Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Minnesota to visit the Carliles. I had such a great time spending time with all of them, getting to know the girls better, seeing them in their environment, and hanging with Blake and Mary Ann in the evenings. I love to fly to places I've never been, and the trip didn't disappoint! I posted some phone pics on Facebook of some awesome shots I got from the air, so I'll spare you those. Blake and MA picked me up from the airport, their car full of squeezable little girl cheeks! The first thing we did was hit up the Mall of America, which is right next to the airport, for some dinner and fun. That place is huge...one day I'll have to actually shop there, but it's definitely overwhelming! After dinner, Tori met Spongebob (my kids would have died!)...
...and then she chose me as the lucky one to come on the rides with her! We rode the Log Flume, which was a seriously fun ride, especially for one in a mall!
After that, Maesa and I rode on the carousel. It was my first taste of her cute little voice and personality since I've never really spent any one-on-one time with her. That girl cracks me up! MA and Blake are not exaggerating when they say she's afraid of everything...she was so excited to ride, but once it started turning, she was immediately scared. She talked my ear off during the whole ride. I loved it! Tori and I rode the rollercoaster after that, then we went home to get the girls in bed and catch up.
Saturday started wonderfully with a cute little Maesa waking me up by singing me a song. She is just a happy, bubbly little thing, and still reminds me of those inflatable billowing guys at car dealerships. She never stops moving! Mary Ann and I spent the morning and early afternoon shopping, so no pics of that. We relaxed that afternoon...Mary Ann and I pigged out on our treats we got at Trader Joe's, Blake watched some football, Tori showed me her gymnastic moves and buff little muscles, Maesa put on shows and did my hair, and I squished Ellery's baby cheeks until they looked like they might burst (which is not that hard, mind you, because they are filled to the max!). It was pretty cold outside, so we went on a drive around to see the beautiful fall foliage. Mary Ann had arranged for a babysitter to come sit while the girls slept so that we could go out to dinner downtown. We went to Pizza Luce, and ordered four different kinds of specialty pizzas. The most interesting was a loaded baked potato pizza with mashed potatoes as the sauce. Can't say that it was my favorite, but the others were delicious!
(I promise Blake was happier than he looks here! The pic I have of him smiling was way out of focus.)
After dinner, the Carliles took me to their favorite weekend hang-out. ;)
But really, we drove around downtown Minneapolis. It was fun to see Blake's building and all the different areas of the city. The next day we went on a fun trip to an apple orchard. Family portrait!
We took a tractor ride around the orchard.
The apple trees totally reminded me of the Wizard of Oz!
The fall colors in Minnesota were gorgeous. Driving down any street was a feast for the eyes!
Tori is such a little character. Her silly personality is so fun, and I especially loved to see her snapping so many photos. A photographer in the making!
Is she Mary Ann's child or what?! Shoving delicious treats in her mouth for a laugh...I'm trying to figure out of that was a learned behavior or if it's just in her blood. :)
After sending Tori off to school on Monday, I snapped some pictures of this adorable little thing. She didn't help me out at all with my baby hunger - she was a dream baby the whole time I was there. It's so easy to solicit smiles from her, and she just lights up for Mary Ann! We went to lunch at Panera, then off to the airport for a trip home that should have taken about 4.5 hours but ended up taking almost ten! I ended up flying from Minnesota to Phoenix to Vegas to Salt Lake. It was a long day, but at least I got so see some cool things out my airplane window!
I feel like I didn't take enough pictures to do the trip justice, but that also speaks volumes for how much fun I was having. Blake and Mary Ann made me feel so comfortable in their beautiful home. It was so great to be able to just talk and talk and talk with them at night and laugh with the girls during the day. I miss you guys and can't wait to bring my crazy bunch with me next time! er">
...and then she chose me as the lucky one to come on the rides with her! We rode the Log Flume, which was a seriously fun ride, especially for one in a mall!
After that, Maesa and I rode on the carousel. It was my first taste of her cute little voice and personality since I've never really spent any one-on-one time with her. That girl cracks me up! MA and Blake are not exaggerating when they say she's afraid of everything...she was so excited to ride, but once it started turning, she was immediately scared. She talked my ear off during the whole ride. I loved it! Tori and I rode the rollercoaster after that, then we went home to get the girls in bed and catch up.
Saturday started wonderfully with a cute little Maesa waking me up by singing me a song. She is just a happy, bubbly little thing, and still reminds me of those inflatable billowing guys at car dealerships. She never stops moving! Mary Ann and I spent the morning and early afternoon shopping, so no pics of that. We relaxed that afternoon...Mary Ann and I pigged out on our treats we got at Trader Joe's, Blake watched some football, Tori showed me her gymnastic moves and buff little muscles, Maesa put on shows and did my hair, and I squished Ellery's baby cheeks until they looked like they might burst (which is not that hard, mind you, because they are filled to the max!). It was pretty cold outside, so we went on a drive around to see the beautiful fall foliage. Mary Ann had arranged for a babysitter to come sit while the girls slept so that we could go out to dinner downtown. We went to Pizza Luce, and ordered four different kinds of specialty pizzas. The most interesting was a loaded baked potato pizza with mashed potatoes as the sauce. Can't say that it was my favorite, but the others were delicious!
(I promise Blake was happier than he looks here! The pic I have of him smiling was way out of focus.)
After dinner, the Carliles took me to their favorite weekend hang-out. ;)
But really, we drove around downtown Minneapolis. It was fun to see Blake's building and all the different areas of the city. The next day we went on a fun trip to an apple orchard. Family portrait!
We took a tractor ride around the orchard.
The apple trees totally reminded me of the Wizard of Oz!
The fall colors in Minnesota were gorgeous. Driving down any street was a feast for the eyes!
Tori is such a little character. Her silly personality is so fun, and I especially loved to see her snapping so many photos. A photographer in the making!
Is she Mary Ann's child or what?! Shoving delicious treats in her mouth for a laugh...I'm trying to figure out of that was a learned behavior or if it's just in her blood. :)
After sending Tori off to school on Monday, I snapped some pictures of this adorable little thing. She didn't help me out at all with my baby hunger - she was a dream baby the whole time I was there. It's so easy to solicit smiles from her, and she just lights up for Mary Ann! We went to lunch at Panera, then off to the airport for a trip home that should have taken about 4.5 hours but ended up taking almost ten! I ended up flying from Minnesota to Phoenix to Vegas to Salt Lake. It was a long day, but at least I got so see some cool things out my airplane window!
I feel like I didn't take enough pictures to do the trip justice, but that also speaks volumes for how much fun I was having. Blake and Mary Ann made me feel so comfortable in their beautiful home. It was so great to be able to just talk and talk and talk with them at night and laugh with the girls during the day. I miss you guys and can't wait to bring my crazy bunch with me next time! er">
4 comments:
Oh you make me miss it so much! We loved all the fall colors and the apple orchard, too!
--Sean
so utterly jealous!!! Wish Mary Ann and Blake lived closer!!! - Janet
I LOVE this post! You need more like them...you know, me and you together...in Minnesota...;) Anthony, I really think you should expand your job search to Minnesota. You'd love it here. And Carolyn, although freezing, the sun shines beautifully in the winter unlike some place I know, *cough cough* Anyway, I love all these pictures! I'm totally stealing them for my blog - hope you don't mind!
beautiful pictures... i am totally obsessed with the pictures of ellery... how can a little girl be so dang cute?
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