5th Anniversary Trip: The Twin Cities

Over Labor Day weekend, Nana and Papa came to watch the kiddos and Mike and I got to take a late anniversary trip to the Twin Cities. For our 1st anniversary, we took an impromptu trip to Omaha and it has started a tradition of a weekend road trip, just the two of us, to a city with a zoo. So far we have gone to Omaha, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, and now Minneapolis. We're still getting the hang of balancing activities with pure down time, but this has been our best go at it yet.

We left mid-morning on Saturday, stopped in Mason City for lunch and arrived in Minneapolis with about 45 minutes to spare before our first stop - a couple's massage. So nice to start the weekend relaxed. After that we checked into our hotel so I could pump and we could get ready to go to the Twins game that evening. They were playing the White Sox and both teams had home runs in the first inning! It was a REALLY long game, so we left early for dinner at The Local. Mike had "the best Reuben he had ever had" and helped me finish my giant plate of fish and chips - which he said made him regret his Reuben. Clearly one of the best food recommendations we've gotten - thanks Nic and Kassia!

Sunday we slept in, attempted to navigate the incredibly full hotel breakfast area (nearly joining a family reunion on accident) and played a couple rounds of Dominion. After a quick lunch, we headed to the Minnesota Zoo. The weather could not have been better, warm and overcast, with just enough chance of rain to scare away some of the young families. We had a great time walking at an adult pace and I only teared up at the baby snow monkeys once. After the zoo we headed to the Mall of America to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Shop, since neither of us had ever had it.

Making me miss my baby...

...and then not so much. Sometimes I'm thankful to EP!

One more 10 hour night's sleep and we were packing up to head home. After checking out, we went back to the MoA to just walk around (read: Pokemon Go) before driving home. We got home to a full fridge, completed stair railing, and lots of snuggles. It may have destroyed the kids' sleep schedules for about a week, but now that they're back on track, it was definitely worth it. Take care of your marriages friends - they'll still be there when the kids move out. Plus, then the kids get to bond with their grandparents!