What a weekend!

My highschool classmate Amanda arrived on the train Friday morning from Williston, ND. She has recently gone through some emotional crap, and needed a girl's weekend away. Another classmate, Danielle, and I took Friday off so we could greet Amanda from the train. After a wonderful breakfast at Keys Cafe in St Paul (the original Keys), we meandered our way back to Danielle's townhouse for some rest. Fast forward to a day of shopping, walking around, catching up, and just enjoying our time. After dinner at Buca de Beppo, we packed bags and headed to my house in Paynesville. Poor Brian - converged upon by four women (Amber joined us for dinner and fun). We drank a couple beers and watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

Saturday brought about my bridal shower - given by Brian's family. The town of Eden Valley has a tradition I've never seen before. There are three stores in town (used to be more, I'm sure), and flyers are placed at these stores, announcing the shower. People in town will contribute money toward a gift or gifts from the store, and their name is recorded on a sheet of paper. Saturday morning, the girls and I hit all three stores to shop for household gifts before the shower began so we could display these items for all to see. What a fantastic idea! The three stores were Bills Bargains & Variety, Valley Meats and Grocery, and Lost and Found. Millie at Bills said when she was married 45 years ago, this same tradition was in place. Back then, she said, if they got fifty cents, they made out very well. I was happy to pull in over $100 combined for all three stores, along with the gifts from the people who attended the shower. Wow - what an experience! We played some fun games, visited with some wonderful people, and had a very nice lunch. Brian was nice enough to send me into town with the truck, which was perfect for hauling back our loot. I had such a lot of fun!

After that, we won't mention the rest of the goings on of the weekend. It involved more beer, tattoos, and a whole lotta fun. :) Amanda's saying is "good friends, cute boys, and cold beer - all make it fun". I think that sums it up.