Our time spent with grandparents

This last Tuesday, my husband's grandparents drove up to visit. It is wonderful they are still able to get around just fine, and drive themselves to distant cities to visit grandchildren.


After they arrived on Tuesday evening, we took them to the casino buffet for supper. After we had stuffed ourselves full, they insisted everyone should get a dollar for the slot machines. Other than a powerball ticket a couple times, I have never gambled. I really didn't want to, however they insisted and I caved. I sat down, put in my dollar a penny machine and started winning. Even a penny at a time, I was around $6 at one point. With the four of us, we put in around $9.00 and came out with around $40. Surprisingly, it was kind of fun. Well, maybe more exciting.



Wednesday morning, we made them breakfast and then headed out to the Mall of America. They had never been there and wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It was fun showing them all the unique stores, and theme park in the middle of the mall! Grandma saw the Build a Bear workshop and just had to try it out. I felt completely silly, however she loved it. For those of you that have never done this, it is quite the experience. You first pick out a bear... well, "skin". You can pick out a voice box, or proceed to the fluff station. I opted to go for a bear that didn't make noice, however grandma picked one out for her's. Then, the bear maker helper assisted us in stuffing our bear. Then we each got to pick out a heart for our bear. I went with a plain one, but grandma, wanting the full experience, went for the heart that actually sounds like a beating heart when squeezed. Then, there was a heart ceremony. The helper had us hold our bear's heart, rub it in our hands to warm it up, and then on our hearts for love, our ears for listening... etc. In the end we had to jump up and down, and spin in a circle. After this was over, we put our bears' hearts in our bears, along with ids (then if lost, they can track whose bear it is and return it), and they got sewn up. After all of this, we gave our bears a 'bath', and also had the option of purchasing clothing (which we passed up). We then named our bears, received bear birth certificates, and were on our merry way. I did feel silly, however I have to admit, it was kind of fun! :-) I think my husband and grandpa were much more embarrassed than I.


For dinner, we took them to the Rainforest Cafe. This was fun, however by this time, we were getting worn out. After eating, we decided to stop by a park for fresh air and to enjoy the weather. This didn't last too long, as the rain came in. We headed back to our apartment for the afternoon. We were all sleepy, however grandpa and I feel asleep while my husband and grandma looked at our Niagara Falls photos.


We didn't get a lot of rest time, as before we new it, we needed to head out to "Walking with Dinosaurs". The show was amazing! I couldn't believe the technology, and production that was put into this! However, after looking more at the webpage for it, with a $20 million budget, I could do a lot too! Grandma loves everything dinosaurs, and seemed to really enjoy the show.


I have a few photos from the show posted here. Plus, I'm adding a couple video clips below. If you haven't seen this, I would highly suggest it! It is about 90 minutes, plus intermission. The show takes you through the evolution of dinosaurs, showing the most common one's during the different periods. We had tickets about mid level, however I'm not sure if having a lower seat would have made the show better.












After the show, we did a quick stop at Culver's and headed home. They left for home on Thursday morning, and my husband had to work. I spent the day getting ready to visit my family over the weekend and napping :)


Friday my husband and I drove to my parent's. We will spend Saturday at the Centennial celebration for the local community, and then my sister's bridal shower. Sunday we will do the return drive home.


It is great to see everyone, however I'm ready for a few days to sit around and not worry about anything... maybe next week. :-)