the difrans family vacation

well we are home again which is good news on this trip as it means we didn't get lost again.. yeesh. it was a good time. we went with some friends to minneapolis. four adults and three 2 year olds makes for some crazy times. the boys did really well. driving was not as much of a nightmare as i had expected. they did manage to sleep a bit.they had moments but dave kept them occupied and entertained mostly by making up games which involved throwing things around or sticking out his tongue. i know i know they are easily amused.
first day involved getting lost a couple times - mostly when we stopped for "breakfast" in Fergus Falls. all we were looking for was a mcdonalds with a play place so the kids could burn off some steam... yep none of those between home and wherever. finally we settled on just good old rotten ronnie's and let them run laps of the restaurant.we made in to Albertville and hit the outlets - well we didn't really do them justice but i did stock up on clothes for the boys. hit the road for our hotel which was near mall of america. found it. freshened up and then went to MOA for supper at Famous Dave's which in our books was not so famous - hair in food, crazy tired kids, and a really spicy bean incident for a toddler (not mine) did not make for a great time. can't really blame the kids they were done before we even got there. wandered lego land for a bit and headed back to put the kids to bed.
noah & ari did great. our hotel was amazing and we were so thankful for the suites. we put the kids to bed and still could watch tv in our room. there was an attempt at target that night that ended in tears and total failure. got miserably lost due to some poor directions and missed exits.. ended up in the ghetto asking directions at a sketchy gas station. it was horrible... bought beer which was a highlight after all that. gotta love being able to buy beer just about anywhere.

sunday we took in the buffet breakfast at the hotel.. so good and easy and convenient. even managed to stock up for lunch for the boys. we decided to hit up Como Town. So armed with our mapquest directions we set out... this was get lost mistake number two.. why wouldn't mapquest have taken into consideration THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE... yeah no alternate directions. it was horrible cause once again we were lost and we went south and then north and then we went east and west.. the worst part (sorry to any minnesotans who might read this) NO ONE KNEW WHERE ANYTHING WAS.. seriously no one knew two streets ahead of them or behind them. It was horrible. After fanagaling the horrid directions we kept getting and in total melt down mode (my meltdown) we found Como Town. It was fun. It's an amusment park and zoo aimed at 2-12 year olds. We bought tickets and set out to find the rides our little guys could ride. They wouldn't have it. Nope. Terrified. Noah managed to ride one although I think he was in total shock. We did ride the train a few times. Dave says they really are having fun.
There was an awesome playground that the kids had alot of fun playing at. We should have just plunked them here the whole time.After lunch which included Noah falling and banging his head we decided the heat and tiredness would be best put to bed.. we packed up and drove on. less than a minute later they were sound asleep. We stopped at Northern Brewer in St.Paul. Wade gave Dave a magazine from there and he has drooled over it ever since. Dave says it was awesome but really overwhelming. He did manage to buy a couple things and got his buddie James to purchase a whole starter kit. We plan on opening a little brewery here in the West part of our city.
After getting bad directions and getting a bit lost again we ended up finding our hotel....
Kids didn't nap too long and after we got back we decided a trip for me was in order and we entered the Ikea Zone. I LOVE ikea. I miss Ikea. I used to go to Ikea just for fun in Vancouver. Dave entertained the boys with fun cart rides while I shopped. It was a great time. The boys were so good and I got all the stuff I wanted... TV unit, Shelf thing for my dining room, end table, lamp and some small stuff. I felt refreshed and ready for more. We ate mexican that night which was pretty good. We also played in the pool that evening which Noah & Ari loved.
Getting to the Minnesota Zoo the next day was EASY and we didn't get lost. The Zoo was amazing. It was alot of fun. The boys liked most of it especially the water.. all the water. There was water everywhere. We saw Grizzlies, Foxes, Tigers, Moose, Birds, Fish, Sharks, Dolphins, Monkeys and visited James' favorite The Farm.. where we saw pigs, cows, goats, chickens and bunnies.
It was really hot that day and the kids were pretty tired after the morning at the zoo so we ate lunch there and decided to head back.. We managed to keep them awake till we got back to the hotel and from there Dave and the boys had a nap and I got in some shopping at MOA. Really happy when I am shopping.
We decided to use the grills at the hotel in the courtyard for supper and it was alot of fun. Just letting the kids run around and not having to make them sit quietly somewhere. I have realized I just need to give my kids dump trucks and dirt and they can be happy for hours.
So thats our trip in a nutshell.. Drive home was a bit more tiring. The boys were just so tired. Towards the end they wanted to sleep so bad they would shut their eyes as tight as they could and then cry cause it wasn't working. I felt bad for them. They sure are troopers.
Well that was our trip.. of course so much I didn't write about. We had fun. I am so glad we went and made me realize my kids are much more flexible than I give them credit for... Although I must admit an adult vacation is in order.