Summary of Minnesota Trip

Greetings friends and family! Sorry I haven't blogged lately as Craig and I have been in Minnesota for two weeks. Every day we had a full day of fun activities. I hope at some point to upload photos from Craig of our fun adventure. Here are the highlights in chronological (give or take) :

• Arrived on the 27th of August in the evening and parents took us to Bunny's. Mom purchased Craigy B a hat (photo to come soon) 
• Wednesday we had lunch at the 5-8 Club with parents. Afterwards dad dropped us off at the Mall of America. Went to local cinema and saw 'Jobs' movie - Craig liked it thought some parts of the story were missing, I on the other hand fell asleep.
• Thursday dad drove us to Mr. Gangstead's house for a quick chit chat then we (Craig and I) walk to Twins game vs. Kansas City Royals. Good seats but had to ask for seat change to be in shade (Very Hot and sunny day!) 
• Road Light Rail back to Mall of America - and did some shopping. For dinner we had my mom's Aunt Betty's baked spaghetti.
• Friday morning we left early (Craig, dad and I) for the State Fair. I was able to get 2 free admission tickets because I volunteered 9am to noon at Memorial Blood Centers booth - where we type people's blood. I was part of the PR team. This gave Craig and dad plenty of time to bond. After my shift finished we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying various food items on a stick, seeing various exhibits etc. 
• Saturday Craig and I drove over to Panera to meet Renee and her husband for a light breakfast.  They then invited us to meet them at the State Fair for the Talent Show for Sunday evening.  Once we scooted back home my mom drove us down to Guthrie theatre to see the building and park.  We then had a late lunch at Sea Change which is a fancy seafood restaurant.  Afterwards mom gave us a tour of the Minneapolis Lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, and Lake of the Isles). To end of the evening we had a fantastic meal at Steve G house.  A good friend named Sue Perkins was also there to meet Craig.
• Sunday we tried to go for a boat ride along the MIssissipi but couldn't get tickets.  So instead we went to a local bar and Grill at Seven Corners in MInneapolis.  Then my parents dropped us off at Dunwoody to catch the bus for the State Fair.  We arrived 4 hours before the show so we walked around, ate various food on a stick, etc.  Then a little before 7pm we met Rene and her family at the Talent Show. Had a great time. Fireworks at the end. We took bus back to Richfield and dad picked us up.   
•  Monday we (parents, Craig and I) went for a boat ride along the Mississippi.  After that we headed over to Minnehaha falls - which was packed with people because it was Labour Day and festivities were going on.  We had lunch at Sea Salt Eatery- which is a local seafood restaurant.  We then ended out afternoon at DQ - It was a first for Craig and he enjoyed it 110%.
• Tuesday morning my dad took us all to the Minnesota History Museum over in St. Paul.  This gave Craig an eye opener about various MN history. We really enjoyed all of the exhibits. After that we all headed to downtown Minneapolis for a light lunch at Brit's Pub.  Craig felt right at home seeing the British flags.  
• Wednesday Sept  4-6 Craig and I flew to Chicago. Summary of trip: we went on architecture tour, visited Navy Pier, Millenium Park, Lincoln Park Zoo, We saw Blue Man Group, Went to Second City (Improv), went to Weber Grill (favorite restaurant of mine), Adler Planetarium, Stopped at Garretts Popcorn (BEST POPCORN EVER!) , and did loads of walking! Plus Craig was actually fine with taking bus rides and rides on the L.
• Once we came back we went to the Jungle theater- where Steve Gangstead (family friend) is on the advisory board.  The performance was great. Afterwards there was an after party full of various sandwiches, chips, cake/pie etc. 
• Saturday was mainly a catch up day for Craig to purchase some more presents for his family. Later that afternoon we took Marissa (a girl I was a nanny for in 2011-2012) to YogurtLab. Was really fun to see her and we enjoyed some unique flavors of frozen yogurt. 
• Sunday September 8th we had a huge party at my parents house. Most of the guests are from our neighborhood but some were my moms friends. The best part of the party was a belly dancer! Really fun. Also we celebrated all September birthdays. 
• Monday Sept 9 was my dad's birthday. We had a birthday lunch at home (mainly of leftovers from the party) and Diane and Gil came over. Craig and I gave dad his birthday presents. Was really impressed he bought my dad a tablet - a Lenovo Idea Tab. He also purchased a tea tumbler for my mom along with wristlet to hold phones.  Later that afternoon dad took us to the airport. Mom didn't want to go as it was too emotional for her. 

I believe Craig had a blast on this trip and I definitely could see him being 'American' living the dream!