The
Dahms Visit:
OMFG!
June was so awesome! (Yeah, I'm using the
word "awesome.") Mom, Dad, Dougie-wuggie
and Crittle-Corners made the trip from California
to Minnesota.
I
love my family. I also love my Minnesota.
I just need them to meet and hopefully fall
in love with each other, too! Minnesota
was so sweet the entire visit. It dished
up some great weather and set the platform
for a great week.
Here we go...
Winnebago-a-go-go:
The
folks flew in Friday evening to a wet Minnesota.
We had a calm night at home, Mom cooked
tacos, everyone caught up on conversation
and we prepared for my cousin's wedding
in Winnebago, a little town in south-central
Minnesota.
It's fun going to weddings. Everyone starts out so peaceful and charming. But by the end of the night smiles get wider, laughs get louder and attendees convince themselves that they must get out on the dance floor and vogue...
White
Wedding:
Mom
and Dad are cute. They put up with our antics
and tolerated 24-, 30- and 31-year-olds
all acting like we're 16 for the night,
and they still managed to smile for the
camera. It was good to visit the grandparents
and extended family.
Getting
"awesome":
We
have these friends who refer to people getting
drunk as getting "awesome." I
needed to tell you this because I'm going
to start referring to the next several photos
as "awesome." What can I say...
my family brings out the best in me.
Hot
Child in the City:
Sunday:
We drove back to the Twin Ciites for a couple
of days of nonparental adventure. We touristed
the eating (and drinking) establishments
of St. Paul: Billy's, The Tavern, Alary's
and even the iconic Mickey's Diner.
Monday was reserved for relaxing, but on Tuesday it was back to beerin' at the Summit Brewery Tour.
Below, Below-Middle & Below-Right: Photos from the brewery tour. Below-Left: Paul & Greg @ The Tavern.
Belated
Birthday Gifts:
Wednesday:
The folks surprised me with a new 42"
flat screen TV and Blu-ray Disc player.
Greg loves you two so much.
Doug bought me a new router and completely networked all the computers in the house. Thanks, Huggie! You're so smart, big brudder!
If that's not enough, Crystal bought me a karaoke set for the PS2 and the game, "Dance-Dance Revolution." She said it was good for exercising, but it just made me look like I had a physical disabilty. Thanks.
¿Como
se llama?:
Thursday:
We started off with a visit to the St. Paul
Cathedral, delicious walleye at The Tavern
and a visit to Como Park.
Como is great. It's exactly what we needed after five very fun but busy days. It was sunny and floral and served as a nice reminder that you don't need to pay tons of money to have fun in St. Paul. Como Zoo is a great free zoo, the Conservatory has something for everyone and the entirety of Como Park (lake, pavilion, tea garden, etc.) is about as good as it gets.
Winding
Down :
Here
are more photos from Como: Crystal in the
gift shop and Dad in the butterfly exhibit.
We wrapped up our Como visit and went to Sweeney's Saloon for some drinks and food before heading to the Taste of Minnesota where we ate, drank, listened to music (Boston and REO Speedwagon, if you must know) and watched fireworks. Below: Crystal on a boat along the Mississippi River. Below-Middle: Carly getting "awesome." Below-Right: Twins! (We'll get to that in a second.)
Friday
the Fourth of July:
Crystal
insisted we do a Twins game before they
left, and I'm glad she did. This game was
one of the best I've seen in a while. We
killed Cleveland. We even packed in fireworks
by the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
I think Greg and I tired out everyone, but we had tons of fun. I love my family, but it was time they get out of my house so I could clean it.
Thanks Mom, Dad, Doug & Crystal. I love you and miss you...kinda.
