A Little Shopping

Every year, Jay and I try to take a couple of days and head out somewhere without the kids. This is a treat, to say the very least, and it is in no small part due to the very generous hearts of our family who willingly takes all 5 kids for a couple of days/nights. Usually on these short excursions, Jay and I try to take some time to reconnect. Refocus. Evaluate. Plan. Relax. Just be. Sometimes we go somewhere more secluded so there is little to do but connect. With no TV or shopping to distract, we spend many hours together just talking. Or walking. Or hiking. These are treasured times and we look forward to them each year. Sometimes, though, we do something a little more urban and head to the states to reconnect, refocus, evaluate but also shop! That is the route we are going this year. Soon we are going to Fargo for 2 days and 2 nights! We are so excited. As the time draws nearer to house building, scouting out deals and bargains is at the top of our list. We will certainly check out hardware stores and price compare. Being so close to the American border, with the added incentive of getting all the taxes back we spend in ND, shopping in the US is a sensible option for us. Don't get me started on the whole "stay local" jargon - a lot of the stuff sold there is made here in Canada then shipped down there and sold for a cheaper price. I will go where the savings are! Anyhow, part of the appeal of shopping in the states is finding those treasures that aren't sold here in Canada (well, if they are, certainly not anywhere around here!).

First off, Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Herb Tea! Oh, my goodness! That stuff is FANTASTIC! It is a full flavored caffeine free tea that requires no sweeteners due to the natural sweetness it contains. I tasted some a little while ago and am now hooked!

Secondly, Hershey's Dark Cocoa, if I can find it. Another luxury not available in Canada!

Any other treats you buy in the states since they are not available here? I am not so interested in the candies (though Hershey's Symphony bar with toffee and almonds is heavenly) or the pop but other goodies? Do tell!!

Minneapolis Trip - Part III

Day 7 - Sunday, July 25

I really, really wanted to find either a flea market or an antiques store. Turns out, AntiQues Minnesota was just a short trip away. The family waited in the van while I tried to hurry through a HUGE warehouse filled with shelf upon shelf of antiques from many different antique dealers. Not an easy feat. I went as quick as I could and found a beautiful footed compote bowl at 50% off - only $7.99! I snatched it up and added it to my collection!

Once again, I wanted to check out a store we don't have here in Manitoba - HomeGoods! Turns out it looks a lot like HomeSense and I love that store and I have one within 35 minutes of my house! So, I really enjoyed searching that store and only bought one small vanity mirror. But, it was a fun place for me to be!

Today, we took the kids to a splash park we heard about through my friend. Ari really loved running through all the water. Ali takes her time to warm up to the idea but once she likes it, she really likes it, getting totally soaked!

Day 8 - Monday, July 26

Homeward Bound! We did take some time to stop at Gordman's in Fargo on the way home. It is a real shame there is no Gordman's in Winnipeg. I can always find something to love in that store! On the way home, we didn't make as many stops as on the way down so the kids were starting to get a little worn out of driving. RJ was actually crying that she wanted to go home. Then she agreed to drive to Flin Flon (another 7 hour drive!). We gratefully made it home at about 9:30pm that night and gladly fell into our own beds!

We loved our vacation and have lots of great memories! I loved that I could spend time with the kids and not have to think about laundry or cooking or cleaning or paperwork or housework or anything! I could just be with my family! We were blessed to be able to spend those 8 days together doing exactly what we wanted and having a whole lot of fun in the meantime! I wonder what we will do on our next vacation?!

Minneapolis Trip - Part II

Day 4 - Thursday, July 22

Oh, this was gonna be a good day! Originally we had decided to hit the Albertville Outlet Mall on the way home but I decided that it might be better to make the trip during the week instead. I am so glad we did. This was going to be a day with a lot of travelling so we made sure the DVD player was hooked up and ready to go at a moment's notice for overshopped children! First, we made our way over to Radio City. Inc, a store Jay wanted to check out. It was where he spent about 45 minutes talking to a gentleman about telescopes and their lenses, gaining a bit of understanding. He also bought his now-much-belated Father's Day and Birthday present! I was glad to let him shop. Just let the record show that he spent more in that store than I spent in any one store!! :)

After his shopping excursion, we headed to Albertville. On the way we got hungry so we found a Don Pablos and enjoyed some great Mexican food! All-you-can-eat Enchiladas! Oh, yum!

Upon arrival at the shopping mecca, we found stores we liked and shopped away! Surprisingly, we didn't actually buy that much stuff. I know, I know, something is wrong with that! But with all the kids in tow shopping just doesn't have quite the same appeal. However, the few things I found I really, really love. I bought a couple of feathered hair clips in black and white at Claire's plus I found the greatest earring holder ever! I love its bird cage styling and the ability to hold many, many pairs of earrings (well, maybe not of my earrings since they tend to be on the larger side!)

