One of Jason's great talents in life is finding super motel deals. How could we walk away from a room at the Minneapolis Hilton for $80? Especially considering it was for over Valentine's weekend. We tend to avoid the "family friendly" hotels when we travel. I have never slept a wink in one of those places. You can hear the floors upon floors of babies and toddlers crying during the night. Rather, we usually stay in more "business" type places. The pools are usually simple, no slides, bells or whistles but quiet. Quiet, with the exception of us.
AKA the perfect kind of quiet.
On Friday we took the kids to the Walker Art Gallery and spent hours roaming around the exhibits. Ava has a very distinct pattern of what she is drawn to - sparkle, glitz and glamour. And for Dane, anything mechanical, gory, or both is best. A favorite exhibit for all of us was the "benches and binoculars". The rooms in the gallery are at least 25 feet tall with work hung all the way from the top to the bottom. Benches are placed throughout the room and you simply sit and study. The kids each had a notebook and pencil and drew pictures of their favorite things. I have a nice replica of the iconic Minnesotan "Spoonbridge and Cherry" from Ava that I intend to hide away in my jewelery box. When Dane first saw the sculpture he said "I DON'T BEWLIEVE MY EYES." I still feel that way when I see it.
Saturday was reserved for the particular madness that is the Minnesota Children's Museum. That place is one of the biggest time sucks in the universe (other than Facebook) but a necessary childhood experience. Saturday morning Dane decided to throw himself to the floor in a crowded elevator, look up and say, "Our Daddy kicks us." He was quite pleased with the reaction to his little play, which encouraged him to continue doing it throughout the weekend. I started to pinpoint the exact moment when his audience's minds would wander from "what a cute funny little boy" to "hummmm should I report this?" After eating at Hell's Kitchen and taking advantage of their fake tattoo bar ("take one for each year of your life" the sign read) you could see the transition from "cute" to "report!" move at lightning speed.
Saturday night was our Valentine's date night. We dressed up and went to the Old Spaghetti Factory. The kids were super patient. Even with a reservation we didn't get to our table until 7:00. Jason came prepared with two ipods loaded with the kids favorite music. Ava danced next to her chair while she waited for her food. I swear we do not allow her to watch MTV, but with those moves you really have to wonder. I guess she was born with it. After our special meal we returned to the Hilton and the kids continued their dance show for the patrons in the lounge.
On Sunday we convinced the kids we were going to the "broccoli museum" and took off for Maple Grove. It didn't take Ava but 2 seconds to recognize the Chuckie Cheese logo on the building we pulled in front of. As fun as a "broccoli museum" sounded to all of us, Chuckie was a pretty good way to burn two hours. I didn't feel like I had much of a choice but to work in Chuckies as Ava got Dane out of the bed the other day by telling him we were going to Chuckies. We were actually going to daycare. It was not a pleasant morning at our house.
Happy Valentine's Day to you!
Goofy! Ava took this picture.
More goofy but Ava snapped on her picture face at the right time.
Sleepy little tiger with a belly full of lollipop.
After a stop at Candyland.
My funny little Valentine.
