Minnesota

After we returned from the cruise, we spent almost 2 weeks in Minnesota.  I (Rachel) lived in MN for 14 years and Eric's mom grew up in MN so he has lots of family there.  We enjoyed spending a lot of time with Eric's grandparents, Grammy and Papa, as well as a few cousins of both Rachel's and Eric's, aunts and uncles, and a few friends.  Grammy and Papa graciously reserved an apartment for us in their retirement complex, so we even had our own space for one of those weeks (so luxurious!).  

Maggie and Ben in our own apartment...Mags getting on her ballerina garb and Ben finding random toys to play with

We were able to visit my best friend from college, Cassi, and her family.  They live on Forest Lake and it was a great place to visit!  We went swimming, picnic-ed out on the lawn, walked to DQ, and took the pontoon boat out.  Maggie even got to DRIVE the boat, a big highlight for her.

 The kids, chilling out while watching a movie

It was a great two weeks, very relaxing, and the kids enjoyed a chance to bond with their great-grandparents.

 Maggie also formed a special relationship with Uncle Bill.  He's an architect, and spent some time showing Maggie the finer points of block building.

 Thanks to everyone for making our trip so fun!  From MN, we headed out to Baltimore via Chicago and Columbus, OH.  We arrived last week and will post more soon about our adventures here.  Eric has been attending classes at Hopkins, and the kids and I have found lots of fun things to do during the day.