Howard, SD

Okay, I am a little behind the 8-ball with this post, but that is because I knew it was going to be another big one. We took a ton of pictures and crammed a lot of stuff into one weekend, so I knew I needed to wait until I had the time to dedicate to a good post. Well, for those of you that don't know, I recently took a road trip to Howard, SD with Matt, Dave, and Ryan. Jon had to stay home and be the responsible one between the two of us because of the dogs. It would have been just too expensive to kennel the dogs for such a quick weekend road trip. I am sure you are thinking what I was thinking...why Howard, SD? Weeeeeeelllll, it is the hometown of the famous Miss Matt Laible, Star Trek Aficionado & Queen of Vulcans. Okay, I am getting way ahead of myself here with the Star Trek talk, but you'll see. Our real purpose was to see the opening of Matt's mom's new coffee shop which was absolutely the cutest damn little coffee shop I had ever seen. In our two and half day trip, we went balls to the wall with the amount of activities we managed to fit in. On Friday, we drove 5 hours to Sioux Falls, SD, went out to the bar with Matt's brother and sister-in-law, and spent the night at their beautiful brand new house. On Saturday, we then drove 45 minutes to Mitchell, SD, home of the Corn Palace. When we rolled up to Mitchell, we realized their was a full-on parade in our honor or at least we like to believe that. We visited the Corn Palace and then were off for another 45 minute car ride to Howard, SD. We went straight to the coffee shop, had lunch, visited with Matt's mom and dad. We headed back to Matt's house and took a tour of his parent's digs. We then took Matt's grandpa's golf cart on a tour around town, but there was only enough room for 3 people, so I rode a bike alongside the cart. I think it was the strangest damn site that town had seen in 60 years. We ate dinner, went out to the local watering hole where we heard the worst/best karaoke in years. On Sunday, we had breakfast with Matt's family, visited his maternal grandpa at the nursing home, visited his paternal grandma at her home, and then took off for home. In between, there was lots of food, ice cream, Mad Libs, and uggggghhhhh, Star Trek Trivia. However, let me state for the record Ryan and I didn't participate. We just shook our heads and wondered how our friends traveled down such a dark and dirty road towards the dark side. The first picture from the trip....the Cheddar Cheese Chex Mix alone told us the trip was going to be good.

You thought I was kidding? Oh no, Matt and Dave both can spout off the license plate numbers of any Star Trek ship, plane, or floating house (whatever those damn things are called) like they are spouting off their social security numbers. Scary? A little.

A giant Buffalo we encountered on our way through Mankato. Coincidentally, we ate just moments later at Buffalo Wild Wings.....hmmmmm??? Maybe now that I think about it, it looks more like a Bison. I'll get back to you on it.

The Dairy Queen we visited where they prematurely shut off their lights to avoid customers. When we found out, we were pretty pissed and so Ryan did them the favor of turning it back on (without them noticing) and a huge rush followed behind us. They didn't look happy at all, but serves them right. How did they pay us back? This large, sweaty woman, with tattoos put on by a ink pen had employees wiping sweat off her face with a napkins AS SHE MADE OUR BLIZZARDS. Ewwwwww!!

Saturday morning and the inside of Matt's bro and sister-in-law's house.

I heart this giraffe. I wanted to steal it, but instead I looked at it longingly.

Outside of the house: Me, Dave, and Matt.

This was the parade when we got to Mitchell, SD. Yes, that car says the Corn Palace Hillbillies which appropriately set the tone for our visit.

The smoke is caused from the hillbilly car starting, stalling, sputtering, shooting sparks, and generally in need of a tune up.

Dave with Zeke.

The parade heading toward the Corn Palace (seen on the left hand side).

The Corn Palace. Yes, the entire outside decoration is made out of corn. The writing, decorations, etc.

Dave and Ryan

The welcome sign inside the building.

Matt, Dave, and Ryan inside the gymnasium.

An Indian Mosaic made completely out of corn.

I bought a gag gift for Jon which was a lapel pin, but it was far too fashionable to not share with the folks of Mitchell. Ryan pinning the fashionable pin on my jacket.

The pin made of feathers of some animal and the faces of Mt. Rushmore. I saw Gwenyth Paltrow wearing something similar to the Oscars.

Doesn't it look smashing??

While they look like the Gangs of New York....rough, tough, and ready to rumble, the most hurtin' these gals will lay on you is telling you not to wear horizontal strips, synthetic fabric, or white shoes after Labor Day.

Outside Higher Grounds Coffee Shop.

Standing in front of the fire place at Higher Grounds.

Standing in front of the fire place at Higher Grounds with Matt's mom and dad.

The girls looking out of the bedroom window. This actually was NOT staged even though we commented that the room felt very Victorian Bed and Breakfast.

Meanwhile this picture was TOTALLY staged and represents my deepest sadness of not having a Senior Picture where the curtain gently caressed my face.

The bike I rode while the Larry, Mo, and Curly got to ride in a golf cart.

Looks way more comfy than a damn bike doesn't it.

An action shot....I am the model of athleticism even in designer duds.

An action shot as I rode the bike and they zoomed past me.

In front of Matt's house.

In front of the famous "Welcome to Howard" sign. Matt actually drove us like 10 miles out of the way so we could come in the front entrance of the town and see this sign. I feel like I have now lived a complete life having seen it.

Dave in front of the Howard water tower.

Mindy's Wedding

My manager's wedding was on the 4th of October which was one of the most beautiful Autumn days we had seen in a long, long time. Mindy looked beautiful in her dress. It was attended by a lot of my co-workers who were also meeting Jon for the first time. As usual, he was received with open arms and everyone had nothing but gushing reviews about him. It was a very nice ceremony followed by a reception at the Edina Country Club (uuuu-la-la). We had a great time, especially because of the free top shelf booze, but also definitely because of the company. My camera batteries ran out right at the beginning of the ceremony, so pardon all of the cell phone pictures. I strive for quality, but sometimes you have to make due with what you've got. Mindy walking down the aisle with her father. The church from the back row (where we were seated). Dude, what's up with that? Michael and Mindy's first walk as each others ole' ball-n-chain. My co-worker Barb (or B, Babs, B-Double Dizzle) during the cocktail reception. Our table...from L to R: Jon, Michelle, Barb, Kathy Jo, Jeff (KJ's husband). Michelle and Barb Instead of centerpieces, Mindy had cakes in the center of each table which was such a cool idea and so beautiful. The first cell phone picture of the night....why does one side of my head look slanted? I am sure I was feeling no pain during this picture... Mindy and her Grandpa dancing... Barb with a decorative leaf from our table behind her ear. My co-worker posse. These are the girls I spend most of my life with. I see them more than I do Jon! Ahhh, I love this picture.