Visit To The Volkers

It had been two years since seeing our friends, the Volkers, so we decided a trip up to Minneapolis was in order.  These guys are such special friends and we are so glad we got to spend a couple of days with them and finally meet Miss Sage for the first time. :)

First Time To Minnesota for all of us.
Can you tell Makin is thrilled?

Our sidewalk welcome drawings and our girls.

Friday - Brad worked out of Caribou Coffee while the rest of us headed to the hugest park I've ever seen called Shoots and Ladders. The pictures cannot do justice how huge this place was. Our kids were a little overwhelmed about climbing some of the biggest parts along with the amount of kids, but they still had a blast. Makin's favorite was the rolling slide. I've never seen one before but what a great idea! We then had a picnic lunch by the lake and the Volker boys started the idea of fishing with sticks and pieces of sandwhiches.

One thing I always admire about Tom and Verna is there ability to balance personal time and fit it in, despite the whole four-kids thing! :)

That afternoon Verna and I headed to Mall Of America, just so I can say I saw it, and got some girl time and coffee.

That evening, they had organized two girls to come and watch the kids and got tickets for the four of us to go to Comedy Sportz. Was such a fun night!

Saturday - We had to make a Plan B. Rain, and plenty of it. We opted to go ride the Metro train so that the kids could experience it. The added bonus was, it was free that day! Are we frugal families or what? :)

Makin was especially thrilled about the train ride and seeing the city sites out the window. :)

They were adding another line to their train system, so they had special events going on as well. Lorelei got to meet the Storm Troopers and Princess Leah, Spot the Target dog, and the Minnesota Twin's Bear. :) What else do you have at a train-opening party? ;) (Just a reminder, Makin is NOT a fan of mascots like his sister. :))

That afternoon the dads took the Volker kids to a special Lego place and Verna and I headed out for another coffee break to one of her favorite coffee shops which also has an awesome playroom for the kids to enjoy. If I ever owned a coffee shop, it would have this...only maybe a little more organized. ;) The owner has many raving reviews on his shop and has people coming in from the suburbs to check it out.

That evening Brad and Tom went to the movies while V and I wrangled the kids to bed. And then got more chat time.

Lego Down Time

Sunday - Headed to church. Lorelei was in shock that she knew the pastor so that was kinda fun. :) A fun little tidbit around this point was that we brought Sage some of Lorelei's old clothes, including a pair of rain-boots. She was so in love with them she wouldn't even take them off to sleep at night. Was pretty fun to see and I love knowing someone is appreciating the clothes I loved to see my girl in back in the day. :)

Our Six

We headed back home after lunch. We had seen a sign on the drive there saying there were "falls" and didn't know really what that would entail, but decided it would probably be a fun memory for the kids of their Minnesota trip. We had quite the adventure and were very excited for the kids to see their first-ever waterfall. :)

Getting to the waterfall involved lots of stairs and climbing over tree roots and rocks.
Didn't phase Makin a bit. :)

It was a great ending to our visit. :)