The Great Minnesota Get Together

On Saturday, we went to the MN State Fair! My mom, Zach, Alex and I hit the road a little later than we had hoped. When we got down to the fairgrounds, shortly after 10am, all of the parking lots were full. So we headed on over to the opposite side of the fair and found some good parking behind the mid-way at a UofM building. After we squeezed our car into the tiny parking spot, we were on our way to the gate!

We entered the gates of the fair just before 11am. Our first stop was the French Fries booth (across from the Midway). Here, we ran into Timmy and his mom, Kirsten! We stood and chatted for a while and then headed on over towards the Miracle of Birth center. Walked through the building, and before long – we lost them. The boys! Zach, Timmy and Alex thought it would be funner for them to hang out at the fair on their own. So we set up a time to meet them, and they were off!

My mom, Kirsten and I made our way towards the corn fritters, the Twins booth, and then to the PetCenter. Sophie got a new sweater for winter and I couldn’t resist buying her a pair of jeans with suspenders! They are too cute! We got Libbey a cute Fido Fleece too!

Funny story: Zach called me and told me they were at the Twins booth and that Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span were all there. My mom, Kirsten and I walked as fast as we could to go and see them! We were so excited!!! We were expecting to see large crowds, but by the time we got over there, the crowd wasn’t nearly as large as we had anticipated. We looked and looked for these guys, but couldn’t find them. My mom walked around the corner - and there they were....

Me and the guys!

We were somewhat disappointed, but took the photo opp anyways... Little stinker!

After that we stopped for some Karoake at the Giant Sing Along (we sang Sweet Caroline!), enjoyed some Walleye sticks and made our way through the Global Bazaar.

Kirsten, Mom, me and Bethany

We then met up with the kids and they coaxed me into joining them in the haunted house. I screamed all the way through it – but it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it to be when I was little.

After that we split up again. The boys headed in their own direction, as did us adults. Later on, we met up in the Midway. We watched Zach and Alex play lots of games and win lots of little stuffed animals.

To make sure we ended the night in our standard traditional fashion, we made our way over to Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar and got a bucket of cookies! YUM!

 

All in all, it was a good day at the fair! There were lots of things that we didn’t do or see… where did the time go? And also since Sherri didn’t get to join us, we are heading back to the fair on Friday (the 2^nd) for more fun and food!

Twins Game

Shane scored some tickets for Sunday’s Twins game against the Yankees. He got 4 tickets, and of course neither him or Zach wanted to go… so my mom, sister, Ryan and I went to the game.

We had seats in the dugout box – section 6 row 13. Awesome seats! The best part is you don’t have to wait in those huge lines to get a hot dog! You have your own little concession stands underneath!

Well, the Twins didn’t win -  the final score ended up 0 to 3 (Yankees Win).

But we still had a good time.

Great Seats, beautiful weather! Who could ask for more!

Persistent Sophie

Sophie is so persistent when it comes to playing with her toys. Here she is telling me exactly how much she wants me to play with her. This is pretty much a daily thing - She loves to play fetch and will get your attention one way or another!

Make sure you turn up your sounds so you can HEAR her! So funny!

Canterbury Downs

Shane and I were invited to go to Canterbury Downs on Thursday night! It was so much fun! Our friend snapped this fun picture of us, so I thought I'd share it!

The color on this picture wasn't enhanced in any way! Such a beautiful night!

Valleyfair

We were invited to spend the day at VALLEYFAIR on Sunday!



Zach and Sherri at the front gate



L to R: (Hannah, Alexis, Sherri, Zach, Timmy, Grandma, Marissa)

My Aunt called and said she could get discount tickets through her work, so we decided that we’d join! Zach invited his friend Timmy, so we headed out Sunday morning, picked up Timmy, then drove and picked up Sherri. We met my aunt and her three little grand-daughters (Hannah – 8, Alexis – 5, Marissa – 1) for the day. My Grandma also decided to join us for the day (although I’m not sure she knew what she was in for!). We met them at the front gate at about 1:00pm, did the traditional picture in front of the fountain, and the boys were off!!!

We took the little girls on a few kiddy rides to start off with, then it started getting pretty HOT outside, so we decided that it was time to go to Soak City - the waterpark!

Alexis, Marissa and Auntie

Hannah, Alexis and Sherri

Marissa

We changed into our swimsuits and spent some time going down the lazy river, then Sherri and I took Hannah on a BIG TUBE water slide! It was kinda scary, but fun! Afterwards, we spent some time in the wave pool! The girls loved jumping over the waves.

We toweled off a little bit and grabbed a bite to eat! My aunt and grandma decided that it was time to go home, so after hugs and kisses, they were on their way.

Hannah, Alexis and Sherri

Alexis and Marissa

So after we changed back into our dry clothes, we met up with Zach and Timmy and brought our swimsuits out to the car, and then headed off to the big roller coasters. Zach gets a little motion sickness on rides, so he does a good job of pacing himself so he doesn’t get sick. We first went on the Wild Thing! I SCREAMED the ENTIRE ride! It was fun! Then we headed over to the Renegade, the Excalibur, and the Corkscrew. Somewhere in the middle, we ended up on Thunder Canyon – the ride that gets you SOAKED!

To top off the night, Zach and Timmy decided to go on Steel Venom. I knew if I went on this ride, that I would feel the effects of the rides, so Sherri and I sat this one out. But not the “Ride Warriors”, as Zach and Timmy called themselves, they got in line and waited for their turn.

Zach and Timmy on Steel Venom - Giving the 'Thumbs Up'

 

Check out the video of the ride! Just a forewarning, you might experience some of the motion sickness watching this video, that Zach experienced after the ride! 

 

All in all, it was a fun day! Zach wasn’t feeling too hot on the way home (I think that last ride got to him) - but he survived!