Our Trip to Minnesota!

Last Wednesday morning, Isaac & I flew to Minnesota!  He had been a great traveler when we flew to Florida in March, & he did an equally great job this flight.  I am surprised, though, that he never sleeps on the plane.  He is much too interested in looking out the window and staring at the "fasten seatbelt" lights!  He was so cute on our flight home that the stewardess asked if she could walk with him in the aisles...before I knew it, he had visited the kitchen, first class, and most of coach.  The stewardess was showing him off and telling everyone what his name was! 

The reason for our trip was two-fold.  I really wanted my Grandma Dolores to meet and spend time with Isaac.  She has prayed for us to have a baby for so long, and I knew she couldn't wait to get her hands on this little guy!  Even though I send her pictures of Isaac all the time, there's nothing like meeting him in person.  Of course, I took a ton of pictures of Isaac with his Great-Grandma 'Lor--here are a few of my favorites!

It meant so much to me to see my grandma cuddle and sing with Isaac.  The song she sang to him the most was "Pony Boy"--she even sang it for him in Swedish a few times! 

We spent most of our time in Minnesota with Grandma 'Lor.  We ate at LeeAnn Chin (one of my favorites that I miss in Texas), and we also went to the Mall of America one evening. 

Grandma & I also spent a lot of time looking through her photo albums.  If you know my grandma at all, you know that she loves pictures just as much as I do!  I love looking at all her pictures & hear her talk about "the olden days."  Even though I was sad to say good-bye to my grandma, we are excited that we get to visit her again in July for her 90th birthday party!

The other reason for our trip was my 10 year reunion!  Most people are shocked when they hear how small my high school class was--I graduated in a class of 25!  But, when you're in a class that small, everyone gets to know each other really well.  It was so fun to see so many from our class again, and it seemed like we were able to pick right back up where we left off!  On Friday, several of us met at the Como Zoo.  There were quite a few kids, and they had a lot of fun looking at the animals.  Even Isaac was enthralled with the giraffes! 

On Saturday evening, we all had a cookout and bonfire!  It was so fun to catch up with so many dear friends!  It's hard to believe that we graduated from high school 10 years ago...in some ways, it feels just like yesterday; and other times, it feels like a lifetime ago.  I'm so glad I was able to travel up to Minnesota to be a part of the reunion.  Hopefully it won't be 10 more years before I see many of these friends again!

Trip to Minnesota--June '09

I've been meaning to blog about my trip to Minnesota ever since I got home 2 weeks ago...but somehow life has just been too busy! I did enjoy a wonderful time in Minnesota, though!

I spent the majority of my time with my Grandma Dolores. The two of us had a fun time at the General Store in Minnetonka, where we had lunch and shopped around. Grandma & I also played many games of Scrabble & UpWords together. I think the funniest moment of all was when my grandma played "sexy." She couldn't figure out why my mom & I were laughing so hard! When we explained that it's funny for an 89 year-old to play that word, she said, "I always play 'sex' or 'sexy' whenever I get the 'x.' " Hilarious!! Also...it's amazing how GOOD she is at these games! I was only able to beat her one time during my whole trip! In addition to playing Scrabble & UpWords, Grandma & I also visited my grandpa's grave & looked at a LOT of picture albums. My favorite thing to do with Grandma is to hear about "the olden days." I love the stories that she shares with me!




My cousin Anna & I also spent a fun day together! We "celebrated" our Swedish heritage at the American Swedish Institute in downtown Minneapolis. I was 8 years old the last time I visited this museum, so it was a lot of fun to go there again! We toured around the museum and saw the life-size picture of our great-grandpa which is displayed on the third floor. We also took pictures on the "life-size" Dala horse...where else, but in Minnesota, could you ride one of these?

My sister is working at Covenant Pines, the Bible camp that we both attended when we were growing up and the camp where I also worked for 2 summers. It was such a blast to be back at camp and remember all the fun memories that I made there! Emily is the Activities Director on staff, so I got a first-hand view of what is involved with being the AD...which mostly involved screaming directions into a megaphone, wearing crazy costumes, and managing groups of chaotic campers! Seriously though, she is doing an awesome job, and I am so glad that she's able to be at camp this summer. When I wasn't assisting her in her AD duties, I spent most of my time reading by the edge of the lake...while wearing a sweatshirt! The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous, and it felt SO good to feel the cool Minnesota breeze--something we definitely don't have in Texas right now where our heat index is 110!!


Another big event that I was able to attend in Minnesota was the wedding of my high school friend, Molly! Molly & I played basketball together, and she's definitely one of the craziest people I've ever known. My sweet friend Audra & I were able to go to Molly's wedding together. It was so fun to catch up with friends & teachers from high school that I don't get to see very often!







Lastly...what would a trip to Minnesota be without Caribou Coffee? (or, more specifically...six trips to Caribou?) ;) Besides friends, family, all things Swedish, & the changing of seasons, I think I miss Mint Conditions more than anything from Minnesota! If you've never tried one, you are missing out! So...in a nutshell, this sums up my wonderful week back in my "homeland." I'm so excited that I'll be able to introduce our sweet little boy to all my Minnesota friends & family the next time I'm up there!

