Who decided that Mother's Day should be in May?!? Because that was pretty cruel considering (at least in the Midwest) the weather can still reach almost freezing temperatures at this time of year. I cannot remember a Mother's Day in recent years that has provided Moms with good weather and this weekend was no different.

Saturday morning was pleasant, in that it was sunny, but it was chilly. Benjamin and I once again were stationed at a water stop for the weekly marathon training run. This time we had our table along the Douglas Trail in the actual town of Douglas. It had rained Friday night so the ground was quite wet and the parking lot where we were stationed was just gravel, so it was a muddy mess. I didn't even let Benjamin get out of the car because I knew he'd just be tracking in some horrible mess when he got back into the car. So he kept busy by playing in the trunk, watching some movies and making faces at the runners out of the back window. It wasn't cold-cold, but chilly enough to invade your bones where you just can't warm up. After Mike finished his run and we got back home for some lunch, we drove up to see Jen, John and AJ for the afternoon. Benjamin had a great time playing with his cousins and it was good to see the boys.

Later that evening Jen and I left to head out for our Girls Night with Jennifer and Katie. We had reservations at Barrio Tequila Bar, which is a newer restaurant in Minneapolis. We were taking a chance on trying somewhere so new to us, but it actually was named one of the best new restaurants of the year, so we were pretty sure it wouldn't disappoint -- and it did not. The food was very tasty and so were the drinks. We tend to order lots of small plates when we go out together so we can all try more menu items, which we did again. The guacamole was to die for and everyone really liked the Black Bean Chicken Tostada. The kids, Mike, Joe and Dan all grilled and hung out at the house while we were enjoying our meal.

We left the house early Sunday morning to meet up with my Mom and Dad for a Mother's Day brunch. Before we left, my Godson John, gave me a Snuggie for my Mother's Day gift. It is so awesome!

Our brunch was at Birch's in Long Lake, which is just a hop, skip and jump from Mom and Dad's house. We were all so impressed with this restaurant. First of all, though it is small, it is very classy and beautiful on the inside. The menu is full of very unique and fresh items and so it was very hard for everyone to decide on what to order. They presented all Moms with free Mimosas or Bloody Marys in honor of the holiday, which was a real treat! The food was amazing. We were all extremely impressed with the quality and taste of the food. I highly recommend this place! After brunch we stopped by a local garden center, which was full of beautiful flowers and plants. Then we just happened to drive past the Noerenberg Memorial Gardens, so we stopped for a short walk around. Unfortunately not much was blooming in the gardens yet, but it will for sure be a great place to stop again as summer gets closer and the flowers come out. I took the opportunity to play around with my camera and ended up getting some great shots of everyone. Benjamin especially liked the "stage" area (really just a little gazebo-type thing) where he conducted his "band" (Mike, Mom and Dad). After playing around there for a while we went back to Mom and Dad's for a little bit and then the three of us headed out on our own adventure.

I wanted to spend as much time outside on Mother's Day as I could and even though the weather was a little on the chilly side, I decided that we should go to Minnehaha Falls. Benjamin loved looking at the waterfall and was so good about hiking down to it and back up again. We love doing those kinds of things with him, he's so into exploring, just like us! After our short hike, we plopped ourselves at a table at the Sea Salt Eatery for some beverages. We had originally planned to have a late lunch/early dinner there, but they really only serve seafood, so there was nothing on the menu for Benjamin. They had my favorite beer on tap: Summit Hefeweizen, so I was a happy Momma! Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car, so there are no pictures of the falls or anything from our afternoon. However, we definitely plan on coming back sometime this summer when the weather is nicer and I will not forget again!

I am pretty sure this was my favorite Mother's Day so far! What a great day and a wonderful weekend.