Water Slides

The next morning, we met the parents of one of our good friends that passed away. We met at a park and talked for a while with them. It was good to see them.

Then, we headed to lunch and back to the hotel to the indoor water park. The kids had a blast. They had all sorts of slide sizes, so everyone could find something for them. They also had a big pool where Alexis wanted to practice swimming. Alexis even got up the nerve to go down the big slide, first with dad and then on her own. One taste, and she couldn't get enough. She and Conner spent most of the day there with cousin Lincoln. 

Exhausted, we all crashed. Such a great vacation doing the kids' favorite thing...swimming. It was nice to catch up with so many friends and family as well.

Great Grandma Growly

We took off from northern Minnesota fairly early and headed to where Brian's family lives to first see his grandma. She is in a home now, and we were a little concerned how the kids would do there. So, we encouraged them to take a little nap on the way, so they were well rested.

The older two complied. Gavin, on the other hand, just kept singing, "Great Grandma Growly" the whole way. When we told him to close his eyes and go to sleep, he did and said, "eyes closed" and upon opening, "eyes open." He did this over and over, opening and closing his eyes and describing it along the way. Somehow the two year old didn't sleep the entire five hour drive! 

The kids did great seeing Great Grandma Graue. She didn't know who they were, but kept saying how cute they were. Conner did a great job telling her all about our vacation so far. He talked to her for a long time. He has such a big heart and an ability to really talk to anyone about anything.

There was one lady that kept trying to get out of the locked area. Gavin finally went over to her and said, "you can't go out there." She tried to kick the door open and he said, "you can't do that." Pretty funny coming from the two year old that won't listen when we say that to him! 

We then drove the next couple hours to Sioux Falls. We checked into the hotel, ate dinner, and crashed. 

Parent Fail

One year ago Alexis was diagnosed with leukemia. Part of the reason we wanted to do vacation this week was distract ourselves from this date as well as celebrate getting through this year. We were determined to have a great day! 

We woke up and the kids really wanted to go to the pool. We headed to the outdoor one, and swam for almost an hour and a half with no one else in the pool.

We then headed to eat pizza and played a little ping pong. After lunch, we hurried over to let the kids ride the banana boat. We signed up for the calm ride where they gently pull you behind the boat. We had just taken off, and I noticed that on the rush we had forgotten to put her ear plugs in. So, I sat the whole ride worried and made certain I pulled her away from any water splash. 

Then, we rounded a corner, and it took Alexis, Gavin, and I right into the water. It was so hard that it took Gavin right out of my hands and I couldn't find him in the water. Alexis was right there, but went under. Luckily Gavin had a life jacket on, so he popped up after what seemed like 10 minutes and one of the other parents grabbed him. 

So, I swam with Alexis and Gavin to the speed boat and got in, I wasn't taking a chance they would fall in again. Gavin continued to tell everyone that he rode a boat and fell in...he wasn't the happiest. 

As soon as we got back, I immediately called her ENT and got a call back from the doctors office. They said they didn't think it would be a huge deal, especially since we were on such a clean lake. However, they wanted us to bring her in for assessment when we returned. Such awful parents to forget her ear plugs and put her at risk for hearing damage and infection. 

We had the kids rest a little bit, and dad snuck away for a little paddle boarding on his own. He enjoyed his quest to conquer this skill. 

Abbey wanted to treat Alexis to a mani/pedi, so Alexis went in for her first real mani/pedi. They spoiled her (guess it pays to be there with the owner). They gave her the full treatment including pillows behind her and wiping her snotty nose for her. She was a little princess being totally spoiled and soaked it all in! 

After, we went for ice cream and then headed to Abbey's. We boarded the pontoon boat and took a ride up the river to Earnies, a restaurant right on the lake that was very kid-friendly. Good thing, as the kids weren't the best behaved. It was the perfect ending to our time at Maddens. What a beautiful resort and a great place to celebrate making it through this stressful year. Reminds you that just being with family and friends and trying to enjoy life is what is really important.

Tried Our Best

The next morning we headed out on the water on a paddle boat. As we took off, we had grand ideas about laughing and enjoying the scenery around us as we took a nice, peaceful ride around this gorgeous lake.

Then, we were quickly reminded that we have three children. None of them would listen and kept standing up. They kept begging to all do the pedals even though none of them could reach them! When we were allowed to pedal, Gavin sat and kicked our legs every time they came around. We thought at least we could capture a good picture with the great scenery, but no luck there since it is virtually impossible to have kids cooperate and actually look at the camera. So, Brian and I tried to just enjoy it as much as we could, which meant trying to tune out the kids and just take in the scenery. At least we tried! 

After our ride, the weather turned a little cold, so we headed for a picnic lunch and then on to lawn game activities. We tried lawn bowling, which Alexis and Conner were fairly decent at.

Then, we moved on to croquet. Gavin wanted to swing his club in the air and Alexis wanted to hit the ball with the wrong end. Conner did fairly decent. 

We finally gave up and just took the kids to the park to play a little bit. We then headed to our friend's house for a grill out. We had a great time catching up and letting the kids bond...so much so that we lost track of time, and it was almost 9:30 when we left. 

The one highlight was when Gavin said he wanted to go potty and promptly sat on the toilet and peed! He was very excited to get an M&M, so hopefully that will help and we can get started on training the last kid. 

Up North

Today we took off for Brainerd in northern Minnesota. We stayed at a resort called Madden's that we are lucky enough to know the owners. Not only is it a gorgeous resort in its own right, but we got extra special treatment as well that made it an amazing experience. The resort was huge! It has several "hotel" buildings, cottages, three outdoor pools, two indoor pools, lawn games, water sports, etc. Truly amazing!

We met up with Abbey (our great friend that owns it) right when we got there and headed for the beach. The kids played in the water mostly, but dug a little in the sand as well. 

We then headed to dinner, and super dad finished off dinner, played with the kids a little, and put them to bed while Laura and Abbey stole away for an adult dinner. It was so great to catch back up with such an amazing friend. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Dream

Today we went to Mall of America with college friends. We decided to go there since Conner loves the ninja turtles right now, and they had a character meet and greet.

First thing we saw when we walked up was a ninja turtle, Michelangelo, and there was no line! So, we headed over and Conner was so excited, although he wondered where the  other turtles were. 

We then spent some time going on different rides. The kids had a blast, and Conner even tried his first roller coaster...and not a kid roller coaster, a big roller coaster. He loved it! 

On the way out, we were able to meet with another turtle, Donatello. So, the kids got to see two of the turtles. It was a great choice of what to do today. 

We then went to another college friends for the night. The kids had fun playing with an all new set of toys. Gavin especially had fun with all their ball games (ski ball, basketball) while Conner had fun "rescuing" the girls.