Summer Road Trip: MN

Our days in Minnesota this summer were so enjoyable! We loved all the special outings that Grandpa and Grandma planned and treasured the down time with them in their home as well. Thanks so much for hosting us, Grandpa and Grandma! We arrived in Austin, MN, on Daddy's birthday, so Grandma had a special pork roast meal with a yummy birthday dessert of scotcheroos waiting for us. 

Uncle Andy and Aunt Beth drove over from Rochester to join us for dinner, and Great-Grandma came from down the hall! What a treat it was to see these extra family members too.

Grandma and Grandpa had a wonderful collection of toys, including a little baby doll named Grace, for our three to play with during our stay.

Grandpa led the family in daily devotions and even taught us all a new song which he led on guitar. What a special memory! Cody and Jaden sung this song for days afterwards.

This was Adlely's first time meeting Great Grandma Schleicher. Adley was particularly interested in the fun dancing musical toys that Great Grandma brought down from her apartment to show our kids.

We spent a couple of evenings teaching Jaden and Cody how to play dominoes.

Meanwhile, Adley entertained us all with her goofy antics. :)

Grandpa and Grandma also played several other games with Jaden and Cody during our visit-- Sequence (pictured here) and lots of games of Sorry.

At some point during our stay, Cody and Jaden went on a story-writing kick. They both got inspired to write and illustrate their own books in a series. Jaden started writing lengthy stories about a boy named Peter. Cody created an original "NinjaBoy" series and, I believe, finished three full stories. He loved sharing them with the family when he was done.

One morning, Daddy tried his hand at fixing Adley's hair for the first time. He did a fabulous job!

We loved the cooler temperatures and lower humidity rates in Minnesota, so we spent a significant amount of time outside. Grandma and Grandpa's apartment complex has a large grassy area out front which was perfect for playing baseball. We enjoyed playing several different nights.

Even Adley joined in on a few of the games. :)

Sometimes she just preferred to be a cheerleader with Grandma! :)

One of the outings that Grandpa and Grandma planned was taking us to a couple of their local parks. We were quite impressed with all of the fun play structures at this particular park.

Adley enjoyed going down a few slides, playing with bubbles that Grandma brought along, making some new friends (ha ha!), and following after the ducks in the park.

Another day, Grandpa and Grandma took us to the Austin Community Pool. The temperatures were only the the 70s that day, so the boys commented that swimming felt "really cold!" All three of the kids still seemed to enjoy their time, though. 

Adley especially loved the splash pad section and the "water swings."

The most exciting outing for the boys was visiting the Mall of America. We started out our visit by stopping by the Lego Store. The humongous Lego creations were SO impressive!

We planned to visit the Mall on a Tuesday so that we could take advantage of the discounted Toddler Tuesday tickets. Can you believe they allow up to age 6 to pay the "toddler" price?! Of course that means the boys weren't able to go on any of the adult rides, but after watching a few of the fast roller coasters, Jaden and Cody seemed perfectly okay to stick with the more basic rides. The boys had their first bumper car experience.

Cody excitedly volunteered to be in his own car.

We purchased a ride ticket for Daddy, too, so he accompanied the boys on many of their rides.

This ride-- one that bounces the kids up and down as it slowly falls-- was easily one of Cody and Jaden's favorites. I love their excited expressions.

This ride was called Ghost Blaster, where the boys got to shoot at ghosts and other villains to rack up points. They wanted to go on this one several times!

And even more rides...

As Daddy and the boys were trying out the rides, Adley and Mommy hung out with Grandpa and Grandma-- watching the boys and exploring the area a bit. Grandpa even got Adley to sleep in the stroller for a while despite the loud noises around us! Adley's only "ride" experience was climbing on this toy plane. She loved it. :)

Other exciting experiences at the Mall of America included meeting Sponge Bob...

...and pretending to be sports announcers!

Thanks for joining us on such a fun day, Grandma and Grandpa, and for treating us to lunch!

After our long visit to the Mall of America, we had one more stop before heading home. One of my good friends from college, Heather, lives less than 15 minutes from the mall, so her family graciously hosted us for dinner. We loved seeing Heather's family and meeting her littlest one, Abbie, for the first time. We also were spoiled with a delicious dinner of ribs! So good to see you Larson clan!

Our time in Minnesota flew by quickly! We loved the chance to see and spend time with our family.

We love you all! Thanks again to Grandpa and Grandma for taking care of all the details to host us and for giving us some wonderful memories together!