My sister-in-law Laura has been asking constantly for me to blog about Montana. Sorry Laura, it's Minnesota but here it goes:
On the whim (the night before) Bryce decided that we were going to Minnosota to visit his brother for Spring Break. I had been asking him for a month so that I could prepare (I pack for the family) and he was completely on the fence until the night before (figures). So, he called up his brother at 10:30pm, right after he said that we were going (I made him) and he was like, "Um...is it okay if we come crash at your house?" His brother (Joe): "Sure! When?" Bryce, "How about tomorrow?" HAHA!
So...the next morning...I was so busy! Doing laundry...cleaning...running over to our neighbors to see if they could watch the cat...packing..and trying to keep tabs on Brycen who seemed to be destroying the house faster than I was cleaning it. By far, his favorite game: un-doing everything I just did. For example, as I am loading the suitcase, he is unloading it and throwing the contents off the bed....I plug in the vacuum and before I can even flip the switch on, he has unplugged it....I turn on the TV to try to distract him for a few minutes, he turns it off and preceeds to follow me (haha!)...I put a book on the bookshelf as I walk by, he follows and takes it right back off and lastly, as I pick up his toys, he LOVES to dump them out. It would be okay, if actually sat and played with them for a minute...but no, he dumps them and continues on his way.
Bryce was also busy trying to get things in order so that he could take off for the next few days so we weren't able to get on the road until about 3pm Friday and Brycen was crying before we even pulled out of our parking spot. We should've taken that as a sign...and just turned around right there. haha. Trying to keep Brycen distracted and entertained and navigating Bryce was quite the full time job, but it worked out. Chicago traffic is bad but thankfully, Brycen finally conked out by then so I could navigate Bryce without trying to out scream Brycen.
(Picture: sleeping moments are wonderful!)
We decided to stop in the Madison, Wisconsin for the night, which was over halfway there. With the time change, we arrived around 8pm and were able to eat dinner and then go swimming at the hotel. Getting a good night's rest and having free breakfast was worth it and since Bryce nor I had ever been to Wisconsin, it was cool to stay there a night.
We left about 10 the next morning and arrived at Joe's around 2 and boy ..was Brycen excited to get out of that carseat! We enjoyed the rest of the day with Joe's family and his 4 kids. Brycen sure enjoyed having siblings for the weekend. They quickly taught him how to climb stairs (something we don't have in our apartment) and he became a pro instantly. However, he still doesn't quite understand why he can go head first on the way up but not on the way down...We had to watch him carefully or else he would attempt to take nose dives down the stairs.
On Sunday, I volunteered to help Joe's wife, Juli, teach the Sunbeams at church. Boy, I have never had a calling in the Primary before and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Those kids are crazy! Haha...fresh out of nursery...sitting still is quite the foreign concept to them. But it was fun (and great exercise!) and Bryce did amazing with Brycen with Brycen conked out in his arms before church was through.
The weather was also gorgeous that day and so we went to the park.
Left Picture: Brycen playing with Daddy through the holes.
On Monday, Juli and the kids took us to see Minneapolis. We went to see Mall of America,
Lego Land in the Mall! Brycen ended up in the lego bins, watching Daddy race his car with the others.
had a picnic at the famous Cherry on the spoon,
and walked along the Mississippi River.
It was beautiful weather and quite a gorgeous city. Brycen became quite independent on this trip...however..at the most inconvenient times. For example, when we were at Joe's and everyone was just hanging around and I was trying to help make dinner, Brycen loved to be held instead of crawling and playing. But then while we spent Monday walking all over Minneapolis...Brycen all the sudden hated the stroller, hated being held, and wanted to crawl everywhere...taste testing rocks as he crawled, of course! We took a trail that was probably a mile and a half long and with five kids, we couldn't risk their patience running out before the trail was through...so we couldn't allow Brycen to crawl the whole time. Even with us holding onto his fingers as he walked...he's fast but just not as fast as the others...and I'm pretty sure we might still be on that
trail if we let him walk the entire way..getting distracted at every rock and twig along the way. So...even though he protested...we had to carry him...and when he is angry...he only wants Mommy. So, I got to carry a 30 lbs, very angry, squirmy, 10 month old for most of the day and was quite sore by the end. Bryce constantly offered to take Brycen and we tried so many times..but Brycen would scream! What a day...but what a beautiful city and we had so much fun with the nieces and nephews!
On Tuesday, we decided to do the Minneapolis History Museum (once again...Brycen would NOT
sit 
in the stoller...oh joy...), visit a former colleague of Bryce's, and go swimming with Joe's family. Brycen loves the water so swimming of course was a blast. Every night, after the kids went to bed, Joe, Juli, Bryce, and I would sit in the family room talking and it was so fun, quite enjoyable to be near family again.(There was a Walker museum in Minneapolis and an advertising poster of it can be seen with us in the picture below)
Pictures: What is the quickest way to clear your plate? Dump it overboard of course :)
On Wednesday, we headed back home. By then, Brycen started to accept his carseat a little more so the ride was SO much better. He fell asleep almost as soon as we started so I offered to drive. Bryce and I both hate driving so as hard as it was for me to offer, I did and it turned out to not be so bad. I learned that I do much better at driving as long as I am munching on something and since driving tends to make me sleepy, I tried to keep my mind active by looking at all the old barns we were passing and trying to think about what history they could hold...and then when I got bored of all that...I was thinking of all of you! I tried to imagine everyone I knew and individually, trying
to imagine what they would be doing right now...as they are in different parts of the world and experiencing different things. Sounds crazy..but hey, it worked. I stayed awake, ate way more Hershey kisses then I should, and Bryce was able to nap while Brycen napped. It was also pretty hilarious to watch Bryce's head bobble in the rear view mirror as he slept and his head would roll from side to side as the car turned. When you're that bored, it can be really...pretty entertaining...
We stopped for lunch in Madison again...and ate at A&W--first time for me and so yummy! And then Brycen fell asleep again--quite amazing and we ended stopping in Chicago for the night so we could take turns attending the temple. Bryce ended up leaving his church clothes in Minnesota though so we had the quickest, brief shopping trip ever to make it to the temple on time (starts every hour). We left the next morning after another free breakfast and returned to Sunny Indiana...the weather was amazing! Brycen did so much better in his carseat and we had so much fun that we came back feeling great and were so glad that we went! We also returned to a clean house (that is why I clean it before) so that it is not so overloading to clean the house and unpack...pretty smart, if I do say so myself :)
One downside that the trip did do...is that Brycen hates the stroller now and has suddenly become obsessed with pushing the stroller. One problem...he isn't quite tall enough so he wants to be held...but to hold him in the right position, it takes both hands and his driving ability is not quite up to par and he pushes one side more than the other...and we end up going in a circle...haha. Oh, how he wants to be so independent and do things himself but his little body holds him back and frustrates him (even though it is quite bigger than everyone else his age).
I sure hope these days come back! We are doing a BUNCH of traveling this summer!
P.S. So much for daily posts....haha. Traveling is hard...but hopefully we are back on schedule and I will be able to post again REAL soon!
