mall of america

A while back Gary and I decided we wanted to take a trip to Minnesota to visit the Mall of America during the Christmas season. I had never been before, but he said that he went many years ago and the trip was a disaster so he was looking forward to enjoying himself this time around. We found a really inexpesive hotel right across the street. We drove up Friday morning, and other then a little crabby spurt as we got close Brienna was great. This was surprising since she is not a huge fan of riding in the car for long periods of time. I did climb in the back and play a game with her to finish the trip and she was great.

The first night we just went over to the mall and walked around. We walked through the Nickelodeon theme park, met Sponge Bob which Brienna loved. Had dinner, and went back to the hotel to lay Brienna down. The next day we got up early and had breakfast and went over to the mall to do our shopping. We started on the top level and worked our way down. Gary pretty much kept the stroller with Brienna and I did most of the shopping. The most fun was the Crocs store where I got Zach some Buzz Lightyear crocs. It was fun to see all the different styles and pick out some Jibbitz for the kids.

Brienna really was a trooper. She took her naps in the stroller, and was just real content to walk around and people watch with her Daddy. She slept next to our bed in the pack n play. We tried to put her in the corner of the room, but did not like being there when she could see us in the room, so we moved her and the first night she spent an hour poking me while I pretended to be asleep. Finally she gave up and went to sleep herself.

I love taking close little trips like this. It feels like a mini vacation, and doesn't cost too much money. Not to mention it is nice to pull away from the stress of home life!