There's No Place Like Home

We just got back from another wonderful trip to MN. I could really get used to this visiting once a month thing! Too bad I don’t have endless vacation days… I really need to do something about that. Get ready for lots of pictures in this one...

After a few undesirable trips to the airport, we finally landed at MSP Thursday morning. My parents and my brother picked me up and we headed straight to St. Croix National in Wisconsin to make our 10am tee time. When we got there, it was raining quite a bit so we decided to head into Stillwater for a while to wait out the rain. Lumberjack Days were just starting, so we drove around town and checked it out a bit. Then we went to the Freight House to grab an early lunch. After lunch the rain clouds disappeared and we headed back to the golf course. It was perfect timing! St. Croix National was awesome... It was my first time ever playing there. It was actually my first 18 holes of the season and it went much better than expected. After golf we went out for pizza to complete a great day with the family.









That night I met all the ladies at the nail salon where they were getting manis and pedis. Due to my dress fitting, I would have to do mine myself. No time for pampering for this girl... just go, go, go. Afterwards, Angie and I went to Wild Bills to have a few drinks, relax on the patio, and catch up. It was perfect patio weather (one of the things I miss most about MN summers). A few other familiar faces showed up as well. It was nice to see those guys again!

On Friday I headed down to Treasure Island to hang out before the rehearsal dinner. We had pizza, pitchers of beer, and BOWLING! It was definitely a good time. I broke out the koozies for the bridal party - they were quite a hit! Yay! We ventured into the casino for some late night fun at Parlay Lounge before calling it a night.









The next day was the whole reason for my trip home - Sarah and Ryan's wedding!!! So exciting!! We started the day off with hair, makeup, and mimosas. Then we finished getting ready just in time for pictures. After pictures we had some time to relax (or attempt to relax anyway!) before the ceremony. The ceremony was at Paradise Cove down by the Mississippi River. It was absolutely beautiful... just like the bride! =) We all made it through with no tripping, no fainting, no runaway brides! It was a success! Then it was time for dinner and celebrating with the new happy couple!! It was such a fun night! Thanks again Ryan and Sarah for including me in your day - it was truly an honor! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day... enjoy!









Sunday we had a surprise visit from Lisa P... we got to see her for a quickie at Rudy Red Eye's before we brought her to the airport. LP - it's always a pleasure. Hopefully we will see you in Portland sometime soon!

After that we ventured to St Paul to visit Adam's mom and his brothers and sisters. We spent the day outside playing mini golf at Como Park. Adam won - of course. It was SUPER HOT that day, so we stopped at Snuffy's for some ice cream to cool us down. The Brownie Malt is delish, for the record! For dinner we went back to my parents' house for some steaks! One thing is for sure, we always eat good whenever we go home!









Monday morning we packed up our things and got ready to go back to Boston. But not before a visit to Grant and Nichole's to see baby Levi! He is such a cutie. He is quite the little kicker... we might have a soccer player on our hands! =)

After yet MORE problems at the airport (Delta and I are NOT getting along) we finally got home around midnight. Going to work today was definitely a chore. Would I take any of it back? No way! As usual, it was a great time Minnesota... we can't wait to visit you again!

We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave!

With temperatures topping 90 degrees for the umpteenth day in a row, we tried to beat the heat and humidity by heading to the beach today. We went to Salisbury Beach on the North Shore and apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea... the beach was PACKED with seas and seas of people. You had to search far and wide for a place to lay your towel, but we had a fun though. We took a few refreshing dips in the ocean to keep cool. The water temp in the Atlantic is only about 60 degrees right now... it was quite chilling! We played with my new favorite beach toy - the Waboba ball! It's a small ball about the size of a hackysack and it bounces on the water. It's a lot of fun! We were playing catch, skipping it off waves, etc. I highly recommend it for all you water lovers out there! We also checked out the sandcastles on the boardwalk. Every year they have a sandcastle building contest at this beach and I will say they're nothing like the overturned bucket castles I used to build as a kid!

All in all, it was a nice relaxing day at the beach. However, we are hoping for some cooler weather to come our way. Our A/C needs a break... and I'm going to gain 20lbs if I keep eating all this ice cream! =)