Minnesota Baby Shower

While I was in Minnesota, my sweet friend Audra, along with the help of our friend Nicole & my mom, threw me a wonderful baby shower! It was such a sweet time of celebrating Baby Boy Rinn with so many sweet family members & friends! Audra decorated my grandma's house in a construction theme! We have picked out the cutest construction bedding for his nursery...and since Dave is his dad, this was definitely appropriate! My grandma (who is "slightly" hard of hearing) didn't understand why there was "caution" tape everywhere; she thought that my mom & Audra were trying to warn the guests to watch their step when they entered her home! Once she saw the dump trucks, chainsaws, and other little trucks around, though, she figured it out!


If you know me at all, you know that I love games, so I was especially excited for the fun games Audra had planned! We started off with "Nursery Rhyme Jeopardy!" For example--

Q:Little Miss Muffet, a bit of an arachnophobiac, was eating these 2 things before being frightened away.
A: What are curds & whey?

Needless to say, it was a lot of fun...but what made it even more fun is that our friend Nicole (who lives in DC & is due any day with her baby girl!) video taped herself asking all the questions for Jeopardy. Hearing her voice & seeing her on the computer screen almost made it feel like she was there! ;)
We also played a game where everyone had 5 minutes to write a little poem or story about the baby using all different kinds of candy names! Then, I read them aloud & picked a winner, which ended up being Emily's!

When what's in the diaper looks kinda chunky,
And the smell in the air is a little bit funky
Don't get upset or give him a whopper
Just give him a kiss with a whole lot of slobber!

I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the incredible gifts that we received! Baby Boy got his first Covenant Pines t-shirt from Emily...
...and my great-aunt Eunice handmade this beautiful quilt for him! Also, my grandma told Eunice that we are going to use cloth diapers, so Eunice found some of the cloth diapers that she used on her children nearly 45 years ago in her attic! She washed them and gave them to me at the shower! They are just as fresh, soft, & white as the diapers that I saw at the diaper store in Dallas!

My grandma & her sisters are all so talented at making gifts...from my grandma, Baby Boy received a gorgeous blue & white sweater that she crocheted! There was also a matching cap, booties, and afghan. I already can't wait to have his pictures done in this sweater!















My grandma had also put this precious adoption poem in my card! I think it is one of the most sweetest poems/quotes that I have ever heard about adopting, and it's even more special to me since it was given to me by my grandma:

Not flesh of my flesh,
Not bone of my bone
But still miraculously my own
Never forget for a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart
But in it.

Of course, we received so many other wonderful gifts, too! I had so much fun showing them all to Dave when I got home yesterday, and now I really need to start organizing the nursery (which is overflowing!). My mom & I both brought an extra suitcase to Minnesota, and thought it was a tight fit, we managed to get everything home on the plane!

At the end of the shower, Audra led everyone in a prayer time for Baby Rinn. It was absolutely so special and a memory I will cherish! There were so many sweet family & friends at this shower--special people in my life who have supported, loved, and prayed for Dave & me for such a long time!

Visit to Minnesota

As has become one of my summer traditions, I spent a wonderful week in Minnesota spending time with my grandma, my sister, and many friends! My week included many trips to Caribou Coffee (yes, I went every single morning, and my favorite drink is still the "Mint Condition")...and many games of Scrabble!


I had a wonderful time with my Grandma Dolores. She loves pictures as much as I do, so we spent a lot of time looking through old scrapbooks. I truly love my grandma so much and feel so blessed that I was able to spend so much time with her this past week.

Other highlights of the week included...

...a trip to Covenant Pines (the camp that I attended as a student and later worked as a lifeguard & counselor) on Wednesday. Being at camp always brings back so many wonderful memories. Some of our friends, Nick, Katie, and Andrea, are working there this summer, so it was wonderful to see them! We spent the day going to chapel, helping with the canteen, hanging out with our friends, and enjoying the gorgeous weather.....as much as I love Texas, I do miss the pine trees, lakes, and cool weather of Minnesota (but not the mosquitoes!--both Emmy & I had terrible bug bites after our day at camp!). ;)



...seeing lots of family! Emily & I had dinner with our cousins Krista, Seth, & Heather...plus, I also spent time with my aunt Gail and cousin Anna! (Anna & Krista are both coming to Texas this week, too!)

...visiting Emily at Regis, where she is doing her marketing internship (and running the Hair Extension Hotline!--ha!).

...breakfast with Summer, a friend from Redeemer (the church where we attended in Minnesota). She is also an elementary music teacher, so we had a great time talking about our classrooms.

...a fun day hanging out with Audra & Israel--we walked around Lake Calhoun and also read a few books! :)

...coffee with my sweet high school friends Aili, Gloria, and Audra--we had so much fun catching up!


....my friend Meg's wedding! She and Jake were married on Saturday, and I am so glad I was able to go to her beautiful wedding!