The Land of 10,000 Lakes

Last Saturday we woke up earlier than any human should, packed up our van, and went on our first road trip as a family. We drove to Minnesota to visit our good friends, Tim, Hilary, and their 4 kids. They recently moved there and we were anxious to see their new home and visit. Madeleine and Audrey tolerated the 8 hour drive much better than I thought they would. Between the movies, books, coloring books, and crayons they had quite a bit to keep them occupied.

Here they are at a rest area just outside of Des Moines where we stopped to have lunch.

I felt so welcomed upon entering Minnesota. It was so nice to exit the boring and mundane of Nebraska and Iowa and enter the beautiful scenery of MN. The corn fields were replaced with beautiful, lush trees and shimmering lakes.

Several hours after crossing the border into MN we finally arrived to Tim and Hilary's house and were welcomed by these cuties. This is Anara and Mia. They (along with their brothers) were waiting for us outside even though it was raining when we arrived.

That evening the girls got to relax in a warm bath. They call it a rocket tub.

It has jets that create massive amounts of bubbles like this.

If you ask them, Madeleine and Audrey will tell you that the rocket tub was their favorite part of the trip.

Toby and Madeleine getting settled for the night. After getting up countless times they eventually ditched the sleeping bags and curled up on the bottom bunk together.

Audrey, Mia, and Anara. Mia was the first one asleep while Audrey and Anara goofed around. I think at one time Hilary caught Anara climbing on her dresser. Such monkeys!

The following morning, Hilary did all of the girls hair in beautiful braids like this one

and this one.

Then they all posed for a picture together.

After being properly primped we went to the Mall of America where the girls got to pose with the Backyardigans, see Lego Land, and a few other things before heading to the aquarium.

This turtle was a riot. He came right up to the glass and carefully observed anyone who approached it. He was by far my favorite animal at the aquarium.

Here is a glimpse of some of the other sea life we saw. It was breathtaking.

My blue-eyed beauty.

Posing with a jelly fish.

After walking through the aquarium the kids were able to touch sea life such as star fish, crabs, and sea anemones. They were instructed to do so with one finger.

After the aquarium, the dads took the kids out for lunch then back home while Hilary and I shopped. We were there all day while the boys took the kids to a park.

Tim played basketball with the kids.

Um, Madeleine, I think that is called "traveling".

I guess we should teach the girls how to dribble.

The following pictures are of Tim and Hilary's kids; Madeleine and Audrey's best friends.

Tyler

Toby

Mia

Anara

Madeleine and Toby walking hand in hand after playing at the park.

All of the kids played so nicely together during the entire trip. There were no spats or arguments. Just non-stop giggling and playing. Madeleine and Audrey had a blast and can't wait to go for another visit. Thank you Tim and Hilary for opening your home up to us.

Although there are a lot of pictures in this post, I combed through over 400!!! To say Steven takes a lot of pictures is an understatement. I put some more pictures in an album on facebook, so if you are interested in seeing them you can click here.