Labor Day Weekend

We started our holiday weekend early by taking another vacation day on Thursday. What would any Minnesotan do with a weekday off during the last week in August?! Why - we went to the MN State Fair, of course! The day was cloudy and a little cool but it was probably of the best kind of days to tolerate the fair. We started with a little education at the Alphabet Forest and then headed for a face painting - this was followed by rides at the Kidway. We couidln't go long without food - I picked up some mini doughnuts shoretly after we arrived. We had lunch, some cheese curds and followed that with ice cream. Around 1:30pm, we had enough for the day and headed home.

she loves having her face painted!

mmmm....mini doughnuts

giant slide

checking out the fish at the DNR area

Friday morning we had a lazy start and before we knew it, it was time to pick up my parents at the airport! My dad really wanted to see the fair so we headed back there. It rained shortly after we arrived but thankfully it didn't last long. We immediately grabbed some cheese curds and ate them in the rain. Duane had an ear of corn and then my dad bought a pronto pup. We meandered some more and then had lunch, followed by Sweet Martha's cookies. We walked around a bit in hopes that Liv would sleep but she didn't. While we walked, Duane and my dad tried a blueberry beer but decided it wasn't as amazing as it sounded. Olivia had a small start painted on her cheek and rode more rides. We ended our day with some ice cream and then headed back to the truck.

Saturday's weather looked pretty iffy so we decided not to go boating. While Olivia and my parents played pirates, DUane and I headed to the Subaru dealership to pick up my new car! It took longer than I thought so by the time we got back home, Olivia needed a nap. We went to a local park and then had dinner at Los Tortillas. While the guys put Liv to bed, my mom and I ran to the new outlet mall near our house and shopped as much as we could before they closed.

my 1st brand new car!

We really wanted to get out on the boat again so we headed to White Bear Lake. The day started out a little cloudy and cool but once again, the day improved and we had a lovely afternoon. Olivia was given one of her birthday presents and had a great time playing with it on the boat. Our day on WBL ended at Cup-N-Cone and then we raced home. My cousin in Shakopee had a Labor Day party so it was nice to end the evening with grilled food and some time outside.

Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for taking time off work and flying up here for the holiday weekend! We had a great time and wish we could have had a few more days!