As part of C's birthday gift for turning four...and as a kickoff to a great summer...I planned a quick mid-summer getaway to Minneapolis to catch a ballgame in the city. We love taking memorable trips with our littles and creating memories together as a family, so taking the kids to their first Major League baseball game, the Minnesota Twins vs. the Boston Red Sox, and a visit to the Minnesota Zoo where just the ticket for some summer fun. We don't typically travel too much in the summer months since we live in what you might call a 'summertime tourist destination', but it is always fun to sneak away for a couple of days for an extra special adventure. In preparation for our getaway, I ordered the books 'My First Book of Baseball' and 'Goodnight Baseball' to get the boys excited about our trip. S, being not quite three months old, was mostly just along for the ride, but I'm quite sure she had a great time on our first 'big' overnight in a hotel with all three kiddos!
The trip started off with a bang on our first night in town, and after getting checked in to our hotel, we had a great time exploring the Mall of America and enjoying some yummy food. The boys had fun visiting Legoland (ok...ok...this was mostly T), before heading to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe inside the mall. Both C & G LOVED the Hard Rock, and had such a great time. G was living his best life and rockin' along to the music videos all while scarfing down chicken strips as fast as he could, while C completely wiped his guitar-shaped plate clean of the old stand-by Mac & cheese. G wasn't quite ready to be done when everyone else was as he was too busy dancing around the table to the great tunes, so he may have had to bring a 'roadie' chicken strip with him for the ride back to the hotel. LOL. We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington for this trip, and the kids LOVED it. The hotel has tons of kids stuff to do (indoor waterpark, bowling, kids shows, donut shop, etc), and they LOVED that there were bunk beds in our room. We did not partake in the indoor activities on this trip since we visited during the summer and the weather outside was beautiful, but I have a hunch we will be back again sometime during the endless months of cold weather for another visit! Can't recommend enough if you are traveling with little people! Did I mention this place is right next to the Mall of America? #winwin
The trip started off with a bang on our first night in town, and after getting checked in to our hotel, we had a great time exploring the Mall of America and enjoying some yummy food. The boys had fun visiting Legoland (ok...ok...this was mostly T), before heading to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe inside the mall. Both C & G LOVED the Hard Rock, and had such a great time. G was living his best life and rockin' along to the music videos all while scarfing down chicken strips as fast as he could, while C completely wiped his guitar-shaped plate clean of the old stand-by Mac & cheese. G wasn't quite ready to be done when everyone else was as he was too busy dancing around the table to the great tunes, so he may have had to bring a 'roadie' chicken strip with him for the ride back to the hotel. LOL. We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge in Bloomington for this trip, and the kids LOVED it. The hotel has tons of kids stuff to do (indoor waterpark, bowling, kids shows, donut shop, etc), and they LOVED that there were bunk beds in our room. We did not partake in the indoor activities on this trip since we visited during the summer and the weather outside was beautiful, but I have a hunch we will be back again sometime during the endless months of cold weather for another visit! Can't recommend enough if you are traveling with little people! Did I mention this place is right next to the Mall of America? #winwin
After what I would call a successful first hotel stay with our crew (everyone slept through the night!), the boys were on a hot mission for 'coffee' (a.k.a. milk in a coffee cup) and a muffin before heading out to the ballgame at Target Field with my parents. They were in complete awe of the stadium, and we were so thankful to have a beautiful afternoon to catch a game. G kept himself entertained mostly by munching his way through the majority of the concession stand options, and C enjoyed watching the players and picking up on some new tricks for his baseball play at home. S slept for the greater part of the game, and enjoyed being passed between everyone finding the most comfortable napping spot. For anyone planning to attend a game with an infant, Target Field does have a very comfortable - air-conditioned - Mother's Lounge for nursing/pumping, and you can check your stroller inside at the same location. Love when major athletic facilities make these games more accessible to new mothers!
The next morning, G woke up and immediately wanted to know if we were going to a ballgame again. It was so cute how he was asking everyone to 'go ballgame', and we are so glad that he had such a memorable time that he wanted to go back! After getting everything packed up and checked out of our hotel, we opted instead to hit up the Minnesota Zoo before heading home, and the boys had a great time exploring the various habitats. Favorites were definitely the sea otters, monkeys, and penguins...and maybe the lemonade. Ha! The zoo proved to be just the right amount of quality time to spend before packing into the car to head home after a great first getaway as a family of five!
What is life but one GRAND ADVENTURE!
