What a relaxing 24 hours it was!

This is Eric and I before we headed out for his birthday dinner at Hidden Lake Winery's restaurant.  We rented the "honeymoon" cabin for the night to celebrate our combined birthdays (mine on the 20th, his on the 28th), as well as taking an opportunity to get away, just the two of us, for the first time since we were married almost 2 years ago.  We decided to dress for dinner and had a wonderful al fresco meal on the patio, under the stars, with a lovely bottle of wine, all-you-can-eat crab legs (along with a choice of potato and grilled asparagus), and a decadent dessert of chocolate cake with chocolate fudge drizzled on it over icecream and whipped cream...

This was taken this morning, as Eric and I wandered around the lake, exploring a bit, and enjoying the gorgeous day. We sat on the porch, read, (and I knit too), and relaxed; then we had lunch and another bottle of wine (had two the previous evening, all grown and bottled in-house). Then, we purchased some wine to bring home and savor, and got home about 20 hours after we left.  The house was still standing, the kids were all still alive, and the animals were content, so I guess it was a success all the way around!

This is the cabin we stayed in (I have more pics on facebook, if you go there: Hidden Lake Winery Album). It had a king-sized bed, a small breakfast bar, and a heart-shaped jacuzzi tub. It also had a full bath, an hd tv with satellite programming (we watched the news this morning, lol), and a futon for sitting/lounging on where the window is at the front of the cabin. 

It is a relatively new venture for the winery to have cabin accommodations, and there are still a few kinks--like there were no wine glasses in our room, (and no coffee either this morning! We had to call to get some packets delivered so we could make it), and what was provided for an "en-suite" breakfast was minimal (Sunday Brunch is included with an over night stay Saturday, but they were booked solid for tonight); they do offer a breakfast at the restaurant, but we elected to stay in our room and enjoy some things we brought with instead. The fireplace was lovely (gas) and we turned it on just for the visual, despite having the air conditioner also running (it was really hot the past few days!) and was perfect for being out-of-doors, which is where we spend the bulk of our day. 

Now we are home, and getting ready for company. Tony is up for a promotion with the Army Reserves and he has to head to NJ for 2 weeks of training.  We are gonna have Justin and Alexis here with us, and we will drive them back up to Minneapolis when we go up for the graduation party.  Liisa is also organizing a small baby shower/celebration for Brie while we are there, and it's gonna be so much fun!  I can't wait to have my little ones here with us for two weeks!  We will be going to the pool alot, and I forsee a trip to "Monkey Joe's " as well--an indoor playground made up of inflatable toys/games (like the moonwalk bouncers and so forth).  I figure with the kids out of school I will will have plenty of help managing them, and it will be such fun!

That's it for now.  Gotta go get some beds ready!  They will be pulling in around midnight-1 am, and Tony wants to leave first thing in the morning to drive back--he has to be in an honor guard on Monday for a Memorial Day event...