Soaking Up Summer in Minnesota

Cullen and I are having a blast in Minnesota.

We left our house in Anchorage at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night, flew all night with a layover in Portland, and arrived in Minneapolis at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. Cullen didn’t fall asleep on the plan until 2:45 a.m., and I was completely exhausted because I had been up almost 22 hours. He finally fell asleep an hour before we landed in Portland, and he stayed asleep, so I had to carry him through the airport with two carry-on bags. Luckily several people offered to help me, but a dead-weight 40-pound toddler is heavy.

Flying into the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

My sister, Kristy, picked us up from the airport, and we hung out with Kristy, Nick (my brother-in-law), and our new niece, Kaylie, for a couple of days. Cullen fell in love with her immediately.

Saturday I had an early start to my day with a 6 mile run at 4:50 a.m. We had plans to go to the Minnesota State Fair that day, and I knew there wouldn’t be a good opportunity to get it in later. It was 70* and 97% humidity, but I didn’t care!

We had a successful day at the Minnesota State Fair and both the toddler and the newborn did awesome!

I tried a couple of foods: a breakfast sandwich and some sconuts (scone + donut) from French Meadow Bakery. We also went to Little Farmhands, where Cullen got to drive a tractor, pretend to milk a cow, feed the chickens, shear a sheep, and then take all of his goods to sell at the Farmer’s Market. It was a cute set-up, and his favorite part were the bugs and the bees. We also went and saw all the 4-H animals, the largest pig weighing in a 1040 pounds, fish at the DNR building, and the Miracle Birth Center (where you can watch live animals give birth to their young).

Cullen’s favorite part of the day though was riding this airplane ride. He looked like he was going to get sick while he was on it, but he loved it!

After spending about 6 hours at the fair, we drove down to my parent’s farm to spend the Labor Day weekend with my parents. We went for a ride on the pontoon boat, saw wild turkeys on their property, visited my grandma in the nursing home, and went to church together. Everyone was there except Craig.

Me, Cullen, my dad, my mom, Nick (my brother-in-law), Baby Kaylie, Kristy, and Michael (my brother)

Sunday I completed my long run, but it was one of the hardest runs I’ve done. I had my family drop me off in the middle of the country, and I was going to run to my parent’s lake house 18 miles away. I had the roads I needed to turn onto written on the back of my hand, and the only other thing I had was an expired Gu. When I started out, it was overcast, but it quickly turned sunny, and I didn’t realize how warm and humid it was. Halfway through I stopped for water, but it was the only place to get water the whole route, which wasn’t a smart move on my part. At mile 13 I got lost and wasn’t sure where I was supposed to turn. The map I had looked at and the road signs weren’t matching up. I ended up flagging someone down and asking for directions. That’s when things got especially bad. The route was exposed to the sun, I was dehydrated, low on fuel, the road became more hilly, my heart rate skyrocketed, and my breathing got very labored. I had to stop several times during those last few miles to catch my breath and really do a lot of pep-talking to myself. Eventually I made it, and I was so glad to be done!

After this run, I hit 60 miles for the week. I am very happy that I have been able to run that mileage so soon after dealing with my hamstring injury. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pull off all of the mileage because my glute/hamstring stated to flare up, but I realized I wasn’t getting adequate sleep, so I made sure to sleep enough since I’ve been here, and it is starting to feel better.

My sister has been making some delicious dinners for us! She made these Summer Bliss Bowls from Pinch of Yum. There were sweet potato falafels on a spinach bed topped with roasted corn, tomatoes, quinoa, drill and a jalapeño ranch dressing. She also made Pinch of Yum’s Couscous Summer Salad. I didn’t get a picture of that bowl, but I liked it even better! Couscous topped with peaches, avocado, cucumber, chickpeas, spinach, and I added chicken for some protein.

Tuesday, September 4th is your last day to get TWO FREE GIFTS from Beautycounter when you place an order of $150 or more! And these two free gifts are two of our best sellers.

No. 1 Brightening Oil – A personal favorite! I love Beautycounter’s Facial Oils because they absorb so well and don’t leave your face feeling greasy but instead hydrated and moisturized. This facial oil helps smooth out skin and brighten your overall complexion.

Hydrate Body Lotion – This is a much safer option I started using when I first discovered Beautycounter than the Bath & Body Works lotions I’ve been using for years! (Read the linked blog post for why I switched.)

*Use any of the links to shop through me!

If you need recommendations based off your skin type or need help picking out makeup shades/colors, don’t hesitate to reach out–it is one of my favorite things to do. (You can email me at: therunnersplate@gmail.com) Also, check out my skin care routine and my makeup routine (a quick 5 minute one + my full-face of makeup) in the linked blog posts.

I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Cullen and I are in Minnesota for almost two more weeks, so I’ll be popping back in with more Minnesota love!