road trip

so, we went on a little road trip...

if you can call a 2 hour drive a road trip

but, hey  - when you've got three littles in the backseat, anything other than going to the grocery store qualifies as a road trip, right?

it started out as any road trip should...with a snooze

 the drive was beautiful, just skirting along the banks of the mississippi river

in no time, j and i had chatted our way through red wing and to wabasha...home of the film "grumpy old men"

we checked into our hotel and dashed over to kellogg, mn

where we visited lark toys

there were so many treasures to discover here!

they make their own wooden toys, as well as selling most any toy you can imagine - it was like being at santa's workshop!

the girls weaved around the store, finding oodles of fun stuff and in each department, there were play stations where you could try out all the goodies

some highlights were the hats, play kitchen, dolls and tea party station

but, my favorites were the puppets...

when we heard the bell ring, we knew we were only minutes away from something magical.

for just $2, you can get yourself one of these tokens:

which will get you through the gate and onto a breath-taking carousel

all the animals are hand-carved from minnesota trees

some favorites were the rooster, flamingo, goldfish and otter

we scored jelly beans and giant gumballs at the candy shop

and let's not forget about the rainbow deliciousness at the ice cream parlor

we survived a few tulip temper tantrums as we had to steer her away from the present goodness she was enjoying to show her that there were more things to enjoy just around the corner

we told the girls they could each pick out a toy

i was imagining they'd want something really fancy

but, we got by cheap

they each wanted a small doll and a hula hoop, which cost us just $23...and resulted in smiles like the one you see here:

all that exploring and playing made us hungry, so we headed to slippery's tavern, where parts of the "grumpy old men" were filmed

the restaurant wasn't fancy, but we enjoyed outdoor seating right on the river front and the food was TASTY!

with bellies full, we headed back to the hotel to satisfy Tulip with a dip in the pool

then snuggles in the cozy hotel beds

the girls were spoiled once again with cable TV and got to watch some shows that we don't get at home

the night went smoother than i'd imagined and we woke up to continental breakfast and more swimming

then it was off to see the rest of wabasha

we had yumm-o pizza at "the flour mill"

and took a walk along the river

before heading home, j was kind enough to take me here, where i totally gave in to my sweet tooth

chocolate covered pretzels for the littles and cashew/pecan turtles for the bigs were the perfect way to end a sweet, sweet trip

we don't often spoil our kids like this

typically, we keep them away from expensive toys, loads of TV and heaps of sugar

but every once in a while, we like to pour on the special...

doing something like this is an exercise in goodness

lavishing our children with more than they deserve makes my heart glad

as i delight in watching their faces light up with each new treat, i get a glimpse into the heart of Father God

 the Giddy God who sings over us, who pours over us the gifts that we could never earn

can't wait to do it again....