Minnesota

Last week we spent our spring break in Minnesota, not the warmest location, but fun none-the-less.  Ryan had work so we got to go along and have a break from the routine, which is always welcome.  

We stayed at a fabulous hotel where everyone was so nice, our room was WONDERFUL!!! and they had free supper.  That was a nice surprise, so we hardly even had to go out to eat.  We got there on Monday evening and Ryan went to a meeting.  The kids and I ate at the hotel and then went swimming.  That was what the kids were looking forward to most.  Tuesday Ryan had two different meetings so we planned out outings according to where he was going to be since we were his chauffeurs.  In the morning he was in downtown St. Paul so we visited the Minnesota Children's Museum.  

Cameron driving the bus

 Sweeping in the restaurant

 Lauren taking money at the restaurant

 The cityscape

 More of the city

 The kids loved this room, in fact they said it was their favorite.  There was a board where you could pick different songs and then you stand on the stage and sing along, kind-of like kid karaoke.  I had to take a picture of the monitor so you could see the cool background that went with the song, this was Wheels on the bus.

 I know it's not a great picture, but I had to get the full look

 In another room there were paintings and then the paintings were life size and you could interact with them.  I was a little sceptical, but they liked it.

 Painting a huge castle in the art room

In the afternoon after we took Ryan to another meeting we went to a place called the Maple Maze.  It was recommended to us by some friends and it was great.  Basically it was a huge climbing structure where the kids could run and play for hours.  There was even a "Tot Spot" so Lauren had fun playing too.

Tuesday evening we got to spend with our dear friends, Eric and Stephanie and their kids.  We hadn't seen them in a year, but the kids from both families were excited to see each other again and played very well together.  Stephanie and I were roommates our freshman year of college, so we know each other very well!  Wednesday we went to their house again and the kids played all day.  

Cameron, Lauren, Hannah, Micah, Aubrey, Josiah and Noah

Thursday was our last day and we spent the morning chilling in the hotel.  I let the kids watch a movie and I just relaxed.  Ryan was done in the early afternoon so then we started home.  I don't know how much Ryan got to relax, but the rest of us had a wonderful time.  I know he was glad to see the Johnsons and we had fun swimming with the kids.