Friday, September 10, 2010

MN Trip



Last Monday Molly and I flew out to MN to visit the Kellys. N joined us on Friday for the long weekend. I had to wake Molly up at 5:30 in the morning so we could make our flight. She was not happy to be awake at that hour, but wasn't *too* grumpy about it. By the time we got to the airport she was awake and cooperative. We got a Jamba Juice on our way to the gate and boarded the plane without any issues. I was in the aisle seat and Molly was in the middle. The lady who had the window seat pretty much slept the entire time, but every now and then Molly would try and lay flat and get her with her feet. She was very pleasant about the whole thing, but I still wished her children free flights when we landed.

Molly konked out in the car as soon as we got going and slept the entire drive to Heather's. I called when we arrived in the hopes of transferring her inside for nap time, but she woke up as soon as I got her out of the seat. Then it was all over when we got inside and Emma started yelling hello. The girls got along great the entire trip. Sure there were some tears when they would fight over the same toy, but for the most part they chased each other around and giggled. Molly taught Emma how to blow raspberries so that was huge. I'm sure Heather and Adam are so appreciative of that skill being passed on. They would run up to each other and blow raspberries in each other's face. Lovely, huh?

It was hot and humid the day we arrived. That evening we headed down to a new man made lake in the area and let the girls go swimming. I didn't get a chance to snap any pics, but the girls had a blast. The lake was super shallow so the girls could wander in quite a ways without any worries. Since it was man made there were no rocks, which was very nice. However the wind picked up and created a lovely sand blasting effect so we had to cut out a bit early. Still, it was a huge hit and the girls kept talking about going to the beach and even had a fake beach in Norah's closet.

On Tuesday we headed into Minneapolis so we could check out the Children's Museum. It was great. The girls pretty much took off in two separate directions so Heather and I would wave as we passed each other chasing them down. Once they got some of their initial energy out it was easier to keep them in the same area.





On Wednesday we went to Como Park which is part zoo and part mini amusement park. First up was the butterfly exhibit and then a few others. After lunch we had full intention of purchasing some tickets and going on some rides, but the girls seemed content climbing on rocks and benches. We wandered past a few more animals and then headed out for nap time.





Thursday was chilly and rainy so Heather gathered up her girls and met up with us at the hotel. We had an indoor pool where we were staying. The kiddie pool had a water feature that proved entertaining. We went in the main pool so Molly could monkey walk around it and then headed back to the kiddie pool. After that we met up with Heather's sister and her two kids for lunch and let the kids rip on an indoor play structure. Molly came over to me and informed me that it was night night time so we took off. I love a kid that ASKS for nap time.







Friday was the day that N arrived. Molly and I picked him up at the airport and then swung by the Mall of America. We wanted to grab a quick bite and I wanted to pick up some fresh cheese curds from Rybicki's. We went back to the hotel for nap time and then headed over to the Kellys. We had dinner and put the girls down and played a game of Settlers. I won!

On Saturday we hit the MN State Fair. Apparently there was a record breaking number of people that attended that day. I'm not surprised, the place was PACKED! I know we only saw a fraction of it too. We arrived and immediately got a malt from the creamery. Chocolate for the Hicksons and strawberry for the Kellys. After that we set out to find the french fries that Heather wanted. I saw a sign that said "World's Best French Fries" and Heather informed me they lied. We finally found the yellow sign she had been looking for and we all dug in to a MASSIVE bucket o' fries. We were close to all the barns so we headed over to check out the horsies, cows, sheep, and pigs. Molly was in AWE of all the horsies. There was one in particular that was massive. No way could that barn stall hold him if he wanted out. I came up to the top of his back. He was still a neck and head taller than me.



After the livestock tour we circled back and I got some deep fried raviolis (my favorite fair food). Yum! We then worked our way over to the kid section and N got a pickle on a stick on the way. We even saw a sign for deep fried FRUIT! Was nothing sacred?!? Molly got to ride the horsies on the carousel. By the time we got to the kiddie section Molly was pretty done and content to chill in the stroller. We opted out of buying her any tickets as I think it would have been a battle to get her on a ride at that point. Emma rode a few and I went to get some deep fried cheese curds for the group as they made their way around. On our way out we kept getting cut off by this MASSIVE parade. It blocked our route several times and we finally realized it was going out the gate we need to go out to catch our bus back to the parking lot... of course.

We headed back to the Kellys and put the girls down for a well overdue nap. Heather konked out on the couch with baby Norah, Adam watched a game, and N did some work. Molly was woken up with TWO poopy diapers and then could not fall back asleep so I went downstairs to watch Cinderella on the iPad with her for some quiet time. We got takeout that night and put the girls down again so we could hang out.

Sunday morning I headed back down to Minneapolis to meet up with some girlfriends for breakfast. Molly was a little snotty so it was just as well she was hanging out at the hotel with dad. We met up with the Kellys post nap and Molly seemed in much better spirits. At first I thought it was just the drastic weather change from hot n' humid to cold n' rainy that was causing the snotty nose, but now I think she caught a mild cold. The a/c unit in the hotel room did NOT help matters. On Monday morning she woke up around 4:30 am and could not get back to sleep. I suggested to N that we take her for a drive in the car so she could sit upright and Molly perked up at that idea and demanded to go in the car seat. I ended driving around from 5:00 to 6:00 am. Not sure where I went, but pretty much in one big loop. Thank god for GPS on the iPhone.



Sunday night we had dinner at the Kellys and put the girls down again so we could have another game of Settlers. This time Heather won and I was dead last. My numbers were just not being rolled. Everyone else was constantly in danger of losing cards if a 7 was rolled and I had one... *maybe* two. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Monday we had an indoor bbq at Heather's parent's house since it was raining off and on all day. Lots of good food. N stayed back at the hotel with Molly through nap time in the hopes that she could sleep off whatever was bringing her down. That night we hung out for a bit, but went back to the hotel for bed time.



Tuesday we packed up and headed back over to visit Heather and the girls before taking off for the airport. It was a nice visit, but still too short! I would love for Heather and the girls to be local. Emma and Molly got along fabulously! Molly even spent the first few days calling Emma 'Sota. She thought her name was Minnesota and that's the nick name she gave her. It was adorable.

N brought his camera so hopefully we'll see those pictures soon. In the meantime click here for the rest of my pictures.

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