A Weekend Up North

Phew!  What a weekend! 

This weekend, Hans and I went up to MN to see his sister graduate from college.  I find this hard to believe since I still remember her as the 13 year old she was when I met her.  I guess that means I'm getting old too!

The weekend was fun, but it was jam-packed, so let me start at the beginning and see what if I can give y'all the gist of it all.

Saturday
Hans had flown up on Thursday morning, so a good part of the packing and tying up loose ends was left to me.  I was supposed to have had Friday morning off, but due to a sick employee I worked all day (13 hours), and then I had to go home and finish packing.  Needless to say, by the time I had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, I was TIRED.  The good thing about this, though, is that it made the flight pass quickly.  I'm pretty sure I was asleep before we finished take off, and I slept for a good hour or so.  Our flight only ended up being 2 hours and 10 minutes, so I was happy.

When we landed, I made my way out the airport to meet up with Hans who was waiting for me.  Since this was also the first weekend of  marathon training, I wanted to make sure I got a run in, so Hans took me to a park in the cities called Minnehaha Park (don't you love the name?).  It was a beautiful park, but I couldn't help but think how much Cody and Lollie would have loved to have been there.  I already missed them so much!

Aren't these views from my run gorgeous?!

After the run, we drove down to Hans' hometown where we met up with the rest of his family.  It was wonderful seeing them all, particularly my nephew whom I hadn't seen in almost 2 years!  I still can't believe he's 4 now! 

The rest of the day consisted of lunch, an evening Vespers service, and dinner with the family.  Then it was off to bed!

Sunday
Sunday was a whirlwind of activity as that was graduation day.  Hans and I were so tired, we actually elected to skip the Baccalaureate, but we met up with his family afterward for the President's Dinner.  Then came the big moment, the ceremony.  Things were actually quite fast, as the graduating class of 576 only took 1.5 hours to graduate.  That's impressive.  It was a beautiful day, and Hans was able to take some great pictures.

Graduation's over!

After that, we had a very brief rest, and then we went for a celebratory dinner that Hans' mom had arranged.  It was quite lovely.

Yummmm.  Food.

After dinner, we went back to the house to chat, but then it was off to bed for lots of sleep.

Monday
Monday was our last day in town, and we woke up early.  Hans started packing while I went for another run.  This was a run of firsts.  It was the first time I've truly run through his town.  I've tried running there in the past, but that was before I was a runner, and I don't think I'd ever made it a mile.  This time I went 3 miles without stopping.  I was planning to end the run there, but then I met up with Hans' brother.  We had originally planned to meet first thing, but due to a miscommunication, we missed each other.  Luckily, we ran into each other (pun intended), so we went for a while together.  I did an additional 2.7 miles with him.  That was so unusual, because I've never known Hans' brother as a runner.  It was great having a running buddy there, and it was a good way for the two of us to bond a little (YAY!).

After the run, I went back to our hotel (which was the most beautiful hotel ever), and we were served breakfast.  I enjoyed a delicious meal of chocolate-walnut scone, scrambled eggs, home fries, and Texas toast.  Delicious!  Then it was time for me to shower quickly and we had to leave.

We went to Hans' family home and said our farewells (never an easy process), and then we departed.  We drove for about an hour before we stopped to visit my old roommate, Jackie.  She happened to be in town at the same time and was driving home to MO on Monday, so we arranged a meet up.  It was wonderful seeing her and great catching up, but one of the best parts was having the opportunity to meet her new puppy, Winston.

Jackie, me, and Winston.  Did I mention we stopped at Culver's?  They have the best custard and fried cheese curds!

Isn't he adorable?!

After that, we had one last stop to make, and then it was time to go HOME.  As much fun as this trip was, I missed the warm weather, I missed my own bed, and most importantly, I missed Cody and Lollie!!

Our flight went smoothly, and I was soon able to greet my mom and my dogs.  All in all, it was a fun but exhausting trip.  I'm happy to be home, but I'll also miss our family up north.  Until next time!