Garth, Skating and Snow.

I've always considered myself a bit of a country girl. It was the first genre of music I connected with and I quickly fell in love with the classics. Growing up in the early 90's, Garth Brooks was a common CD in my Discman. I have vivid memories of my 10 year old self, sitting in my room with Garth Brook's Ropin' The Wind blaring on my CD player. I'd take the lyrics out of the CD case and sing through all the songs until I had them memorized. I even had an choreographed routine to "In Lonesome Dove" that I'd do when I knew no one was watching. 

I always said seeing Garth in concert was on my bucket list and to be completely honest - I thought my opportunity had passed. While at home on maternity leave, I can across the headline "Garth Brooks returning to the Twin Cities." My fingers immediately starting googling. He was scheduled to play 4 shows in 2 days at the Target Center. I texted Amanda to see if she was in, and of course she was. There was no way I was missing this opportunity. Thanks to Katy's promptness in the online waiting room, 8 of us had tickets for the 6:30pm Friday show. I was going to Garth! (We later found out he added 7 additional shows).

Last Friday, I left work early to meet everyone Downtown Minneapolis for pre-concert dinner and drinks. It only seemed fitting that we prepare for Garth at Cowboy Jacks. The place was packed, which we expected but everyone was giddy with excitement. After a few drinks and a heaping helping of tater tot hotdish, we made our way to Target Center. 

I've never seen the lobby of the Target Center so crowded, it was literally a sea of people. The 8 of us linked arms and weaved in and out of the other concert go-ers. After a few bumps, we finally made it to the front of the line and had our tickets scanned. We were in! 

The minute countdown appeared on the big screen and all of us Garth nerds counted along. His silhouette appeared and the place erupted. For 2 1/2 hours the 52 year old serenaded us with his classics and sprinkled in a couple new tunes. It was practically a giant sing-a-long with 19,000 fans. I sang way too loud and screamed with approval after every song. 

You would have never know it was his 7th show in Minneapolis. His voice sounded great and he was running around the stage like a maniac. My mind was blown on multiple occasions and when all was said and done, all I could say was "That. Was. Awesome." Without a doubt, it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Certainly one I won't forget.

Although we were home before midnight Friday night, all of us were still pretty exhausted Saturday morning. We all took turns sneaking little naps throughout the morning which seemed like a necessity. Our little cat naps had us feeling more rested, so we shook off our laziness and got ready for the day. 

We had promised to take Harper ice skating during open skate at the Community Center. With Mitch being a former hockey player, I knew he was excited for our little field trip. We made it to the Community Center arena shortly after open skate started and luckily there were only a handful of people on the ice. Mitch laced up Harper's skates, then his own - they were ready for the ice.

Emmett and I watched from the stands. Actually, Emmett slept (like usual) while I watched skaters of all different skill levels take the ice. Harper's first ice experience didn't start off great. Mitch was squatting behind her, trying to get her used to the ice. She tried walking, but it looked like she was on a treadmill - her little tootsies were staying in the same place. I tried not to laugh. 

After a few visits to the bench, and re-adjusting her skates Harper seemed more comfortable. She was standing on her own and taking steps without holding on to Mitch. Progress! She did have a pretty good wipeout, which was bound to happen. I could hear her from the other end of the arena, shouting "MY. TUSHY. HURTS!" Mitch wiped her off and gave her a hug and after a pep talk she was skating again. It was a successful first outing on the ice and she has already requested we go again. I think she made her Daddy-o proud.

Snow and arctic air have officially hit us here in Minnesota. The last few days have been too cold to play outside, so we've had to come up with creative ways to keep our energetic 2 year old entertained. I bought a gingerbread carousel to build, thinking Harper would enjoy the edible craft. We built the adorable merry-go-round and covered it with icing and candies. I think Harper put more candy in her mouth than she did on the carousel, but we sure had fun building it! 

With the weekend being so cold, we decided Sunday was the perfect lazy day. We stayed in our jammies most of the day and sat around watching football and reading books. It was a pretty average Sunday in the Helleen house.

Last Monday we had our first snowfall of the season. By the end of the day we had roughly 6" on the ground. Mitch broke out the snowblower and we dressed Harper in her winter gear. The girl was ecstatic, she couldn't wait to play in the snow. Clearly she's a December baby. Emmett didn't seem too impressed with the white stuff, and I was right there with him! 

Harper played outside until we had to drag her in. Her cheeks were extra rosy and her smile bigger than ever as we removed her winter layers. We warmed up with a special drink, hot chocolate - which Harper thought was pretty cool. For the first snow, we certainly embraced it! Here's to 5 more months of this stuff. Oh joy! Why do we live here again?

Until next time…

The Helleen's