Minnesota Safari

We had just gotten out of Ivanhoe, on our Minnesota Safari trip, when the boys started to ask if we were in Minnesooota.  How do you explain it's going to take eight hours to get to Minnesota?  We played CDs of sing-along music most of the way.  If they knew the song they told us, "That's my favorite."  And they sang along, as if it was.  We got over half way, before they told Gramma to stop singing.  My own children used to say the same thing.  I never understood.  I think the twins wanted to be able to hear the CDs.  It's amazing that we had over seventy songs on CDs and still had to hear each one at least three times.  We borrowed Jeni's car, which had enough room for Rebecca to sit in the back next to the luggage.  She's used to it after travelling with Jim, Andrea and us in Ireland.  At least this time, she didn't have to keep yelling, "Dad, the left side."

We stopped for lunch at McDonald's.  Even I thought it was a good idea, since they have a Playland.  The boys were a little apprehensive about climbing something three levels high, but were reassured when Auntie Becca and I agreed we could go with them.  We were careful to check the age limit and found parents were welcome, too.  It is not so easy for an adult to twist and squirm their way through an opening meant for a two-year-old.  The easiest part is coming down the spiral slide.  When Grampa arrived in the Playland section with our lunches, he couldn't find any of us.  He looked around and really wondered when he saw our coats at a table, but none of us.  Finally, he located us at the top of the structure.  Fortunately, it didn't take the boys long to make friends with children a little bigger than themselves.  Soon, we watched at the bottom and saw a train coming down the slide, led by Andrew. 

The boys enjoyed their food, with no worry about how unhealthy it was.  Happy Meals now include apple slices. Baby steps!  Gramma survived the Playland and the food.  On the road, again; Happy Meal toy in hand.

 Happy Meal Toys are a hit.

What's the smell in the car? Another stop at the nearest gas station. I had to determine which child was the Pepe de PU. Asking doesn't work, because each one tells you it's the other one. We explained they may as well confess, since we were going to find out. When the car stopped, Andrew admitted it was him. When I removed him from the car, Nathan realized only the boy with the "poopie diaper" would be ejected. He told Grampa, he too had a dirty diaper and needed a change. Grampa checked and found the confession was premature. Nathan said he wanted to use the potty. Those are words that require immediate action. Grampa got into the public restroom, with a willing boy. At least, until he took one look at the condition of the restroom. He explained he needed to use a different toilet. As it turned out, there wasn't a toilet that met his needs. On the road again.

 Nap time is so relaxing.

I think I smell Pepe de PU?

Nearly to Minnesooota, there was another odor detected in the back seat.  Another emergency stop proved that Andrew had been successful again.  With no more stops, we crossed the bridge into Minnesooota.  "Where are Kevin and Amanda?" the boys wanted to know.  Then they noticed snow on the ground. They couldn't remember if they liked snow or not.  Up close it was a lot dirtier than Nathan thought it should be.

Thanksgiving morning, Aunt Becky and Amanda were getting ready to go to church to sing and play with the choir.  When the twins found out, they begged to go to church.  Church is within walking distance from Becky's, but requires leaving early in order to arrive in time with two-year olds walking.  We sat near the choir and instrumentalists, because I knew the boys would want to see Becky and Amanda.  After the first prelude, Andrew yelled, "Yay!" as he applauded loudly.  He caught on to the fact he was the only appreciative one.  After the next song, he toned it down a bit.  After each subsequent song, he continued to get softer, but never stopped his support.  I think he had the right idea.  He's strong with his "Amens," as well.

So what do the Minnesoootans do with snowballs?

I'm going to carry this snowball all the way back to Illinois.

The boys discovered they liked cranberries and Aunt Becky's cinnamon rolls, which Andrew wasn't sure he wanted to eat.  It's a difficult decision to decide between pumpkin pie, brownies and carrot cake.  They certainly eat well in Minnesooota.

Aunt Becky reads good bedtime stories.  I think she's had lots of practice.

On Friday, the ladies wanted to go shopping.  When the boys heard about it, they begged to go along.  They are their Gramma's boys.  They love going to church and shopping.  The Mall of America has a theme park that the boys enjoyed, after repeated trips up and down the escalator.  The multi-level Christmas tree was pretty impressive to look down on, too.

 Mr. Sponge Bob Square Pants lives in Minnesooota!

I think I'm ahead of my brother.

I think my brother is behind me.

I love shopping.

I need longer legs for the legos.

They should get one of these at Costco.

Later, we went to Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob's.  Dennis, Mitch and Eric were there, too, and got to meet the boys for the first time.  It was a little tough to share Amanda with Mitch and Eric, but they managed.  Becky wiped the floor with the opposition on Apples to Apples and Bob was a close second.  This is due mainly to the fact that Eric has such wierd criteria for selecting winners in each category, butt it's worth it just to play with him.

Everyone seems to know, Eric doesn't like to pick people in Apples to Apples, if he doesn't know them.  And he's too young to know most of them. 

There was a game of 500 going on in the kitchen, but Terry can't remember who was winning in the kitchen.  I assume it was not him.

Did Eric just ask, "Who's Lucille Ball?"  I'm so old.

Nathan and Andrew have a night light that starts our like a blue moon at night.  You can set a timer to turn it into a yellow sun in the morning.  Terry set the "sun" to come up a half hour later than their usual home time.  Unfortunately, in their excitement at being in Minnesooota, they didn't check the moon/sun in the morning.  The second day we could hear them talking in the morning over the monitors their parents sent.  "Nathan, do you want to come down here?"  The boys were sleeping on trundle beds; with the second bed, lowered, so if Nathan rolled out of bed, he would just slide into the lower bed.  I got up to check and found both boys sleeping on Andrew's bed.  Later we heard, "It's yellow, it's yellow!" 

Where did Grampa's bed go?

On the way home, we put a bag of books from Aunt Becky between the boys to enjoy while the CDs played another three times.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel, because Gramma didn't think she could do McDonald's again.  And Cracker Barrel has a store for my shopping boys.  We bought sock monkeys for the boys as souvenirs.  Luckily, Pepe de PU didn't show up until five minutes before we got home.

This has been a wonderful adventure.