Minnesota

We had the opportunity to go to Minnesota over 

Memorial Day weekend. 

Our friend Malorie grew up there and we went

with her and her husband to visit her family.

It was a relaxing getaway and a nice long weekend.

We started off on the road and took a nice brunch 

break in downtown Chicago.

We drove right past Oprah's studio and ate 

at Ina's Breakfast Queen.

I will stop there the next time I am in Chicago.

It was delicious!!

We drove through Wisconsin and ate some cheese curds. 

 Fun shapes of cheese.

 The country is beautiful.

Lots of lakes and green farmland.

  On our first day in Minnesota, we went to the 

Mall of America.

It was unreal.

500 stores and an amusement park in the middle.

I could not even focus on shopping.

I felt overwhelmed. It was really cool to just

walk around and see all the stores they have there.

 

We did go on a few of these coasters.

A giant Lego Transformer.

Danny...Haha!!

 We ate so much good food! 

Thank you Greg and Adriene!

 We played Settlers of Catan one too many times.

Expansion pack, seven players... blood, sweat, and tears.

 Adele's Frozen Custard at Lake Minnetonka.

 We saw the Avengers on a rainy day.

 This pup was just hilarious.

We fell in love with Maggie--

shaggy hair and all. 

Church in Chaska, Minnesota.

It was very windy!

 Probably my favorite part of the trip

was the storm we got the last night we were there.

Midwestern storms are incredible!

 Thunderstorm and tornado warnings,

high winds, rain, hail, lightning, thunder,

and funnel clouds. 

 We stayed outside and watched the storm roll over us.

 I am so glad I caught this funnel on my phone.

Yes, we should have been inside.

I admit, not my smartest move, but it was so cool!!

 We stayed in the basement that night and watched

a movie as well as the lightning storms.

It was such a wonderful trip! 

Thanks Mal and Nate.

We love you guys!

Back to Cleveland.

Our neighbor took care of our garden while we were gone.

It is looking leafy green and healthy.

We can't wait to see and eat the fruit of our labors!

Garden

We planted again this year!

We were a little over zealous last year 

as beginning fruit and veggie gardeners.

We learned a lot and it has helped us feel more

confident to try again this year.

While we were successful with some plants last year,

we plan on having a more abundant harvest this year.

Our neighbor is a master veggie gardener and has taught us some

tips and tricks for growing in Ohio.

This year we are growing: cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes,

raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, jalapenos, 

cilantro, sweet basil, and cucumbers. 

We may add some onions soon as well.

Wish us luck!

Lake Erie

We headed to the "beach" on Saturday

to soak up the sun.

While Lake Erie's beaches do not 

compare to what we grew up on in California, 

it still feels a lot like home.

There is sand between our toes, 

sunshine, heat, and blue water, so it

totally works.
Happy Summer!

Indians vs. White Sox

With Dan completing his second year of dental school,

we have been celebrating and enjoying some 

time together while he has a break.

We went to our first Indians game of the season.

We took Mal and Nate with us.

We do almost everything together.

They are such great company!!

 It started raining so we pulled out our umbrellas.

We sat it out for almost an hour.

Then it poured so we decided to move.

 We moved to covered seating and the rain just 

kept coming down!

 They ended up postponing the game so we left.

The Indians did eventually finish the game with a win! 

We are so excited to head to a few 

more games this summer. 

The weather has just been gorgeous

and we are totally loving it after the winter.

Go Indians!