So we went to NJ this past weekend. We were there to celebrate a big milestone birthday for Greg's mother. (Don't worry Nana, I won't tell anyone which milestone.) Greg planned a lovely surprise party for her with the help of his dad. Nana is loved by so many, especially by us. I feel terrible that I didn't take any pictures of the 'surprise' moment! But trust me, she was surprised. It was great fun and we had the party in their favorite Chinese Buffet. Jorn impressed everyone with his selection of squid, seaweed salad, shrimp, sushi and basically anything he might never have tried before. My kids eat anything and everything. It's delightful!
It's our tradition that on the drive back home to Vermont that we stop at IKEA! I wonder who came up with that tradition...hmmm. After the Goodwill, Ikea is my all time favorite store. I am not a shopper but I can spend a whole day in the marketplace of Ikea. So, imagine our disappointment when we pulled into the parking lot and found the store closed. Closed?! In my humble opinion Ikea should never, ever, ever close. Ever. Don't you agree? But we were in NJ and it was Sunday so I guess we should have thought that through.
But we made the best of it! We plopped Simonne in the 'lunch cart', broke out the travel snacks and called it a picnic in the park(ing lot)! After our picnic we each got into carts and raced around the cement pylons. Jorn won each time. Those carts are so darn hard to turn. They have a mind of their own but Jorn became one with the cart.
If there was an 'Ikea is Closed: Heartbreak Competition' we wouldn't have won though. The worst was when a sweet couple from NYC pulled into the parking lot in a rented Zip car pulling a trailer. Ugh. I felt SO bad for them. We were just hoping for some meatballs, lingonberry juice and a yard of fabric or something. Those folks came with big dreams and I would imagine quite a bit of planning was involved in their trip. But both those folks from NYC and us folks from Vermont will have a story to tell for the rest of our lives..."remember when we drove all the way to Ikea and it was closed?"
