Joy is Here!

Brandon left on Saturday, but his sister, Joy arrived that day. I drove up to the Cities to get her in the early afternoon and then we explored downtown Minneapolis which included a stop at Sebastian Joes for yummy homemade ice cream. We also made a stop at the Mall of America and then ate dinner at Red Robin which I miss when I am in Rochester. Nothing beats a great strawberry lemonade, a chicken teriyaki burger and french fries with ranch! That night once we got back to Rochester we rented a movie for $1 using Red Box which is an awesome automatic machine that is now in most of our grocery stores.

Brandon spent the day with our friends from high school, Missie and Matt. They were so sweet to pick him up from the airport and then they all watched the Oregon football game together that night...go ducks! The following day they all went and visited Park City Utah to see where the Olympic games were held. They watched the bobsled which was open to the public for a fee and the skiers practice the aerial jumps. It sounds like they had a good time. Brandon starts his rotation tomorrow so I was glad that he was able to have some fun before that. Here are some photos from their time courtesy of Missie...thanks Missie!

Matt and Brandon

Yesterday, Joy and I went on a nice bike ride. The weather was great and it was so nice to get some exercise outside! We then went with Nick and some of his friends to a winery just outside of Rochester. It was a pretty day to get a tour the vineyards. Afterwards, I went shopping for a little bit before we all went over to Nick friend's house for dinner. It was nice to have grilled steak and afterwards, it was so relaxing to sit next to a fire pit.

Today, Nick, Joy and I headed up to the MN State Fair. I don't even need directions anymore to get there and I realized that I know where all of the food stands are...Joy and Nick said they felt like they were with a tour guide! It was a hot day but that was nice because we didn't feel as hungry. We walked along a lot, had a little to eat but not too much and saw some things that I hadn't seen before. Here are some pictures from our day:

I got them to try a deep fried candy bar - our only deep fried thing of the day!A horse race which was fun to seeJoy and NickTrying to work on my photography skills...

This little girl was adorable as she danced to the music with a big grin on her face!

Coca Cola sculpture

Nick and IThe John Deere ice cream makers