Gobble Gobble

Sara took the day to try prepare her father's roast beef recipe. This is a dish that she grew up eating every Sunday at her grandparents' house and then for many years afterwards when her father would cook. We cannot visit MN without her father setting aside a day to cook roast beef, and Sara always goes bonkers when dinner is served. Our house smells, apparently, just like Sara's childhood and it is amazing.

We also have less than a week until Thanksgiving! (Sara's favorite holiday.) This year we've decided to celebrate down in North Beach, at my parents' house. We're going to have a little potluck style dinner. Sara and I will go down Wednesday night so we are there to help set up, and cook a few items on Thursday. Then we'll stay Thursday night and help clean up. This will also give us time to digest our food, go back for turkey sandwiches later in the evening and relax on the bay!

Now if only the 3 remaining work days this week would fly by as quickly as they can then we could get onto the turkey!

And We're Back.

Not even 3 hours back in the state and my cracked radiator gushes coolant all over the newly-paved driveway. Not the ideal homecoming.

Here are some of the highlights from our trip to Minnesota!

We all went to the Gausthaus to celebrate my In-Laws' 40th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday. Friends of theirs were playing out on the lawn so we sent out invites for people just to come and listen to the band and congratulate the couple. It was a beautiful day and lots of friends and family showed up to celebrate.

Then we headed of to visit the niece and nephew for a bit. Sara's brother and his family live in Stillwater, MN and we went to spend sometime with the family. Moraya is a charming little girl with a beautiful smile and Nathan is a whirling dervish. We giggled, we colored, we decorated the driveway with sidewalk chalk, and just enjoyed seeing each other. We went down by the river and enjoyed a small lunch, cotton candy ice cream and then rinsing off in the river.

On Tuesday, it was my Mother-In-Laws birthday. We met up in White Bear Lake and went to the beach. The lake apparently is losing water every year and the water level is drastically reduced. I didn't know. We waded out in the water, chased minnows, chased Nathan and had a mini-picnic on the beach.
Thursday we hit the state fair. The Minnesota State Fair! We wandered the fairgrounds for hours people-watching, snacking on fried foods, visiting agricultural attractions, thrill rides, and ate more food. It was quite the experience. Fried cheese curds are every bit as good as I have heard!
The rest of the time in Minnesota we hung at the Patsy family home/resort. I am a big fan of the pool/hot tub/sauna combination they have going on. We visited with family and friends as much as we could. Unfortunately we still missed a few here and there. We tried to jam as much into the week as we could. I always enjoy visiting the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and I will miss seeing that side of the family. We will try to make it back as soon as possible.