Vacation
We are on vacation in Minneapolis. So far it is not as horrible as the last family vacation we took.
We drove in on Sunday. We planned and booked hotels with another family, which has made he whole thing much more pleasant than I expected.
Yes, I admit it, tourist traps like amusement parks and waterslides are NOT my idea of fun, but to improve my standing in the Mother-of-the-Year race, I agreed to do this for the kids. Because it will make them happy and that is all that counts. Right.
So anyway, we traveled down to Minneapolis in Trevor's exciting new car (which by the way calculates gas mileage, in real time, in litres per 100 km or MPG - and btw gets 42 MPG at 65 mph and 35 MPG at 75 mph, the speed limit). The kids had a DVD player and ipods and Nintendos and books and magazines. They only asked "Are we there yet?" or some variation on the theme a dozen times. I counted. It was a relatively peaceful trip.
So we get here, by the way, on our 12th wedding anniversary, and meet up with our friends, who have two children the same ages and genders as ours. We load the luggage into our hotel rooms and head straight to the 8-year-old-boy's Mecca, LegoLand at the Mall of America. They are positively ecstatic. The girls, not so much.
In any case, we manage to satisfy all parties, and cap the evening with a pleasant anniversary dinner in the Mall, with kids at one table and parents at another. They actually behaved reasonably well. After the adults partook of many beers (purchased at a grocery store on a Sunday, God bless America), the girls both slept in our room and the boys in the other. It worked out very well.
Today, the dads, God bless their hearts, took the kids to the waterpark while the moms went shopping, knowing that waterpark admissions costs would be wasted, and everyone would have a better time in the absence of nagging about nutrition and safety. Everyone was fine and had fun. The moms got some good shopping done and had a lovely lunch complete with an entire bottle of wine.
This evening, the dads got to go out on their own for chicken wings and beer (for which I am paying dearly now) while the moms ordered pizza for the kids, and drank beer for the sake of their own sanity. It has been a lovely evening.
As you can probably tell, the beer is talking and I should really head to bed. So far everyone is having a blast. Tomorrow we are heading to Valley Fair to ride roller coasters and then to Albertville, which is a huge outlet mall near here - looking for bargains. Keep your fingers crossed.
Oh, and sorry for the long blogging drought - I am seriously thinking of renewing my efforts at the blog but have yet to actually do anything about it - I'll keep you posted when I do. Maybe this will kick start me.
We drove in on Sunday. We planned and booked hotels with another family, which has made he whole thing much more pleasant than I expected.
Yes, I admit it, tourist traps like amusement parks and waterslides are NOT my idea of fun, but to improve my standing in the Mother-of-the-Year race, I agreed to do this for the kids. Because it will make them happy and that is all that counts. Right.
So anyway, we traveled down to Minneapolis in Trevor's exciting new car (which by the way calculates gas mileage, in real time, in litres per 100 km or MPG - and btw gets 42 MPG at 65 mph and 35 MPG at 75 mph, the speed limit). The kids had a DVD player and ipods and Nintendos and books and magazines. They only asked "Are we there yet?" or some variation on the theme a dozen times. I counted. It was a relatively peaceful trip.
So we get here, by the way, on our 12th wedding anniversary, and meet up with our friends, who have two children the same ages and genders as ours. We load the luggage into our hotel rooms and head straight to the 8-year-old-boy's Mecca, LegoLand at the Mall of America. They are positively ecstatic. The girls, not so much.
In any case, we manage to satisfy all parties, and cap the evening with a pleasant anniversary dinner in the Mall, with kids at one table and parents at another. They actually behaved reasonably well. After the adults partook of many beers (purchased at a grocery store on a Sunday, God bless America), the girls both slept in our room and the boys in the other. It worked out very well.
Today, the dads, God bless their hearts, took the kids to the waterpark while the moms went shopping, knowing that waterpark admissions costs would be wasted, and everyone would have a better time in the absence of nagging about nutrition and safety. Everyone was fine and had fun. The moms got some good shopping done and had a lovely lunch complete with an entire bottle of wine.
This evening, the dads got to go out on their own for chicken wings and beer (for which I am paying dearly now) while the moms ordered pizza for the kids, and drank beer for the sake of their own sanity. It has been a lovely evening.
As you can probably tell, the beer is talking and I should really head to bed. So far everyone is having a blast. Tomorrow we are heading to Valley Fair to ride roller coasters and then to Albertville, which is a huge outlet mall near here - looking for bargains. Keep your fingers crossed.
Oh, and sorry for the long blogging drought - I am seriously thinking of renewing my efforts at the blog but have yet to actually do anything about it - I'll keep you posted when I do. Maybe this will kick start me.
posted by Cluttered Mind @ 9:46 p.m.
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