Our plane to Minnesota was delayed almost an hour due to weather conditions. The ride there was fine and they made up time, except when we landed they had no gate 
assignment for us. We sat on the tarmac for nearly 30 minutes waiting for a place to park! Many passengers saw their connections leave right in front of their eyes! We were glad that we didn't have any connections. Once we were parked at the gate it was off to the marathon of finding the baggage claim and rental cars. There is lots of walking at this airport and thankfully people movers too! We noticed that this airport is prepared for winter! The rental car garage and even gas refills are in the basement, inside! We drove a Toyota Matrix while we were in Minneapolis. It was very nice.
assignment for us. We sat on the tarmac for nearly 30 minutes waiting for a place to park! Many passengers saw their connections leave right in front of their eyes! We were glad that we didn't have any connections. Once we were parked at the gate it was off to the marathon of finding the baggage claim and rental cars. There is lots of walking at this airport and thankfully people movers too! We noticed that this airport is prepared for winter! The rental car garage and even gas refills are in the basement, inside! We drove a Toyota Matrix while we were in Minneapolis. It was very nice. We drove across the highway to the Mall of America. What a place! It is huge and has an amusement park inside the mall! We ate at Tony Roma's Place for Ribs. I got chicken which was very good, and Jeff had the ribs which were ok but overpriced. Afterward Jeff treated me to Coldstone Ice Cream. I had a wafflebowl dipped in chocolate and sprinkels with chocolate chocolatechip ice cream. It was delicious, but very filling! I don't think I could have eaten one more sprinkle. Jeff had a waffle cone dipped with peanuts and cake batter ice cream and oreos. Naturally we needed to walk it off so we spent a good amount of time walking around to see what was there. There was Legoland, the rides, American Girl Doll store and even the home plate from a previous baseball stadium where the mall stands today! We did purchase a few things, and I looked for shoes that I ended up finding at Target near our hotel.
Jeff drove some pretty heavy rush hour traffice north through town to our hotel. The Suite we stayed at was very nice and reasonable with our military discount. It was a little late, but we headed back south to Minneapolis to see if we could see a play at the Guthrie Theater.
Each night, 15 minutes before the curtain call, the sell tickets from 15-25 dollars depending on the day and time. This line is called the rush line and is first come, first served! We got there and since it was a Friday evening, we bought two tickets at $25/each. We were on the floor, 8 rows fromt he stage! How awesome is that! The play was amazing.. we saw Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest". Lots of laughs and good acting. This was a theater kind of in the round. Before the show, we went out on the observation deck and saw the night lights of the city. I really liked the lights on the bridge.
Each night, 15 minutes before the curtain call, the sell tickets from 15-25 dollars depending on the day and time. This line is called the rush line and is first come, first served! We got there and since it was a Friday evening, we bought two tickets at $25/each. We were on the floor, 8 rows fromt he stage! How awesome is that! The play was amazing.. we saw Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest". Lots of laughs and good acting. This was a theater kind of in the round. Before the show, we went out on the observation deck and saw the night lights of the city. I really liked the lights on the bridge.Saturday morning we met some new friends at breakfast. Paul and Monique were AF friends with Mark and Kim as well. I guess he was Mark's boss 3 times! Anyway, it was nice to meet new people and make new friendships. We sat together at the reception and had lots of fun. Jeff and I went exploring a little and had a nice pizza lunch at a nearby restaurant. When we got back to the hotel, it was time to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was very nice. The pastor had a nice message. The bride's daughter and a sister sang some songs. This wedding was very emotional as well. Mark's son Scott couldn't be there as he is in pilot training in the USAF. There was a candle lit there to signify his prescence from far away. Mark's brother was the best man in Scott's stead, and the rest of the bridal party were the children of the bride and groom. Pat lost her husband to cancer, and most of you know how sad we were when Kim went to heaven 2 years ago. It is comforting to know that she is in God's presence. In that light, there were a myriad of emotions "flying" around. It was wonderful to see Mark very happy.Sunday morning came early, and we were invited to share in the event of gift opening. We had a nice breakfast together and met some new people and have good fellowship. Mark's neighbors from Maryland are a lot of fun! Before we knew it, it was time to head back toward the airport. We had an hour or so to burn, so we just drove around the city to see what we could find. One thing we couldn't find was a gas station to fill up the tank for the rental car. We weren't going to run out, but we needed to return it full.
We returned our car, checked one peice of luggage for $15, went through security and then made the haul back to the gate, this time using a tram! YAY! I still can't believe we now have to pay for our luggage to ride in the underbelly of the plane. It is like a robber without a gun! We stopped for a bite to eat at the airport, since we had to high tail it to bowling as soon as we got home! I had Chinese and Jeff had a bagel sandwich. The plane was overbooked and they were asking for volunteers with flexible scheduling to fly home "tomorrow". We thought about it, then they said that the next flight was Monday at 3:40 pm! That is crazy...so no way Jose'! The plane was boarded and there we were again waiting on a plane for what? Evidently there was some maintenance issues, then the pilot apologized and said that the airport was short on workers and our luggage wasn't on the plane yet and catering hadn't arrived! What on earth are we paying that $15 dollars for??? It was another 30 mintues before we left, almost on hour after our scheduled departure. Needless to say that once back in Grand Rapids, we were very late to bowling. We bowled the last game with the team and then bowled the games we missed by ourselves. We ended up splitting the points and took 2. I had only one good game, 126. Jeff bowled pretty well and maintained his average of 150. Thanks to Mary, she brought our balls to the alley so we wouldn't have to stop at home first.
The kids did really well while we were gone. Mary and Matthew went to Hope College to visit Sarah. They went to a soccer game, played Dutch Blitz , ate dinner at Steak and Shake and watched a scary movie together. It is so nice to know your kids like spending time together! Mary did report to us Sunday morning that Sammy ripped and ate part of the cardboard backing of our refrigerator! I don't know what got into him, or how he actually got behind there in the first place. We have been finding him in wierd places. He has been sleeping upstairs, in Jeff's office and curled up by the kitchen table.
Now that we are back home, Jeff leaves again this afternoon for Pontiac for the Pastor's Conference. He will be back on Wednesday. I work Wednesday and Friday. Sarah comes home Friday for the weekend. Mary and Matt keep up with their activities at school. My mom arrives one week from today and will stay for ten days! Hurray! I will do my best to keep you updated during the week.
Have a great day!
Grace
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! LOTS OF LOVE!
