July 15, 2018

Minnesota nice=A Very Nice Family Reunion

Hans bakery, with its Texas donuts, was one of the highlights of our
Minnesota Family Reunion, 2018.

I must admit, that in the midst of raising our active brood of four, it never occurred to me that my children’s homes may one day be thousands of miles from one another.
Yep, it happens. At present, we have offspring living in Florida, Maryland, and Minnesota (plus an honorary “sibling” in South Carolina). Four years/five family reunions ago, in an effort to gather for some family fun time, I initiated the idea for our (first) annual family reunion. 

The Schedule

My Minnesota daughter and son-in-law kindly offered their newly-purchased home for this year’s get together, with two of my “kiddies” able to make the trip north. 

My daughter and son-in-law hosted us for the week.
They have just added Pongo, this cute Dalmatian puppy, to their family.

My daughter had Minnesota “goodie bags” for each of us when we arrived.
Above is part of our Minnesota-themed booty.
Thank you! :o)

Each family planned our activities for one-two day(s), including deciding on and preparing, or going out, for meals. It was a wonderful week and a memorable time.
I share with you some “highlight” photos of our Minnesota Family Reunion, 2018,
or as some prefer to call it, The Bold North Family Vacation.  :o) Enjoy!

“Highlight” Reel Reunion Photos 

Saturday

The Race

Our youngest son and his girlfriend flew up from Maryland, the day before everyone else,to participate in a local 5K with our daughter on Saturday morning.
They happily pose, and rest, after successfully finishing the race.

Psycho Suzi’s

Psycho Suzi’s, a popular Minneapolis restaurant with a playful island flair,
overlooks the Mississippi River.

They have good eats, including “done just right” crispy tater tots served with
every burger.

It was the perfect spot to relax and enjoy our first night all together.

Sunday

A Houseful of Great Cooks

The family all pitches in to make lunch, including the crushing of Oreos
for the yummy Easy Oreo Ice Cream Dessert.

Click here for the for Easy Oreo Ice Cream Dessert recipe.

Mini Golf

Mini-golf is a “must do” activity at all of our family reunions. :o) 

Lord Fletcher’s

Casual dining at Lord Fletcher’s on Lake Minnetonka, serves up tasty local walleye/fish, along with other delicious dishes.

Monday

Hans Bakery for Breakfast

Chandler and his girlfriend had done their research,
telling me that we were going to a bakery that had donuts the size of your head.
They weren’t joking! :o)
Hans Bakery was a real treat!

Mall of America

These three fans wear their Might Duck shirts in honor of the of
Disney’s Mighty Ducks movie trio.
In Mighty Ducks 2, there is a sequence where characters roller blade through
The Mall of America.

You can see that here.  The Mall of America shows up at about 44 seconds.

The Lego Store

There is a large Lego store at The Mall of America.

The Rainforest Cafe

We all had lunch at the animatronicly-decorated Rainforest Cafe.
This restaurant location was the very first of this chain, opening in 1994.
My eldest photo bombed my photo.  :o)

Crayola Experience

I had to make this I‘m Annette labeled crayon at the Crayola Experience! :o)
This attraction is only one of four Crayola Experiences in the U.S.

Playing around with the coloring page machine.

Melt and molds made from crayons!

There were crayons everywhere!

There were large crayons.

There were three pound crayons.

There were really tall markers, too!

Read about all of the exhibit here.

Pizza for Dinner

Take-out pizza was on the menu for dinner.
Black Sheep Pizza is a Twin City specialty.
There is even one at the Minneapolis Airport!

Tuesday

Minnehaha Falls

My daughter sports her Minnehaha Falls tee shirt,
as her hubby gives her a sweet kiss on the cheek in front of the romantic falls.

Everyone is all smiles while posing with the beautiful  Minnehaha Falls
in the background.

Whirlyball

Never heard of Whirlyball?  
It is an entertaining game using bumper cars and lacrosse-type scoops,
played by two teams.

You can read more about Whirlyball here.

It was a lot of fun!

Age one was too young to play Whirlyball,
so several us got to take turns taking care of this little lady.

Clubs are Trump

The card game Clubs are Trump has fueled the fires of friendly competition in
my family for many years. 

