Our Minnesota Vacation

On July 3rd, my parents picked us up to head to the airport at 10am. We had devised a clever way to tell them I was pregnant. We bought Riley a shirt that said “I’m going to be a big brother” on the front and we put him in it this day. We decided to see how long it took my parents to notice. I was on pins and needles for the next two hours and I was sure many times that my mom had read the shirt and not said anything to me, as she kept smiling at me. I guess she was just happy we were going on vacation together, because finally, 2 hours later, at noon, as we’re sitting in the airport TGI Fridays waiting to board our plane, she looks at the shirt, turns to me and says “Who is that shirt a hand-me-down from?” I said “No one. I bought it for him.” She started crying and said “Really?” So needless to say my parents were ecstatic! Here is a pic of Riley in his shirt:

Minnesota in general was a pretty good vacation. It was nice to spend time with my parents and it was good to see my Uncle Dana, Jill & my cousins Ryan and Tyler. While it was hard for Chad & I to slow down our pace for this relaxing vacation, we did our best! The morning sickness kicked in about halfway through vacation so I am sorry to everyone for my miserable tummy! I did my best to suck it up and continue.

I am going to have to work this blog as a highlight session, otherwise I would never get the blog and pictures up. So, here you go: our vacation to Minnesota!

Day 1 Highlights:

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Brainerd, MN which had an indoor waterpark! The hotel was fabulous, the towels were very plush and the waterpark was a blast! Riley stayed up until 9:30pm with us the first night playing at the waterpark.

Day 2 Highlights:

The next morning we got up and ate the free breakfast in the lobby with our pajamas on. The waterpark did not open until 9am, so we spent some time in the arcade while we waited:

(Chad teaching Riley to play SkeeBall)

(Chad helping Riley bash sharks)

Once the waterpark opened, we spent some more time there, where Riley went down the biggest waterslide on a tube with me & Chad and at the bottom we flipped! Good thing they make all kids with chaperones wear a lifejacket on the big slides! But Riley loved it!

(All you can see is one of my feet! Oops! Flipped the tube!)

(Riley trying to get Papa wet!)

(Riley loved playing on this big snake, which was tethered to the bottom of the pool)

(About to go down the easy slide!)

We then drove 2 hours to the lake, where we met up with my Uncle Dana and his girlfriend Jill at his cabin and we got to see my cousins Ryan and Tyler, who were there for the 4th with their fiancé, Abby and girlfriend Angie. Ryan and Abby are getting married in August 2010 and it was great to meet her for the first time! This is a pic of all of us (minus my parents) on the steps of Dana’s cabin:

(Top Row: l to r - Uncle Dana, Chad, Riley, Tyler, Ryan)

(Bottom Row: l to r: Jill, Sarah, Angie, Abby)

That night the resort was hosting a BBQ for everyone and so we went down and ate and took this picture:

(From l to r: Jill, Dana, Dad, Mom, me, Riley, Chad, Abby, Ryan, Angie, Tyler)

The sun sets really late that far up north so fireworks did not start until after 10pm and when they did they scared Riley and he started crying and my mom took him back to our cabin to sleep.

Day 3 Highlights:

We went to see the statues of Paul Bunyan & his blue ox, Babe, in Bemidji, MN. I remember them being much bigger, but it had been 15 years since I was last up there so I guess I just grew!

(Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe)

There was also a carnival going on at the grounds so my Dad bought some tickets and I took Riley on the carousel and then Chad took Riley on some other rides. We also took him on a miniature train ride, but the FW Miniature Train put this train to shame.

(This was the first time I remember getting a little queasy...going round & round on the carousel)

(Riley looks so bored on the mini train!)

(Dana, Jill & my mom, waiting on us while we played at the carnival)

(Believe it or not, this was not the smallest car Chad squeezed in to at the carnival)

Day 4 Highlights:

The next day we drove out to Itasca State Park to see the headwaters of the Mississippi. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I forgot to pack a swim diaper for Riley and so we had to just strip him down to his regular diaper eventually to let him play in the water (I didn’t even have a change of clothes for him!)

(Riley & Chad headed down the trail to the headwaters)

(In the headwaters of the Mississippi River!)

(Clothes off, playing in the Mississippi)

(As you can see, Riley was not too happy that we made him get out of the water!)

Day 5 Highlights:

We went to Paul Bunyan Animal Land and fed LOTS of animals, including bears, monkeys, lemurs, deer, etc!

(Come on Riley! There are real animals in here!)

(Feeding the deer at Paul Bunyan Animal Land)

(Getting ready to feed a monkey a banana)

Day 6 Highlights:

We took the pontoon out and Chad took the jetski out behind us. We went from one lake to another via tributaries of the Mississippi River. By the end of it, Riley fell asleep on the jetski while Chad was driving it!

That night we went out to dinner since Jill was leaving that night to drive back to North Dakota.

(Chad & Riley headed out on the jetski)

(I think Riley was falling alseep here!)

(We saw a few groups of baby ducks and their moms while riding down the river)

(Aw, my sweet boy all bundled up...it was cold!)

Day 7 Highlights:

It was cloudy for the first time this day so Chad & I went to the movies. We saw The Proposal, which I thought was a highlight, but Chad would beg to differ! That night we cooked dinner in our cabin for everyone since Jill had left the night before and she had cooked for us every night before. Thanks Jill!

(I think this was the day Riley stayed in his pajamas all day!)

Day 8 Highlights:

We just layed low this day and played in the water with Riley. He REALLY liked playing in the water by Dana’s dock since the water was very shallow. Chad also made steak for dinner and grilled some really yummy corn also.

Here are just some random other pictures from our vacation:

(Riley practicing his kicks in the water!)

(Jill & Riley headed into the water)

(Nana, Papa & Riley in the paddle boat)

Day 9 Highlights:

We headed home. It was a long vacation and I was ready to be back at home sleeping in my own bed and showering in my own shower! We got to Minneapolis to catch our flight much earlier than my Dad expected so we made a pit stop at the Mall of America. After we ate some lunch, Riley really wanted to ride some rides at the amusement park inside. In the 30 minutes we had to ride, they got 2 rides in:

(First roller coaster at the Mall of America)

(I got to ride this one with them! Even though Riley held his gun to shoot the ghosts the entire ride, he never actually shot one!)

Thank you so much to my Mom & Dad for taking us on this vacation!

We love you guys so much!