Matthew is working again today, so the kids and I decided to head back to the Mall of America for a second go around. This time we wanted to explore all 4 levels, and the kids *really* wanted to do some shopping. It's painful to have money burning a hole in your pocket!
We headed straight to the Lego store for Killian to pick out a couple Lego sets that he had his eye on. This store was bigger than the one at home, and they had a few Technic sets that we had only seen online before. He ended up buying two sets that he was really excited about - and then he suffered through the rest of the time at the mall, super anxious to get home and get started building!
The next stop was the Rainforest Cafe, which we had explored on our first trip to the MOA. They had a Build a Bear store right inside the cafe, and Rowan had seen a couple animals that she wanted to take a closer look at. She ended up picking out a limited edition Red Fox, and went through the whole process of stuffing, giving it a heart and naming it. This was her first Build a Bear, and she loved every minute of the process, especially giving her fox a brushing at the end:
She decided that he should be a boy, and named the little guy "Foxy". If you've ever been to Build a Bear before, you know that they don't let you out of the door until you have purchased accessories for your animal, so we had to pick up a T-Shirt and shorts for the little fellow. I think we have just stumbled onto a very expensive habit!
We finished exploring the mall, and headed back home for lunch. We hung around the apartment building Lego's and playing with Foxy until Matthew got home from work. We were relaxing and cooking dinner when all of a sudden a ear splitting shrieking noise filled the air and the fire alarm lights in the apartment started flashing. Matthew rolled his eyes - apparently the alarms have gone off at least 2-3 times a week since he has been there! Someone always burning their dinner I suppose. We trooped downstairs with the rest of the tenants, and waited on the lawn for the firemen to go through the building and ensure there was no danger:
Crappy cell phone pic, but you get the idea! There were three fire engines, two police cars and an ambulance. Luckily, everything checked out okay and we were all able to go back inside. We finished up dinner, and then headed down to Grand Avenue. It's a cool old area of St. Paul, with lots of funky shops and a hipster vibe. We walked around for a while, and decided spur of the moment to stop into the old theater and catch a showing of The Avengers! Its a movie we have all wanted to see since it came out, but were waiting until we were all together again to do so. It was hard to tell if Matthew or the kids were more excited. ;)
It was past 10 by the time we got home, so it was straight to bed to rest up for another great day in the Twin Cities!
We headed straight to the Lego store for Killian to pick out a couple Lego sets that he had his eye on. This store was bigger than the one at home, and they had a few Technic sets that we had only seen online before. He ended up buying two sets that he was really excited about - and then he suffered through the rest of the time at the mall, super anxious to get home and get started building!
The next stop was the Rainforest Cafe, which we had explored on our first trip to the MOA. They had a Build a Bear store right inside the cafe, and Rowan had seen a couple animals that she wanted to take a closer look at. She ended up picking out a limited edition Red Fox, and went through the whole process of stuffing, giving it a heart and naming it. This was her first Build a Bear, and she loved every minute of the process, especially giving her fox a brushing at the end:
She decided that he should be a boy, and named the little guy "Foxy". If you've ever been to Build a Bear before, you know that they don't let you out of the door until you have purchased accessories for your animal, so we had to pick up a T-Shirt and shorts for the little fellow. I think we have just stumbled onto a very expensive habit!
We finished exploring the mall, and headed back home for lunch. We hung around the apartment building Lego's and playing with Foxy until Matthew got home from work. We were relaxing and cooking dinner when all of a sudden a ear splitting shrieking noise filled the air and the fire alarm lights in the apartment started flashing. Matthew rolled his eyes - apparently the alarms have gone off at least 2-3 times a week since he has been there! Someone always burning their dinner I suppose. We trooped downstairs with the rest of the tenants, and waited on the lawn for the firemen to go through the building and ensure there was no danger:
Crappy cell phone pic, but you get the idea! There were three fire engines, two police cars and an ambulance. Luckily, everything checked out okay and we were all able to go back inside. We finished up dinner, and then headed down to Grand Avenue. It's a cool old area of St. Paul, with lots of funky shops and a hipster vibe. We walked around for a while, and decided spur of the moment to stop into the old theater and catch a showing of The Avengers! Its a movie we have all wanted to see since it came out, but were waiting until we were all together again to do so. It was hard to tell if Matthew or the kids were more excited. ;)
It was past 10 by the time we got home, so it was straight to bed to rest up for another great day in the Twin Cities!