I found some really wonderfully sexy black & white shoes at Charlotte Russe that only cost me $20 and they are even comfortable! I bought some sparkly bracelets there, too! Jay and I each bought a couple of pieces of clothing at Aeropostale, I bought RJ her own purse at Claire's plus some great sunglasses! With that little purse tucked under her arm and those sunglasses, she really does look 4 going on 14! Of course, there was the mandatory stop at Bath & Body Works. But really, not a bank emptying kind of day!

Day 5 - Friday, July 23

Since Minneapolis has 2 zoos and we have 5 kids, we intended to visit both of them. Today was Como Zoo day! The reason we went to this one was that it is on a donation only "payment" method (which means affordable) plus I knew they had giraffes and gorillas which the Minnesota Zoo didn't. This was a beautiful zoo and well worth the $7 we donated!

We ate lunch at a quaint tiny pizza place located on the very corner of the street - the building itself was sort of triangle shaped. Our family filled half the tables! But it was great pizza!

Then my intention was to find this flea market I had heard about. Apparently I heard wrong (and all my research was wrong) because there was no flea market. Across the street there was this great public park that had all these pools of water that kids can play in. We took them there and let them cool down! It was a lot of fun.

Finally, we went driving around to look at some really big houses! We love doing that! We were finding houses with front porches so I took a couple of inspiration pictures! Here's one.

Day 5 - Saturday, July 24

Can anyone say IKEA?! Today was IKEA day but, as Jay warned me, this was just a scouting trip, not a shopping trip. There is an IKEA being built about 35 minutes away from here with a projected opening date of early 2012, just in time for our house building! So, this was a research trip, looking at things and discussing the possibilities. We hit the store on a great day as lunch for the kids was FREE! Gotta love that!

After IKEA, I wanted to check out some America only stores, like The Container Store and Restoration Hardware. Okay, so RH is completely out of my price range and the selection was really small. TCS, however, was a organizer's paradise. If only I knew where to put all those wonderful little containers!

After the shopping, we hit this great award winning play structure our friend told us about! It was HUGE!! There were challenging areas for the older kids and fun areas for the little ones. A tiny splash park was enough to cool them off before they were off again.

Minneapolis Trip - Part I

Since I get so many questions about our recent trip to Minneapolis, I thought I would share it with all of you. I will break it down into 3 parts so as to not overwhelm you (or the blog) with too much information or pictures.
So, day one saw us travelling. Really, with the bags of fun activities and the portable DVD player, they travelled really well. I was a little miffed when they pulled us over at the border to do a more complete inspection. Except they didn't. See, you go through customs, answer the normal questions, and, if all goes as planned, you are on your way. NOOO. They wanted us to pull over to really big garage door number 1 and wait. Once they indicated we were to come in, we drove in and turned off the vehicle. They asked us to exit the vehicle, taking our purse and wallet with us. Usually all occupants are supposed to exit so they can search every little corner for . . . stuff. I asked if all the kids had to get out too. They asked how many. We said 5. She then said, in a voice of complete surprise and disbelief, "John, they have 5 kids in there!" Uh, ya, that's what we said when we came. That's why you are holding 5 birth certificates in your hand! Then John, in all his wisdom, asks if they are all buckled in. Ummm. No. We don't use safety measures like seat belts. Their lives aren't that precious to us. Duhhhh! Of course they are buckled in! So, they said they could stay. They opened the side door just so the kids could see us and not freak out. They asked Jay to empty his pockets and asked to look into my purse. They did not. Not once. Look in the van. The van that was packed full. They did not open the back of the van. They did not look in the car top carrier. I ask you - WHAT WAS THE POINT????? If I was going to smuggle something, would I do it in my purse??!! So, after about a 15 minute delay of sheer nonsense, we were on our way. I was a little ticked. What a complete waste of time! The drive down (which is about a 7ish hour drive without kids) was uneventful. We made sure to stop frequently to stretch legs, to eat, and to ensure no potty accidents happened. We arrived at the hotel at about 6:30pm, unpacked, then headed out for supper. It was good to finally arrive at the hotel, turn on the TV and just veg!

Day 2 - Tuesday.

After eating breakfast, we headed to the Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America. (One little tip for you travellers - if you know what places you want to go to ahead of time, take the time to search the web for coupons! I found many great coupons that saved us well over $50! Also, don't just take the first coupon you find as they are not all the same!) The kids loved seeing all the swimming creatures including sharks and rays, jelly fish, turtles, sea horses and all kinds of other colorful fish! You walk through this tunnel and the fish are on both sides of you and above you so you get to see all different angles of them. Really cool to see the underside of a ray!!

See that creature in the corner? It is a really, really huge old turtle! He was massive! His name is Brutus and he is an Alligator Snapping Turtle.

I love this picture of Ali pointing! It was so fun to see them look at everything. They really loved being there!

