Welcome to Minneapolis!

We finally made it to Minnesota! Who knew that Minneapolis would be so beautiful! This place really is amazing, minus the extreme humidity. Doug and I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and our moving truck didn't come until late Wednesday evening. We were able to work quickly though, and we unloaded everything by 10 that night. We worked until midnight to organize everything, and then went to pick up Doug's parents at the airport. It took us about 10 minutes to drive to the airport to pick them up. It was super easy and fast!

While Doug's parents were here we did lots of fun things! They were also so great to help us organize our apartment. The first day we went to the St. Paul Cathedral. It was amazingly huge. So much detail in all of their sculptures. Everything feels like it is over the top! 

So after we went to see the Cathedral, we went to see the LDS temple. It was pretty, and surprisingly super small. This temple recommends that you call in advance to make reservations to do a session. That is very different from what Doug and I are used to in Provo. We are very excited to do family history work though and visit the temple often here. We took a few quick pictures at the temple, and then we were off to the Mall of America!

The Mall of America is huge. So huge that there is an amusement park with a roller coaster inside. There are 4 levels to it, and we were at the mall for two hours and we only saw the bottom 1st level. This will take me a few trips before I can fully get a feel for the Mall of America. I also need to find a job quick if I want to fully enjoy what the Mall of America has to offer. 

The next day we went to the local Art Festival. It was great! Over 150 artists in the area came with booths and art. It was a very humid day, so that made it tough to be outside, but we had a great time looking at art, eating festival foods like deep fried cheese curds and kettle corn popcorn, and walking around the Powderhorn Lake. 

Cheese curds deep fried... actually pretty good!

After the art festival we headed to downtown Minneapolis. We didn't realize this until after went left downtown, but we live about 5 minutes from downtown, and we just have to stay on the main road we live off of to get there. Its amazing how we can feel like we are living in a small quite neighborhood, and then take a 5 minute drive into a downtown busy city. Pretty cool! So once we got downtown we checked out the awesome buildings there. We walked through the skyways, which are designed to connect major buildings so you don't ever have to walk outside in the cold Minnesota winters. We visited the library which was huge, and finally went to a fancy dinner at Fogo de Chao (very similar to Tucanos) and a movie, Planet of the Apes. I want a baby monkey now. Then I will give it away when it gets too big. 

On Sunday, the last full day that Doug's parents were here, we went to church and then visited a local park. Church was an interesting experience. Very different from what I am used to in Utah, but I think Doug and I will have great opportunities there to learn and grow, and make friends with all kinds of people. There is lots of diversity in Minneapolis, so this is good for me to break out of the bubble of Provo. After a Sunday nap, we went to the Minnehaha Park which is just down the road from us, and we visited the Minnehaha Falls. It was amazing! So pretty! Places like these make me feel more confident about the move. It was beautiful and it felt good for my soul to be in nature enjoying it and soaking it all in. They had bikes you could rent and ride around the park in. They also had ice cream and a little restaurant as well. The park was packed with people laughing, riding bikes, picnicking, hiking, playing horse shoes, doing yoga, and just enjoying a lazy Sunday. This is my most favorite place I have been to yet in Minneapolis. I felt so good there. If you ever visit the Robinson's in Minnesota, this will be a place we will take you. Expect it, and love it!

Thank you Ron and Lenny for coming out and visiting us! We had a great time with you and we already miss you! Thank you for being so great and we will see you again soon we hope!