Happy Birthday, Leah!

Happy Birthday, Leah! Eagan, MN

Eagan, MN

This year's trip to Minnesota begins on Leah's 17th birthday. Since I figured out we have been coming to Cass Lake since 2005, that means we've been doing this for 10 years, and we started this tradition when Leah was only seven! (Chloe was five, Seth was 11, and Jared was 13.)

Since we downsized vehicles over the past year, and have people coming and going and different times, we are again taking two vehicles. We (Tom, Linda, Leah & Chloe) will be in the CRV, and Seth and Maddie will take Tom's Prius. Jared will join us for the second week.

We left home at about 7:45 a.m. and with our goal being 7:00, I thought we did pretty well. I'm almost sure that being late by less than an hour is some kind of record for us. Anyway, it's not bad for getting six people and all their stuff out the door.

As we were driving down the interstate, a little beyond Chicago, Chloe yelled, "Hey, that was Grandpa and Grandma!" Sure enough...my mom and dad were on their way to Minnesota too and we passed them on the road. We were able to contact them, and made plans to meet up for lunch. At about 11:30 (Wisconsin time) we pulled into the Culver's in Verona, WI, just minutes from Jared's work place. We had planned to meet him there as well. We tried to surprise the girls, but they figured it out in the last few minutes. Still, it was nice to have the whole family together, plus Grandpa and Grandma, for Leah's b-day lunch.

After lunch we continued on to our hotel in Eagan, Minnesota, just minutes away from the Mall of America. Leah chose "Dick's Last Resort" in the MOA for her birthday dinner. We had a great time, cracking up at the sarcasm and antics of our crazy waiter, most of which are a little too racy to repeat in this blog. Leah described "Dick's Last Resort" as a PG-13 version of "Ed Debevick's," another favorite of our kids. After a little shopping, we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep!