The One Before Christmas

Friday

Our athletic director had lunch catered for all of the coaches by Spring Creek BBQ.  I absolutely love that place.  Every time my parents come to visit we go there.  He also gave each of us a gift card to Starbucks.  SCORE!

The freshmen girls had a game that night but we got all of the girls, Varsity-JV-Freshmen, out of school at 3 so we could take them to Target.  As a team we adopted a family in the community that had 3 young girls & so we went shopping for them.  The girls had so much fun picking out presents for the children as well as completing a scavenger hunt.

After we finished at Target we headed to the game.  We all watched the other school's varsity team play before our freshmen took the court.  WE WON!  They won their first game of the season in the very last second.  I was so proud of them.  I was also super happy that we didn't go into overtime...again.  After the game I headed to Mr. Midwest's house so I could be closer to the airport for my early morning flight the next day.  

We spent the night eating Raising Canes (my first time) & watching movies.  And by we watched movies I mean he did because I passed out on the couch almost instantly.  My paranoid self slept like crap however because I kept worrying that I hadn't set my alarm, or that I set it for the wrong day, or the wrong time, or that I wouldn't hear it.

Saturday

At 3:45 in the morning my alarm went off & I headed to the airport.  Having slept like shit, I spent almost the entire flight sleeping.  Luckily I had the window seat so I had somewhere to rest my head.  I did manage to take a picture of the sunrise while in the air.  I absolutely love that view.  Another one of my favorite things about flying...being in the airport around Christmas.  Seeing all of the men & women in uniform at the airport, knowing that they are getting to go home to see their families for the holidays always gets me.  

When I arrived in Minnesota my parents were there with a jacket, socks, & shoes for me because my dumb ass forgot to bring boots, or any type of real shoe, with me when I left my apartment to go to Mr. Midwest's.  All I had were flip flops which do not fly when it's December in Minnesota.  Our first stop was breakfast.  We stopped at Keys Cafe which none of us had ever been to before.  We all wound up getting biscuits & gravy.  I really liked the seasoning that they used for their gravy.  Their hot chocolate was also amazing.  Afterwards it was off to Target so I could buy some boots.  They are actually the pair that I had wanted to buy on Black Friday but they were completely out.  I tried again on Cyber Monday only to hit the same road block.  The Target we stopped at had exactly one pair of the ones that I wanted in the size I needed & color I wanted.  Here is a better picture of the boots that I bought.

We ran a couple more errands & then it was time for home.  I was so exhausted that I took yet another nap when I got home before going to the grocery store to get stuff for supper as well as stuff to make pickle wraps for Sunday.  It was a very relaxing day/night which is exactly what I needed.  I stayed up slept on the couch until it was time to watch Bruce Springsteen play on Saturday Night Live.  I haven't watched that show in years but one cannot miss The Boss perform.  The second he was done I went to bed for real.

Sunday

Sunday morning I was up early yet again.  I woke up at 6 am so that I could make my way down to the cities to celebrate my friend's birthday at the Vikings vs Bears game.  We had bloody marys at her place before heading off towards TCF Bank Stadium so we could tailgate.  We made it there a little after 9 am.  We ate pickle wraps, chips, & ham sandwiches while singing, laughing, & drinking.

A little before noon we made the short walk to the stadium to watch the actual game.  I had never been to TCF, & unless I go to a Gophers game never will again because the Vikings stadium will be ready for next season.  Because it's a smaller stadium there isn't a bad seat there.  We were as far up as you could go & the seats were still great.  In fact, because it was a cloudy & breezy day I would have rather been up where we were where the wind was blocked rather than down lower.  The best part?  We won 38-17.  I was honestly a little nervous going in that we might lose.  My cousin & his girlfriend (who is a Bears fan but I don't completely hold that against her) were also there so I met up with them at the game for a bit.

After the game We headed across the street to the Buffalo Wild Wings tent for awhile.  Most of us were so tired though that we thankfully left before long.  All but 3 of us had to work tomorrow morning so a late night wasn't really an option.  Even though I'm on break & don't have work I still needed to get home so that I could be at my parents' for supper.  My brother came out for supper as well so that the four of us could decorate the tree afterwards.  Driving home was such a struggle because I was so tired.  I wound up having to stop for coffee & water as well as having to call my mom to talk on the phone.  Luckily, I made it just fine & tacos were eaten & the tree was decorated.