Weekend in Review

Wow, if my last Weekend in Review was somewhat anti-climactic, this one is non-stop action!

The weekend actually started a bit early for us. We hit the road for our weekend trip on Thursday night. The ultimate goal for our trip was a friend's wedding just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday night, but with a pregnant lady and a four-year-old in the car, we figured scheduling frequent stops would be a better idea than being surprised by how often we had to stop ;)

We only drove a few hours before stopping at a Rodeway Inn just past the Wisconsin border. Maggie was thrilled to sleep in a motel, but we really just picked this one for the price. Maggie's first comment in the morning was that they had given her her own pillow. Yes, a king-sized bed - even at the Rodeway Inn - comes with three regular-sized pillows.

Friday the real fun started. By early afternoon we crossed the border to Minnesota and reached our first destination - the Mall of America. The first sign we saw when we went in the door was for the aquarium and Maggie's mind was made up. She loved touching the starfish, and walking in the tunnel surrounded by sharks. She named all the sharks Bruce after the shark in Finding Nemo ;). After a second trip halfway through the aquarium to touch the starfish one more time, we set out for the middle of the mall where the Nickelodeon amusement park was. Apparently preggos can't ride anything. at. all, so daddy got to chaperone while Maggie rode the cars and the train. She was almost talked into the hot air balloon ride, until she saw them go up in the air. The bouncer was another favorite (luckily mom had the required socks in her purse from a mall trip the week before).

Friday night we hopefully improved Maggie's impression on hotels even more with a stay at the Hyatt using credit card points - yay! We were happy to be there to enjoy a leisurely Saturday morning. The wedding we were aiming for didn't start til 2PM, and it was less than a half hour away.

We still had time for other stuff after check out and before the wedding on Saturday. Maggie loves big buildings, so we spent a bit of time walking around downtown Minneapolis. There really wasn't much going on, or even much we found to see, but Maggie kept things exciting by riding her imaginary horse down by the river until they fell down and someone ended up with a skinned knee. Mommy's monstrously gigantic purse to the rescue again, with Dora bandaids at the ready.

The wedding on Saturday was actually expecting 30 - 40 little kids (yikes!) so they had some bubbles, coloring stuff and a giant bouncer at the ready (the jumping kind, not the kind to throw the drunks out, luckily for the lady in the white and tan striped shirt...). Maggie handled her disappointment well when she was told that the 'marrying lady' wouldn't be throwing her flowers. She was having enough fun with lots of new friends, and even got to spend a few minutes of dance party time with mom.

Sunday morning we headed out early to take the car on a boat! We caught the 2PM ferry from Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan. It was a nice change from spending the day in the car. Although it didn't save any time or money, it was a great experience that Maggie had looked forward to all weekend.