We arrived in Minneapolis yesterday afternoon.  We planned this trip for two main reasons.  One, to do something fun with Katy while she is visiting us from Ohio and, two, so Nova can see Jade.  As a bonus we also get to visit with my cousins, Kelly and Blake, Blake’s wife Erin and Kelly’s boyfriend Damien, my second cousin (Jade’s brother), Max and my aunt and uncle, Pete and Jodie. 

When we got here yesterday, we were a little road-weary so we ordered pizza, swam, and watched movies to unwind.

Feeling fresh this morning after some sleep, we got up early (well, early for the girls who are on “stay up very very late and sleep in until after 12pm” time) and went down for waffles and juice for breakfast.  Then we made our way to Lava Island, a new indoor playground in the area.  This playground is built for all ages which was great since we had Jade (age 2), Max (age 5), Katy and Nova (age 11) and Esme (age 14).  Adults can play too but most of us just observed.  Erin and Blake got in there though, following their littles through the structures and slides.  Kelly met us there as well and we had fun catching up.  It’s been about a year and a half since we’ve seen everyone.

We ate lunch in the food court at Lava Island. It was a very slow process and so many people were using tables just to sit at (not eating) that many people were eating on the floor.  Kelly and I managed to claim a table and a half and thankfully we did not have to eat on the floor.  The kids played again after lunch but before long, Nova was tired of the playground and asking to go back to the hotel and get ready for the mall (The. Mall.).   Kelly had already left for work and Blake and Erin said they would be up for the mall later so we made a loose plan for then.  I sadly didn’t get any pictures of them and Nova didn’t really get to bond with Jade because they were each off doing their own thing at the playground. 

I ordered some groceries back at the hotel.  We have a full fridge and kitchenette at our hotel so cooking at least one easy meal here seems like a good idea. Plus we needed water bottles and snacks too.  We then took the hotel shuttle over to the Mall of America.  The girls were all rockin’ their “fits” (short for outfits) and we all decided not to bring winter coats since we had a warm ride there and back. 

The girls immediately spotted Hot Topic and had to go there first.  This was a bigger Hot Topic than we had been to before and we spent an hour there. 

We spent a lot of that time trying to find items to buy that were part of the “buy one, get three free” clearance deal.  In the end each of the girls got a shirt for free and I got a Funko Pop figure of Freddie Mercury (more on him later).  Katy spent almost everything she came with at Hot Topic despite my warnings. 

We found Blake, Erin and kids at Barnes and Noble and then headed to Nickelodeon Universe, a small amusement park in the middle of the mall.  Max had his plan already (a kids play area), so his family headed there.  The Martins walked around the park trying to make a plan for just one ride each.  Nova and Nole decided they didn’t want to ride anything.  Katy is very adventurous and Esme less so.  In the end we did buy tickets but decided to ride tomorrow.  Besides, everyone was getting hungry as it was after 6. 

I helped keep an eye on the littles while Blake and Erin ordered their food in the food court.  Max had a sticker book keeping him busy and I brought out Freddie Mercury which Jade enjoyed playing with.  Max gave me some ideas to keep Jade busy like singing her favorite songs.  Nole and I threw in a couple of Queen songs too in honor of Freddie.  Nova got to help Jade with her drink at dinner and was smitten again.  For the last year and a half, she has always said that Jade was her favorite baby.  Now she can say she’s her favorite toddler!  I managed to forget to take a picture of this precious cousin-time moment.  Doh!

Blake and family headed home after dinner and our family finished exploring the first floor of the mall.  Earlier, at dinner, I helped Katy look at her receipt and we found out she unknowingly spent $19 on slime (she thought it was more like $7).  We decided to stop at Hot Topic on our way out and return it.  We also stopped at a Toys R Us which the kids loved. 

We called the hotel to let them know we were ready for a ride back and then realized we would have to stand outside for a bit, waiting for our shuttle.  We waited as long as we could and then ran to the meeting spot which was a small shelter about 100 yards from the entrance.  When the driver arrived and saw us huddled together in the shelter, shivering, he showed us a button that turns on a heater!  We will definitely use that tomorrow. 

We had shopped til we dropped.  We all had what I like to call “mall legs” (sore shins and feet) and we dropped into bed and fell asleep pretty quickly once we got back to the hotel.