It's been awhile since I've written here and that's because I've been having a wonderful fun-filled few weeks and just haven't taken the time to blog. The highlight has been all the time I've gotten to spend with my kids and grandkids, both in Minnesota and in Colorado.
The first weekend in August, Matt, Stella, and Scotty flew into Minneapolis and stayed with me at the house I'm renting in Eden Prairie. We toured all over the place - First I went to
Valley Fair amusement park with Scotty, who'd arrived Friday night. We rode the teacup ride with our makeshift "costumes" (me as a teabag and he was a spoon) since it was one of the challenges and the final day if
GISHWHES.
Then we picked Matt and Stella up at the airport and enjoyed the
Uptown Art Fair,
Como Park Conservatory and Zoo and ended the evening at the Horse Races at
Canterbury Park, giving Scotty his first legal-aged gambling experience.
The next couple of days we enjoyed more sights, including Lake Harriet and the Rose Garden, the Guthrie Theater, Anthony Falls Bridge, and Betty Danger's Restaurant where we drank margaritas and ate tacos on a 20-minute ferris wheel ride with a view of the Minneapolis skyline!
The kids introduced me to "Pokeman Go," apparently the most downloaded app EVER. (Scotty told me this at least 3 times, wanting to be sure I recognized the significance of him making me aware of something so prevalent in today's world culture.) Surprisingly, though I enjoyed finding the pokeman creatures that were in all the spots we were walking, I wasn't nearly as enamored with the "game" as they all seemed to be. I put "game" in quotes, because there really didn't seem to be much strategy involved other than capturing pokemen, but I did have fun getting Pokemen in the photos with the augmented reality feature.
The following weekend I flew back to Colorado and had another week of visiting with Scotty before he flew out to finish his final semester at Purdue and also had a fun visit with Meg, Chris, Diego, and Reneya. Diego's 7th birthday was July 28 and Reneya's 5th will be August 29. Since I was visiting right in between, I had a joint little family birthday party for them both at my house. They are so full of energy and giggles and just seeing them play brings so much joy to my heart.
I'm so proud of my children and feel lucky that they've grown into such thoughtful and independent young adults. But I admit to feeling a little melancholy that they're all grown up and don't really need me any more. I know there are a lot of parents who can't wait to be in the place I'm in now and I don't take it for granted. It's every parent's dream to see their children happily independent, so I'm going to savor that my biggest goal... to raise my kids.. has been accomplished. Now I just get to sit back and enjoy them and their growing families!
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