PNW Trip Day 4 {Minnesota}

We drove up to Minnesota this morning and arrived at the Mall of America just in time for lunch! We went to the Rainforest Cafe, a new experience for the little girls. Beilyn was fascinated with all of it, but the babies were a little unsure of the fake thunder and bigger animals. We spent the majority of our time in the amusement park area of the mall, finishing off our time there with Fly over America (their version of Disney's Soarin'). We did do just a little shopping and then headed out for a picnic in downtown Minneapolis along the Mississippi River. We ended the evening with a sunset walk to see St. Anthony Falls from the Stone Arch Pedestrian Bridge. 

Alex watching all 7 of his girls walk into the largest mall in America, but he's not worried because he's still in charge of the money.  😁

Alex's dad (Pappy) had a big surgery this morning to remove one of his kidneys.  A few weeks ago, he learned there was a mass on his kidney, which is most likely cancer.  We were sad we couldn't be there with them today, but we were able to get frequent updates. Right before lunch, we received news that the surgery was successful and the doctor felt certain all of the cancer was removed. So we celebrated over lunch! 

Lunch at Rainforest Cafe

Braylee missed the "Stripes" memo. 

Right as we walked up, Skye was finishing up for the day. My girls were so sad, but thankfully, Beilyn got a little wave so that helped!

She was just a little apprehensive. 😄

Driving into Minneapolis

I love watching the locals in parks like these, imagining what their everyday lives are like in their part of our country.

Beilyn is always stopping to meet the puppies.

One of the things I love about traveling-- There are so many little tidbits of information you randomly pick up while exploring. While taking this walk through the historic district of Minneapolis, I noticed some cool signs over the old mills which led me to do a quick google search. I had no idea companies like General Mills or Pillsbury got their start here!  Minneapolis originated around St. Anthony Falls where the water power supported tons of mills. Who knew?! Seems like a Jeopardy question. 😊 

Behind the scenes 📷

Love my people 💗

These two walking in front of us...

and these two walking behind us.
God has blessed my girls with best friends in their sisters. 💜

Brielle showing us how to be cool. 😄

Every time we pull into a KOA, Alex blasts "My House" by Kacey Musgraves through the RV.
It's been our anthem since our 2016 out west trip. 🥰

"My House"

Who needs a house up on a hill
When you can have one on four wheels
And take it anywhere the wind might blow?
You don't ever have to mow the yard
Just hang a map and throw a dart
And pray to God the engine starts and go

Water and electric and a place to drain the septic
Any KOA is A-OK as long as I'm with you
So come on hitch your wagon
To the living room I'm draggin'
If I can't bring you to my house
I'll bring my house to you

Parking lots and county lines
And counting mile marker signs
Where the buffalo and antelope all roam
Greetings from Niagara Falls
One more postcard for the wall
Off in our own sweet home away from home

Water and electric and a place to drain the septic
Any KOA is A-OK as long as I'm with you
So come on hitch your wagon
To the living room I'm draggin'
If I can't bring you to my house
I'll bring my house to you

And Washington and Idaho
And Oregon and away we go
To Tennessee and Arkansas
No, we won't stop 'til we've seen 'em all
'Til we've seen 'em all

So what else could you ask for?
You don't even need a passport
To see the whole world from our living room
So come on hitch your wagon
To the happiness I'm draggin'
If I can't bring you to my house
I'll bring my house to you
If I can't bring you to my house
I'll bring my house to you

It don't matter where we go
We'll never be alone
Anywhere beside you is a place that I'll call home

PNW Trip Day 3 {Wisconsin cont.}

It was raining when we woke up and the forecast didn't look so great for the rest of the day. Being in the "waterpark capital of the world," we had planned to spend the day at a waterpark but we preferred an outdoor park. There appeared to be a small window with no rain between 11-3 but the forecast still wasn't showing very high temps, so we opted to skip the waterpark entirely.  Brielle was the most bummed, but she quickly changed her tune when she realized the new plans for the day.

So after a quiet morning in the RV, we walked down to Dells Army Ducks.  We started with the Duck Tour down the Wisconsin River, learning that it was those gorgeous sandstone formations that originally made the Dells a tourist destination. Then Alex took the 3 older girls on the ropes course while I occupied the little girls with slushies.  By this point, it was a very sunny and very humid 87º that was no where on the forecast this morning. 😄☀️ I walked back to the RV with the littles for nap time while Alex and the big girls stayed for the zip line course. They all had a blast! They arrived home just as the babies were waking up so the girls took a quick dip in the pool before dinner/showers. We finished the evening at the Rich Wilcox Magic Show. It was so impressive! Beilyn kept saying, "How he do dat?!"

Ready for the Duck Tour. They use original ducks made for WWII.

If you look very closely, you can see a bald eagle sitting on the tree branch hanging out over the creek.

 

Brielle technically wasn't tall enough for the ropes course, but we assured them she would be juuusst fine. Sure enough, right after I snapped this picture, she yelled, "This is the easiest one yet!" She loves a good challenge!

Perhaps the best photo of the summer 💜

Walking in the back way through the woods. 😊 Thank you, Google Maps.

We talked tonight about how if the forecast would have shown what the day was really going to be like, we would have still gone to the waterpark and missed out on the fun adventures we had today. I love how God is in every detail. Perhaps only we saw the incorrect forecast this morning? ❤️