mall of america

A few weeks ago, Bart took 3 days off of work and we headed to Minneapolis for a little family vacation to Mall of America. Monday we checked into our hotel, and went straight for the mall. The boys loved this Lego store, which had the coolest things made out of Legos.

There was also this area where they could build cars out of legos and race them down a racetrack.

Then we went upstairs to the third floor of the mall to go miniature golfing. I thought the boys would be pretty good, but they were actually worse than they were last summer when we went mini golfing a few times. (Although, I did pretty terribly that day too, so let's just blame the course.)

When we were done golfing, we met up with one of Bart's friends from when he lived in Iowa. We met his fiance and had dinner. Then, we headed back to the hotel to swim in the pool!

Of course, the boys' favorite thing to do at the pool is jump in, over and over again. They even got Bart to join in the fun!

The next morning we got up and headed to the mall again. This time to go on all the rides! The boys had such a blast going on all the kiddie rides, and Bart and I took turns going on the roller coasters. It was so un-crowded that we never had to wait in line for anything, and most of the time (especially on the bigger rides), we were the only ones on the ride. Which is nice, except when you are the only one on a roller coaster and you scream, everyone knows who is screaming!

At lunch the boys chased down Sharky until he stopped and they got to hug him and pose for a picture.

Back on the rides. I don't think Bart fits on this one very well!

We took the whole family on the log chute, which is very much like Splash Mountain at Disney, but with terrible characters inside instead of the cute ones. It has two big drops, and Ky did not like it so much. But Kade asked to go on it over and over. In fact, a couple of times I took him on it, he asked the ride attendant if we could stay on and go again, so we did! We ended going on it 5 times, and he would have gone on it more if we'd had more time. I guess he likes the thrill rides like his mom!

This picture was actually taken the next day, but I had to get a picture to remember how much he loved this ride. I can't wait until he gets a little taller and we go to Disney World or Disneyland so we can ride Splash Mountain together, because he is going to love it!

Tuesday we stayed at the mall and went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. I thought the boys would love it, but Ky was scared of the fake monkeys, so not only didn't he enjoy it very much, he didn't really eat either. Oh well!

Wednesday we did a bit more shopping at the mall. Then, we tried to get the boys to go to a movie with us, but they really don't like movie theaters, and said that they would rather go to IKEA. So, we went next door, dropped the boys off at the free babysitting area, and Bart and I did a little shopping at Ikea.

It was such a great trip! I got to go with my family to a mall, with roller coasters, and stop at Ikea. It doesn't get much better than that!

Here are some little videos of our trip if you got all the way through this post and you still want to see more!

nfl draft 2010

Living in Green Bay makes the NFL and the Packers the top news story almost every day. Although I am a bigger college football fan, I've found myself much more interested in this year's draft. In my next life, I'm going to write for Sports Illustrated ... so although no one out there in cyberspace cares, here are a few thoughts on tomorrow's draft.

- I'm down with the draft moving to prime time. Part of me hates that it's simply about money, but this way I don't waste an entire weekend as the draft drags on. Only dilemma tomorrow night = two new episodes of 30 Rock and a new Office.

- My thoughts on Tebow? Peter King of SI said it best a few months ago: "The NFL team that can't find a spot for Tebow to help it win games is close-minded. I don't know if he can be an every-down quarterback, but I do know 28 teams passed on Joe Montana through two rounds because he was too small, 31 teams passed on Tom Brady through five rounds because he was just another guy, and Kurt Warner went undrafted and twice went knocking on doors as an unwanted free-agent even after he won a Super Bowl in the NFL. Every GM didn't go to Harvard. Every personnel czar is not Ron Wolf. What I do know is if I ran a team, and I've got the 40th pick in the draft, and Tebow's there, I pick him without hesitation and pass the card in as, "Tim Tebow, football player, Florida.'' And I pop the champagne corks."

- Other draft story lines of interest to me? Where will Toby Gerhart end up? Who will take on Dez Bryant? How far will Brandon Spikes fall (I love the guy for coming back his senior year ... but he is falling down boards everywhere)? Lastly, what team will make Jimmy Clausen a first round draft pick (no way!!!)?

