Road Trippin for the Fourth

This is practically a 'weekend in the life' post, so get ready. I'm pretty detailed about our trip to MN but I can't help it. It was fun and I want to remember the details, so feel free to just skim the (hundreds of) pictures instead of reading all of my text if you wish. I know vacation recaps aren't everyone's thing but pictures might be!

After our Dells trip in January, Nate and I started talking about how fun it would be to visit Erin and Ben in Minnesota. We survived the road trip with two kids for the Dells (2 hours away), so we thought we could up the ante a bit and do another longer road-trip-o-fun (5 hours without stops). We figured it would make the most sense if we 'tagged along' with Dizzy and her family during one of their visit-the-family trips, and she was planning to make the drive for July 4th. A few emails were exchanged with Erin and it was decided that the holiday weekend was actually a perfect time to visit. I invited the other Erin and Andrea and both had other obligations, so we knew the group would be a lot smaller than the Dells but hopefully just as fun (or even more fun without the raging stomach bug that attacked after the indoor water park nearly killed us all).

Erin had everything planned ahead of time, as expected, including rainy day options and alternatives to her plan A. I mean, this is totally how everyone should plan a family trip: decide to visit a friend who is very proud of their state, and who is very organized and into doing fun things. Then just show up and follow along with whatever said friend has decided to do. And enjoy!

We left at the crack on Thursday, July 4, pulling away from the house at 5 am to be exact. This was the first of many attempts at moving sleeping children while praying they continued to sleep (spoiler alert, rarely ever happened).

We had packed everything the night before and woke up at 4:15 am to drink some 'driving juice' (ie coffee) and get the car loaded. So once the suddenly-very-awake kids were added to the car we were off!






They were both really good in the back seat and eventually they both DID fall asleep by 7:30. But by 8:30 they were both awake and hungry/had to pee/needed a diaper change so we found the best McDonalds playland ever in Eau Claire, WI. Seriously it was amazing. Yummy breakfast for a family that never really gets Mickey Dees and then plenty of time to burn some munchkin energy.









We hopped back in the car around 9:45 and finally arrived at our hotel near St. Paul around 11. We all know that the last 30 minutes to an hour on a road trip with kids is the worst and this was no exception. Squeezing my butt between the car seats to soothe a cranky girl caused me to lust after a mini-van even more, but I don't think Nate's mind was changed by my constant complaining about a numb tush.

After exploring the hotel a bit we all crashed for a family nap that lasted over two hours. Heavenly.


I got the kids dressed in their patriotic outfits made by GoGo even though Nate was worried they might be too cheesy. But hello, as soon as the kids were wearing them we were in love (duh).





And then we were off to Erin and Ben's house to kick off the festivities! It was still oddly surreal to see this family in person even though we know each other in real life now, and getting to see Erin's house was also wild. We didn't stay too long, though, because we were meeting Laura downtown Minneapolis around 4:30. But only after our first of many stops at Dunn Brothers for amazing iced coffee. Mmmmmm.

First we went to the Stone Arch bridge and nailed some family pictures.


Truman did better with the iPhone picture, obvi.


Are Nate and Ben twins?


Then Laura and crew arrived so we all walked around a bit and got even more pictures, chatting along the way. We have really cute kids, btw.





I think Bella and Truman got along pretty well;)








We ended up eating at a delicious and kid-friendly pizza place called Punch Pizza. Six adults and six kids = chaos, but in a good way, of course;)



We said goodbye to Laura's family and the remaining two families went back to Erin's house and put the babies to bed. We let the big kids stay up to play outside, watch The Sandlot on a projector screen, eat popcorn, and eventually watch Cinderella inside.


Dizzy and Andy came over for a bit this night, too, so all six of us got to chat on the porch for a bit while the two big kids pretended they weren't even tired. I believe we finally decided to leave and let Annie to go bed around 10:45 that night and I know Cecelia was then awake until 11:45 after hating the transfer from Luke's crib to her car seat. (sad trombone). Truman and I slept in a bed together and Nate got one all to himself. Kind of fun sharing one big room for the four of us but really happy we don't have to do this every night.

Cecelia decided to start Friday at 6:15 am. Yawn. Truman then popped up saying 'it's nice outside, let's go to Annie's house again.' Instead of that I persuaded both kids to take a bath in the fun hotel bathtub at 7am.

"Cover your privates, Truman."






Then Nate and T made a Starbucks run and I attempted to force CC to nap in the pack-n-play....in the dark bathroom. She fought it for a ridiculous amount of time, so I went back in there and realized she had pooped her brains out. Poor baby! Changed her and then she did fall back to sleep around 9. We had planned to meet at Erin's around 10 but I really wanted CC to be rested, so the boys went to the hotel pool and I told Erin we would just meet them at the Como zoo instead.



