The Minneapolis McCues: State Fair Fun!

Well, we had another busy weekend as we're nearing the end of my pregnancy (just less than 3 weeks left to go!!). Jon's father, Jack, and his wife, Cynthia, came to visit us from afar. Jack from Memphis (where he does consulting work during the week) and Cynthia from San Francisco (where she lives full-time and Jack calls home on the weekends - for now). Our visit basically revolved around food - and needless to say - I'm still full today!

Friday night we went out and had a very nice dinner at Mission American Bar & Grill at the IDS Tower. Then Saturday we all headed out to the State Fair. We arrived around 10am there and headed directly to the Miracle of Birth Barn. There were actually two animals that were having their babies! It was very cool to see brand new baby piglets and a brand new baby cow - I couldn't help to think of my imminent delivery. Then the rest of the day was dedicated to finding good eats and visiting the animal barns. Between the 4 of us we did pretty well at sampling the food - here's what we had... Deep Fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Cheese Curds, Lefse, Deep Fried Pickles, Smackaroons, a Pronto Pup, Pig's Cheeks, Cow-Lickers (Bacon dipped in Chocolate), Sweet Martha's Cookies, and Deep Fried Fruit on a Stick! I think I covered it all. I actually did quite well at getting around and proud to say I lasted all day with minimal rest periods! We headed back home around 4pm. And somehow we managed to think of food almost immediately and smoked a Prime Rib on Jon's Famous Smoker and ate yet again before retiring for the night. And wouldn't you know it - we were at it again the next morning and went out to Brunch at Hell's Kitchen - which I've decided I do really love. Maybe it's the new location, but I had been there 2 times before and never thought that it was as great as everyone had said - but this time I just really loved my food and the new place's atmosphere!

After brunch we said our goodbyes and dropped Cynthia and Jack off at the airport. All in all it was a very fun and delicious weekend. But my weekend wasn't quite done yet. I actually had one more dinner to attend... my baby shower with my coworkers! It was originally going to be at my coworker and friend, Angela's, house - but she came down with a very nasty case of Strep and was out of work all week and was in no shape to host a get-together - so another friend and coworker took the reins and reorganized and we ended up going to a restaurant by my house that both Jon and I really like, Cafe Levain. I had a great time. It's always nice to see and hang out with people outside of work. And though the service was a little slow (very unusual in my experience) the food was excellent - as always. And with the gifts I received - I'm definitely feeling pretty darn ready ! We're ready any time now! Thanks AAPA CRNA's!