Mia Familia

This weekend, my whole (immediate) family descended upon the TC to celebrate the birth of our nation… oh, who am I kidding?  We all got together to see this guy:

My nephew, Piglet – aka The Cutest Boy In The World.  Notice how he is enjoying his Aunt Cheap Chick's snow globe collection?  They were a big hit, and now I know what to get him for every holiday until the end of time.

We did do stuff – cheap stuff, I might add – like visit Como Park Zoo (free, but they do request a $2 donation).  Look, I actually took a non-Piglet picture!

Behold, the baby giraffe.  I'd like one for Christmas, please.

However, once that photo op concluded, it was all Piglet all the time.  Here he is on the train, with Big Brother:

(The train rides cost extra.)  And here's Piglet on the Carousel, with SIL holding him and StepMom in the background:

Yeah, pretty much the only way you get in a family photo anymore is if you are holding/snuggling/in proximity to Piglet.

By the way, that Como Park Carousel is worth the price of admission (a low $1.50 per rider).  It's 95 years old, and each horse is hand-painted and hand-carved.  Plus, it goes REALLY fast, so you sort of get that "actually riding a horse" sensation.  Very cool, if a bit tummy-upsetting.

We also had lunch at Maverick's Roast Beef in St. Paul (inexpensive and sooooo tasty – two thumbs up from the whole family, including my foodie Big Brother and persnickity Dad), and dinner from Papa Murphy's (only $24.23 to feed the 6 of us).

However, the cheapest thing we did was also the most fun.  We sat around for hours playing with Piglet, discussing Palin's resignation and McNair's murder, and petting the puppy (Sadie, not pictured).  Hanging out with your family is FREE, and highly recommend for all denizens of Cheap Chicklandia.

So, what did you do for the Fourth of July?