Minneapolis 2008

We just got back from our trip to Minneapolis earlier this week. This was Kenzie's first airplane ride and she did GREAT! From many helpful suggestions, I was prepared with new toys and new snacks to help keep her entertained for the 2 hour ride. Kenzie is generally a sweet, sweet girl and through this adventure she prooved to be nothing less. She only started crying about 10 minutes before landing in Minneapolis - that only lasted 5 minutes - then she fell fast asleep and wasn't even phased by the landing. This is how I held her from the time I stepped off the plane until my Mother-in-Law picked us up... Right after we landed we headed to a Birthday dinner for Justin's Grandma. It was her 83rd birthday and she nor the rest of the extended family had met Kenzie! They all loved her and despite my fears because of the long day we'd had, she responded well to meeting so many new people and was extremely well behaved at the restaurant too! Boy are we blessed!!

We attended an outdoor children's music concert at a nearby park...although the music was playing, it mostly served as background music to the exploring Kenzie and her Grandma did. She was a very busy little girl...

...and found many interesting things to look at.We shared a room with Kenzie at Grandma's house. This was funny because it is rare that Kenzie gets to wake up in the same room as mommy and daddy. Kenzie thought it was funny...but mommy didn't when it was 4:00am and she is standing in the crib at the end of our bed saying "Hi" and "Mommy". Okay, I'll admit, it was a funny site to see waking up to this every morning! Who wouldn't wake with a smile!? The crib she got to sleep in was actually Justin's crib from when he was a baby!We spent one day at a nearby lake. Justin's brother and his wife came to town too and brought their darling twin boys. We hadn't seen them in almost a year (they're only 3 months younger than Kenzie). The kiddos all loved playing in the sand together! Look at my bathing beauty...what a cutie if I do say so myself! I just LOVE beach pictures!
Below: Kenzie playing with cousins, Jakson and Connor and Aunt Megan.

Walking on the beach with Daddy...We spent a day of my choice shopping at the Mall of America and IKEA. I was so excited since I had never been to either one! I was thrilled that the Mall of America had one of my favorite stores, H&M!! C'mon, when does Colorado get one??

Justin's mom also treated us to the Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America. This was SO neat! I normally don't like fish all that much but this was truly amazing! (Thanks Sue!) Kenzie actually really enjoyed it too...and learned how to say "fishies", of course it sounds more like "ishies" when she says it.
Family picture in the land display portion of the exhibit:
Just a few photos of the things we got to see...

SHARKS...Yikes!
Beautiful live coral...
Piranha! Weird how they all just floated in place, evenly spaced...it was a little eerie!
Before the cousins left, Grandma wanted a picture with her three grandchildren. Not such a great morning to do it as all three had woken up on the grumpy side. When one started to cry, it was all over from there! At least Grandma Sue thought it was funny!

Later, she was able to get some sweet snuggle time in with Kenzie. I guess Kenz just prefers Grandma one-on-one...she's a cuddle bug!One of the reasons we chose this particular week to visit was for the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Justin wanted to participate in. This was his third race of the season and his first ever out of state! The family came out to watch...Aunt Janis, Uncle Jim, Jeremy & Megan & the boys, Sue, Anita, Kenzie and I. Thanks for the support everyone!

Pictures from the race:

Done with the swim, out of the water...Coming in on the bike... Finishing with the run...
All in all, we had a great time. The weather was actually quite wonderful and it was fabulous to see all of the family and let them finally meet our sweet Kenzie.

The airplane ride home was just as great as the one out there. Kenzie handled it like a champ and once again fell asleep just in time for landing. What a stinker! She was really tired though and spent the bus ride home from the airport like this...