We had a little get together with him on Thursday night with some of the "wine" group. He really seemed to fit in well and enjoyed mixing and mingling. However, he was up a little past his bed time, and after a full day of work Friday, needed a quick power nap before heading out to dinner and the movies.
No one said we were a good influence. . .right? Well, we took him to see what was probably his first "R" rated movie, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Had I known there were several scenes with full frontal male nudity scenes, I would have thought twice, but don't worry, I covered his eyes as quickly as I could. We thought the movie had quite a few unnecessary scenes, we gave it a 5.5. What would be a good Friday dinner and date night, without a double feature, so we decided to check out "21". I am really glad that we decided to check that out, we all enjoyed it much better and even Monkey gave it an 8.
The next day we were up bright and early to meet my mom at an estate sale, a trip through Super Target and then working the volunteer gig at Summit Brewery.
He really made quite the impression and was made an honorary bartender even! (We had the 10:30 am shift, so we limited the intake to Root Beer.)
After our brewery shift and a bite to eat, we headed to the one and only largest mall in America, MOA.
It was really nice to see how much Monkey brightened peoples day. We were stopped on several occasions where people were just delighted to see him. Almost everyone had a sock monkey story, he really does bring happiness wherever he goes.
We wanted to take him on some rides, unfortunately he did not meet the proper height requirements :(So many more Minneapolis landmarks yet to see, we were off to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
Please note the awesome prom couple in the background. . . we saw quite a few prom goers Saturday night, girls, what is up with the guys in white tuxes with cummerbund and ties that match their dates really vibrant dresses? We tried to get Monkey a date, but it seems he was a little late to this ball.
What would a trip to Minneapolis be without a visit to MTM?
And a quick tour of the Minneapolis skyway system.
The Mississippi River was crossed a couple of times, one of the bridges we used to cross it. . .
Now we were starting to think about getting our drink on. . .
A stop by sister J's house to pick her up and a quick hello to Max.
Then we were on our way to the capital of MN, St. Paul.A quick stop by the building where my office is (okay, so if I ever went into the office, this is where I would go, a beautiful historical building, but the office is at home for me).
A stop by the Cathedral,
A quick rest, the capital building in the background.
Who could resist the opportunity to hang out with Schroeder and Lucy?
He seemed to fit right in with Charlie Brown and Snoopy. . .
The Landmark, which is of course, a landmark in St. Paul. . .
And on our way into the Excel Center, he was hoisted onto Herb Brooks shoulders.
Do you believe in Miracles?
It was 70's Night at the Swarm game, our whole goal for the evening was to get Monkey up on the Jumbo Tron. . . and we did. . .however, it did not go as planned. There was a disco cam which would pan the crowd looking for fashionable disco dancers to put up on the Jumbo Tron, once we got the disco cams attention, and Monkey was up on the Jumbo Tron, the boys were supposed to capture the moment. Well, we got him up there, but the boys were in the little boys room. . .but it was so much fun to see him up there giving John Travolta a run for his monkey, and even though they lost (but are still headed for the playoffs) we had a blast.
After the game we were invited over to sister S's new house to check out the new digs (which I have now fallen in love with and I want her to move out and let me move in).
The next morning though turned out to be a beautiful day and we took a stroll down by the lake right by my house and I remembered why I love my neighborhood.
We showed Monkey around and let him know that if he is ever in the neighborhood during the summer to stop by and check out one of the concerts at the band shell.
I know someone who would love to take in a show or two with him.
I think he was really hoping that concessions would be open for some ice cream.
After some brunch, some retail therapy was needed, what better place than the World's first indoor shopping mall. . . .
After dropping off the boy so that he could wash his car, I headed over to where my niece and nephew had their artwork on display, This was a big deal for them, especially being in first grade, but out of the whole distict, they both had pieces chosen for the whole metro area to visit, I think Monkey enjoyed it as well.
We had a wonderful weekend with Monkey, and he was so much fun to have around. The boy tucked him in every night and he slept soundly. When we met with Five Tomatoes tonight to send him on his way, we were actually really sad to see him go. It was fun to show such a pleasant visitor around town.
If any of you are in town, please feel free to drop me a line, we would love to show you around too!
Thanks so much Lisagh you helped create some wonderful memories, what a special thing to bring to someones life. I am not sure if you can tell by the expression on the boys face, but Monkey truly found his way into our hearts, just like you have. Now when are you coming to visit????
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