Our life

As dd and I sit, listening to the Big Band playlist on the iPod (frankenPod?), I figured I’d tell you about yesterday.

We originally planned on going to the Zoo with dd Friday. But then St. Paul went and set up their Irish Fair to open on the 8th. With C’s lineage being a good part Irish, and me having some Scottish¹ in me blood, it would be silly for dd to miss this. So we adjusted our plans. But first, we had some stops to make. This, of course, provided some fantastic photo opportunities.

After our first stop, we planned on lunch. Since we were in the vicinity of United, I knew of a place. So of course, I wanted my Chicago Beef from 7th Heaven. We foot it over there, since we paid for the parking and it was such a nice day. Then it happened. We reach the door, and what do I spy with my own eye?

The sign. “Chicago Style Hot Dogs”. Oh no! Now what? As I’ve briefly mentioned, I’ve been on a hunt for my “hot dog joint”² since I moved up here. So now I’m faced with a decision: “Da Dog” or “Da Beef”. This will prove to be the biggest problem I faced that day. I made my decision, without regret.

Oh do I ever ♥ this joint.

C loved it too, though I’m not sure as much as I do.

Little side note: the last time we were here (also the first), I was able to sneak getting C+dd a present. Its the one on the bottom left.

So after a fantabulous lunch, we headed out.

As we cruised down 7th towards St. Paul, I saw this box on a chair…

… Get it? *nudge nudge* huh? See, cause there’s the saws… and the box… *crickets*…

Heading back, I thought of a photo op that I just couldn’t pass up. Back on July 3rd, as we were waiting for dd to show up, we went for a walk. On that walk, I took one of several of my favorite pics of C.

There’s just something so telling, so warm, about that picture to me. Well, I wanted to update it

We headed in afterwards to look at the gift shops that C didn’t get to see. In the second one, I saw this cute little sign hanging on the mirror, and thought for a second..

I already do. DD got hungry, so we fed her, then finally headed out to Target to get her a sun hat and pick up some other items. Plus, we wanted to take a test drive with the Baby Bjorn we picked up a few weeks ago.

Worked like a champ. For those that are doubtful, get one. Granted, I’m sure the other slings and carriers work just as well, but we liked the Bjorn. So after putzing around Target for a while, and not finding her Sun Hat, we departed. Quick stop at Walmart proved to be fruitful. 2 sun hats, on clearance, $1.00 each! Bonus!

So at long last, we make it to the Irish Fair. As we’re getting things ready, some poor fella asked me for a coat hanger. He locked his keys in his car, while it was running. Alas, I had no coat hanger. But I was able to assist him in at least shutting the car down (smaller hands. Able to get the hood open). Someone else called AAA, so we left.

Finally make it into the Irish Fair. We make a trip around the grounds, then into the vendor booths, where C was able to get some earrings, and I was able to document it. I think 75% of the reason we go there is to check out the vendors. Everything from earrings to swords. Genuine Medieval Gaelic Swords, made in China. Irish folk music, flutes, guitars, sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats and kilts. A veritable smorgasbord of genuine consumer goods, straight from Ireland, by way of a dozen countries.

After our run through, we went and rested for a while on the lawn, just watching people. I think the Irish Fair is one of the only times that folks get to dress that way here in Minnesota. Men in Kilts. Women in… well, practically nothing. One of the cooler things about the fair is that dog owners can bring their pups. So you always see some cuties. I, of course, was only concerned with taking pics of C+dd.

After some rest, we decided to head out. Had dinner over at Cedarvale Cafe in Eagan (seasoned sour cream + waffle fries = YUM!), hit another Target to pick up a night stand, and then home.

It was odd, having C around for my day off, but it was great! All day, we both kept thinking it was Saturday. Yet another perfect day with my perfect wife and perfect little girl. Does it get any better than this?

1. I’m a mutt. But the parts I know of right now are Scott, Russian and Dutch. [↩]
2. pronounced “hah (very short last h) tdog joint [↩]

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at 15:00 and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.