My niece had a birthday this weekend so it is a perfect opportunity to travel to see my family.  Birthday’s are always special and fun to observe.  Even more fun when the birthday girl is a smiley, loving now 5 year old little girl.  Little Nora Mae is just a doll and I feel very honored to be her auntie Sara.  

We left to travel to the other side of the state.  I never thought going to the cities would be such a trek.  Now living 3 hours west of the cities it is an event to see large building and multi-lanes of traffic.  Growing up I could get to St Paul in under 20 minutes now it is like traveling to another world.  I love both places where we live, and the cities.  I love the cities for the hustle and bustle.  The variety of things to do and see and experience.  Everytime we enter the cities I feel this twinge of I wish we still lived here.  The kids eyes are always huge with everything from lights, buildings, cars on both sides of us and the list goes on and on.  The kids are rural and they are raised that way.  We live in a small town and by the end of a couple days in the urban setting we are ready to come home. There is something I love about a small town where you know everyone and they know you.  You wave to a passing car, you run into your friends at the drugstore or grocery store.  School is a smaller setting and the kids know everyone in their class and it just is a great place to grow up.  I guess there are pro’s and con’s to each so I am lucky that I have family living in the one so we have a good excuse to experience both.  

We took advantage of being in a metro area and did a little shopping and out for a meal.  Need to pick a restaurant we don’t have near home, and of course visiting with family and a birthday party.  

I don’t get to see my niece and nephew enough so every time I see them they are a little taller and a little more fun.  The kids had so much fun playing and chasing each other and spilling 2000 legos onto the floor.  They laughed and hugged and talked how they loved each other it was sweet and fun to see.  

The adults we had fun also.  My sister is a great hostess, she has a knack to entertain and she does it well.  My brother in law is a great guy, great sense of humor and a great host.  He hooked me up with his private stash of Captain Morgans and an Alabama Slammer drink he had made.  Just took a little bit of the shyness out of me and I was able to laugh and joke with my sister and her friends.  I was thinking later about my sister and her friends I remember when they were little jr high girls and so annoying to be around and now we are all mom’s and more on that level playing field when age no longer matters.  So instead of watching my sister and her friend perform dances to Hanson in my dorm room, I get to watch them be silly interacting with their kids. 

A fun weekend away, a time of family and friends, a time to celebrate birth.  Hope you all had some joy in your weekend.