day and so many people came and it was so nice to see everyone!

sunday night my mom hosted a party at her house to celebrate thatcher's birthday and my brother's (30th) birthday. my brother's was on the 14th. my aunt, uncle & cousins, thatcher's parents, his sister and our nephew, and my grandma's husband all came. my mom cooked a big ham and every one brought sides. thatcher's dad made a delicious chocolate cake with coconut topping. it was a beautiful night to just hung out on the patio.

monday morning my mom and i took the kids to get summer hair cuts. ashford's was way overdue and i had been thinking about cutting azalea's short for a while (with her permission, of course). i didn't get any good pictures right after, but you'll see the cuts later in this post. they both turned out really cute! after that, the kids and i met up with my friends anna (and her daughter alena) and michelle at minnehaha falls. we ate lunch at sea salt, looked at the falls, and the kids played on the playground. thatcher was gone meeting up with colleague friends all day.

tuesday i went into my office and worked all day, which was such a nice change of pace for me! even more exciting, the end of this month marks 10 years since i started working there. i can't believe it! two other people in our small office are celebrating 10 years as well, so we had a staff happy hour after work that everyone attended, then a few of us went out for dinner after. it was such a great night! i don't have any pictures from my day, but thatcher took the kids downtown with his mom and our nephew so here are a couple from that:

wednesday morning the kids and i met up with my friend carolina and her daughters naomi and adella. naomi is azalea's age and her mom and i have been getting together since both girls were babies. i'm so glad we were able to see them! my mom watched the kids while i had lunch with my friend emily. for dinner our family went to culver's with my mom and brother. we loooove culver's and don't have any in seattle, so needless to say we were excited! 

thursday thatcher and i dropped the kids off at my aunt and uncle's (their request) so we could have a day date. such a treat! they live a little ways out of the city, so we decided to go to excelsior since it is nearby. we ate lunch at lago tacos and walked around the downtown and near the lake front. it was a beautiful day! 

finally, we drove out even farther into the country because why not?! we had a kid-free car and like i said, it was a beautiful day for a drive. 

friday morning my mom and i took the kids to see the new "finding dory" movie. it was both kids' first time at a movie theater, so it was kind of a big deal! azalea did well (i knew she would), but ashford had a hard time sitting there for the whole movie. i ended up taking him out and having thatcher (who was shopping in the mall) take him for the last 45 minutes, so it worked out fine. in the afternoon thatcher, my mom, and i went to the hennepin history museum (where thatcher's sister is the executive director). after that, i got some solo shopping time in uptown, then met my mom and brother for dinner at it's greek to me. one of our family's favorite restaurants ever. it was nice to have that time with just the two of them. the kids played with bubble guns with grandma cheryl and grandpa durant: 

saturday it was time to travel back to seattle! our flight didn't leave until the late afternoon, so while thatcher returned our rental car, my mom and i took the kids to lake harriet where there was a kids fest going on. the kids had fun playing some games and doing a couple crafts. the kids slept for a long time on the plane and soon we were back where we started. and it was cool and drizzly! quite the change after melting all week. i will back back in minneapolis in october for my friend kelli's wedding, but we may not be back as a family again until december. now onto the rest of this awesome summer! 

and happy official first day of summer!