Alexandria

One of my friends I used to work with at BPD was getting married in Alexandria, MN on Saturday, September 10th. It was a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone as Christopher's Aunt Deb and Uncle Mike live in Alexandria. They were so kind to have us as guests in their home, so we were able to spend some much needed time with family AND attend Courtney and Andy's wedding!

We arrived late on Friday night, after a pit stop in Rogers for some fancy dinner at McDonald's. Mallory was super excited to learn her Godmother Kelly and her husband Drew were also going to be there for the weekend. Kelly is Aunt Deb and Uncle Mike's daughter. We hung out for a little while on Friday night, catching up and then it was off to bed.

Saturday morning we started off doing one of the touristy things in Alex. We talked about going to the Runestone Museum, but learned there was a replica Runestone just down the street from where Aunt Deb and Uncle Mike lived. We chose to go to the replica to save time and money. The museum had a cost and the replica was FREE! The replica Runestone sits in a little roadside park with a pretty, little flower garden, a couple of benches and a docking stone. We spent about an hour there, checking everything out, including a spider amongst the flowers!

Uncle Mike has a boat and since they live on one of the largest chain of lakes in the state, we hit the water next. We launched on Lake Le Homme Dieu, took a spin around that lake, saw a bunch of BEAUTIFUL homes and then headed through the channel to Lake Carlos. Took a spin around that lake and then it was time to head in, since Christopher and I needed to get ready for the wedding that evening.

Aunt Deb, Uncle Mike, Kelly and Drew were Mallory's babysitters for the evening. We were so happy they were willing to help out so we could enjoy a night has husband and wife and attend the wedding. When we got home that night, after the wedding, I was informed that Meko, who is Kelly and Drew's husky dog, was Mallory's watchdog. Apparently when they tucked Mallory in for sleep, Meko would not leave the room. Meko stayed by Mallory's side until we got home and assured him it was okay to come out. HOW SWEET!

Sunday morning came bright and early, so after an awesome homemade breakfast by Uncle Mike, Aunt Deb helped a lot too, we hit the links. Uncle Mike and Aunt Deb are avid golfers and belong to two clubs in the area. On this particular day we golfed at the Lake Miltona Golf Club. It was a beautiful morning, one of the best we had all year, making it wonderful for golf. I chose not to golf so Mallory could come along with us and ride in the cart. She was so unbelievably excited to be able to partake, she was so well behaved all nine holes. I think she was worried she wouldn't be able to continue if she wasn't good. HA! We even let her tee off and putt a couple of times. Halfway through the front nine, she started squealing with delight. I went to investigate and there was a baby painted turtle running across the green. That was the highlight of her day. She had a blast, as did we! It was super fun to see Uncle Mike and Aunt Deb totally in their element and just be together as a family.

After the golf club, we had go take in one last Alex staple. We went to see Big Ole. I remember seeing Big Ole when I was in high school, but back then he was in the middle of a pretty busy intersection. He has since been moved to the north a little and now has his own park. Mallory thought he was pretty cool. Naturally I wore my Vikings jersey while parading around down there.

It was a WONDERFUL weekend! I cannot thank our gracious hosts, Aunt Deb and Uncle Mike, enough for their hospitality. A BIG thanks to Kelly and Drew for their company and assistance in taking care of our little Mallory. The weekend was packed full of fun and family, with many memories made for Mallory. WE ARE BLESSED!