Minnesota is Awesome

The kids and I visited Minnesota this past week, and we had such a good time!  Lynn was in Santa Fe and then South Korea while the other three of the Rolfsrud/Wilson coalition bravely traversed the continental United States to my homeland.  The kids were remarkably well-behaved and joyous...90% of the time.

The journey begins!  We got to the Dulles parking lot shuttle pick-up spot with no trouble.  Spending time in parking lots is just the worst with small children.  So this was the part about which I was most worried.

Yep, totally fine letting my kids clobber each other in the airport waiting area.

I bought books about airplanes for the trip.  And, my friend Katie lent me these airplane seatbelts that kept my kids in place much better than the lap belts.  Added bonus: the kids hated them, proving their effectiveness. 

Arrival!  Ford picked us up at the airport, thought hard about bringing us to a hotel after a few minutes with us in the van, then relented and enjoyed a few loud days with my crazy kids.

The first order of business was walking Snowey to an amazing local park.  Everyone got involved.

I cannot emphasize this enough:  Nova LOVES Kaia. 

Some afternoon reading time. 

Hammocks!  The magic of hammocks!

Shark helped Lynx eat his meals.

Some bedtime reading time!

 Day 2 started with breakfast at Wompach's restaurant.  The kids did great.  Ford and I were less well-behaved but that's to be expected.

It should be said again: Nova LOVES Kaia.

And Lynx loves eating. 

Lynx is too cute in this photo! 

And this one. 

Day 1 had three well-organized, relaxed reading photo sessions.  Clearly, things got out of hand on Day 2.

We were sad to leave the Murman Rolfsruds on Friday, but happy to see Elin and her daughter Julia Jane, photographed above.  The girls had a ton of fun at Sibley!  And so did I.  Elin is the best. 

Saturday was Ty's Lake Party 2019!!  Look at that beautiful group of energetic people!!  

 The kids got to enjoy their very first boat ride.  Nova couldn't stop talking about it.

Nova's first time swimming in a lake.  Notice the hand firmly gripping her arm.  That might be mine. There's another of my children in the far right corner of this photo, who was also being held onto with great gusto.

Me and some of my ladies!! I need to invest in some sunglasses too.

Nova LOVED swimming.  She was fascinated by all of the seaweed (which she called "Squid.")

Just like at home, Lynx's favorite activity is jumping off the couch into a pile of blankets.  Mankato provided many great opportunities for this. 

Nova liked Scrampa's scruffies!

Grancy, Nova and Z enjoying a stroll through Indian Lake Park. 

Straight Chillin'.

My kids wrestle all the time.  Watch Out!  Gross motor skills in use! 

Nova and Scrampa enjoyed each other so very much.

More reading!  This time with our beloved Grancy. 

We met Kristin and her family at Mankato's Children's Museum and the kids had a great time.

Nova at the Museum.

Grancy and I both suffer from an inability to make decisions.  So I'm posting two versions of this photo, because I can't decide which is best.  Option 1, above.

Option 2, equally adorable.

Despite Scrampa's lifelong tradition of avoiding parades, he accompanied us to the St. Peter Old Fashioned Parade on July 4.  And, I don't think he hated it.  Or, at least, he did a good job of hiding it.  Nova and Lynx loved it, especially the guy dressed in a purple monster suit.   

More indecision.  Which photo is better?  I think both are adorable.

All good things must come to an end and on July 5, we flew home.  Below is our chronicled journey.

More wrestling.

Pacis and new toys, helping to make the trip a bit more tolerable.

By our drive at 4 pm, the kids were zonked.  I was tired too, but neither offered to drive for me.  

See you next time, MN!!