Ten-Year Anniversary

This past weekend the Coffee Queen and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary.  (And no, it doesn't feel like that long.)  My original plan for the day was to take the Symba out for a picnic by one of the Twin Cities' many lakes.  After all, it's May, right?  How bad can the weather be?  It was in the 70s early last week.  It was in the 70s yesterday.  Last Friday it was 30s/40s and raining.  At one point the sky starting spitting ice and we decided that we were really, really not meant to have a picnic.

But the Coffee Queen and I are nothing if not adaptable.  So instead we went out to lunch at the Jasmine Deli, a wonderful little place on Nicollet Ave in Minneapolis.  We both enjoyed our meals, but I think the Flaming Wontons were the best.

We followed that up with a visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  We don't make it to the MIA very often and without a toddler (the Little Scoot made a visit to the grandparents) we were able to visit the galleries at our leisure.  For some reason I often forget what an amazing art museum we have right here in Minnesota.  I'm particularly fond of the Impressionists, and they have a couple of great Monets.  The Coffee Queen's favorite is the Van Gogh.

A sculpture by Picasso

On Saturday the Little Scoot went to the other set of grandparents for an overnight visit (we hardly knew what to do with ourselves having so much toddler-free time this weekend!) while the Coffee Queen and I volunteered to pack food at Feed My Starving Children through our church.  I've been there several times now since the fall and I never cease to be impressed at their operation and how they've worked to make their process as efficient as possible.  There were about 100 volunteers in our shift and in less than two hours we packed enough meals to feed 80 children for a year.

The Coffee Queen, ready to pack some food

Lastly, to round off the anniversary celebration, we went to Theatre in the Round's production of Treasure Island.  This is the first time in years that the Coffee Queen and I have been able to go to a play together.  Wow!  We know the director, Noah Bremer, and his high-energy style of theater was evident throughout.  It was a really fun show filled with swashbuckling pirates and lots of humor.  My brother's new girlfriend, Megan, was in the show and was fantastic as the Squire Trelawney.  We had a great time.

All in all a wonderful weekend spent with the Coffee Queen, my amazing wife of now a decade plus!

The Little Scoot had fun too.  Who doesn't love a bird whistle?