It’s Time for the Great Minnesota Get Together!

August 23, 2012 By 9 Comments

Today! Today! The 2012 Minnesota State Fair starts today!

PW's Heartland Action

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The Fair is a cornucopia of fried foods, baby animals, and fun for the whole family.

My friend Jill and her husband have an annual tradition of attending on the first Saturday of the Fair. I joined them two years to follow them around and fulfill my dream of doing a photo shoot at the Fair.

MN State Fair 2010

This year the three of us will join with the now FIVE of them and several of our other friends for a full, fun family kind of day.

I’m so excited for Harry to really experience the Fair this year. I think his little mind is going to be blown. Will he think his Peek-a-Boo Barn app has come to life?

Next weekend my friend Sarah is coming up for the fourth year in a row. Their first two visits, Molly Beth was the only kid.

Two Babies

Love at First Sight

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Last year we added Harry, and this year baby Mia will be with us.

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I love that we get to share this tradition with them.

If you’re a Minnesotan, are you and your family going to the Fair? What’s your favorite part? What’s your must-eat food?

 
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Game Day — Skol

September 10, 2010 By 4 Comments

Today is the NFL opener, and the first Vikings game of the 2010 season! I thought it would be fun to look back at seasons past.

Aaron was as a season ticket holder when he still lived in Atlanta, and would travel up to MSP for home games. (Ah, the bachelor life.) When we started dating, he told me that he had two tickets, so now I was a season ticket holder too. In 2007, I came up for 3 games, and by 2008 we were married and I was a Minnesota resident.

It’s a fun little fall hobby, and I know how much it means to Aaron that I am a part of it. It’s hardly a burden!

270: Packed Metrodome
{view from our seats}

It ain't Mardi Gras

Aaron, Viktor & Roger

Tina & Roger
{Tina & Roger — they’re getting married Oct. 16, and yes we’ll all be going to the home game the very next day!}

318/365: September 21, 2008

Skol!

Win or lose tonight, it’s gonna be a good season.

Skol.

 
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Whirlwind Minnesota Day — Sunday Snapshot

August 23, 2010 By 5 Comments

Today was the inaugural 13.1 half marathon here in Minneapolis. My friend Hannah flew in to run it, and we had a jam packed day.

We got up before dawn to drop her at the start line before Aaron and I made our way over to the finish area (where they were holding a 5k for friends/family that we walked). It’s always neat to be out and about in a city before it wakes up.

Minneapolis

It was a very foggy morning …

Foggy Morning

But it’s always a pleasure to see the sunrise over a lake …

Lake Nokomis Sunrise

Aaron and I walked the 5k, and came in ahead of a old man, two old ladies and a middle-aged couple carrying a baby in a backpack. Ah, good for the ego. Seeing all of the people in various stages of life and fitness levels running that half marathon though made us realize, there is no excuse for us to be this out of shape. So I texted Teri and said that we’re in for the Mardi Gras half in February. If our baby is here by then, well, he’ll get his first trip to New Orleans out of the way early in life!

Aaron waiting for Hannah to approach the finish line …

Husband

About a half dozen or so of my coworkers ran today, so it was fun to watch some of them come in. Hadley finished in like 1:46:00. Impressive!

Hadley Runs

Hannah had told me to look for her around 2:30:00, so when she ran by and yelled my name and waved at 2:12:00, I was NOT ready for her, which is why the first shot is blurry. D’oh!

She's blurry cause I wasn't expecting her for 15 more minutes!

Hannah Runs

After the race (and showers) we took her to The 5-8 Grill for the Juicy Lucy experience. I think I need to go on a Juicy Lucy moratorium till like 2012. Oh, it’s delicious, but uff da.

Hannah and I then went to some of my favorite Twin Cities places, like the Sculpture Garden. Spoonbridge with Cherry is the ultimate Minneapolis Landmark. I just love it there!

One of my favorite Minneapolis Landmarks

Classic Scene

Basilica, Framed

We then popped over to the St. Paul side to wander up and down Grand Ave., eat ice cream and do a little shopping. I saw these Heirloom tomatoes for sale in a local food/cheese shop and I later told Aaron that we could’ve made a killing last summer. We had bags and bags (and bags!) of tomatoes that we were just giving away toward the end of summer. Wish I’d known that they got this kind of mark up!

And then I came home to this scene:

Baby Loves

A great day. Way to go runners! I need a nap.

Ni Hao Y'all

 
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A Purple & Gold Sunday

January 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s a big day. The NFC Championship game. The Vikings are in New Orleans and my Facebook News Feed is a amalgamation of Who Dat and Skol Vikings.

Early in the season, Aaron and I discussed what we would do if the Vikings made it all the way to the Super Bowl. We’d go, of course. We’d figure it out, book a cheap hotel room, find tickets online. (Since we’re season ticket holders, we would be entered in a ticket lottery, but like all lotteries the chances of actually winning=minuscule.) My husband has been waiting his entire life for this (no stretch), so we’d at least try to make it there. (Several weeks ago he shook his head and smiled. I asked him what he was thinking about, and he said, “That fat little 5-year-old kid who watched the Vikings on a tiny black-and-white TV? Well all his dreams are coming true.”)

But life is different for us now than it was in September. I just had surgery and we’re building a house, so no last minute expensive Florida trips are in the works.

One of A’s fraternity buddies is in the Big Easy right now, and I wish we were too. But we already have a trip planned for the Crescent City in May, for a wedding. (And again, I just had surgery.)

I love New Orleans. It’s where my brother was born. It’s a place my parents were in love. It’s a city of music and food and history and personal memories and incredible loss and heartache.

But today I only have one thing to say to the city I have long loved: WE dat.

Pack some swim trunks, Favre. I hear Miami is nice this time of year.

Skol.

 
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