Spring Road Trip Part I: Minnesota

The first stop on my road trip from Ann Arbor to Bountiful was St. Michael, Minnesota, home of my sister Emily and her fam. Their oldest son Braden's baptism was that weekend, so my parents were up in Minnesota for that as well. Here are some highlights of the visit:

• While the kids were at school, Emily and I went off and had a little Minneapolis adventure together, visiting both the Como Zoo and the Mall of America. It was so fun to be able to spend some one on one time with Em, without the distraction of three spirited boys swarming around us (not that I don't love 'em).

• The baptism itself was a great experience, made even more special by Braden's request that I perform a musical number with him. We sang "I am a Child of God," and I was shocked when Braden volunteered to sing the first verse all by himself. I wouldn't have been brave enough to do that as an eight-year-old, and he acquitted himself nicely.

• I'm usually really nervous about ATV-type toys, but my brother-in-law Brad took me out in his Polaris RZR, which has seatbelts and other protective features that make me feel like I wouldn't fly off it and end up in the hospital, and it was fun.

• I got a chance to have some fun time with my nephews, including a very successful screening of "My Neighbor Totoro" (I wasn't sure how it would go over, but they demanded an encore performance the next day), playing football in the backyard, and going to a kindergarten music concert.

Overall, I thought it was a great visit (except for the part where the toilet overflowed - that wasn't so cool), and from there I hopped in the car with my dad to embark on the second part of the road trip.

To be continued...