The 8-hour trip to Minnesota is always a challenge for the squirmy.
Sister Bonding
Let the fun begin!
Death-Defying Tubing
It makes my day when I check my email to find that the kids changed my Netflix account name.
Love this place!
Bike Ride with Soph
It was a struggle to make it to the top of the hill!
One the way back, Soph learned how to ride with no hands!
Roller Blading with the Girls!
Ella liked to hold my hand for safety reasons.
It's fishing time!
Our Spot-Lock works every time!
Father-Son Bonding
Dock Fishing
We were all gathered around in the cabin when a surprised Ella came up from the dock unsure of what to do with the giant creature that took her tiny bait.
"What do I do with it?"
THEY...
KEPT...
GETTING...
BIGGER!
Even Sophie got in on the action and ended up catching a giant dog fish!
Fishing was a success!
The girls and I took a day to check out Mall of America. It was an all-day adventure filled with many stops!
First Stop: Starbucks!
There's Minneapolis!
Mom and Nitro
Second Stop: Minnehaha Falls
Third Stop: Mall of America
Fourth Stop: Minnesota's Largest Candy Store
Fifth Stop: Crumbl
Tubing Down the River
Mom: "Make sure you have your sunscreen on!"
Brock: "I'm good."
Lost shoe? Ella to the rescue!
Where did Brock go??
Waaaaaaay down the river!
Post-Tubing Fever
Mom: "Did you put on sunscreen?"
Brock: "Nope."
I am confident that Brock will never want to go tubing again.
Picture this:
It was the morning of our dismissal from Norway Beach Resort. We sadly packed our belongings to set out on the long ride home. All was well with pitstops and snacks. We even had a chance to hum some tunes every now and again to keep spirits bright and cheery. All was well until we made it to South Dakota. In an instant (mid hum to a cheery tune), we heard a loud BANG and looked in the rearview mirror to see sparks gliding across the highway behind us, while the boat trailer swayed back and forth -- out of control. We came to an abrupt stop which almost ended in a collision with the person behind us not paying attention. We slowly pulled over to the side of the road to check to see what had happened. In the midst of the 50 mph wind, we found that the wheelwell of the boat trailer broke loose, which caused one of the tires to pop, leading to the axle coming apart and us stranded on the side of the highway.
We hopped out to assess the damages. First thing's first...replace the tire. We tried to jack up the trailer 100 different ways to replace the tire in the awfully gusty wind, but it was impossible because the axle was no longer attached (you could wobble it back and forth), so there wasn't a structure to jack and levitate. We ultimately called a towing company who quoted us at THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to get the boat towed back to Crete. Not having any other options, we agreed to the tow and that was that. No more humming cheery tunes for us. At this point, we were visualizing our money just blowing out the window in the nasty wind. *sigh*
After an hour of waiting for the towing company, they finally arrived. The guy from the dispatch service was very helpful and accommodating. He suggested that rather than paying thousands of dollars for the tow, he could tow it back to his shop (10 minutes away), and they could work together to fix the trailer and tire for the ride home. DONE & DONE! We made our way to the auto parts store to get the items we needed for the fix and brought them to the tow shop. After what seemed like hours and hours, Chad helped to get the trailer and tire in working condition for the ride home. The dispatch guy only charged us labor for the time he spent on it, which was very minimal. We left there with such an appreciation for helpful and honest people. Full of gratitude, we gave him a very generous tip and we were on our way back home. We did eventually make it in one piece, but the rest of the way home involved Brock searching for new boats for Dad to buy since "this was a sign that Dad needs a new boat."
Chad bonding with Dispatch Guy
At one point, they were laughing and maybe even hugging a little bit. That's what it looked like from the inside of the vehicle, anyway.
