A Weekend in Minneapolis

We just returned from a delightful weekend in Minneapolis. After arriving, we joined Will, Sandy, and Anders for some great food at Burger Jones, which strives to be one of the best burger places in the Twin Cities. They definitely have some fun and tasty offerings.

On Saturday morning, Anders greeted us in his lively striped pajamas with some of his favorite stuffed critters on hand. Will made breakfast, and then Anders instructed me in the finer points of Lego helicopter construction.

For Christmas, we had gotten him a Lego-compatible set with transparent parts to make the helicopter. It included some special pieces that enclose LEDs, so when assembled and plugged to a battery pack, the copter lights up in an array of colors and with options for blinking and flashing. He was kind enough to work with it for the first time when his old grandpappy could watch.

Kelso was always on guard for the mailman and for food opportunities. I recall that he swiped part of a loaf of bread while we were out one afternoon, and he took a dog cookie off the table when he could no longer resist knowing it was there.

Later in the day, Kathie, Anders and I let Will win a game of Sorry. Then Kathie and I headed to Ron and Paula's home to attend Ron's 70th birthday party. Paula had put on quite a spread of goodies to eat and drink. She had ruled out gifts unless they were something with 70 items. So, Ron got lots of interesting things, including 70 chocolates, 70 kernels of corn, etc. Kathie and I made a DVD for him entitled "70 Photos of Ron." Here are my good brother-in-law and me--two guys who have turned 70 recently. We're still hanging in there!

There was cake and singing.

Sarah might have told a story or two on her father.

Sunday morning, all of us met at Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis for brunch. Now that's an interesting place! There was live music, and the food options were varied and all good. The decor is something else too.

In the afternoon, Anders had a cross-country skiing lesson. Will and Sandy take turns doing some of the coaching. We went along to watch.

You have to love Minneapolis and Minnesotans in the winter. They really know how to enjoy the fun that snow and ice provide. Some of them were riding big tubes down a hill. This is what things looked like when we arrived. By the time we left, there were four or more times this many people cruising down the snowy slope.

Dozens of young folks were preparing for their skiing classes.

Here is Will working with Anders. The boy is getting better and better. You may recall that he did the Barnebirkie children's event during the American Birkebeiner event in Hayward last year. He's signed up to do it again this year. I understand Maia may do it this year too.