The Moxie of Minnesota

Tuesday~September 22, 2009

I would like to introduce you to Mona...

Yes, I said Mona. Maybe you've met her?

If not, please welcome her.

(Clap now. She deserves some applause, she's
been in my bag for quite some time now.)

Mona is making her way around (almost) all 50 states
via the blogosphere, and she's doing it in only 5 days!

When she arrived for her visit with us here in the lovely Minnesota,
she wanted to head straight out to see the world around her.
I said, "That's my kinda superhero/blog traveler!"

So we strapped her in the car and off we went.

(She asked if we could pull a Thelma and Louise
by running away from life and then driving off a cliff,
but I said, "Are you kidding me? My kids are in the car!"
So we went to the Farmer's Market instead.)

Mona may not be Minnesotan, but she sure knows how to pick her corn!


Next, we took Mona to the State Fair,
where she went on a gondola ride with Miles and I.

I didn't like the heights. I imagined Miles and I falling to our deaths
atop the sea of tractors below. I kept panicking a little.

Mona said, "Hey lady, I have an invisible jet!
I'll tuck you under my arms and save you both. Get over it!"

I thought that was a little snarky,
so when we finally got down, I made her take a little nap
atop the stroller...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As most Minnesota newcomers do, Mona insisted on a visit
to the Mall of America.
So on another day, after recovering from the fair and all it's foods on sticks,
we headed to the biggest mall in all the world.
Can you see her there, pretending she's the mall superhero?
She may have Moxie, but humble she is not.

(That's Mommy Mo, looking on with pride.)

Do you see that wide open space above Mommy Mo's head?
Yeah, that's the amusement park that's in the mall. I neglected to take
more photos of that. Mona is STILL mad about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't want Mona to spend all of her time here in Minnesota
on fun-but-frivolous things (like shopping and gondolas),
so we headed out for more cultural experiences...

Here is Mona with Miles at the Walker Art Center's famous
cherry on the spoon in Minneapolis.

Mona wanted to pose like the cherry, so we humored her...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another day, Mona tried climbing through the fence at the governor's mansion.
I was all, "Um, do you want to get SHOT?" And she was all,
"Heather of the EO, c'mon, you're forgetting about my wrist deflector thingies!
No worries!"

The mansion of the governor. Jesse Ventura once lived here.
I'm so proud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During her visit, it was no secret that Mona had a special place in her
heart for my Asher. Perhaps it was due to his unconditional love
for her pillow-like hair?

Ryan and Asher with Mona near the St. Paul Cathedral.

St. Paul Cathedral


After the cathedral, we stopped at the state capitol.
Mona was quickly bored, so we left.

(She's not very historical because she's from another planet.)

So we went home and talked about the importance of history
and government while we ate tacos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another night, Mona came along for girl's night.
We ate at Cafe Latte, finishing off our meals with their famous desserts.

An overstuffed-with-cheesecake Mona with
Kelly of Love Well and Heidi of Minnesota Mom,
on historic Grand Avenue in St.Paul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, I'm pretty sure the highlight of Mona's trip was her stop
in Darwin, Minnesota to see the world's largest ball of twine!!!

Mona, reading all about how one man rolled twine into
the very most hugest ball of twine in all the land.

Big ball of twine


On another adventure, Miles finally convinced Mona that historical sites are not boring,
by taking her along to the James J. Hill house in St. Paul.

She liked it there so much, she even signed the guest book
with her real name!!!

I mean really, what's not to love about this beautiful place?

And lastly, here's a very tired Mona in the hands of Miles
outside our very most favorite Minnesota library...

Everything had gone so well...

Until...

She passed out.

She said Minnesota was
so beautiful
so much fun
so full of lovely people...
she just couldn't take it one minute more.

So she up and flew off to see another state,
another blogger...

Who will it be?

You can see if
Mona made it to your
favorite state
by clicking HERE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mona, we loved having you, and we're sorry
you got so worn out while on your escapades with us.
Please come back again.
Minnesota loves you!

Hosted by:
Better in Bulk
Mama’s Losin’ It
Mayhem & Moxie
Scary Mommy
& 7 Clown Circus