Neil Diamond Rocks Orlando :) haha

So we got my mom tickets to see Neil Diamond for her birthday & my mom and I went last night. We definitely took a trip down memory lane back to the 80's, when I was 9 and we lived in Japan, Neil Diamond was like a distant family member in our house every day. We listened to him ALL the time, even watched his movie Coming To America over & over, my mom was crazy about him. Her influence was so great that I chose "Hello my friend, Hello" as my ballet recital song. You tell a girl this day to choose a Neil Diamond song for her ballet recital! LOSER! His voice is forever ingrained in my mind and it's not a bad thing. I actually like most of his old songs. Now ask me about the Barry Manilow Christmas album, puke, gag, barf! My sister and I either hid or burned it, we just couldn't take anymore of Barry! Just his name makes me cringe. When I bought my mom the tickets on ticketmaster I had a little ordeal (meltdown) because I really wanted good seats. During the transaction it asked me to enter my password and I didn't know or have one, so I asked Todd and he didn't know his, so of course then it was ALL his fault and I was freaking out. The screen said I had 30 seconds or I was going to lose my place in line, so I did. When I got back it booted me up to the top section (nose bleed section) and so there we were, row T. I was SO angry. Anyway. So we get to our section at the arena last night, and I see my ticket says row T, so I'm going and going, M, N, O, and I am thinking, holy cow, we're almost at the top, surely row T is coming, sure enough it did, THE highest row, UNREAL. My mom thought I was either playing a joke on her or I didn't know where I was going! I wish. So we get to our seats and we are laughing so hard, I told her I had no idea we were in the nose bleed section and was a little embarrassed because I know her and my dad somehow always luck out with great seats. She brought her binoculars and there was a huge screen up and she said, oh I'll point my binoculars at the big screen and I'll be fine! Smart a**. :) Neil did a great show, my mom was on cloud 9 the rest of the night and today!

"Look, it's the big city!"

Aaaahhh. Nothing like Minnesota fall weather & the beautiful colors of fall. Every time we drove the freeway & passed downtown, Gracie would get SO excited and yell "Look, mommy, it's the big city!" "Oh wow, look...look at the city!" Between that and all the "tunnels" (underpasses) she had a blast on the road.
So we came from cool, crisp 45-50 degree weather to humid air & poofy hair weather! On the plane ride back the captain announces it's 80 degrees in Orlando and all the Minnesotans cheer, Todd and I just look at each other and groan and start peeling our layers of clothing off to get ready & brace the gooey air. Yuck. Gracie's Uncle Brett greeted her with Minnesota sweatshirt, so sweet. We had a really good visit with our family & friends.
After we arrived & waiting for our bag, we look over and see CARIBOU! It's like Starbucks, there is one on every corner up there. So Todd rushed over & got a super huge coffee and we hear this demanding voice from the stroller, "GIVE ME THAT!" haha Too funny. So because it was vacation, and mommy had to get up at the crack of dawn with her, we went & had our own Caribou extravaganza while everyone was sleeping! Here is the Caribou Princess sipping hot cocoa & nibbling a chocolate covered pretzel.




One of my favorite places is Lake Calhoun in Uptown. I used to go rollerblading there, the view is spectacular. We stopped along the path so Gracie could play at the park. Then we walked under the tunnel where people go fishing. And then sitting on the bridge looking over the lake. It was such a gorgeous day!








Then we had to go soak in the Farmer's Market right on the edge of downtown Minneapolis. There are endless rows of fresh produce & home made tortillas, nuts, bread, soap, olives, cheeses, olive oils, the most beautiful bouquets of flowers, you name it! The cool air, and fresh smells, there's no place like it. And Gracie seemed to follow the appreciation after her mama.

Corn on the cob is made fresh & they slap butter on it. Gracie ate not one...

but 2 ears!


Take a breath, child!

She saw this chicken & fell in love with it, she just HAD to go see it.


And then we got to the pumpkins...

"I LOVE pumpkins!" She picked out her favorite, then held on real tight.

"It's SO cute!"

Stopping to pick & smell a flower.


We went to Como Zoo with Lulu, Uncle Brett, Michele, Kiersten & Gabriella, Cousin Brad & Jen with Max & Miles and we had such a good time. Poor Jen got tickets for Max & Gracie to ride the rides & both of them decided they didn't want to go on anything. I finally got Gracie to go on the tea cups with me & the entire time she was yelling "off mommy!" "I done, mommy!"
Gracie & Cousin Max


Gracie & Kiersten

Sweet Gabriella


Attached to the zoo is a conservatory. All the kids were watching the fish swim.



Little monkeys going up & down a mini elevator

The Merry Go Round


Girl's night out at Chino Latino! Jen, Michele, Jaime & Lindsay ~ I just love & miss these girls, they are SO fun!

One of our favorite spot on Lake Minnetonka

Gracie got right in "Biirrr, it's cold!"

At the Children's Museum in St. Paul - Gracie touching a snake with zero hesitation

This was the cutest ant exhibit, the kids crawled through tiny tunnels pretending to be ants. She went through the tunnels backwards shouting "Whoa! WHoa!"

Gracie Turtle


Gracie & the big city in the skyway!


Gracie's favorite spot in Lulu & Brett's house ~ in their basement they have this tiny door that has just enough room for her to sit inside. She loved going in there & playing hide & seek.

Sassy on her way home, waiting for us to board the flight, she was busy walking her lady bug bag shouting "Come on, Mommy, airplane!" "Come on, mommy!"



Before we left, Todd and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We went on our first alone over night trip since Gracie. Here's a picture of the moon, us at dinner & the sunrise. You'd think sleeping in would be such a treat, but sitting on the balcony watching the sunrise was so peaceful & SO quiet! :)