We had to make one last bathroom stop before boarding the plane. Abby likes to wave to everyone.
Don't let this photo fool you. Abby spent a majority of the time sitting on my lap (both there and back) so her seat was mainly used for our plethora of activities we had with us.
I do not own a pair of high heels, so the girls took full advantage of wearing them while we were at my sister's house.
fun at the park...
One day, we went to the Mall of America...always a must whenever we go back for a visit.
Abby sat in the stroller for a total of about 10 minutes. She pretty much walked the entire mall with us.
We met my friend, Sarah, and her 5-year old daughter, Jenna. Even though this was the first time the girls had ever met, it felt like they'd known each other for years.
Sarah and I lived together during college (along with 5 other girls) and we hadn't seen each other in about 5 years!
I love this dinosaur Emma drew on my sister's driveway. I think we could call that a Stegosaurus.
There is a sculpture garden in Minneapolis. Just recently, some artists designed an 18-hole mini-golf course. It was very fun (and unique)!
This cherry and spoon is a very popular (and well-known) attraction in Minneapolis.
After a few nights, we then went to my mom's house and spent 7 nights there. She lives right next to a llama farm and that was a hit. We had to go out to say "hi" to the llamas each day.
Abigail absolutely loved the 2 baby llamas.
It had been many, many years since I was back on my college campus. It was great to see all of the changes at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
One of the highlights of our trip was having the girls finally meet their cousins from Washington, D.C. They got along great!
Frederick taught Abigail how to pick up ants.
We ventured out to Crystal Cave. I hadn't been there since a field trip during elementary school.
After the cave, we had a nice picnic lunch at a recreational area.
Even great-grandma did a little swinging!
That night, we went a family friend's house and the kids got to ride horses. The girls had a blast! First, though, they had to feed the horses.
It was like our own personal petting zoo. They also had a rat, snake, tortoise, ponies, and a goat.
The next day, we went trout fishing at the Eat My Fish trout farm. We got a little tour of how the trout grow from eggs to 2 years old, which is when they are put in the pond for fishing.
fishing next to cousin Oliver
It takes a lot of patience when fishing and it all paid off. Emma caught one!
She refused to give it a kiss, though.
The kids did a little swimming in my mom's hot tub.
My mom had a BBQ for family and friends. This is when I got to see so many people I hadn't seen in years.
My sister and I with Wendy, our high school tennis coach and mentor.
I hadn't celebrated Father's Day with my dad in about 15 years, so we took full advantage of the time and played a round of golf.
I can't say that Abby is potty-trained, but she goes whenever we put her on the potty. She is just not at the point when she tells us she has to go potty.
looking at grandma's flowers
feeding the birds
Then it was back to my sister's house for the remainder of our trip. Our first stop was the Minnesota Zoo. A lot of the animals were those you could find around Minnesota, with a few exceptions, of course.
We got there just in time to see the penguin feeding.
Hawaiian monk seal
sea dragons
The next day, we were off to the children's museum. We could've stayed there for hours and hours.
listening to a presentation about a snake's senses
That's Abby's little finger touching the snake.
That night, we met a good family friend at one of the 10,000+ lakes for a picnic dinner.
The girls decided to practice some yoga moves.
Do you watch Rehab Addict? I do! So I was ecstatic that we were able to drive around and look at a few of the houses on our last day.
