Last week we decided that if we wanted one last hurrah before fieldwork and baby, it was our chance to sneak away. Good thing we did! We have been crazily busy.
We woke up Monday morning, did our normal morning chores, packed our bags, and hit the road. First stop was for Mommy...
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| Ahhh....happiness. They have childcare, endless amounts of home decor and organization, and 4 hot dogs, 2 pieces of pizza, 2 bags, of chips, and 4 pops for $10 even. Yes please! |
We thought we would go somewhere fun toe at after Ikea, but the kids just wanted to get to the hotel. You would have thought we were far, far away. They were thrilled! We pricelined a 3.5 star for $50 and got the Doubletree! Score!
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| On no time flat, the fishies were ready for the water. |
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| He is one rock star daddy when it comes to playing with the kids (well, in every area really). |
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| Oh, these two...best friends to worst enemies in a matter of seconds. |
We did baths, turned on some cable TV (one of the major scores of not having it at home is that vacation really feels like vacation!), and went to bed early. Thankfully, our kids do amazingly well at hotels. A good night sleep was had by all, and they were ready to roll the next morning...back to the pool. More bath rounds, and Ikea cinnamon rolls in bed for breakfast!
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| Charlie made tea. Lots and lots of tea... |
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| This little lazy bum would stay curled up with dozens of pillows all day if we let her. We get along pretty well. |
And then what do you do when you have hours to pass at the hotel before your next destination opens? Take funny pictures of course...
We headed over to The Mall of America for toddler tuesdays. Rides are cheapo, and kids eat free at most of the places in the mall. It was a great time, and as far as they were concerned, as good as Disney World! They rode for a while, we ate, checked out lego land, rode a few more, and ended at the American Girl Doll Store.
I was so proud of the kids. We didn't buy them a thing. We were only looking and drooling over all the fun things, but the girls will wait until they are seven and get a doll from Papa & Nana. I could tell they wanted to ask so bad to get some bitty baby items, but they were perfectly happy to browse. Proud Mama moment.
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| Carousel is free on Tuesday mornings...score! |
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| Maleah taking her little sister on her first car ride. Oh boy.... |
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| Look out! |
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| The girls watched, and watched, and watched these dolls get their hair done. Then they came home and got straight to work on their baby dolls. It was so cute. |
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| Funniest picture ever! Everybody around us was laughing hysterically at Charlie. He could not get this look off his face. He loved it, but the feeling made him cringe and he could not get himself to smile until it would stop, and then right back to this funny face. Hilarious!!! |
After a frozen coffee drink, we hit the road for home. Before we were out of the city, everybody was out. That is a sign of a great 24 hours!
It was a super great two days. It was a really fast trip, but we jam packed it with a good amount of fun and relaxation, took away all the distractions of the to-do lists at home, and had good family time before things change around here.
I am so thankful I have a husband who recognizes the importance of whisking his family away from the daily grind to focus on nothing but each other. We came home feeling fueled up and ready for the next six weeks.
