July and August were already busy with travels but the kids and I had one final trip on the agenda before summer came to a close – a trip to Minnesota! The trip was planned around Carolyn’s baby shower but it was the perfect excuse to go back and spend some quality time with family in both Rochester and Minneapolis. Summer in Minnesota is pretty wonderful, if I do say so myself!

I always have a few must do items on my itinerary depending on the time of year I visit Minnesota. In the summer one of those must dos is a trip to Tin Fish at Lake Calhoun. You can’t beat lunch with a view and I love their fish tacos. We strolled the lake and enjoyed the playground after lunch before rounding out our afternoon at Sebastian Joe’s for ice cream, another must do in the summer. The following day [cool] Uncle John and Lauren went on a little day trip to Stillwater with the kids and I. We explored Teddy Bear park, perused some shops (so many movie posters, so little time…) ate lunch and sampled lots of sweets at Candyland. Of course there was more ice cream that afternoon. Perhaps the highlight of our time in Minneapolis was our afternoon bowling extravaganza. Ever since the kids bowled with John and Lauren over their wedding weekend they’ve been begging to do this with them again. Clearly, they didn’t have any fun.

On Saturday we packed up and headed to Rochester for the baby shower. Sophia was especially excited to see “baby Ramona.” She had grown up quite a bit since we last saw her at Christmas! We made sure to recreate our cousins and cones photo from last summer, adding Ramona to the frame this time around. I can’t wait to see Baby Clay in the mix the next time we do this. After all the festivities were over, we spent the rest of our time in Rochester relaxing. Breakfasts at Dunn Bros (a must when you visit Lainey and Grandpa,) a trip to the park, paddle boats and some relaxing on the terrace. I could have enjoyed many more evenings soaking up these final summer days but it was time to get back to school, work, and of course, Dad!