Visiting Heidi, Part Deux

It took a little longer than promised, but... I can't believe it's been a week since we left Minnesota! Wow. What a busy week... I'll get to that later. We really did have quite a wonderful time visiting Heidi and miss her already. Hopefully next time we meet, a year will not have gone by. Here's a quick recap of our busy St. Paul weekend...

Friday
Ella and I flew direct from DC, and though it was her bedtime, Ella refused to sleep on the plane. Perhaps it was because the thing was full of noisy teenagers who insisted on oohing/aahing/screaming during the turbulent ride to Minneapolis/St. Paul. It's hard to believe I was ever a teenager. I guess it just shows my age—I cannot relate to them in ANY way :-)

After waiting FOREVER for our rental car (but they did install the car seat—thanks Avis!), we drove to Heidi's very cute, very stylish apartment. Ella went right to sleep... despite the rowdy karaoke crowd in a nearby bar. Heidi and I had a chance to catch up... finally!

Saturday
Ella did NOT sleep in. Oh no. Up at 5:45. Ugh. But we were able to enjoy a bagel, and then made it to the Minnesota Children's Museum right when it opened—before it got REALLY busy! What a great place! Ella LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Sesame Street exhibit. Afterwards, she was so ready for a nap.

That afternoon, we went to Como Park... despite the freezing temperature, wind gusts and snow flurries—and managed to have a good time. First, we visited the monkeys/apes. I must share that when Ella first saw the gorilla, she pointed and said, "Dada". Hahaha! Then over to the conservatory, a tropical respite from the unseasonable cold. Ella like the goldfish pond, but the rest of the time was spent dodging teenagers (again!) getting prom photos, and keeping Ella from digging up plants. Time for another nap?

Ok, I know this sounds like a lot. It WAS a lot. But it was fun. That evening, we walked downtown (via skywalks!) for an art crawl—way cool, and I am way envious of anyone who gets to live in a loft and paint for a living. Then a WONDERFUL dinner, where Ella left covered in the stickiest sticky rice known to man.

Sunday
No sleeping in... but definitely a more relaxed day. After an early nap (for all of us), we headed to Cafe Latte for a yummy lunch and then walked around looking at a few shops. Then off Heidi's aunt's house to play with her three kids. Ella was a bit antisocial, as she seemed to be exhausted! Then back to Heidi's, where she made us the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever had. Mmmm!

After Ella went to bed, Heidi's friends and sister came over to play a few games. First was Scrabble and then a new one for me—Quiddler. Both very fun. Note to self: play more games!

Monday
Ella slept in until 6:45! Yay! After a little dance party at Heidi's, we went to French Meadow Bakery for breakfast. Once again, wonderful food. Then we took it easy around the house until it was time to head to the airport. We ran around with Ella, trying to wear her out so she would sleep on the plane...

But when we got on, she started SCREAMING! She threw the biggest, nastiest tantrum I have ever witnessed from this little girl—think thrashing, head-butting, scratching, crying, etc. Ella wanted to be anywhere but there. And after about ten minutes, she just stopped. And fell asleep. I had to wake her up when we landed. Thank you, Ella!

Lesson learned: While it is fun to travel with Ella, next time I am going alone :-)