Minnesota Va-cay!

Last month Josh and I decided to take Madison on a little weekend trip to the Twin Cities. We wanted to have a little vacation and special treat for Madison before the triplets arrive. I'll be honest...it was also for me...I wanted a special trip for us as a family of three...before we double. LOL!

I didn't take a ton of pictures and most are kinda blurry since they are from my phone...so sorry! But, I still wanted to document this special trip of ours.

We arrived Thursday later afternoon, and after checking into our hotel (we stayed in downtown Minneapolis), we headed to our ol' stomping ground, University Avenue, on campus at the U!

We took Madison to Annie's for dinner!

We showed her where Mommy and Daddy first lived together after getting married. She asked where her room was...and we told her it was before her, so then she was pretty dis-interested. LOL!

She LOVED the big bed at the hotel. And, Daddy spoiled her with movies every night before bed time!

Friday we spent most of the morning and afternoon at the Minnesota Zoo. Only Daddy would allow her a sucker at 10am.

She saw her first IMAX film. She loved it and kept her glasses on the whole time!

Her favorite part of the Zoo was the aquariums.

That evening we went to the Mall of America. She got 2 new pair of shoes (thanks to Daddy again). They were all so sparkly and lit up...but she loved them, so I gave in.

Saturday we went back to the Mall of America. She choose a horse at Build-A-Bear and named him Doh-Doh.

She was so exhausted by this point (no naps and later bedtimes), that she fell asleep before lunch and slept right through lunch. The nice part was that Josh and I got to enjoy a quiet lunch together at Bubba Gumps at the mall.

That night after dinner we took her to Cossetta in St. Paul for dessert.

We had dinner both Saturday and Sunday at Pei Wei (we went to different ones...lol). I wish we had it here in IA! At the time it really hit the spot for me and my pregnancy cravings...and even blogging about it right now makes me miss it! LOL! I know there are a lot of things to do in the Twin Cities...but we really went there with no plans and it was nice to just go with the flow for the whole weekend and do what we wanted to do on our own schedule.

It was so nice to get away and to just enjoy our little family of three. Of course the whole time there Josh and I couldn't help but talk about what vacations will be like after we add three more children to the mix. OY! Hard to even imagine, really! 

I'm so thankful we were able to make this trip happen for our family!

Minne-SODA: Family, Friends, & Fun! - Part Two

Part two: FRIEND FUN!

During the week, we stayed at our friend's, The Willms', house. I met Laura at UNI (I was her RA) and we've been friends ever since. Gosh...I think we've known each other since 2002 then?! Over 10 years!!! Anyways, she has twins that turn 2 at the end of February. We had SO much fun with BABY Kate and BABY Matt and all our friends!

Side Note: I had to call them BABIES because M was a little rough with them and pushed them down a LOT the first couple days we spent together. I think M pushed all of them or stole their toys at some point of this trip. Oh, and she also threw a toy that just happened to land on baby Lydia's face. So yeah...she made all of the kids cry at some point.

Ok...now for the pictures.

Matthew and M playing at the kitchen set later on Sunday after we had arrived.

On Monday we went to music class with the Willms and the Allens.
M and the Allen girls share the same hair! :)

Three adults and 5 toddlers out to dinner after music class.

On Tuesday we went to an Open Gym. M loved it! Here she is (im)patiently waiting on Kate.

Swingin'.

In the foam pit.

Being so careful on the beam.

On Wednesday we ventured to the Mall of America because I really wanted to take her to The Disney Store. We both loved it!

We also went to IKEA to get some storage stuff for the Willms. M enjoyed the cart ride.

M and Matt playing.


Kate-Kate (my nickname for her) and Me!

Wednesday evening we went to The Allens' for the dinner. The kids were wild...but had fun!

5 Toddlers! Run while you can!


(Picture from Rachel)

Thursday morning we attended a super fun music class at the library. M and Kate were pretending to nap (part of the song). How cute are their matching outfits!?! (Thanks, Laura!) 

Rhythm sticks!

Fun, fun, fun!


After music class M and I headed back to the Mall of America. M really loved the mall. She oohed and aahed at all the lights and fun stores. We spent a couple hours just her and me before heading back to our cousin's house.

Of course she got a Vikings hat.

And I couldn't let her leave MN without having a smoothie from Jamba Juice! 

After our short stay at our cousin's for a couple more nights, we headed out to lunch with our friends, Mark and Allison Pitts and their new baby girl, Lydia on Saturday. After a delicious lunch at Pei Wei (we miss that place so much!), we went back to their house to visit for a bit. M loved holding Lydia.

Then...it was back to the Willms' for a bit. M and Kate were happy to be reunited!

