On the Road Again

Day two of our little family vacation got off to an early start, of course.  Who can sleep when there's a swimming pool a hundred feet from your room?!  So after a little breakfast and some time spent in the pool, we loaded up for our journey to Minneapolis.  Prior to the loading, Calvin begged us to, "go in the car!"  However, after about 10 minutes in the car, he pleaded, "I wanna get out!"  Typical.  

I had to take a picture of this restaurant in Fergus Falls because this is something that has always bugged me.  Have you ever seen a sign for a Mexican restaurant that DOESN'T claim on the sign to be an "Authentic Mexican Restaurant"?  

Once again, Natalie made nary a peep on the 3-hour trip from Fargo to Minneapolis.  I unfortunately remember the days when she would scream incessantly while in her car seat.  We certainly wouldn't have chosen to go on a family vacation in those days and that makes me sad.  I'm so happy our pretty little girl can enjoy life much more now.

Please let the records show that MY HUSBAND, PERRY OLSON, MADE THE SUGGESTION TO STOP IN...............ALBERTVILLE.

That's right, Perry CHOSE to stop by the outlet store shopping mecca that he complains about each time we travel to Minneapolis.  He can't blame it on me this time.  I'm so glad we stopped, though, because I found lots of cute clothes for the kids at Crazy 8, and Calvin got a chance to run around on such a beautiful day.

He was ready to get out of the car!  So was I, honestly...and so was Natalie.

At the Albertville outlets, enjoying the sunshine!

I love it when the kids take a picture together, because Calvin just adores Natalie and wants to hold her hand, or give her a kiss, or lay his head on her shoulder.  I have the sweetest kiddos.

Upon arriving in Minneapolis, we dropped off our stuff and headed right to a Granite City restaurant in Roseville.  Why Roseville?  Well, only because three of our FAVORITE NICU nurses were there to meet us!

L to R:  Kate, Natalie, Tara and Lisa

 These are the nurses who cared for Natalie in her darkest hours, and there is simply not an adequate way to thank them enough for all they did to save our daughter.  Kate, on the left, was the first nurse we met from Fairview.  She came to Minot on the flight to bring Natalie to Minneapolis.  Little did we know that she would become such a good friend later on.  Tara was the first nurse we met in Minneapolis.  Upon arrival, we were shocked to see Natalie in such a horrible state.  Tara was at her side, constantly checking monitors and administering drugs, and never losing her cool.  She was amazing.  I spent many late nights in the NICU, after everything had quieted down, having great conversations with these two and other nurses.  Lisa spent a ton of time with Natalie, too.  We loved her kind, nurturing soul.  She took such good care of Natalie, that it was so hard to say goodbye when Natalie came back to Minot.  We'll never forget these amazing nurses, or what they did to keep Natalie alive.  I'm so glad they're all in Minneapolis, so we don't have to travel too far to see them.  We love you, girls!  Thank you, again, for getting together with us on such short notice!

After a nice meal, we got back into the car to head back to our hotel.  We drove by downtown Minneapolis, which amazed Calvin.  That inspired Perry to drive by the airport, which is near our hotel.  Unfortunately, this is what we saw in the back seat as we passed the airport:

I don't blame him...I felt the same way, too.  We were all in bed by 9:15.

We're looking forward to tomorrow...Como Zoo and the Mall of America amusement park are on the agenda.  Yay for family time!