minnesota part 2: mini golf, irish fair, more family in town
thursday the 12th my aunt cindy took the kids and me on a picnic and mini golfing at big stone mini golf and sculpture park in minnetrista. it was a ways out of the city, but totally worth it. it was a really cool place and clearly other people agree because it was packed in the middle of a weekday. we had to wait in line to start the course and in between each hole, but there was so much to look at and it was a beautiful day!
friday morning the kids and i picked up my mom and went to see my bonus grandpa bob at his assisted living building. he's 96 now and hanging in there, but i think the pandemic has accelerated his aging. his mom lived to be 99, so hopefully he will too! i was so happy to give him a hug and talk to him for a bit. the kids get a little bored, but they were pretty good sports. it probably helped that we went to culver's for lunch after ;)
that evening, my mom picked me up for a date with her to the minnesota irish fair at harriet island in st. paul. she has seen a local van morrison cover band called 'the belfast cowboys' around the twin cities many times before and i have always wanted to see them, so we decided to go together. we parked at the union depot station and took a shuttle bus to the fair. it was a really pretty setting, right on the mississippi river. there were lots of vendors, good food, beer, and music.
i spent the night at her house. the next morning she and i went to the big minneapolis farmer's market. i hadn't been there in years, so that was fun. then she dropped me off at thatcher's parents' because thatcher's brother anders and his wife nith flew in from washington, dc the night before. we hadn't seen anders in 2 years, but even crazier...we hadn't seen nith in 6 years! we were so happy to be reunited with them.
we hung out at the house, took a walk to bde maka ska, and around uptown, and had davanni's pizza for dinner. then the kids and i went to my mom's to sleep.
sunday we went to lake harriet with my mom to see some live music at the bandshell. a long time friend of ours plays in a big band swing group. it was a hot day, but beautiful by the lake. the kids played on the playground then ate popcorn on a bench during the show.
monday we took a trip to the pershing wading pool and playground, and in the afternoon we hung out at thatchers' parents' with them and anders and nith. in the evening, i met my friend diana for dinner at pajaritos at 50th and france. she lost her dad to cancer earlier this summer, so we had a very cathartic dinner catching up. after dinner, some of my mom's neighbors came over to hang out on the patio. it was a fun night.
tuesday i had lunch with my bosses at hilo diner. it was nice to see them and i'm so grateful they have let me continue working from seattle for all these years. it's a win-win, i guess! we hung out at my mom's in the afternoon and then it was time to pick up thatcher at the airport. we were so happy to see him after almost 2 weeks apart. we had a big family dinner at thatchers' parents', which was really nice.
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