A Long Time Coming

We have been in Minnesota for a month now. Getting into a routine with work and daycare has been fairly smooth. I still miss Brooklyn everyday, but it's getting easier. God is so great and we are blessed to have jobs, a wonderful person to watch Charles, and to be close to friends and family.
One big joy for us was to finally be able to go to the Great Minnesota Get Together. The State Fair!
It's been many years for both of us so we were very excited to go, twice, this year. Our first visit was with my Rachel. Here are some highlights..

There was a great kids activity that we went through with Charles. He had to 'work on a farm' collecting corn, feeding the animals, getting the eggs, milking the cow, sheering the sheep, and riding the tractor. At the end he brought his goods to market and exchanged them for a box of oatmeal. So fun!

 

 

 

Chris dreamed about having his own motorcycle one day...

And of course Charles loved being with Auntie Ray, Mama, and Dada for his very first time at the State Fair! 

 

Our second trip to the fair was with the bible study from Margaret's house. On this trip we witnessed a lamb being born, watched the lumberjack show for the second time (the first being with Rachel and Jody), and ate more delicious fair food. 

Speaking of food. Seeing as how we haven't been to the fair in so long we were mostly looking forward to all the good things to eat on a stick. And boy did we make up for lost time! Oy Vey. Good thing we had a few people to share tastes with so we didn't have to consume everything ourselves. Sharing is Caring, after all. 

sweet starters: mini donuts and chocolate covered strawberries

 

Mashed Potatoes on a Stick. To. Die. For. 

Thank you Ish for sharing :) and yes, that is sour cream and chive to dip it in. 

 

Speaking of Ish, Charles loved spending time with his Uncle 'Issaboh'

Heaven in my mouth: Fried Apple Pie with cinnamon ice cream. ohmygoodness

 

For a more sophisticated pallet: Sweet Corn Ice Cream. so good. so so good. 

Also consumed were classics like cheese curds, sweet martha's cookies followed my unlimited milk at the milk stand, pork chop on a stick and strawberry shakes. Another new one for me this year that I was able to have a bite of from Ishabor was the Wild Rice Burger. wow. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

Dear Minnesota State Fair, 

It was so good to see you this year after so many summers apart. Thank you for the people watching, time with friends, birth witnessing, food consuming, and all around good time. 

Until next year, 

*J

From NYC to MPLS.. our move in pictures. Vignette #2

Some friend of ours helped us load up the moving truck on Sunday, August 21st. Early Monday morning we woke up to put the last of the things into the truck and say some quick goodbyes. Chris and a friend drove the truck from New York to Minnesota in one shot. They arrived in Minneapolis in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, Charles and I had another day to be with friends before flying on the big plane Tuesday evening. With the house pretty empty we spent most of that day outside on the stoop and with our friends upstairs. Janet and Samuel come over to hang out with us too.

After making sure we had everything we needed out of the house, I closed the door to our Brooklyn apartment for the last time. We spent the night at Doug and Irene's house and Charles had his first little sleep over on the floor of their bedroom. He loved it, and so did they.

The next day was spent running a few errands and making sure to say goodbyes to my dear friends. There were a lot of tears and long hugs. Oh, and an EARTHQUAKE! what?? That evening the Knowles dropped us off at the airport and the tears and hugs continued. Oh how my heart still aches from leaving so many people I love.
Now it was just me and Charles. I was a little nervous about the flight with him but he did great. Our flight was delayed so we had to keep ourselves entertained at the airport for longer that we thought but once we finally got on the big plane Charles fell right asleep before we even took off and slept the entire flight. I had prayed that it wouldn't be a full flight and that we would have an extra seat next to us and thank God we did. I had thought it would be good to have it if he stayed awake the whole time but it was still nice to stretch out a bit so he could sleep more comfortably. Thank you Lord!

We made it to MN safe and sound and our first days here were filled with friends, family, food, and the fair! (ha! all F's!) Now we are getting settled into our place and a new routine. Chris and I both started our new jobs the day after labor day and are so thankful once again for God's provision; not only for jobs for us, and a place to live, but also for someone we know and trust to watch Charles.

waiting for our flight/sleeping on the plane
 

cafe dates at Rustica and Isles.. I could get used to this
 

Panera date with my little guy to celebrate mama getting a job!


Lake Calhoun, feeding the ducks cheerios
 

Garage sale find! A bike for mama $20! 


Charles and Papa


The Weavers are in Minnesota


more fair photos to come..

From NYC to MPLS... our move in pictures. Vignette #1

Saying Goodbyes..





Loading the truck..



Last family stoop picture at 814..


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