What an awesome weekend we had for the 4th of July! We got to fly out to Minnesota for the first ever Mixa reunion and see all of our relatives on my Dad's side. First of all, for someone who plans out trips a month in advance, and makes lists of her lists down to every detail, I of course forgot my camera. So a million thanks to my sister Beth who gave me all of these pictures! Dallin loved the airplane ride out there, and Evie was pretty happy too, considering we woke them up at 4:30 in the morning to get to the airport. We took pictures in the plane with Jason's phone, and I will post them later if I can figure out how to get them on the computer. So after a 3 1/2 hour flight, we got to our hotel and crashed for naps. Later that evening, we went to The Lion's Tap for dinner, which is an awesome burger place we go to every time we visit MN.
On day two, we pretty much spent the entire day at the St. Paul temple and everyone from my dad's family who could make it was there. My Dad has spent years finding ancestors and getting their names ready for this occasion. I cannot even tell you how wonderful it felt to be there doing temple work for my own ancestors. I should not have worn make-up because I cried a lot. We ended up doing 259 ordinances that day.
The next day, for 4th of July, we drove to Menomonie, Wisconsin and visited the graves of some of our relatives and told stories of their lives. We also had a mini reunion there in Menomonie for all the descendents of Edward and Orhpa Ranney (on my dad's mother's side). Then all five of us Mixa girls went to the Mall of America (three stories of pure bliss :) and said goodbye to Jenilyn and Rose who were flying out that night. Later that night we watched some awesome fireworks from our hotel parking lot. I can't remember the last time I got to see fireworks that actually exploded that high in the sky, well besides my Uncle Dave's 'imported' stuff :). Dallin was OBSESSED to say the least. I'm pretty sure he said a loud "Kaboom!" with every single one he saw. We also spent some time in the hotel swimming pool which was open till 1am every night (how cool is that?).
On Saturday, our last day, we went to a nearby lake and spent the day with all my dad's siblings and their families. It was so much fun and the food was amazingly good. It was really windy, but still warm and Beth and Cari went out on the boat for a while. When we left there, we went back to the mall for a little more shopping and then straight to the airport to catch our 9:25 flight. By the way, I definitely recommend flying late at night for those who have little ones. Our kids slept the entire 3 1/2 hours back, they were so exhausted!
This is everyone on Wed. night at the Lion's Tap. What we don't have pictured (thanks to me) is a picture of our friends Tim and Carrilyn, and their adorable kids Ivan and Chloe, who we met up with at the restaurant.
I can't believe how green and beautiful it is in Minnesota during the summer. We are so used to brown dead stuff at home in CA.
Dallin and Evie at the stake center on temple day. Beth and my mom were so sweet for watching them for us. And Dallin especially loves getting anything he wants from grandma and his aunts, like a plate full of olives :)
Jason and Dallin at the pool. Dallin has become our little fish, he loves to swim and I'm glad because for a while he wanted nothing to do with it.
What a great trip, I'm so glad we were able to go. That's two reunions down and just one wedding to go now!
