I had a great time on my first
trip to Minnesota! I got to
know my husband's family quite
a bit better and I got to meet
many other family members.
When I landed in Minneapolis, the
first stop was The Mall of America.
Most of you know that visiting The Mall
of America has been on my bucket list
since I first heard this gigantic mall
existed. The mall did not disappoint.
We were able to meet the Larson family
for lunch at the Twin City Grill inside the mall.
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| From the left: Kelly and Irving Larson, Ronda, Sonja, Carrie, Taylor, Carrie's son Joshua, and Julie |
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| I got macaroni and cheese for lunch. Yum. |
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| Inside the amusement park section of The Mall of America - that giant transformer behind me is made entirely of legos! |
We ate dinner at the Mall of America
as well - a restaurant called Cantina #1.
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| From the left: Taylor, Ronda, Grandma Peg, Grandpa Mel, Sonja, Byron, Eliya, Ben, Phyllis, and Ken |
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| After an entire day at The Mall of America... |
We got to Grandma and Grandpa's house
and were locked out for a bit.
Fortunately it was a pretty nice night out
and I got to sleep in the next morning.
Sunday was the Kellogg Family Reunion
at the Podvin Park Pavilion in White Bear
Lake Minnesota.
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| With Grandpa Mel |
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| With my mother-in-law, Ronda |
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| With my cousin, Eliya |
After a lunch that included fried chicken,
fruits, salads, and homemade bread,
we all got into a circle and went around
talking about family history.
It was really neat to learn
more about my husband's family.
We started off the day Monday with a
wonderful lunch at this beautiful
lakeside restaurant. It sits on White
Bear Lake - and the weather could not
have been better. It was the perfect day
to sit outside and eat lunch.
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| Ben and Grandpa Mel |
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| Ronda and Grandma Peg |
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| Eliya and Sonja |
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| Eliya couldn't seem to get full - after she ate her lunch, she helped me finish mine. |
We drove to Stillwater Minnesota,
which happens to be on the border
of Minnesota and Wisconsin, so
we drove across the bridge.
Now I can add Wisconsin to the
list of states I've visited.
We stopped at a famous local ice cream shop...
I got a child size cup of chocolate chip
ice cream - I don't know about you, but
that's the biggest child size cup of
ice cream I've ever seen. I was unable
to finish it, even though it was quite good.
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| The bridge between Minnesota and Wisconsin - It raised for boats to pass by. |
Minnesota is a beautiful place! It was
so green and the weather was perfect.
I really enjoyed myself. I'm so glad
I was able to attend the reunion and spend
more time with new family!