- Packer needs: defensive backs, offensive linemen, and yes, a punter ... or someway to jump start our special teams. Most mock drafts have the Packers taking an offensive lineman in the first round ... which takes me to:

- Why do teams continue to draft offensive linemen in the first round ... and pay them first round money?? WHY??? It's like taking a kicker in the first round in fantasy football! I had to do a little research and gathered some interesting facts regarding the starting offensive lines from last year's super bowl:

Saints:
LT: Jermon Bushrod - 4th round
LG: Carl Nicks - 5th round
C: Jonathan Goodwin - 5th round
RG: Jahri Evans - 4th round
RT: Jon Stinchcomb - 2nd round
Colts:
LT: Charlie Johnson - 6th round
LG: Ryan Lilja -signed as undrafted free agent
C: Jeff Saturday - signed as undrafted free agent
RG: Kyle Devan - signed as undrafted free agent
RT: Ryan Diem - 4th round

The Colts gave up the fewest number of sacks in 2009. Need I say more?

- Saw one mock draft that had Joe Haden going to the Packers. I don't think he'll fall that far, but that would make me (as well as Kade and Ky) very happy.

- If Eric Berry falls any further than the 4th pick it's a huge mistake. Great player.

- I'm tired of Mel Kiper, Jr.

- Anyway, predicting the draft and what players will be good pros in my mind is like predicting the weather. Some teams are better at it than others, but no one really knows. I've missed Ron Wolf as the Packers GM, but Ted Thompson made some great moves last year. I don't feel like the Packers need much and it will be interesting to see what the Packers do, especially in terms of preparing for the future.

Enjoy the draft!

four new babies!

That's right, our family has grown by four...baby ducks that is. They are only a few days old, and they are so much fun! They live in our basement, and the boys like to check on them several times each day. They are only going to live with us for a few weeks, until they are not so cute and tiny anymore, so we are trying to enjoy them while we can. So, if you live close, come see them soon, they are even cuter in real life.



The two brown ones are mallards names Barry (from the Bee Movie, because apparently he looks like a bee), and Buzz (as in Lightyear). The yellow ones will grow up to be white, and they are named Donald and Daisy.

Kade loves holding them, and isn't afraid to pick them up.

I love this pic of Kade and his Daddy

Ky isn't so sure about holding them, and his nervousness keeps him from grabbing a duck as it runs away. But he still loves to watch them, and I think he wants to want to hold one.

Bart and two babies. This reminds me of something...

Ky finally held one, after Kade picked it up for him. If he wasn't eating a Ring Pop, you could see his big smile.

easter fun!

We had such a great Easter! We had fun making Easter cookies, coloring Easter eggs, and going on several egg hunts! Plus, having General Conference on Easter made it extra special.

Bret and Charise and Cooper came up for the weekend. They even left Cooper overnight with us so they could have a night away. It was our first time watching someone else's child overnight, and I have to say I would definitely do it again.

Here Cooper is showing us the egg he decorated!

For playgroup my friend Greta hosted an egg hunt in her yard. The kids all had such a good time looking for eggs filled with candy and money

Easter morning the boys were excited to wake up and see what the Easter Bunny brought them, and to hunt for more eggs. I think the Easter Bunny should have just brought them gum, since that is all they have wanted out of their baskets so far. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have to remember that next year.

We went to Bart's parent's house for Easter dinner. I was asked to bring the dessert. When I gave Bart a few options to choose from, this is the dessert he picked.

Yes, it was as delicious as it looks. (Actually probably more delicious than it looks)

we got a swingset!

We've been looking for a while for a (used) swingset to put in the backyard. (Can you believe how expensive some of these playsets are?) A few weeks ago we found one on craigslist for a steal, plus the previous owner said he would take it apart and bring it to our house for a small additional fee. The boys have been so excited for it to come, and they have been playing on it non-stop since Tuesday evening. It also helps that the weather has been in the 70's the past few days. We are loving it and hoping spring is here to stay!

Kade showing his excitement

Ky blasting me with his super powers!