Christmas Again, Cousins and Turtles

Saturday, January 15th would be the last time I would celebrate Christmas for the 2010 holiday season.  I went to my aunt and uncle's house in Forest Lake for brunch. They even kept their Christmas tree up for the occasion.  It stood 17 feet tall but it seemed like 30 feet to me.  They even had to cut off 10 feet before being able to fit in the house.  The food was delicious.  We had egg bake, ham, cheesy potatoes, fruit, muffins, stuffed french toast and mimosas.  After brunch, some played a game for money and others talked and played with the little ones in our family, Amelia and Colton.

After an afternoon break of watching playoff football at home, M and I went to downtown Minneapolis to meet up with two of my cousins and their spouses for a concert.  Before we met them, M and I stopped at Smalley's 87 Club for a burger and to watch part of the Packers/Falcons game.  After eating, we met Laura and Chris and Mike and Tonia at First Avenue to see Trampled By Turtles.  They were formed in Duluth, Minnesota but have toured nationally.  They are described as progressive bluegrass, however M has called them bluegrass on meth as some of their songs are very high energy.  The show was sold out just as their show at the same venue the night before.  First Avenue is not my favorite place to see concerts because of the layout so it was no surprise when we were so deep into rows of people that I could barely see the stage.  Since this was the first time that M and I had seen the band, I really wanted to pay attention to them but I couldn't really do so because of the over-crowding but it was still a really good time hanging with the cousins and also with M's friends Dave and Molly who also went to the show.  While at the concert, the Packers/Falcons game finished and the Packers blew the Falcons away, 48-21, which made Mike and Tonia happy.

After the show we headed across the street to O'Donovan's for a beer.  Since the Packers won, Mike offered to buy us each a beer.  Hey, even though it was in celebration of the Packers, I'll still accept a free beer.  We spent about an hour there hanging out before calling it a night together.  A very fun night!