A Minnesota Baby... in DC: Summer 2016

Unlike last summer, this summer hasn't been dominated by 95 degree days, so it has felt a bit more playful and adventurous. Why just the other day I took the girls to the tot lot by the house, a playground usually avoided in July and August around here, due to the burning sun and drowning humidity.

First. Minnesota. The girls and I flew to MN in June as we usually do. The flight was turbulent so I couldn't walk EC around (I am a rule follower and will not get up when the fasten seat belt sign is on). LJ is great on the plane, consumed by sticker books and barbie games on her kindle. And even though I flew alone with LJ countless times within her first 2 years, I can't remember how I entertained her. So EC was antsy and bored and my attempt to get her to sleep failed. But we made it home in one piece, saw Gram for a brief lunch and headed to NU. We played with friends, saw family (my cousin came down as did my aunt) and spent every day at the pool.

On the Tuesday Sam went to Minneapolis to see Gram and the girls and I drove over to Rochester to see Papa. I knew there was going to be a big storm that afternoon but assumed we'd be home before it hit. As we drove along highway 14, I saw great, dark blue clouds to our left. But as we drove through the sun I assumed we were safe and would get to NU in time to enjoy watching the storm roll in. But by the time we got to Mankato, MPR announced a tornado warning for Blue Earth County and we decided to pull over to the mall just off 14. Well, we ended up spending nearly 2.5 hours there. First in a storm shelter which was essentially a windowless hallway (that luckily had a door so LJ and I could watch the storm) and then the basement of one of the storms where they provided popcorn, suckers, movies, etc. I have to admit I was a bit nervous in the first shelter. I'm never convinced that a windowless structure is any safer than any other above ground structure during a tornado. But EC and LJ did well with the uncertainty of the timing and by the time we got home, Sam had already arrived and dinner was ready.

So that's the thing. LJ and Sam are best friends. Absolutely the loves of each other's lives. Why just yesterday LJ declared that Sam was her favorite person in her family and stressed that that meant we were second and third. Or maybe ninth and tenth.

The downside of the week is that my sister's kitty disappeared. We searched daily for him and Sam is actually back in NU right now trying to find him (putting up nigh vision cameras or something). I'm convinced he'll return because cats usually do.