A Fun Holiday Weekend Had By All

As long holiday weekends go this past one was a very nice one. The weather (for Minnesota this time of year) was beautiful for the most part. The food was plentiful and delicious on Thanksgiving day . . . although when all was said and done my mom and I determined we were on our feet for nearly 12 hours straight preparing the meal (it was worth it!) and were really tired out when the day was done. And of course spending time in Mankato with my parents was a welcome retreat to the hectic pace of life we seem to keep in Maple Grove. It is funny though because I am getting closer and closer to a point where I have lived places besides Mankato longer than I lived in Mankato I am starting to feel more like a visitor. It will always be "home" in that I grew up and graduated from High School there, but it certainly is NOT remotely close to the town I grew up in. Admittedly I don't get there as often as my parents or I would like, but it seems each time I do go, something new has sprung up in some place that was once a corn field. This trip was no different as I headed to the shopping area on Friday near my High School to discover there is a Lowe's store now open.

The kids and I headed home late on Saturday. Sunday we planned to travel to Cambridge to a Christmas Tree farm Bill and I started going to back in 1991 to cut down our Christmas Tree. We really lucked out on Sunday as the weather was mild -- nearly in the 40's and sunny. There was a little wind but we all stayed toasty warm on our hunt for the "perfect tree."' As usual we weren't disappointed and found a lovely Balsam Fir that will soon take up residence in our living room. We reminisced about year's past where the snow was up to our knees and the temps near zero as we trudged around the tree fields. We agreed it seems our winters seem to be slowly getting milder -- I am just not sure if that is a good thing or not??

Here are some photos highlighting our weekend.

Four Wheeling with Grandpa on Thanksgiving Day (Anna on 4-wheeler and Ryan being towed on a sled).

Baking Cookies with Grandma on "Black Friday" (notice how grandma's rolling pin and pastry mat match Anna's pink shirt).

Traveling to the Christmas Tree Farm and Cutting Down Our Tree on Sunday (I compared our family photo to last year's at the tree farm and boy have Ryan & Anna gotten taller).