Three States

Our stop in WI was brief but nice. We stayed at a city campground in River Falls, which was connected to to a fantastic playground. Our first order of business this morning was to visit Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery and purchase some cheese and cheese curds.

When in Wisconsin...

Then, we headed back into MN to visit the Mall of America and grab a "Jucy Lucy" (not a typo) at Matt's bar for lunch. After lunch, we continued on our way to see the much anticipated "biggest ball of twine in Minnesota." Thank you, Weird Al, for the tip. The one disappointment with the latter for some of our group was that we were unable to find some pickled weiners along the way, though we did give it our best shot.

The Lego Store at the Mall of America was a huge hit!

The kids held Jeff to his promise to ride a ride.

Clay wanted to ride with the big kids but
quickly lost his happy face on this one.

This was a little more Clay's speed

Big swings are always fun

The food to try in MN: The Jucy Lucy

The biggest ball of twine in Minnesota

The goal was to get to ND by the end of the day, so we could check that state off our list. We have a personal rule not to check a new place off our list unless we have an experience--a meal, an activity, an attraction--there. I wasn't expecting our activity for ND to be laundry, but when undies start to become sparse, that's the activity the takes priority. We did also work in dinner in the state as well, before moving on to SD, so it wasn't all business.

Road trip win: A laundromat directly across the
street from an awesome park and playground!

Doc's Pub and Eatery operates out of the bottom
floor of a disused church in Hankinson, ND

Silver Dollar City

 Part county fair, part historic village, part theme park, and part variety show, Silver Dollar City is all fun! And, we were fortunate to get to visit during the Bluegrass and BBQ Festival, which meant good food and great music were easy to come by. Additionally, the kids got to ride all kinds of thrilling rides, and we got to watch some artisans, like glassblowers, blacksmiths, and woodworkers do their thing. It was such a wonderful day!

Just a swingin'

That time my seemingly innocent son unbuckled his seatbelt while the ride was in motion "because it was a slow ride, and there wasn't really a reason to wear a seatbelt," which caused the operator to shut down the ride, call park management, write up a report, recheck everyone's seatbelt, and restart the ride, and almost caused me to lose it from the other side of the fence.

The boys got invited into one of the food kiosks to help make succotash. If only they had had some big pans to work with!

The boys loved watching the blacksmith work.

Frog Races

A hand-powered ride

I'm pretty sure someone is going to get wet!

At the last show of the evening, the kids were invited up on stage to dance with the performers.
When Clay saw them break out the hula hoops, he made a beeline for the stage.
However, he reversed just as quickly when he saw all the hula hoops were already taken. 

Six Flags and Oklahoma

Today was homeschool day at Six Flags, and we've had our tickets for probably more than a month and have been eagerly anticipating the day. It was great to be there on a day when it wasn't too hot and when the lines were much shorter than normal. We barely saw the three oldest kids all day, as they were off riding one thrilling ride after another. Jeff and I spent most of our time with Clay near the huge playground and the smaller rides, which he was tickled he was big enough to ride all by himself. He did manage to ride a few of the bigger rides with his siblings and us.

Three Watts in a car built for two.

Clay finally allowed me to ride one with him!

Making new friends and having a blast

Clay's first solo ride

Hands up the whole time

When the park closed, we made a run for the border, so we could have dinner and bed down for the night in OK, our first state of our multi-state summer tour.

Dinner in OK

Weekend Recap

On Friday, Clay turned six. We celebrated with a trip to Dinosaur World in Glen Rose. Nana met us there, and we enjoyed the beautiful morning amongst the dinos and fossils and then paused for Chick-fil-A, birthday cake, and presents, before getting in some awesome playground time. In the afternoon, Nana and I took Ruth to her riding lesson via Starbucks, while Jeff and the boys returned to the house. After the lesson, I drove my Mom over to Plano to visit a family friend in the hospital. Traffic was all there, and we took the same wrong turn twice, but we enjoyed the time together and eventually made it to where we were going and back again. We ended the day with a very small Cinco de Mayo party, which included several bags of tacos and sides from Taco Ocho. Our evening entertainment was trying on all our fancy cruise clothes for Nana. When the kids found out there were a couple of "gala nights" aboard the boat, they all agreed (which is a miracle!) that we should definitely get formals and go all in. They have been giddy with excitement in the picking out of their clothes and shoes and are eager to try them on every chance they get!

