Minnesota

We went to Minnesota for 8 days in August. My parents flew us out there and Jon and Jessie, and my mom and dad met us out there at Derek and Jen's house. It was a lot of fun to be together, and sadly it doesn't happen very often. I think the last time was at Jessie and Jon's wedding.

Avery and James had a blast playing in Derek and Jen's basement in their huge toy room with their cousins. We didn't see a whole lot of them for long periods of time. Besides the mass quantities of toys the toy room is equipped with karaoke, a DVD/TV and a wardrobe filled with dress up clothes. Plus a mini trampoline. Paradise for any kid.

The kids also loved being outside. The weather was perfect!! I think it was in the 70's and 80's while we were there and little humidity. We were outside for hours at a time soaking it all in. My kids especially liked the huge sandbox under Derek and Jen's deck. And one day we were there Derek set up a huge water slide for the kids in the backyard. I kinda wanted to go down it too. How come they don't make those for adults?

But the majority of the vacation was spent on Derek and Jen's new boat. They bought it at the end of summer last year and none of the rest of us had ever been on it before. There is a lake about 10 minutes from their house and we went there almost every day for hours. I haven't had that much exposure to boats over the years, so I'm not an experienced skier or anything. But I did get up a few times :) I also did a little knee-boarding, but didn't brave the wake-boarding yet. Avery's favorite thing to do was swim in the lake. But they also had this awesome tube thing for the kids that is kind of like a cross between a tube and water-skiing. I have never seen anything like it. We all just laughed hysterically when little Ethan popped right up on it and then the same thing when it was Avery's turn. She got up on her first try and stayed up for a long time. They had the tube for the adults too, but I'm not a big fan of that. I really hurt my back on one a long time ago and it took forever to get over. Derek and Jon mostly did wake-boarding. My dad is an excellent skier, but it has been a few years since he's been behind a boat. He ended up pulling his hamstring on his second run...the back of his leg was all bruised and everything. So that was the end of skiing for him on this trip. Sad :(

We did make one trip to the Mall of America. I think you kind of have to if you're out there! Jon and Jessie announced that they are expecting their first baby in March, which is really fun and so we helped Jessie pick out a lot of new maternity clothes at the mall. The rest of us did some shopping and looking around too. I barely saw Avery that day because she went to the amusement park with the guys. And James did surprisingly well for a 1 year old all day at the mall.

We also spent a few hours in a little town called Stillwater. Although none of us could never remember what it was called except for Jen. So we alternated between Stillwater, Sweetwater, and Saltwater. It just has a bunch of fun little shops and restaurants. Just the girls went on that outing.

I think some of my favorite times though were down time at the house. We played a ton of cards and board games, some wii and some Rock Band. Avery loved the wii (well watching...or keeping her character in a bubble for all of you wii super Mario fans) and Rock Band too. She got to sing her favorite song a couple of times..video to come :) I paid respects to the 80's most of the times and I'm pretty sure I rocked 100% vocals on Love is a Battlefield and Rio. My parents actually did a duet to Happy Together, which was a highlight. But I think nobody can top Derek with his rendition of Mr. Roboto. Wish I had footage.