minnesota week 2: can can wonderland, uptown art fair, walking dates
we stayed at my mom's house for one more night after we returned from the cabin.
on friday morning my mom took thatcher, the kids, my brother, and me to 'can can wonderland'. it's a huge arcade in an old canning factory with both new and vintage games (probably over 100 of them). she went a few months ago and has been wanting to bring us ever since. you pay to walk in the door and then it's all-you-can-play. it was such a cool place. we also had lunch there and they have a self-serve beer wall, which is always fun. :)
in the afternoon we moved all of our stuff to thatcher's parents' house for the next stretch of our trip. in the evening we met up with our friends nate, missy, cameron, and mallory. we had dinner at 'famous daves' and then went to 'lilli put' for mini golf and bumper boats. yes, it was our second time playing mini golf in 3 days. ha! it was a fun night and nice to see them again.
on saturday morning thatcher met up with a friend for brunch, ashford stayed home with grandma and grandpa, and azalea and i headed to the uptown art fair. i don't think i've been to it in 5-6 years (it took a couple years off for covid). it was bustling with energy, which was so nice to see since uptown has been so quiet/struggling the last few years. azalea and i walked the whole fair and also got a corn dog, cheese curds, and ice cream for lunch - healthiest lunch ever :) we ran into some people we know too!
in the afternoon thatcher and i went on a little date downtown to the riverfront while the kids stayed with his parents. we went to gold metal park, browsed the gift shop at the mill city museum, walked across part of the stone arch bridge, and looked at the locks (which are no longer operating).
that evening my brother took ashford to a twin's game downtown. just the two of them for a little date. they had a great time and the twins won 12-1.
sunday morning thatcher, azalea, and i went to see our friends liz, joe, lux, and max (ashford opted to stay back with grandma and grandpa because his stomach wasn't feeling great). we hung out at their house and joe made us all delicious tacos for lunch. it was nice to catch up. in the afternoon thatcher, the kids, my mom, and i went to see my cousin austin and his fiance abby at their house. they are getting married in minneapolis in october, so i will be back in a couple months for that. no pictures from this day.
monday morning we hung out at thatcher's parents' and face timed with anders & moss in prague. then azalea, durant, thatcher, and i went on a walk through lakewood cemetery. i always joke that azalea loves a good cemetery, but i don't blame her. they are full of really cool history and lakewood is beautiful. in the afternoon thatcher and i went on another walking date. this time to a new trail inside a nature area in st. louis park, which was also very pretty.
in the evening i met up with some of my current and former co-workers at utepils brewery. it's always fun to see every one and i appreciate that they try to schedule these summer get togethers for when i'm in town. i can't believe i've been an employee at my company for 17 years now! my mom took thatcher to the airport to go back to seattle. we miss him!
tuesday morning azalea and i met up with my old boss/neighbor/friend karen at a dog park near the airport. she brought her lab and we went for a walk on the trails and watched tucker run around with the other dogs while we caught up. azalea found this little fort in the woods and asked me to take her picture.
wednesday morning we had plans to meet up with our friend kay (from seattle) at my mom's for brunch. kay is visiting family in the twin cities and had a free morning, so we finally got her to my mom's to see her garden and have brunch. it was so much fun. we also met her brother and learned that he and thatcher used to work together at separate organizations about 10 years ago. what a small world! my mom made her amazing french toast and sausage for us.
in the afternoon cheryl, azalea, and i went to arc's value village to do a little shopping. in the evening after dinner, durant, cheryl, and the kids and i went on a long walk to bde maka ska and back through uptown. i was a beautiful night for it.
now we are soaking up our last week here before we head back to seattle. it always goes so fast!
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