I woke CC up at 10:30 and we were off to the zoo, meeting Erin and crew there. It was a blast and I was mad at myself for never pulling out my real camera. But I suppose iPhone pictures are just as good for things like this.













We fed the kids a packed lunch and headed back to Erin's house where the babies napped right away, and then Annie slept in Erin's bed with Truman on the floor. Freaking adorable to think of those two napping away together and of course my buddy was passed out hard the whole time. I had texted Leah earlier to see if we could visit during my trip and nap time on this day worked the best for her, so she headed over right away. With Miriam. Who is seriously the most precious baby in the world in person AND in photos. It's just not right and is totally unfair to my ovaries.





After naps Erin and I drove the babies to the Wabun wading pool at Minnehaha park. More on this in a bit, but first: the dads decided to bike there with Annie and Luke in the Burley. Great idea in theory, but Truman had never been in a Burley before and apparently it was very bumpy at first. And Annie has a hatred towards her helmet. So when she asked Ben to stop because her helmet was bugging her, Nate looked at Truman and saw he was on the verge of tears. Nate asked if T was ok and Truman began to freak out because it was scary and too bumpy. OMG. Both kids were extremely unhappy, obvi.



After placing 4 missed calls to their wives, the husbands somehow got the kids to pull it together and made it to the wading pool. And it was a lot of fun;)



















Then to dinner at Longfellow Grill where Nate drew disgustingly accurate Thomas pictures for Truman and Annie, Cecelia chowed like a boss, and we remembered why dining out with kids is oh, so peaceful and enjoyable;) But seriously, it was hilarious and a lot of fun.









Back to Erin's house and this time we put the babies down first, then the dads read the big kids some books. Note to self: girls have longer attention spans than boys when it comes to books. Annie's were very long and she loved them, but T didn't have the same stamina.


Then the big kids went to bed together in Annie's room (Truman on the floor again). No issues, totally painless, totally shocking. Had no clue my kids could sleep pretty well at other people's homes but this is awesome news. So then the four adults got to have beverage/chat time on the porch again and it was lovely. Always the highlight of the day, really. Transferring the kids from their beds to the car to the hotel must have been fair this night, but I do recall not making it into bed until after midnight because of soothing CC back to sleep.



Saturday started off with Cecelia crapping her pants at 5:45 am. Sweet. But even sweeter is that Nate changed her diaper and they both went to Dunn Brothers together right away so T and I could 'sleep in' until 6:30.

( do not know why this picture is sideways and I cannot correct it, so sorry for the neck strain)

Once they returned, I got some really cute pictures of my crew in the hotel. Note Cecelia is in Luke's boy jammies from the night before. I think she pulls it off well.









I showered then we decided to take a major gamble and have CC skip her morning nap in the name of the Minneapolis Farmers Market. We left the hotel around 8:45 and of course CC fell asleep for a bit on the drive there, then was awake the whole time we explored the market and was moderately cranky. Erin let me try their Ergo and that seemed to help with the crankiness but it did not lull her to sleep. The market was HUGE and really cool, we all loved it.






Truman had an unfortunate tumble on the concrete that resulted in two skinned knees, which of course is like the kiss of death for three year olds. Thank God we had met Dizzy there and she had bandaids. Snapped a big group picture and then us and Erin/Ben were off to Lake Harriet.



Which, OMG, might have been the most fun part of the whole trip. Well, there were many fun parts but this was especially awesome. I took way too many pictures but they all make me smile. I also switched to a new memory card for about 50 more pictures but the stupid card won't work now. Debating about paying $30 for the images to be pulled off at a camera shop. I know I don't need to do it but there are 'dual kid toss' pictures on there that would be amazing to have. Until then, single toss pictures will do.



























A little picnic lunch together, the dads attempting to ride 'rip sticks' which are like bendable skateboards, and some more pictures.




Then back to our hotel for naps. Both kids crashed in the car and STAYED ASLEEP with the transfer to beds. Nate ran to Target and, get this: Dunn Bros, again;) I didn't nap because I didn't know if I would wake up at a reasonable hour, so I showered and uploaded pics to Flickr instead. Then Nate and I ate lunch from Target on the floor and watched as Cecelia woke from her 2 hour nap by thrusting her head up from the bed, looking around for us, then smiling and flopping back down on the pillows around her. Oh, and she did also fall off the bed once during this trip during playtime. And Truman fell off the bed twice but both times he claims it was on purpose. Whatever children.

