Adventures in Minnesota...

This past weekend we took a break from the hustle and bustle of the impending doom that is finals to visit some of Jonah's family in Minnesota.
Jonah's cousin, Anne, was in A Christmas Carol at The Guthrie theatre. We were lucky enough to have an efficient tour guide in Jonah's uncle, Gerry, and he showed us a very busy but awesome Saturday.

We got into MN late Friday night, so after a bit of catching up we all headed to bed. Friday morning we had brunch at Becca's new pad which she shares with Anne. Anne's college friend, Jenny, was also visiting. Becca just moved in but has become a Home Depot aficionado--including making a very crafty headboard with some bamboo someone was getting rid of.

We then made our way to the Mall of America, which I haven't been to in probably a good 12 years. We went on two coasters--> the second one was quick but had quite a drop!

We followed that up with an amazing roast at Liz, jonah's cousin, and Steve, her husband's house. It was especially fun to see Liz's growing pregnant belly! (Although, unfortunately she had to opt out of the rides. I wonder why....)
They also happen to have a golden retreiver, Captain, and if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to convince Jonah we need one! I think Captain helped changed his mind though. Step by Step;).

We then scooted downtown to see the holidazzle parade, which was very cute! Every float had people with lights on their costumes and while the wait between floats was a little long because they had to coordinate it with street lights downtown, it was definitely a very cool experience!

From the parade we went to The Guthrie. What an amazing building! It's beautifully designed with a ton of cool features. Check it out if you have a chance, here's the link. http://www.guthrietheater.org/
The show was awesome. It was reworked a bit so it was a 90 minute straight shot without an intermission.
We got to see Anne perform which was a real treat, and we also got to meet Peter Michael Goetz when Anne gave us a backstage tour after the show. Most of you probably know him as the father-in-law from father of the bride 1 and 2. He was actually playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and was really amazing! He even entertained our request for a picture, which I will be showing to my jealous father.
Ever since we got engaged, he's been watching father of the bride...A LOT.
Hopefully, like Kathy(Jonah's aunt) said, he won't have a break down in the bun aisle.

We followed up the show with a trip to an awesome German bar, Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit. With a little help from the gps we figured out how to say it. There was lots of dancing, and 3-3L boots fell victim to those of the Reason clan.

We ended the weekend with a great brunch where Anne's boyfriend, Blake works. It's called Tavern on France, and I'm telling you, if you need brunch and you happen to be in the Twin Cities area-- GO THERE.
The food was crazy good, a whole brunch buffet set up with pretty much anything you can dream of.

We hit the road from there and got back into Cottage Grove around 4:30 this evening.
Phew, even typing it up I'm tired thinking about it! It was truly a great weekend--a lot of great fun!


Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!:)
Wedding Planning is going well, and I'll update you soon!:)

The picture is of all of us with "Peter." (He doesn't know it yet, but I think he's my new best friend.)


Until next time!
Kels