Vacation

Last time I mention our vacation. We didn't take a moment to relax, but we had tons of fun and here is a photo montage of our trip...

Como Zoo in St. Paul on Monday

Driving School at Como Town (next to Como Zoo)

Science Museum on Tuesday

Mall of America on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. A certain little mister of our has become a fan of roller coasters with his favorite being the log flume...go figure.

Getting There

I am splitting the post about our camping trip up so that I can share all the great aspects in tiny tidbits instead of one enormous post. Today is about getting there. We did what many thought wouldn't work, biked to the campground. Here is what we carried things in: kid carrier, 3 backpacks (one for each of us), and saddle bags on Adam's bike. We made sure to pack light but still be able to be comfortable.

Our packed kid carrier. Adam reinforced the bottom. There is are sleeping bags, cushions, a tent, 3 chairs and much more inside of there!

The tent and inside are all set up and the carrier is still half full.

Our hard working bikes

Little guy gets a long drink after our ride of about 6 miles.

We're all set up, now time for some fun!

Tomorrow's post will be about the fun stuff we did and if you are wondering if we actually were comfortable...other than sleeping, yes! As for sleeping, the ground was hard but not lumpy. I have really nasty bruises on my hips and ribs from sleeping on the ground those 2 nights.

Vacation

Have you ever noticed that I don't spend much time blogging about our many fantastic travels? That is because we haven't gone on a family vacation since I started this blog years and years ago! Yes, there was a 3 day trip last summer with my entire family but I don't consider them vacations, they are more work than just staying home and working.

Tomorrow starts our very first family vacation! We are all really excited and have been talking about it every day. If you will recall, we don't have a car. That doesn't mean we are homebodies that can't have fun though. We are leaving tomorrow to go camping at a campground 6 miles away with my Moms in Step group. We are staying 2 nights, then biking home. We will be home for 2 days, to allow our bottoms to heal up and to do a huge remodel, reprice, and refill of thecrazyelephantboutique.com. On Wednesday we will bike to the larger town next to us, about 15 mile, to stay in a hotel, shop, and generally relax. Followed by 2 days to recoup before getting back to normal.

It isn't a big trip by anyone's standards, but it will include all the things we want most from a vacation, relaxation, not working, and not being at home. Plus we have lots of options at both of the mini stays. The campground has a pool, petting zoo, and hiking. The town has art and children's museums, a huge craft show that 2 streets are closed for, and a pool too. I can't wait to share some of the highlights when we come back (and maybe in the middle too), but right now I have to get the house work done and the packing finished!

Our Dells Vacation

It was a CRAZY 3 days! We basically did 3 kinds of activities. We played at Magiquest, the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park, and visited the outlet mall. We drove there with my parents and my brother, sister, and her husband were there too. Adam and I also saw the midnight showing of Harry Potter which was a ton of fun! We ate out once each day and it was mostly good.

A train comes by and blows bubbles at us at Buffalo Phil's

 I will start with the food. Day 1 we went to Moosejaw Pizza. It was really over priced and our waitress was fairly rude. The food was good though. Day 2 we went to Buffalo Phil's. You need to make reservations if you want special seating, and trust me, you do! The special tables get their drinks and kid's meals delivered by remote control train! Jayne loved it and was very well behaved because he was occupied by trains the whole time. It was a high price restaurant but the food was good and the service was as well. Plus there is a lot to be said for being able to keep the kids entertained. An important note...If you get a coupon for a free train ride, DO NOT take your small children! It turned out to be an adult style roller coaster and Jayne was terrified! The last day we had lunch at Sprechers. The waitress was not very good at describing the meals and made us wait a long time before ordering. The price range was medium high but the food was a little more bland than I was hoping for.

Jayne poses with his magic wand

Magiquest was were we spent the most time. Jayne loved using his wand all over the hotel. For anyone who is not familiar with Magiquest, it is kind of like a video game. Instead of sitting in front of the TV, you actually scour the 4 floors of the building looking for the items you need for your quest. It is quite a workout as you are constantly going up and down the stairs. It was a lot of fun for the whole family. It was also a great deal. You need to buy your wand, but the $11.99 admission is all day if you are just visiting, but all stay if you are staying at the hotel. That meant 3 full days of play for our entrance fee. That was a lovely surprise! I should also mention that the "Magi name" that Jayne gave himself was Light Zodo and he got on the top charts for gold, points, and runes the first day.

Jayne poses with his wolf ears in our bedroom

We also got to spend all the time we wanted at the water park. We had a hard time with that one. Jayne doesn't like loud noises. The constant splashing sound, multiplied by the echoing interior, was a lot more than he felt comfortable with. We did get him to do some slides though and in the end, he gave in and had fun.

Jayne with the wolf in the lobby

Jayne did a great job during our stay. He had a rough time though. Since we were constantly doing things he didn't get the rest time he needed. And when we tried to get rest time in, he was distracted by all the other people staying in the 3 bedroom room. That is something we will have to consider the next time we take a trip.

I get a turn with the wolf ears

A Spammy Trip

Jayne with Spammy

Today we made a trip to the Spam museum in Austin, the spam capitol of the world! We had a lot of fun even though we have been there several times before. We staerted with some pics of all the statues in the entrance area. Jayne really liked posing with Spammy, as you can see.

Next we saw the 15 minute film in the mini movie theater. This is the first time that I have seen the whole thing. It is also the first time that Jayne sat still and kept quiet durring the whole film. That is most assuradly the reason I got to watch it.

Jayne talks on the radio mic

After the film, we got into the exhibit area. Jayne learned how to use an old (that is old as in a separate peice for the speaking and  one for listening) and also learned from his grandma that his great grandma used to be an operator and run the switch boards. That was a fun fact that was new to Adam and I as well. Jayne helped daddy pull a shipping box with a rope and had some fun interviewing meme (that would be me for first time readers) in the radio station booth. He shouted for me to come by saying "Meme Clayton Morgan!" Apparently he thought that everyone must have his same middle name.

Jayne labels a Spam can

Then it was off to the assembly line! Jayne did a great job packing spam into the cans. He was even able to get the Spam labels on all by himself this time. He packed, put the lids on, "cooked", and labeled his 6 cans in 3 minutes and 44 seconds. In his time the Austin plant produced 1,568 cans of Spam. He helped us with the spam game show after that. He pushed all the buttons that I needed him to, usually when I needed them pushed. We hit the gift shop after that and got a can of Spam to have for supper and Jayne got to have a tatoo. His grandma also let him make a smashed penny for his collection. If you ever want a great and cheap suvenir, do a smashed penny book and fill it up as you travel. Jayne loves his and is very proud of his small collection.

At the end of the trip we waited for the rest of our group (traveled with grandma, her friend, my little cousin and her friend). I let Jayne have a go at the camera. You can see his very first picture below. It was a great trip and everyone had a lot of fun. Plus grandma bought us all ice cream after. That was a perfect way to end a very fun trip!

Meme with Spammy, Jayne's very first picture!