Minnesota 2010: Trip #2

Ellie and I spent the last week in June on our second trip of the summer to Minnesota. There were two reasons for the trip: First, I was able to get a round-trip ticket for only $170 (a first since we've lived in Great Falls - they usually average around $450). Our second reason for the trip was that we were so busy working on house and business stuff when we were there in May, we didn't really get a chance to visit with our friends and family. So we were very excited to get back and visit with everyone. As always, the trip went by far too fast. But Ellie and I are still very thankful for the time we did get to spend with everyone!

Here's a photo synopsis of our trip:

Part of the reason our airline ticket was so cheap was that it wasn't a direct flight - we had a layover in Denver both ways. We were lucky on flight #1 that Ellie was able to get her own seat. Unfortunately, that luck didn't follow us to flight #2. Imagine an overcrowded flight and you have an overtired one year old who is hyped up on sugar from the first flight (I blame the airline attendants), and you have a man next to you who doesn't enjoy children, and it's 11:30pm. Did I mention she pooped and the restroom didn't have the changing table? Okay. You get the picture. A bit of a nightmare when you are traveling alone with a child. Thankfully flights #3 and #4 were pretty uneventful.

We got in late Wednesday night and my sister and brother-in-law picked us up and we stayed the night with them. The next day, Ellie and I met up with our good friend, Aeleah, for a trip to Como Zoo. Ellie had a great time (despite the summer heat). Besides "woof" (which she uses for most animals), she now knows what the monkeys say: "ooo ooo eee ah ah ah"! Also while at Como, Eliana got her first ride on a Carousel - she was amazed at the ride, lights, and sounds.


Thursday afternoon, Darren brought us back to my sister's place and Eliana took a quick nap in her Auntie Amanda's arms. We then enjoyed a nice evening visiting with Amanda & Steve and Heather & John over dinner, and then Uncle Steve took Ellie swimming in the pool before it was time to leave. Ellie sure loves her aunts and uncles!

Heather had driven us to Willmar late the night before so we slept in a bit on Friday morning. We made the rounds around the courthouse and police department with Grandpa Dave, visited with the neighbors for awhile around lunchtime, had a quick visit with Grandma Bev when we picked up the car and then drove on to Casselton, ND where we visited my best friend, Brandy, and her family. Ellie had a great time with Brandy's 3 girls. We took the kids swimming in their pool after dinner and then the youngest 3 enjoyed more time in the water together in the bathtub upstairs. The best part of the evening, for me, was after we put the kids to bed and Brandy and I got some time to sit and talk. It's been so long since we've been able to have a relaxed visit and I didn't realize how much I had missed that. I am truly looking forward to more visits with the Pyle family soon!

Saturday was yet another whirlwind day. Ellie spent the morning playing hard with the girls and then we headed to Fargo for lunch at Olive Garden. After lunch, we said goodbye to Brandy's family and moved on to our next stop, Alexandria, MN. Ellie was so exhausted, she didn't even take the time to take the toy out of her mouth before she fell asleep in the car! A couple hours later, we arrived at Rick & Doreen's house and had a very nice visit with them and my cousins, Sarah & Jenna. Of course no trip to their house is complete without at least a quick dip in the lake and Ellie was only too happy to volunteer. Despite the cool temp of the water, Ellie stayed in for awhile - what a waterbug! Before we left, Ellie got her toes painted by her Great-aunt Doreen. I wish I would have taken a picture of them - they were so cute and received LOTS of comments over the next week!

Sunday was a much-needed day of relaxation. We went to church in the morning with my parents, went out for lunch afterward, and then spent the rest of the day going back and forth between the house and the dog kennel where Ellie insisted she be brought every 5 minutes to see the "woof". It had rained on Saturday night, so on Sunday night, we got Ellie out of bed to take her to the Willmarfest fireworks. Grandpa Dave found us a good parking spot by the lake and we didn't even need to get out of the car and be eaten alive by mosquitos to see them. Ellie was like a puppy with her head out the window - she was in awe watching them from Grandma Vicky's lap!

On Monday morning, we picked up Grandma Bev and visited Great-Grandma Marcus in the nursing home. Then Grandma Vicky took the afternoon off of work so that she could have a whole afternoon of quality Eliana time. They went to the park, visited the bank, ate some Dairy Queen cones, watched Grandpa mow the grass, and just had a good time together. During that time, I met up with 3 of my very good friends from college: Gail, Meghan, & Kari. I got to show them our new house, and then we went to Spicer for dinner at Melvin's on the Lake and had a nice night of mini-golf where yours truly showed off some not-so-skilled moves on the putting green. :) I had a great time, ladies, and am looking forward to a night of fun this fall with you!

Tuesday was our last day and we spent it with Grandma Bev and Grandpa Daryl. Grandma Bev helped us wash out all the cupboards and closets at our new house so it is all ready for us to move in. We visited Grandpa at the office, had lunch, and then we all had a nice nap in the afternoon. Grandma spoiled Ellie with a portable DVD player later that afternoon in anticipation of some upcoming travels. That evening we had a nice dinner - tacos - of which Ellie ate none, but then proceeded to eat the bird feed on the deck later that night. Oh boy... We unfortunately didn't get any pictures with either Grandpa, but I know Ellie sure enjoyed time with both of them!

Wednesday, it was time to head back home to Montana. Bev & Daryl drove us to the airport, and two flights later, Ellie was back to enjoying time in her daddy's arms. No shortage of love for this kid!