San Frannies 2008 AND 2009

Picking up where the last blog left off, Finley and Cam went to Trimont to the Peterson Christmas and Mom stayed back to wait for her besties to come in from their respective hometowns. They were set to arrive around 7:ish, but due to weather in Washington and who knows what in Texas, they both came in late. Instead of heading to Trimont, Paige, Natalie, and I hung out at the house and broke in our new beverage dispenser. The next day, the girls headed to Trimont for a Grandma B. Christmas. We ate some wonderful food (can you say "Grandma B.'s mashed potatoes?!") and had a classic Bernhardt sing-along. I'm pretty sure Natalie died and went to heaven when we sang Silent Night in German - or at least tried to sing it in German. Finley got some sweet magic paints, glitter markers, and some sparkly shoes like Sadie's. As you know, the girl couldn't ask for anything better! The next day we meant to get up and do all sorts of stuff, but instead we got stuck waiting for my perdittle to get fixed. Finley was still not entirely herself, so it ended up being ok, but it sure wasn't very exciting. We took Finners to Auntie Megan's for the evening so we could go out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Broder's Pasta Bar. We met some of Paige's friends and had a great time. Then, since we'd become such pros at Wii bowling, we decided it would be a great idea to go real bowling. I think the Wii (or the wine I had with dinner) messed with my form because I ended up bowling about a 50! The next day, Cam had the stomach flu, but of course he went to work anyway. The San Frannies and I braved the snowstorm to eat some delicious breakfast at French Meadow. We did a little Uptown shopping and then travelled south to pick Finley and Sadie up, before heading to the Bernhardt Bar and Grill in Waseca. We plum wore ourselves out with the Wii again and Finley stayed there so the big kids could enjoy the New Year. After an interesting dinner and drinks, we went to Tony's for the strike of midnight. I danced my pants off and must have worn down my immune system with all the Prosecco because I woke up with a slight sore throat the next day. We went to pick Finn up at Grandma and Grandpa's, and of course we played some more Wii. After exhausting myself with beach volleyball and a boxing match with Paige, I went to bed. I woke up with knives in my left tonsil and it was so big, I couldn't even lay on my left side. This was unfortunate since I had to sing at my cousin's wedding the next day! I downed about 2000 mg of ibuprofen and took some Mexican antibiotics and we all headed to South Dakota in our caravan of cars. Paige actually drove the exciting trip to Sioux Falls since both Minnesotans in the car (me and Hannah) were feeling the effects of a bug. We made it in time for the rehearsal and enjoyed a lovely dinner; however, I couldn't even make it to the end of dinner. Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Bud had to take me back to the hotel while everyone else whooped it up. I ended up shivering and sweating in a hotel room all by myself (boo hoo). I pulled it together enough to sing the beautiful music for Paul and Karen the next day, but I can't say I was too exciting. It was also EXTREMELY cold and it rained ice all Saturday. This did not help my situation at all - or Paige and Natalie's, who I'm pretty sure will NEVER return to Minnesota again. Finley, who was a little off her game still, especially since she hadn't been home for more than 12 hours at a time for a week, did manage to entertain us with her doll Lilla (short for L'il Adorable) for a time. Paige and Natalie went home the next night, excited to go back to a place where they can walk outside in t-shirts, but all-the-more strong for having endured some true Winter.