The jelly fish are super cool to watch. I first saw a jelly fish exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California a number years ago so I knew the kids would love it! I love this photo of them!

Sea horses! So. Cool. I love the crazy cool fact that male sea horses give birth to the babies! Our Creator God makes such wonderful creatures!

After the aquarium, we waited FOREVER to get in at the Rainforest Cafe in the mall. We were told to eat there (and I had a coupon) so we did. It was a fun environment but the kids weren't too keen on the fake thunder and lightning storms. RJ is really sensitive to actual storms, calling the thunder and lightning "blinks and booms" so she was especially scared. But, when we explained someone was flicking the lights and it was just fake thunder, she was okay. By the third "storm" she completely ignored it (I wish it would have cured her fear of real storms - alas, it has not!).

After the meal, we wandered a very little bit in the mall checking out Lego Land. The boys love lego so this was especially for them!

Then it was back to the hotel for some sleep for the little ones and swimming for the bigger ones. Since I was not allowed to do any shopping at the mall earlier in the day, Jay took us back there after naps so I could do some shopping in stores that appealed to me! I bought a cute necklace at Francesca's then some "boudoir wear" (wink, wink) at Frederick's of Hollywood. I love lingerie and lingerie stores! And Jay is totally supportive of me shopping at them! 'Nuff said!

Finally, we ate a late supper at IHOP! I would encourage you, if you have young children, to check out mykidseatfree.com where you can find different restaurants that have a "Kids Eat Free" night. I was sure to do this before our vacation so I knew which restaurants to go to on which night. I always love a good breakfast and the kids love pancakes so this restaurant was really loved by all of us. And, the kids ate free!

Day 3 - Wednesday

Ah, Wednesday. The day of the Minnesota Zoo. I think we picked the hottest day of the week to go, it was so very hot! But we were really looking forward to all the animals we would see! And we were not disappointed! It was nice to go from the hot outdoors to air conditioned comfort inside when needed and still find plenty of animals to view. Some of our favorite things to see:

Camels swimming. This just seemed wierd to me. Shouldn't they be trudging through a desert?

A bird show with various different birds.

Seeing the baby dolphin that was born just 4 days earlier! (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Zoo)

More large underwater creatures.

A beaver who seemed to love the attention (Ali really loved the beaver!)

A baby who tried so hard to fight sleep but eventually succumbed!

And a big beautiful bald eagle.

This day really wore us out due to the heat so we spent the rest of the day at the hotel either sleeping or swimming. So, that was the first three days!

Our First Family Vacation Booked!

We have spent a few hours, each of us, surfing the web, trying to figure out which hotel to book for our Minneapolis vacation happening in mid-July. However, because we are a larger family, you cannot just pick any hotel. You have to either find a hotel with a suite that accepts 7 people or you have to book 2 adjoining rooms. Sometimes the two rooms are cheaper, sometimes the suite is cheaper. Then, do we want just a pool or a pool with a waterslide? Which suburb do we want? Does it have a complimentary breakfast of sorts? What kinds of things are reviewers saying about the hotel? The most important (almost!) question is how far away is the Mall of America and Ikea from the hotel? Agh, so many things to think of. Well, a while ago I stumbled across a website (and had since forgotten) called sixsuitcasetravel.com which helps those with larger families of 5, 6, 7 or 8 find family-friendly hotels that will accomodate them. Jay found the website again and we found our hotel by using that site's recommendations. After reading the overviews of so many hotels nothing really popped out. Until this one! It is called GrandStay Residential Suites Hotel in Apple Valley, MN. I was so pumped when I read that they have a two bedroom queen suite which has basically three rooms - 2 separate bedrooms each hold a queen-sized bed and a TV and a "great room" which has a livingroom area with a full-sized sleeper sofa, wingback chair and a TV with DVD player plus a fully equipped kitchen offering a full-size refrigerator, microwave, 2-burner stove, coffee maker, toaster, and dishwasher including dishware. Check out the map below - isn't it AMAZING!!

This is perfect for our needs. 6 of us in beds and baby girl in the playpen - totally doable! We are planning to be gone from Monday-Friday so a fully equipped kitchen is wonderful. Plus, this hotel is completely smoke-free so no yucky smoke smell. They have a very lenient cancellation policy - cancel by 6pm on the day of arrival and no fees will be assessed! It does have a pool, however, it is a fairly small one. We will be travelling during the week so it may not be that big a deal. Complimentary breakfast is included and the hotel uses Bath and Body Works products! Man, that is luxury in and of itself! It is located 14 km from the Mall of America and 16 km from IKEA. The price for all this goodness? Only about $100 more in total than booking 2 rooms at another hotel for a very low price. We are willing to pay a little more for the convenience of everything. Of course, I will have to tell you when we get back how it actually all turned out. I am just glad we found something that we are excited about and will meet our needs.