Little known fact about the RMR family.

Frankie, Pa and I used to live in Min-nee-sooooo-tah back in the day.  It’s where Pa and I met during our undergraduate years, it’s where we got married, it’s where we adopted our first cat and it’s where both of our sisters and my parents currently live.

It was time to make an excursion “up north” happen.

As usual, the visit went by way too fast, we had a great time, and we were exhausted and ready for another vacation when we arrived home on Monday afternoon.

So let’s backtrack to last Thursday morning.  After a long night of packing and cleaning, we knew we had to run in the morning.  You might be thinking that it’s called vacation for a reason but believe me, Pa and I have taken many a vacation and skipped running and the results are not pretty.

After the run and showers, we made a mad dash to get everything done, all this while trying to entertain a crawling baby who was on the cusp of being overtired.  We were on the road by 10 and had a wonderful drive up to Minnesota which included a great place to stop for lunch.

This was a nice rest stop in far north Missouri and we stopped for almost an hour, allowing Lula to explore and enjoy a change of scenery.

There were a lot of clouds on the drive there, which is always a good thing.By the way, is it a rite of passage to learn to drive only in the left lane if you grow up in Minnesota?  I swear, every time we enter the state, immediately we see Minnesotans using the left lane as the default lane.I actually came up on people who were driving in the left lane, not another car in sight.  When they saw me, they moved into the right lane and after I passed, immediately got back in the left lane.  This is the kind of thing that Pa and I discussed for hours on the drive.  We had to stay awake, after all.

I nursed whenever we stopped, and although this looks idyllic, it was getting pretty hot out and was quite uncomfortable in reality.  Sitting in the car was a lot easier.

Lula slept for most of the drive, fitfully I might add, because once I put her down for bed that evening after we got to Jake’s sister’s home, none of us heard a thing until we woke her up the next morning!

Blissfully, Pa and I slept until 7 AM and started our day by…going to Target to shop.  Seems like a reasonable way to start a vacation, right?  We needed a few essentials we forgot to pack- namely, a Starbucks latte for me.

After a relaxing morning which included Lula taking a “real” morning nap without tears (who is this kid?), we headed out for a picnic lunch at Minnehaha Falls (in the heart of Minneapolis).

It was a beautiful day, especially in comparison to the weather we had been having back home, and we were happy to eat a leisurely lunch and do some people watching.In preparation for the trip, I packed a number of Baby Bullets for Lula full of black beans, sweet potato, onion, and green bean.  Surprisingly, she wanted NOTHING to do with this mixture.  I ended up eating some of it and after a few days of the flavors melding, I must admit that it tasted pretty terrible.

After our picnic, we headed to IKEA which has become an annual event.  Emily, from Joyful Abode, blogged about these potty seats and Pa and I made a mental note months ago to pick up a few.  In preparation for whenever potty training begins, we purchased three.  We also found some awesome gifts for my nephews and exhausted ourselves wandering around.

We ended the day with delicious grilled food and lots of good conversation.

Part II coming soon…

Have a wonderful day!!