minneapolis vacation - day four

for our last day in minneapolis we went back to the mall of america (moa) so that madelyn could ride the rides. we were planning on going to ikea for breakfast (it is super good and super cheap - our favorite kind) but it didn't open until 10. so we headed across the street to the ihop. when did breakfast get so expensive?! we couldn't believe the prices. anyway, we ate and then headed to ikea to pick up a mattress for mason and a few other items before moa.

it was "toddler tuesday" at nickelodeon universe (aka the theme park in the center of the mall). it was nice because for $9.95 madelyn could ride all the toddler rides for three hours instead of the $40 it would normally cost. and the rate was good for daddy too. madelyn was almost in tears at the suggestion that she might have to ride some of them by herself so we got matt a pass too. mason and i were just spectators on their adventure.

and mason was a great spectator too. he actually enjoyed seeing daddy and madelyn riding everything. it was nice because madelyn waved and yelled "hi" very excitedly every time they would pass us. madelyn's cute little wave made it worth waiting around for me too. i thought that i had taken video but it looks like i was just turning it on each time i thought that i was turning it off. its too bad too because it was funny to hear madelyn yelling happily the entire time she was on each ride. she loved every minute of every ride. i think daddy had a less enjoyable time watching him squeeze into each ride and even getting whipped around in a car ride.


the highlight for madelyn was going on the wonder pets flyboat. i thought that it might be a little too scary for her after reading the description in the brochure ("...let it lift you 20 feet, then bounce you up and down..."). she loved it!












and then daddy got a little sad because while waiting in line for the blue's skidoo madelyn met a little boy. and when it was their turn to get on the ride madelyn took the boy's hand and said, "i am going to ride with him, daddy." she took off with this boy and didn't even look back. poor daddy.

we walked around the mall a little more to visit a few more stores and then loaded everyone up for the ride home. we stopped on the way home for dinner at mcdonalds. (it is just the only place that we are guaranteed some room for mason to stretch his legs too.) i decided that ice cream was in order and madelyn and i had caramel sundaes. she shared half of hers with mason. she loves to give him whatever she is eating. they are so cute sharing their treats so nicely. i really hope that this phase lasts a while because i am enjoying it. both for the peace and just because they are so sweet and gentle with each other. maybe i can catch it on video some time...

we got home around 9 and quickly unloaded so that the kids could go to bed. they were both so happy to be home and mason just kept running around seeing his toys again for the first time. it was a wonderful vacation! i am so glad that we were able to take the time to go. while it was utterly exhausting, physically, it was mentally very relaxing. love.