A Weekend in Minneapolis

Dan, Ingrid and I hopped a plane to visit friends and family in Minneapolis. The plane ride was a little longer than expected, but I'll share more about that experience another day. Here's a little look into our trip after this little gem from Ingrid:

When we pulled into my aunt's driveway, Ingrid yelled "Immi!" - thinking we were at our friend's house back home.

Classic Ingrid.

Back to the trip. We spent a few nights enjoying the company of our family. Ingrid loved being the center of attention. Dan and I were shaking our heads in slight-annoyance with the magnitude of Ingrid's new-found hamming-it-up-skills.

Ingrid took a break from nose scrunching and dancing to bluegrass to snuggle with Aunt Kiki (Kirsten is pretty difficult to pronounce):

"Everyone look at me. Look, I'm giving the duck water."

Surprisingly, when I asked Dan what he wanted to do during our visit he threw out the idea of going to the Mall of America. I knew he wanted to see the epic consumerism first-hand and was curious to see what all the fuss was about. Our mall agenda consisted of: a carousel ride, multiple elevator rides, Orange Julius and spending way too much time in the Lego Store: 

Sifting through a sea of heads. 

Dan and I both fought over the bomber jacket. I think I could have rocked it. 

Amazed by just about everything.

The reason we planned the visit was to celebrate my cousin's wedding celebration. Of course, we didn't get a picture of her in her amazingly beautiful dress - but it was great to see her and other family members and introduce them to Ingrid. She was drawn to the flock of blonde-haired little girls and hovered around them excitedly, the youngest by at least four years.

My favorite observation of Ingrid's social interaction with "the big girls," was when she pointed to a bus outside. She exclaimed "BUS!" and looked at the girls for validation but came up flat. The girls were too young to humor Ingrid and the whole thing was awkward and somehow really sweet.

She did stop running around long enough to sit with Grandma and Great-Grandma for these short, but sweet moments:

It was nice to see Dan relax. We took an hour and went to a nearby coffee shop to do that - just be low-key. Normally, our dates are scheduled months in advance or we go out to a dinner or show - it was refreshing to have a "date" over multiple cups of coffee, treats and giggle between spurts of work.

Another highlight was going out to brunch with our friends and their new baby girl. Of course we didn't get a picture of her either. We then continued the celebration after the kids went to bed with cocktails and one of my favorite cheese plates ever (mini-curried tomatoes? Yes!).

This little getaway was needed for the three of us. We needed to take a break from our weekend routine and get our of the house (to something other than a campground). It helps that every time I go to Minneapolis I fall in love with the city more and more. Even though it's never been my home, I feel a connection as my family is from the state and it's just nice.

The best part of the weekend? Seeing my sisters and my mom: