4th of July

(I had the wrong settings on the camera when I took this and I can't correct it!)

Our guests left very early this morning and since we were all exhausted from the busy week, we spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing! David and I decided to take the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2. The kids loved it, but I fell asleep five minutes into it. Not because it was boring, but I was just so exhausted.

We didn't even stay up to watch the fireworks. In retrospect, David should have taken July 5th off also to have an extra day to rest before returning to work.

Now let's see how long it takes for us to return to "normal"!

Days 7 and 8

Since our visiting friends are leaving on the 4th of July, we decided the weekend should be relatively low-key. Saturday we went to the zoo and Sunday we spent the day at my in-law's.

Our zoo has a little amusement park, so I'll let you imagine how many times we heard, "Is it time for the rides?".

Before the zoo, we grabbed lunch at Wendy's and had a make shift picnic on the grounds. It was great until Gianna fell and got a nasty cut just above her front tooth. I thought we were going to have to take her to the ER, but once the bleeding stopped, and she calmed down, we knew she (and her tooth) were going to be ok.
Here is Gemma pretending to be a bunny, (notice the ears). She was trying to cheer up Gianna.

Gianna even got some bunny ears, but wasn't feeling like herself just yet. Even though the bleeding had stopped, she insisted on holding a tissue on her gum line. Poor baby. :(
Now it's time for zoo pictures! The kids sitting on a giant brass turtle. Gianna wasn't interested in posing yet.
Jared, John and Spencer enjoying the shade. Spencer was sporting his South Carolina t-shirt our guests brought for him. They actually brought one for each of us!
After seeing a few animals, we decided to seek shade and wait for the sea-lion show. We had to wait 30 minutes for it to start. Gemma isn't in the photo because she, Jared and Sophia decided to get a closer seat in the hot sun. Spencer waited until just a few minutes before the show started to sit with the kids. Smart kid!

After the show we continued walking and saw the lions'
And the giraffes.
We tried to see the wolves, but they were hiding. We ended up finding more shade and having frozen lemonade to cool off!
Finally it was time for the rides. Gianna loved the car ride.
Spencer and the big kids went to "driving school!".
They also went on a roller-coaster.
The final event at the amusement park was this game. The kids launched water balloons at eachother. This is before it started.
Look at the confidence!
And then it was show time!

And here they are after - not soaking wet, but wet. The kids had a lot of fun and enjoyed the added benefit of cooling off in the water!

Days 5 and 6

Day five of our vacation was another hot and humid day. This time we decided to spend the day at Lake Elmo. We even grilled lunch there! A fun time was had by most. I started out with a headache in the morning that turned into a nasty migraine. We were at the lake for about four hours before we packed up - for me to nap and for the rest of the crew to see Cars 2. I took a much needed nap for my headache and everyone else was in the comfort of a/c at the movies.

Day six took us to Ikea. John and Georgia had never been and wanted to see it. We ate in the cafeteria and then cruised around the store for an hour or so. Then we went across the street to the Mall of America to go to the aquarium.
Here are my lovely people when we first arrived.

Jared, Gemma and Sophia checking out some water creature.
Here is a photo of it - I think it's a sea anemone.

Starfish

David and the kids.
After we looked at the different tanks and pools, it was time to start our tour. To keep the kids interested, they each had these passports that had questions to answer. They had a lot of fun racing the the questions first.
Gemma and a turtle.
Here we are after the aquarium. Gemma is wearing the crown she earned for completing her passport. Spencer and Gianna each had one too, but just weren't interested in wearing them. As you can tell from the photo, Gianna wasn't interested in taking the photo!

After the aquarium it was off to dinner at one of our favorite pizza places. I then dropped Gianna off with Bamma and the rest of us headed to Midway Stadium to watch the St. Paul Saints. It was military appreciation night and we had free tickets - the best kind of family entertainment!
Shortly after the game started the weather took a turn for the worse. Luckily we were close to a tent and were able to seek cover during the rain. However, it wasn't just rain - it was a severe thunderstorm. The tornado sirens even went off during this time.....not a very fun moment.
Luckily for us, we only experienced the torrential down pour. Which was followed by this beautiful rainbow I tried to capture. You can see it right above the red truck in this photo.
When the rain let up, the game was suspended so they could take care of the field. In the mean time our van was parked right next to the stadium, so we waited until we were given the all clear. Here are some photos of us killing time.


Finally around 9:15 (the game started at 7pm) we went back to the field to await fireworks. (Fireworks were scheduled for after the game, but they decided to do them before the game, just in case it started to rain again.) I had to leave at 9:45 to get Gianna from mom's and home to bed. But the rest of the crew stayed until 11pm and had a blast! It was a very fun, busy and exciting day!

Days 3 and 4

On day three of our vacation (Tuesday), Gianna and I stayed home and relaxed while everyone else went out to celebrate Jared's 10th birthday. They played mini-golf, drove go-karts and went on water bumper cars. Not really a fun place for a 3-year-old. Unfortunately, I forgot to send the camera with David so I have no photos - but everyone had a ton of fun. We capped off the night with cake and ice cream and then a fire in the back yard complete with s'mores!!!On Wednesday, we all went to the local water park for some fun. It was hot day, and the best place to be was in the water. Gianna was having fun with the sprinklers.
I didn't take many photos, but I tried to get a few. Here is Gemma trying the lily pads. It took her several tries, but she finally made it all the way to the other end of the pool. She was very pleased with herself.
Here is Spencer just as he completed his turn. I love how he has his goggles on.....just in case he falls in and gets a face full of water!
Gianna asked Spencer to play in the kiddie area and happily obliged. Again - with the goggles!
During one of the hourly water breaks, the kids decided to "lay-out"!

Day 2 - Legoland & Nickelodeon Universe

Today we headed for the Mall of America to visit Legoland and Nickelodeon Universe. The kids were more than excited!We grabbed a quick lunch at the food court and then went down to play in the land of Lego's. The great part of the store is they have areas for the kids to play.
Spencer was looking at the computer while he was working. The table he was at was round and had 10 computers and building areas. Kids were able to go to the Lego website and use it to help build a creation.
Gemma was busy putting her final touches on her creation. After this, we headed over to the amusement park and get on some rides.
Since Gianna can't go on many of the big-kid rides, she and I separated from the group and went on the little kid rides.
Clearly she was OK with this plan!
After a few rides, we met up with the group again and ran into Dora! Gianna wanted Gemma to be in the photo with her!
Then it was time for everyone else to go on the Log Ride. Gianna was clearly not happy with this decision. I managed to talk her into walking around and finding other things to do.
This time we ran into the hamster from the show "Wonder Pets".
Then we watched the kids go on a roller-coaster. Sophia was too short to go on this ride, so she sat with Gianna and watched.
Spencer giving us the "all clear" sign. The smiles never left their faces while riding.
After the rides, they all decided to go on this ginormous climbing structure. Here is David looking at me thinking, "What the hell am I doing up here?".
Gemma did awesome. She was nervous, but she didn't let that stop her!
The climbing took a while, so Gianna and I found the bumper cars to pass the time.
Here is a picture of Spencer at the highest platform. He was the only one in the group to get to it! He was so proud of himself and had no fear!!!
And finally here we are on the carousel. It was a long and busy day, but the kids had a great time. Can't wait to see what we'll be doing next!