Today the kids and I had such a great day. We went to the Mall of America. We started off by helping celebrate the Mall's 20th Birthday. It was Toddler Tuesday and so they had party hats and toys for the kids, along with dancing music :)
After we danced and met Dora (Charlie didn't want anything to do with her), we headed to the American Girl Store. A trip to the Mall would not be complete without stopping there. We (Olivia, Charlie, Ruthie and I) had lunch at the Bistro (Because it was Toddler Tuesday, kids eat FREE...and of course Ruthie is always free, surprising considering they charge for everything there...lol!!). I just love it there and the food is great and actually on the healthier side. It is spendy, but not on Tuesdays :) After lunch of course Olivia had to look around and dream about everything she wants, but we are pretty strict. She has to earn the money she spends there. She had some "babysitting" money and chore money so she was able to get a little blanket for her doll. She brings her own little purse and counts her money at the register. She is so proud to make purchases on her own.
Ice Cream is always include :D
After hearing Charlie say "mom...I don't like this store" a hundred times we finally checked out and headed to the Lego store, another must stop at the MOA. Charlie was also able to pick out a small Lego car. I was informed by him that I cannot put it together. That is for daddy and him only!!
Once the kids were satisfied with their stops and our bellies were full, I finally was able to go to a couple of my favorite stores. We purchased some school clothes for Olivia and I and then headed to see my cousin Kelly at Bare Essentials. She "dolled" Olivia and I up with make up and we went on our way. By this time Charlie was completely spent and fell asleep in the stroller. Olivia and I took advantage of "Mr. not going in any girl like stores" sleeping and looked at some dresses and shoes and went to get my ring cleaned and admired all of the beautiful jewelry at the jewelry store.
Finally we headed to the car. On our way home I decided that I would take the kids to see my grandpa's stone at Fort Snelling. That place is amazing and gives me goose bumps every time I am there. We found Grandpa's gravesite and sat there for a while and talked about people in the Military and how grateful we need to be for them. It is incredible to see how many thousands of men and women are buried there. After a bit we then headed up the big hill to watch the airplanes take off. When I was a little kid my Grandma would always take me to a hill by the airport to watch the planes. That hill is no longer accessible, but we found a second best!! It was so exciting to see my kids get excited about the planes. The only thing that would have made that moment better is if my Grandma were there. Next time we need to pick her up and bring her along :)
In the picture above you can see the little flower pedals at the bottom of the stone. Olivia and Charlie found those on the road where we parked and Olivia insisted on putting them on his grave. We weren't planning on stopping there so we didn't have time to go buy flowers.
I wish we would have but we definitely will next time.
Our summer days are almost gone. It is so sad that my time home with the kids is ending again for the year, but after having days like today, it makes me think about how much more we are going to be able to do next year. The kids are finally getting to the point where they are getting easier (not easy...but easier).
No comments:
Post a Comment