I bathed CC and then we woke Truman shortly after to head over to Erin's house again. This was the big wild card night: Adults Night Out, complete with a 'stranger' watching my kids in a new environment. Gulp. Potentially a disaster but also potential to be the best idea in the history of the world;) Ben's youngest sister Laura agreed to watch all four of our kids. I brought emergency lollipops in case T was fa-reaking out and Erin had emergency chocolate chips for Cecelia for the same purpose. They ordered pizza and our instructions were to let the kids watch as much TV as they wanted. So basically, total HEAVEN for three year olds and the babies weren't hurting either. We said goodbye and I didn't feel too nervous because Truman was ushering us out the door so that he could watch TV. CC didn't seem to care either and was all smiles with Laura.



We got a town car to take us out (big ballers!!) to Republic for dinner and drinks. Dizzy and Andy met us there, too, so it was a triple date night and beyond amazing. Food was fantastic, weather was good enough to sit outside, and the drinks and chit chat was just what these parents needed.







The town car took us back to Erin's house at 8pm on the dot and we were placing our bets as to what type of scenario we'd walk into when we arrived. Want to guess? Luke was in bed already but the three other kids were all awake and quite happy. Cecelia was sitting on Laura's lap happy as can be and Annie and Truman were busy watching a TV show. They pounced on us asking the parents if they could have another sucker...apparently the dads said 'yes' and that meant they got their THIRD of the night. But so, so happy the kids all did so well for Laura! Whew. That was Truman and Cecelia's first time with a total stranger as a babysitter.

I put Cecelia down and then the dads read books to Annie and Luke, which Erin and I found hilarious and super cute at the time. Then the big kids went to sleep in Annie's room again without a peep. So two bedtimes and one nap they slept in the same room without any issues. Happy that our kids go to daycare for reasons like this, including flexible sleep in different environments with other kids!

Of course, four sleeping kids meant more adult beverage and chat time on the porch. The best. We heard and saw some fireworks near by which made Nate very happy since we never made it to any 'official' fireworks on the trip. Then we packed up our crew around midnight (I think?) and headed to the hotel, this time with Cecelia screaming the whole way there and Truman was saying 'shhhhhhh' in his sleep.

Sunday morning CC was up at 5 am. Yawn. I think a poopy diaper was to blame again but I honestly can't even remember. I took a shower with her playing in the hotel bathroom, letting her destroy the toilet paper rolls and trash can. Then the boys were up around 6:30 and we started packing our stuff. At 8 we swung by Dunn Brothers for the THIRD and final experience with their amazing coffee, then to Erin's house to get a few things we had forgotten. Then all of us went to breakfast at Egg and I, and it was so yummy and very kid friendly! My kids enjoyed their final 'vacation' meal with chocolate chip pancakes and it wasn't horribly chaotic during this meal time, even with T and C being on a sugar high.



To burn of some energy before our five hour car ride, Erin and Ben took us to the St. Anthony's neighborhood for a little playground action. Truman was getting a little sad/cranky at this point and kept saying, 'Annie, tell me goodbye again. Annie, are you going to miss me?' We tried a moms and kids picture but T was just too upset to pose for another picture.











We said our goodbyes and hit the road at 11. It was sad to leave after such an amazing trip and of course, it's never fun to make the return drive home compared to the excitement of the drive on the front end of a trip. Both kids napped almost immediately, Truman for 2 hours and CC for 3! Guess that 5 am wake up time was a little much for her. We stopped at a rest area for T to pee and Nate looked up the traffic on his phone, seeing that the Dells was TOTALLY jammed and would add an extra 1.5 hours to our trip. So he figured out a detour that would be about 10 minutes longer than the original route and we took that all the way home, arriving home around 4pm. And let me tell you, that extra hour we spent on the road was seriously the worst. Poor CC could not deal with the car seat anymore so I was wedged between the kids for almost 2 hours in the backseat, shoveling food at CC and watching Truman's iPod with him, too. Little lady had enough!









Alas, when we arrived at home we were all rejuvenated and happy we made the trip. Truman kept saying, 'Maybe Annie will visit me at my new house sometime. But the drive is really long, so she should nap when she comes.' Ha! Thanks for the tip, Tru.

And that ends my incredibly detailed account of our road trip to St. Paul, MN. We'd do it again in a heartbeat but will wait for the Minnesotans to make the trek to WI, first ;)

Summary of trip:
3 trips to Dunn Brothers
1 trip to Starbucks
5 hours of sleep most nights
3 meals out at restaurants with at least 4 children
2 poopy-diaper alarm clocks before 6 am
3 shared room naps/bedtimes by two tired toddlers
1 horrific/hilarious Burley experience
4 days of perfect weather
573 pictures in this post

Vacation!!