Holiday with the Howe's

John and I enjoyed the 4th of July holiday weekend with the Howe clan. We set out after work on Thursday for the 6 1/2 hour drive north. We made pretty good timing, arriving at the Howe's at midnight. We grabbed our stuff and tip toed into the house to head straight for bed. We were greeted with quite the display in the guest room. First, a lovely display of towel swans, this time including a baby swan. :) Then, this beloved box that holds what is our jogging stroller! We are SOOOO excited for this gear item and know it will get a lot of use.

Our beloved jogging stroller!

Impressive towel swan display- courtesy of Dr. Howe

Friday, we were awoken by little foot steps as both girls hopped into bed to snuggle with us. There was a lot of discussion about them wanting to know where the baby is, if it's a boy or girl, and what his name is (super cute!). We shuffled downstairs to see Matt and Malia and enjoyed chatting over breakfast and planned the day ahead.

Morning snuggles

After breakfast, we all got ready to head to Minneapolis. This journey consisted of lunch and beer tastings at Surley Brewing Co. Surly is a MN beer that we cannot get in KC and it has become a favorite of John's. Surley not only has great beers but we also discovered that they have amazing food!!

Lunch at Surly

After lunch we ventured to the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, not far from Surly. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and a leisurely walk around the garden.

Walking on the bridge.



While walking through the Sculpture Garden, John spotted a sign labeled "Taproom" with an arrow pointing down the street. Intrigued, we all followed the sign and stumbled upon a little tasting room by Sisyphus Brewing Co. I was told the beer was tasty. I enjoyed my water along with the girls enjoying their Strawberry Soda. The atmosphere of this place was very chill. The owner had their dog roaming about, other customers were ordering pizza from outside sources, and they had both adult and kid friendly games. It was a win for everyone!



A little game of Guess Who

Shuffle board

 Exhausted from the trek around Minneapolis, we headed back to Rochester to relax, enjoy a delicious grilled steak, and play some new games before turning in for the night.

"Camel Up"

The 4th (Saturday) was yet another fun filled day. Malia and I enjoyed a nice morning walk before getting ready to head out on a sisters date for lunch at Chester's down by Mayo. It's not every day I get to enjoy 1-on-1 time with each of my sisters, so it was nice to have some girl time. It was nice to catch up and get some soon-to-be mommy advice. We devoured a yummy lunch before Malia introduced me to the beloved dessert below, Banana Cream Pie. There are no words for this dessert, purely one of the best desserts I've had to date.





Banana Cream Pie- Out. Of. This. World.

Sister Selfie

While Malia and I were on our sister date, the boys loaded up the girls for a bike ride. John got a taste of what it's going to be like to bike with a child bike trailer. He's been researching different options for us to use once our little guy is big enough.

The girls loaded in the Burley, ready to be chauffeured by Uncle John.

Post bike ride and sister lunch date, we all got ready to head a little 4th of July party with Matt and Malia's friends. We enjoyed a yummy dinner, an outside movie, dessert, and fireworks!

Ready for the party.

Obligatory Aunt/Uncle and niece picture

Smoke bombs!

The party hosts

We got up early to pack, load the car, and enjoy a quick breakfast before hitting the road. It was a great weekend and we really enjoyed our time with family. I couldn't help but think that likely the next time I'll see our nieces there will be a new addition to the family and how different that will seem. I'm definitely excited to see how our nieces and nephews react to our little one.

Our journey home went smooth. We had a mid-afternoon pit stop at mom and dad's for appetizers and a quick chat before finishing the drive to KC. The weekend simply passed too quickly!

Thanks again Howe's for having us!