Back to reality

We're baaaaack. And now I am going to overload you with vacation photos. Hang tight!

Had a wonderful holiday. After a crappy winter and soggy spring, this July was hot, dry and perfect. Soooooo well deserved around here!! Loved getting out there and enjoying it!

We started our holiday time with a road trip to Wisconsin Dells and Minneapolis. Were a bit worried about cranky kids (are we there yet??), but they were great! The hubs reconfigured the van so they were all out of hitting distance from each other, we brought along an extension cord and hooked them each up with their own portable DVD player and headphones, and there was Peace On Earth. Sweet!
( Last But not Least is snoozing and The Middle Child is wiggling her loose tooth, like she did the entire trip. Love!)

We hit the Dells at the exact time they were experiencing that crazy heat wave with temps in the 100F/40C zone. But when your only responsibility is to show up at a water park, that is just A-okay! We stayed at Mount Olympus and used their water/amusement park for our time there, and had a blast. Each kid had been granted US$10 by Grandma and Grandpa, and Last But Not Least decided to use hers to buy a waterproof camera. It is quite hilarious when you develop the film and see the world through the eyes of a 4 year old....I will spare you the photos of my underwater cleavage (if only they still were perky like that), but here are a few funny ones:

Big brother about to get hit by a wave:

Big sister in the pelican slide:

Daddy being goofy:
Our family :) Try not get all hot and bothered by my most sexy comb-over look here, I had just finished getting smacked down by a wave!

Most of our time was spent in the water due to the heat, but on our last day, we took the family ziplining. Yup, the whole family! Even our 4 year old was able to do it all on her own- that's my girl! So much fun!!




Next, we headed to Minneapolis for more water fun at the Water Park of America. My daredevil kids took on their "flowrider" tidal wave thingy and did some surfing!

Then, of course, spent some time at the Mall of America as well. The kids loved the Nickelodeon amusement park- listed that as their favorite day. I think my big kid liked it, too.

For The Middle Child's 6th birthday, I promised her one of those American Dolls when she admired a friend's, not realizing they were 100 DOLLARS!! Yowzas! But we did it up grand, matching outfits and all that. Though I swear she loves her stuffed Smurf she won for 3 bucks at the Mt. Olympus amusement park just as much.
Also took in the Sea Life thinking in the mall, and the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul. Excellent!



Some outlet shopping in Albertville, a pit stop in Fargo, and we were home. And we didn't kill each other. That is the true test, right?

Good to be back :) A few days grace before we head back to work....still some time for some Manitoba summer fun like this:



Craftiness to follow!!