Finally, we all gathered back at the Allens' for pizza and conversation. I didn't take any pictures...so I'm so grateful my friend Rachel had her camera handy and shared these next few pics with me. Thanks, Rach!

The Dads and the Kids.
Madison, Josh, Matthew, Kevin, Katherine, Julia, Steven, Fiona, Mark, & Lydia.

Love this picture! :) Me, Laura, Rachel, and Allison.

We left early Sunday to head home. We stopped in Cedar Falls for lunch at Pepper's!!!!


We had SO SO SO much FUN with The Willms, The Pitts, and The Allens while we were in MN. The last time we were all together was in 2008, and since then we've all become parents and have added 7 children to the mix! I truly appreciate all the hospitality from them as they welcomed us all into their homes. We are so thankful for friends like all of them! :)

Minne-SODA: Family, Friends, & Fun! - Part One

Part One: FAMILY FUN!

We took off Friday February 1st for a long trip to Minnesota to visit with family and friends! We arrived at our cousin's home Friday evening just in time for a delicious Olive Garden dinner. Mmmm Mmmm! M enjoyed playing with all of Kinley's toys, and after the little girls went to bed we played a few exciting games of Spoons!

The next morning (Saturday) M had fun with Kinley's roller coaster ride.

We went to Cam's hockey game. At least Josh and Lex are lookin' at me for the picture!

After the game and lunch, we headed off to go snow tubing! M fit into her very own tube. A lot of our cousins joined us...I just failed at getting a group shot. Boo on me!

They were having problems with the electricity so we had to WALK up the huge hill every time. Madison walked up it 3 times by herself. It was a work out that's for sure!

Here we are going down in a big train. Madison LOVED it!

M took a break (from the walking) with Josh and Cam and watched some snow-boarders.

And then...she was SO so tired (no nap this day) and about to fall asleep in her tube!

She fell asleep as soon as Josh picked her up.


On Sunday Josh left for Las Vegas for the World of Concrete Convention with our cousin, Jason, and M and I headed to our friends, the Willms' home to stay for the week. We returned to our cousin's house Thursday (Josh was returning Friday).

M enjoyed watching her older cousin Dominic play his DS.

She also enjoyed making a huge mess with the army men she found somewhere.

On Saturday Jenny made us some delicious pancakes for breakfast before we had to pack up and head to lunch with our friends.

We LOVE our MN family! 
We had so much fun and they were great hosts! :)

Family Vacation 2012

Wanna see the photo book I created and ordred from Shutterfly?
Do it! Just click HERE.

Ok, wait, don't do it if you are Tracy, my Dad, or Bev...cause you're getting an actual photo book in a couple weeks once they arrive!!!

I had to stay up LATE last night and finish it. I went on their site and saw their 50% off sale on photo books ended that day AND I could get free shipping!! Knowing I was ordering 4 books...it was totally worth it to work on it and get it ordered last night.

BUT...if you don't wanna load, and click through the book, I did include SOME of my FAVORITE photos from the trip in this post. Just scroll on down...

(I had them in order in on my computer...but when they uploaded they got out of order and I'm too lazy to re-order them. Sorry!)


She really did not like the fish.

Mama doesn't camp without running water, A/C, and free Wi-Fi...neither does M apparently. She loved watching one of her shows on my phone.

Not too sure of her first fish! 

A lily pad.

Group shot of all the kayak-ers.

Daddy's favorite part of vacation...kayaking with his girl!

Ooh...checking out the tackle box with G'pa Dave.

She loved looking at the worms.

Fishing!

Fun with her sticker book from Great G'ma Bev.

The lazy river at the water park.

Daddy's so silly.

Jet-skiing (she fell asleep by the way).

More fun in the lake.

Group shot with the three bears of Three Bears Lodge.

Group shot!

Great G'ma Bev, M, and Igor the mouse.

Grandpa Dave, M wearing a cheese hat, and Igor the mouse.

All ready to kayak!

Already giving the camera the look as if I'm totally embarrassing her.

Our family.

The Greats with M.

Patiently waiting on Grandpa.

We had a lot of fun doing all kinds of outdoorsy activities (which before motherhood I would have probably wanted to skip but seeing M experience everything was totally worth it, haha!), and Madison had an absolute blast EVERYDAY. It. was. awesome. M got to ride and nap in a kayak and on a jet ski ride :), go fishing, play at a water park, play outside, and most importantly make lotsa memories with her family.

Josh and I got to enjoy some quiet time each evening out by the fire, eat lotsa s'mores :), read on our Kindles, and finally take a break from work together. :)

So...when can we go on vacation again!?