Hosting Mary

We were really excited to have arranged a sleepover with our niece Mary last weekend.  We had just over 24 hours together during which time we packed in as much summery stuff as we could.

The first order of business was to jump on our bikes and take a Friday evening ride to Minnehaha Falls.  It was a hot day, so submerging our feet in the cool creek water was a nice reward.  Mary hadn't biked on a road before, so we were extra cautious and set up a Mary sandwich, having her bike between us. She did a great job recognizing stop signs and keeping her cool when cars passed her.

photo by Paul

After exploring the roaring falls and the rushing creek below, we raced the sun home to spend the last bit of daylight with the chickens while Paul started up a bonfire.  After a little night cap of smores and roasted marshmallows, we headed indoors to wind down.

The next morning, Mary and Paul were kind enough to let me sleep in a little.  By the time I woke up at 7:30, they had already toured the garden and started a game of Monopoly.  Luckily, they were willing to abandon Monopoly in favor of making popovers.  While the popovers were in the oven, we also made cinnamon ginger applesauce and raspberry vanilla sauce to serve atop the popovers.  

Photo by Paul

While the sauces cooked down and the popovers baked, we introduced Mary to Pass the Pigs, a family favorite on my side of the family.  Some of the math was a bit challenging for Mary, but she still came out the strong winner of the game!

And then...DING! Breakfast!

Soon after, we were out the door and wandering Johnstock, a neighborhood art festival in Northeast Minneapolis.  The magician we saw perform was aimed at a slightly younger audience, but it was still worth checking out the festival.  Plus, a stop at Crafty Planet  yielded some necessary supplies for a project I had planned for Mary and I.

Before we left the festival, we took a look at the inside of The Hollywood Theater.  This beautiful building is on the National Register of Historic Places yet has been sitting vacant for years.  I've always been curious about the inside, so it was really neat to be allowed inside for a look around.

If you love peeling paint, this is the place to have a photo shoot.  So many layers and contrasting colors up against the art deco details.  It was gorgeous while also being in need of major repairs.  It is in the process of being sold, so hopefully it will see some brighter days ahead.

After all of that, we were hungry again and Mary was requesting another bike ride.  We couldn't say no to that, so we went home to get our bikes and rode them to Mosaic Cafe for lunch on their patio.  On the way home from lunch, it started to rain on us but we decided that was just fine and kept on going!  I mapped the rides we did and found the total distance to be just over 8 miles, which is pretty impressive for Mary and her small-tired, single gear kid's bike.  Go, Mary!

I knew we couldn't have a sleepover without doing something crafty since Mary is always interested in checking out my projects at family events.  We made felted flower headbands together following directions I found online.  I've owned a glue gun for years and have never used it!  This project was a good reason to take it out of its wrapper!  Here you can see us in our exquisite headband modeling poses.  We would like to thank our photographer Paul for always making us look so good ;)

photo by Paul

After a quick dinner and another round of chicken (manhandling) time, our short time together was done!  I think it was a pretty fun visit for all involved so I hope we can do it again this summer.