We packed up the car and headed to one of Kelli’s Sylvan centers. Derek was going to talk to her directors about reading before we headed home. The kids and I played in a conference room and then walked down to Lakeshore store. After Derek finished talking, Kelli realized that her purse had been stolen. We tried to help her call people to get her phone stopped, etc… It was a mess and I felt so bad. We ended up leaving the center at about 12:15 and went over to the McDonald’s for lunch before heading home. We later found out that Kelli’s purse was found at that same McDonald’s in the men’s restroom. How crazy would it have been if Derek had been the one to find it?! We left McDonald’s at 1:00, stopped for gas, and were on our way. The kids both fell asleep for awhile and then watched movies. We made it to Roscoe by 5:30. We made Stuckey time that day! We didn’t even stop…just kept driving and driving and driving. I have no idea where I get that from. Dad, do you know? hahaha We ate supper and then Derek took the other car and headed home. The kids and I stayed over and I was glad to not have to drive the rest of the way home.

Today was the big day. Derek, Abby, Cade and I went to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. It is only about 10 minutes from Kelli and Eric’s house and we got there shortly after it opened at 10am. The kids both got an unlimited arm band and we got started. Cade liked the Big Rigs and Carousel the best and Abby’s favorites were the carousel, ferris wheel, Balloon Race, Back at the Barnyard Hayride roller coaster, and Wonder Pets Flyboat. Let’s just say that she pretty much liked all of them. We spent the morning riding and then had lunch at the foodcourt. We had McDonald’s and Sabarro. After lunch we went back to riding more rides. There were no lines and we could pretty much get off and right back on if we wanted to. The kids played at the LegoLand and I did some Christmas and birthday shopping for Jonah. The kids reenergized with some Superman icecream and then more rides. I think it was after 4:00 before we left. Cade fell asleep before we were even out of the parking garage. Abby stayed awake and we wanted it that way so that she would go to bed early. We had chicken tacos for supper and enjoyed our last evening with Kelli and Eric.

Today was a lazy day. We mostly sat around the house and took it easy. The kids and I picked up Derek from the conference at 5:00 and hit about the worst traffic ever trying to get out of the downtown. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, or just because we really like the place, we met Kelli at Pepito’s for supper. It is just a mile down the street from Kelli’s. Abby was tired and didn’t really want to eat, so we let her order fried icecream for supper. Cade had a Joey, which was peanut butter, jelly, and bananas on a tortilla. I had the best taco EVER! I have had some really good tacos in my life, but for the 2nd time, this taco really is the BEST EVER! I had beef taco on a hard shell with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and relish…pickle relish! It is so good. Anyway, I will stop going on and on about the BEST TACO EVER! Abby didn’t like her fried icecream, so I had to eat that for her. It is no wonder I had a stomach ache later for as fast as I ate the BEST TACO EVER and the fried icecream. After supper Kelli, Abby, and I decided to walk to the park while Derek and Cade took the van. About 5 or 10 minutes down the road, Derek had to come and get us because it started raining.

Derek had more conferences and Eric had more work. Kelli was working from home, so it was just me and the kids. We left the house at about 10:30 and went to a park near Lake Minnehaha. I took the scenic route, but we made it! When we got there, I spread out our picnic blanket and got out the food. Cade helped me while Abby played. We ate lunch and enjoyed the beautiful day. After lunch, the kids played on the equipment. Then we put our stuff in the van and got out the stroller for a walk by the lake. Abby wanted to swim in it, but we decided that wading might be better. I didn’t feel it, but she said it was cold. We made it back to Kelli’s at about 1:00. Kelli had some late meetings and Eric was still at work, so the kids and I picked Derek up from the conference (I took the scenic route again!) and found a place to park downtown. We walked along the old milling disctrict and out onto a foot bridge over the river. Then we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for supper. I love it! We sat in the train and Cade had a booster seat because he couldn’t have a high chair in the train. It worked out fine. Abby had mac & cheese and applesauce. Cade had spaghetti and applesauce. He fed himself with his spoon. He really did a good job, but it was still VERY messy. All of the food was good and we all ended the meal with the yummy spumoni icecream. After supper we headed back to Kelli and Eric’s. It was almost 7 by the time we got there.

We left Roscoe at a few minutes before 9am. We had a pretty uneventful drive, which is a good thing, and stopped at McDonald’s for lunch on the way there. We pulled into Kelli and Eric’s at about 3:00. The kids played outside and we visited and enjoyed the nice weather. We had a nice cook out for supper and ate outside on the deck.