Birthday Morning

Party at Dinosaur World

We're so fancy!

Saturday, Weston and Clay had their last games of the spring season, but the times overlapped, so we had to divide and conquer. Mom stayed with Weston and got to watch his championship game, while I took Clay to his baseball game. Weston's team made FloMo youth football history by not only coming away with the victory but also ending their season without ever being scored on. Weston absolutely loved playing on the Rebel team and will miss the fantastic coaches and amazing team he was a part of this year. Max also had a baseball game, and Ruth had a make-up riding lesson, so it was a busy day but lots of fun. Mom left shortly after all the sports were finished up, and Jeff and I snuck in our last date before the summer road trip, which promises to be full of epicness but will not offer much in the way of privacy!

Undefeated and never score on! Way to go Rebels!
(Picture borrowed from my friend Tracey, who is the team mom and always takes amazing photos of our team.)

Trophies and cupcakes to end the season

Yesterday, we spent the entire day packing and checking and double-checking our various lists, in preparation for our departure later this week. Everyone's suitcase is now at least 90% packed, and our little RV is stuffed to the gills and ready to go. We will either leave on Wednesday or Saturday, depending on how Max's game goes tomorrow.

Ready to Road Trip!

Universal Studios: Day Three

On our third and final day at Universal, we revisited some of the places we loved, like Harry Potter World, Woody Woodpecker Kidzone, the Curious George ball room, and the bigger roller coasters. But, we also worked in some new sights, a few shows, and a very late dinner at CityWalk. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Universal and would definitely recommend it, especially if you have Harry Potter fans in your midst.

Scooby Doo, where are you?

The ball room was Clay's favorite

Getting ready for the hilarious horror make-up show
by posing with (and like) a dinosaur

The Sponge Bob Parade

Clay made some new friends

The Despicable Me Parade

Sinbad's EighthVoyage

Rival houses, but truly friends

Clay had so much fun talking with the interactive fountain

Last hurrah at Antojitos

Universal Studios: Day Two

On our second day at Universal, we ventured outside of Harry Potter World. Ruth and Weston rode their favorite ride, The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, over and over, while the younger guys split their time between the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster and the Curious George splash park and ball room. Later, we all met up again to explore some other parts of the park. Somewhere between Woody Woodpecker Kidzone and Springfield U.S.A. we lost a child for a heart-stopping 10 minutes. When he was found, it was definitely time for a drink at Moe's (from the Simpsons). Then it was on to Seuss Landing for some very silly fun. The day ended with several water rides and dinner at a wonderful Italian place at Universal CityWalk.

Max and Clay were thrilled to see a real live transformer

Clay and Sponge Bob shared a moment

Clay and Max's favorite ride was the Woody Woodpecker ride,
and they rode it over and over and over. 

Curious George's splash town was a big hit with the younger guys

Max and Clay wanted to spend most of their time in the enormous ball room

About the time we stopped to look at these Back to the Future relics
was when we discovered Clay was no longer with us.
I was definitely wishing I could go back in time by about 10 minutes!

Duff's Brewery and drinks at Moe's

Fun at Seuss Landing

Ending the day with a splash
(and then stepping into the people dryer)

Universal Studios: Day One

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of adventure and excitement, which began at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We had so much fun and loved it much more than our trip to Disney World a few years ago. If you are a Harry Potter fan, it is a place that should definitely put on your bucket list, in my opinion. You truly get the sense that you are in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and the experience really does feel magical. The bulk of our first day was spent in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and we really couldn't get enough of it. We did eventually move on to other sections of the park, but Harry Potter World was truly special and a place we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Universal Studios Orlando

Number 12 Grimmauld Place
(Can you spot Creature peeking out the window?)

The Littlest Wizard

Escape from Gringotts was a very cool ride,
and that dragon really breathes fire!

Taking a butterbeer break

Ready to board the Hogwart's Express

Lunch at The Three Broomsticks

Clay and Max really loved The Flight of the Hippogriff ride
and never missed a chance to say hello to Buckbeak.

The one souvenir Clay especially wanted was a real wand.
Here he is casting the "lumos" spell. 

The Hogwart's Castle was amazing, even though the ride made my head spin.

Eventually, we made it over to Jurassic Park

T-Rex on the loose

On Marvel Super Hero Island, Jeff and the younger guys
rode the Storm Force ride several times.

Meanwhile, Ruth and Weston were obsessed with the Hulk ride.