February & April Minnesota Trips

[Seems a little bit silly to be blogging about something so long ago but I already had the first part of the post nearly done and then decided to just lump two posts together so I'm just gonna roll with it...]

We planned a trip up to Minnesota for mid February since it had been awhile since we had visited and we had a new family member to introduce!

All of my kids were excellent travelers.  I've learned a few tricks over the years and that is a) travel during nap time and b) snacks, snacks and more snacks.

Ma is an expert garage sale and swap site shopper and has collected tons of fun toys, puzzles and books for the kids to enjoy when we visit.

I do believe Tiegan has a soft spot for her Papa and the feeling seems to be mutual.

We were excited to spend some time with Grandma Carey while we visited.  I love watching my kids with her.  

Tiegan is her 14th great grandchild!

Tiegan was just starting to smile during this visit but we had to work pretty hard to work them out of her!

We took the girls one afternoon to the IKEA and the Mall with it ALL because we had promised Lainey a trip to Lego Land.  Surprisingly, she didn't remember the existence of the Disney store (thank goodness) and we had a fun time.

We are just entering the Lego love years but I have a feeling we will all enjoy them as time goes on.  It is so fun to watch their minds explore and create such intricate things.

Working on her new set when we got back to my parents.

The ride home was another adventure but we made it safe and sound.

A couple months later we ventured north again, this time to go to my cousin Kelsey's bridal shower.

We typically pit stop at a McDonalds for bathroom breaks, feeding the baby and smoothies.

Once we arrive, the first question is usually, "Can we go to the park?"  My parents live in a townhouse association with a really nice park next to it and the kids love walking down there.

She's always happy to be along for the ride!  Such a joyful little go with the flow baby.

My parents make it easy for us to visit, even with 3 kids.  It's a tight squeeze, but there's beds/cribs/pack and plays for everyone and my kids typically sleep pretty well there!

Papa makes the BEST breakfasts!

My cousin Kelsey's shower was so fun and it was great to see some extended family and introduce them to Tiegan.  Lainey absolutely adored following around my cousins big girls.  They were so sweet to her and included her all day.

Abigail and Isabel (top R and L) were our flower girls in our wedding 5 years ago.  They are growing up to be lovely young ladies!

Had to round out the day with one more park trip!

I wish my parents (and Jed's too) lived closer but it sure is fun to make a big trip out of visiting them for the weekend!  Love my little travelers!

June Minnesota Trip

We traveled to Minnesota in June to visit my parents and my sister and niece and nephew who had just arrived.  They are staying in MN for most of the summer as my brother in law is currently deployed.  We had a fabulous time.  I'll let the pictures tell the story of our trip.

These two were attached at the hip for all 4 days we were there.

Even sleeping together each and every night in the living room.

And these are just the two most handsome toddler dudes that have ever been!

One reason we traveled up that weekend was to take my Dad and Jed to the Twins versus Brewers baseball game for Father's Day.  We left the boys at home with Emily's mother-in-law and took the big girls.  They had a FABULOUS time and lasted until the 7th inning!

Their favorite part may have been the light rail rides.  It was a late night but well worth it!

We took advantage of our Blank Park Zoo membership and went to the Minnesota Zoo the next day (tickets were half price).  I have many memories going here as a kid.  It's a really nice zoo, much bigger than ours :).

I think Jed likes the zoo as much as the kids.  

It was a great trip over all.  The kids are awesome travelers and did a great job being flexible with sleeping and napping.  Can't wait for our next trip up north!

Walking in Memphis

Jed and I haven't traveled anywhere, just the two of us, since our honeymoon almost four years ago.  It's not that we don't like traveling, it's just not something we do much of and when you have two little kids, that makes it a bit tougher too.  A few months ago Jed forwarded me an email from his boss with a nomination form filled out for an award at work.  He felt pretty honored to be nominated for as he would say, "just doing his job."

A few weeks later, he called me with awesome news that he was one of the winners!  Jed does not get overly excited about much, but I could hear in his voice that he was really thrilled.  The best perk of the award?  A trip to Memphis for both of us for the awards ceremony!

I blog about this not to brag that we went on a trip, but to brag about my husband.  That's different and okay, right? :)

I, for one, was not surprised at all that he won.  Out of 11,500 employees, 40 were honored with this award.  The nomination that his boss wrote him was full of praise and explanation of the hard work that he does every day.  I can't even tell you much about his company or specific job, but I do know that leaving Nationwide for Sedgwick was a great fit for him and he really enjoys working there.

So, once we got the dates and travel itinerary, we secured someone to watch the kids (thanks a million again Mom!), we packed and off we went.

We had some trouble with flights and spent waaaay too much time in airports on our way out but it was still fun just to be together!

The awards ceremony was really nice.  I learned a lot about the company listening to the CEO talk and do a question and answer session.  He had a lot of great things to say about the award winners.

We stayed at the Peabody in Memphis, which is a really historic hotel.  It was beautiful!

The Peabody is known for the Peabody Ducks.  They have a Duckmaster who trains the ducks.  They live in their Duck Palace on the roof and each day at 11 AM, the Duckmaster leads them from their palace, to the elevator, and down to the lobby.  The walk an actual red carpet from the elevator to the fountain in the middle of the lobby.  They swim there all day and then do the same thing at 5 PM to return to their Duck Palace.  People from all over come in to the lobby each day to listen to the Duckmaster and watch the "show."  It was quite a sight!

Maybe one of the biggest highlights for me, besides honoring my husband, was the food.  First, I didn't have to share.  Second, I didn't have to cut anything up into little pieces.  And it was GOOD!  Really good!

They had all kinds of things planned for us to do to enjoy some sights in Memphis.

We toured Sun Studio which is where Elvis was discovered and many other famous musicians, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. have recorded.

We ate dinner on Beale Street one night, too.

Then, we got to tour Graceland.  Whoa.

I can't say that I'm a huge Elvis fan in so many words, but it was still really neat.  I do appreciate his music and how he changed music history.  When I think of Elvis, I think of younger Elvis, "Blue Suede Shoes," and "Heartbreak Hotel," not so much sequin jumpsuit Elvis.  But, let me tell you.... Elvis wore a lot of sequin jumpsuits.  Actually, it was really cool.  They've preserved the house just like it was when he lived there and it was neat to see his airplane, fancy cars and all of the memioribilia too.

Thankfully, our flights home went smoothly.  I was more than ready to see my babies.  This greeted us when we got home! :) :) :)

Overall it was a great trip.  I could not be more proud of my husband and we had a great time celebrating for a few days.  Thankful that he's such a hard worker and a good example to our family!