Wednesday/4th of July

Bruggers Bagels for Breakfast

My daughter and my hubby were up bright and early to pick up these festive
pre-ordered bagels from Brueggers Bagels on 4th of July morning.

Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake

My daughter creates this 4th of July treat, a patriotic cheesecake,
while wearing her WDW/Muppets tee shirt. :o).
(We were happy to have her in-laws join us for the day.  :o))

Having a mini (can) soda in Minnesota! (Your pun for the day.  :o))

There was a corn hole/bean bag competition.

We had a cute baby dancing to Little Baby Bum.

There was an Eagle-making contest.

You can find the instructions for this edible Eagle here.
(I used mini-chocolate chips for the eyes,
rather than what the instructions suggest.)

We made s’mores.

It was a great 4th of July!

Thursday

Dizzy’s Pancakes for Breakfast

My hubby makes a “mean” pancake.  They are the best!  
The grand children’s nickname for him is Dizzy, so these are now known as
Dizzy’s Pancakes.

You can find the recipe for these pancakes here.

Take Me to the Zoo

We were all excited to go to the Minnesota Zoo.
It’s good to have your aunt around to help you out.  :o)

Baby wonder

 

I had to share my leopard photo. Isn’t he pretty?

The otters are always a treat to watch.

 

We enjoyed watching the feeding time for the penguins.

It was a fun day at the zoo, and I even got to see my first moose in person!

 

The Famous Juicy Lucy

A local tourist destination, that is also frequented by locals, The 5-8 Club  has also been  featured on The Travel Channel’s Man Vs. Food. Once a speakeasy, it is now home to the original (well, at least one of two places who claim the original crown) Juicy Lucy.
(A Juicy Lucy is two burgers wrapped around cheese, and cooked to perfection.)

You can see a 2.5 minute clip about The 5-8 Club from The Travel Channel here.
Beware!  Viewing this may make you hungry for a Juicy Lucy! :o)

I enjoyed the tasty Fried Cheese Curds!

The Juicy Lucy was yummy, and the cheese in the center made this sandwich
a winner!

The Park

Several evenings we all went to the local park to play soccer, baseball, play on the playground, swing, and just plain relax.

A big smile to go along with this new zoo Spider-moose shirt.

Happy to be on the swings.

Snuggling with Pongo. 

Friday

Our reunion time together was nearing and end,
as some of us headed home Friday, while the rest of us flew home on Saturday.
Keeping that in mind, I asked some of the gang to pose for this morning photo.

The Mad Hatter Restaurant/Tea Room

The Mad Hatter Restaurant and Tea Room was the location for our final
(2018) family reunion event.

Set in the historic Woodbury House, built in 1857, the beautiful grounds sit next to the scenic Rum River.

Are these three pondering what to order for lunch?
T

 

The Mad Hatter afforded this relaxing spot as we waited for our table.

We all enjoyed the ambience of this lovely old house,
as we decided what to order for lunch.

Sipping on flavorful tea during lunch was fun!

As you can see, I personally enjoyed the iced variety of tea, along with quiche (corn cob smoked ham, apple, tarragon & smoked gouda) and Minnesota Wild Rice Soup.

For my personal recipe for Minnesota Wild Rice Soup, click here.

The food was delicious! 
I especially enjoyed my dessert choice of Flourless Chocolate Torte!

It had been a week of special family memories!

Previous Family Reunion Posts (with a lot of photos)

Want to see photos of, and read about, other past family reunions?
Click on the blue items below.

2014 at Walt Disney World

2015 at Hilton Head, South Carolina

2016 in Maryland  including Washington DC, Gettysburg

2017 was in Florida, but I never got around to writing the blog post for this one. :oO
It was really fun, though! (Maybe I’ll write about it one of these days…)

Previous Minnesota Posts

Click on other Minnesota posts, below.

September 2013-Mall of America, Mickey’s Diner and Other Midwestern Sites of Minneapolis, Minnesota

October 2015-Minnesota Nice

September 2017-Happily Eating My Way Through the Minnesota State Fair

Does your family do an annual get together? I would love to hear about it in the comments section!

Thank you to my family members for contributing photos for this blog, and for patiently posing for photos when I “requested”, yet again, SMILE! :o)

Thanks for reading!

Annette

I’m Annette
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I think our busy week may have worn her out.  :o)