Otherwise we had a great time on our trip.
We got in Thursday night without too many weather-related delays (it snowed about 5 inches in WI).
Friday we visited my grandparents and had a delicious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. I'd only been there once- about ten years ago, I think- so it was fun to look through the humongous menu. My aunt flew in from NM that evening.
On Saturday a large part of my mom's family descended on our house. It was the first time I'd seen many of them since my wedding in 2006. We're really lucky because pretty much everyone has a good sense of humor and gets along. I think the highlight, though, was my cousin's 9-month-old. He was such a sweetie and very cute. I said I would have one next week if I could guarantee it would turn out like him. (This statement was redacted after flying back from Orlando with a plane full of screaming kids going through Disney withdrawal).
Sunday we got up early for church and went out for brunch at the White Wolf Cafe. We split a gigantic cinnamon roll and I ordered an omelet stuffed with cream cheese and strawberry jam (sadly it doesn't look like the breakfast menu is posted on their site). Another cousin who couldn't make it the day before stopped by on Sunday afternoon with his three elementary-school-aged kids.
Sunday evening brought even more food adventures when we met an old friend of mine and her husband out in St. Cloud for dinner at The Catfish Place. I ordered catfish (of course) and also turtle, which I don't think I'd ever eaten before. It tasted like deep fried, but good deep fried, unlike the oysters (sorry, Dad :) ).
On Monday we took a tour of the "real Florida" and had lunch at a bakery in Yalaha. The rest of the day as spent visiting, playing cards, and getting ready to leave. Because we don't have a lot of local fresh fruit going on right now in Madison we stopped or some navel oranges to pack in our suitcase. I'm glad we did, because you could buy 7 navels in FL for $.99. In Madison they were 9 for $7. I think the cold weather scared a lot of the growers so a ton of fruit was picked before the big freeze, and now they are trying to unload it quickly.
Tuesday was spent flying, treadmilling, and grocery shopping. I was sad to leave FL, but after two vacations in 3 weeks, I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. Exercise was good over the trip. My mom likes to walk so I got plenty of those in in addition to running.
Well, it's about time to get ready for the gym. Back to life, back to reality.
