Full Speed Ahead!

On the 28th I went out with a few of my friends to celebrate my birthday. We went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. (There isn't a whole lot of quality choices for dinner up here in Minot, in my opinion). We got to eat and talk. Then some of us went back to my house and just hung out for a little bit. It was a pretty good night. Some of my friends got me some pretty... surprising presents... like candy nipple tassels that I had to open in the middle of the crowded restaurant (Thanks Martha...). It was nice to celebrate my birthday with a group of people I really like and care about. I am also happy to report that as of my 27th birthday I had lost 72 pounds! Here's a picture of me from that night. I can't believe how different I look from a few months ago even! I'm loving it!

72lbs down on my 27th birthday!

So now it is time for me to post about my trip to Minneapolis.

After driving for a little over 8 hours we made it to the Reserve base by the airport in Minneapolis. We got checked in and breathed for a minute. The only thing disappointing about the Reserve base is that they had no WiFi internet for me to work on my homework. Also, in that area I had little to no 3G phone coverage. After just a few minutes we hopped right back in the car and went out to dinner. Hell's Kitchen did not disappoint! Thayer and I both at bison burgers that were huge (and reasonably priced). We also ordered a slice of tres leche cake to take home for my birthday. Oh yeah... I turned 27 on the 29th of January! It was scrumptious! After eating we went back to the hotel and just hung out. It had been a long day of driving for both of us and we just wanted to relax. I set the alarm for Monday morning so we could get up and go get my car right away!

We got up Monday morning and drove to the car dealership. It took a little while, but I was so excited to drive my car off the lot. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my car. It has bluetooth so I can connect my phone up and make calls using a button on my steering wheel. I have all these wonderful new gadgets that I get to learn how to use. I can't believe I have such a nice car. I worked so long and hard to earn the money for it. I soooo deserved this as my birthday present!

Me with my new car at the dealership!

After purchasing my new car we drove over to the Mall of America. To be honest... it wasn't nearly as big as I thought it would be. Sure, it is 4 stories tall, but it didn't take us long to walk the perimeter of the building. We didn't really do much shopping other than going to Build-A-Bear. The first thing we did at the Mall was go to the aquarium. It was pretty nice. Kind of expensive for the size that it was... well at least I thought so. It had a few cool exhibits and it was fun just doing something different.

And Thayer says I have a big mouth! 

Going for a navy guy next time... lol

I found Nemo... and his girlfriend...

After the aquarium we went to Build-A-Bear... where we made a bear in memory of our baby to give to our future baby. Thayer and I both got to hug and kiss a heart to put inside the bear. We named our bear "Hope" on it's birth certificate. Inside we put a box that plays the Brahm's Lullaby. I know one day we will have a baby to give that cute little bear to. I know some people will probably criticize me for doing this... but whatever.

The trip home was long. We both had to drive the full 8+ hours ourselves. I, of course, had the luxury of driving my new car! I took a picture of the North Dakota sunset as we were driving along. It's one of just a few I have left in this place.