Minnesota

It's been a whirlwind of a summer so far. We arrived home from Leland on Sunday June 27. The Nelsons cam to visit on Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon. My Grandfather passed on Wednesday afternoon and we were on planes to Minnesota by Friday for the funeral. Andrew and Landon came from Friday to Tuesday but Libbie and I were there until Friday, July 9. This was just in time for us to leave for a week in Dewey Beach, Delaware with Andrew's family.

Though the trip to Minnesota was not planned in our summer and it wasn't a trip we were looking forward to, it was a great chance for us to spend more time with my family. We normally get to see this side only once a year in Leland, so were happy to spend some quality time reminiscing about Grandpa and all our memories.

It's not everyday that we dress up, so I took this opportunity to get a family picture, especially before the tears came. Every service for Grandpa was just beautiful and though many tears were shed there were twice as many laughs in celebrating his life.

Almost everyday we were gathering at my grandparent's house for a cookout, lunch, or dinner of some sort. Libbie used this as a time to practice her coke drinking skills.
We found this game, Picket Wicket, in the toy cabinet. There were no directions so we had to use the box as a guide to figuring out the game. We did know that the object of the game was to get the marble from one end to the other, we just weren't sure if could move all the wooden pieces or two at a time or whatever. According to the picture on the box you can move as many as you want , but your turn ends when the marble falls.
Danny was the first to mater the game.
Then my cousin Patrick gave it a try and mastered the game.
Andrew and I made a pit stop at my uncle's Sunglass shop while in Minnesota. I had no intention of buying sunglasses, but we did. Andrew got a pair of Native sunglasses and I bought a pair of Maui Jim. You should check out the website if you are in the market for some sunglasses! Now I just need to make sure I don't break them!
We made a short trip to the mall of America. We only went to let Landon ride some of the rides. Danny and I squeezed one in also!
We couldn't leave without enjoying the deliciousness that is the Nestle Tollhouse Cafe.
We all enjoyed some treat from the cafe...Yummy!
I couldn't leave without having Libbie take a picture with her namesake, my Grandma. My grandma's name in Mary Elizabeth but has always gone by Libbie, so that's where Libbie's name comes from.I had to sneak into one also!