Girls Trip

Just like every other year, Mother's Day weekend happens to fall on fishing opener. The boys have their annual fishing tradition in Baudette, MN, so my Mom and I decided to continue with our own tradition this year and enjoy a long weekend in Missouri. Can you say, girls trip?

We were just down in Missouri a few weeks ago, but this long weekend has been scheduled for months unlike our last trip. After our last airplane experience, I was a little nervous about Harper. I was dreading the terror on her face, and the loud shrieks. One positive, our flight took off Thursday afternoon at 3pm so I was hoping by holding off on nap time - she would take advantage of the hour and 15 minute flight time and get a little shut eye. 

We boarded the plane without any issues, and Harper jumped up in her seat to buckle up. Her enthusiasm and excitement was contagious. I offered her the iPad to distract her during takeoff - she rarely declines iPad time. Unfortunately, as we were preparing to takeoff the pilot came over the speaker with a warning. We were traveling through a thunderstorm, so we may experience more turbulence than usual - perfect. Takeoff went really smooth, there was no screaming and no shrieking. There were a few drops where her eyes nearly popped out of that lil' head of hers, but within 15 minutes her head was rested on my shoulder and her eyes were closed. She slept the entire flight, while my fingers went numb and I couldn't feel my right arm. :) We landed in St. Louis around 4:30pm and Harper woke up shouting her infamous line, "We did it! The airplane was fun!"  

My Aunt Joan and Grandpa picked us up from the airport and we were immediately off to Betty's high school soccer game. After experiencing St. Louis traffic, we made it to Hillsboro with enough time to watch the last 13 minutes of the game. It was a heartbreaker, since Betty's team unfortunately lost - but Harper enjoyed every minute of being outside in the 80 degree weather. She picked every dandelion she could find in the short amount of time we were there. Her little fingers could barely grip the wad of weeds she had. After convincing her to leave the "flowers" behind, we were off to Pizza Junction for dinner. It's no Pogolino's, but it was still pretty tasty. Once we got to my grandparents house, we were all pretty exhausted. It was a long day, but I was looking forward to the long weekend. 

Harper woke up at her normal time Friday (around 7am) and we were excited to see sunshine. After a quick breakfast, my Mom, Harper and myself walked down to Walther's Park. It's a 18 acre park that's right along a creek just steps from my grandparents front yard. As a kid, I spent many days down on the playgrounds and playing youth sports in the park fields. Clearly things have been updated since then, but it was still pretty neat to have her play at my old stomping grounds. We spent nearly and hour and a half outside running up and down the slides, climbing the structures, riding slimy the worm and checking out fish in the creek. Oh and picking dandelions, shocking. :) It was a beautiful morning, and spending it at the park with Harper made it that much better.

Friday was also Aunt Joan's 49th birthday, so clearly we had to celebrate. Every Friday she goes Los Portales Mexican Restaurant for margaritas and dinner. It only seemed appropriate we continue this ritual for her birthday celebration. After countless margarita's (I just admired them, while drinking my water), too many baskets of chips and salsa and some delicious food the fiesta was in full force. Aunt Joan capped off her Los Portales night with birthday tequila shot and giant sombrero on her head. It was priceless.

The party continued at Grandpa's with a bonfire and smores. Aunt Joan's pit stop to Wal-Mart for a fire pit was brilliant, and we enjoyed watching her struggle put it together. Grandpa came to the rescue and constructed the fire pit. It wasn't long until a fire was blaring and our lawn chairs were gathered around.  There were lots of laughs and stories swapped. The tunes were blaring and Harper was on a dancing mission. What a great way to end our first day in town.

Saturday we had plans to go to Grant's Farm. It's sort of a weekend staple for us, and it's a cheap fun thing to do. For only $12 per car, you get admission to the historic farm. We started our trip with a tram ride through the grounds. The tour guide points out Ulysses S. Grant's old cabin and little historic factoids. Not to mention the numerous animals that roam wild. Harper loved the tram ride, and I'm pretty sure she didn't stop talking the entire time. At one point the tour guide said, "oh it looks like the antelopes are hiding from us." Seconds later, Harper was screaming, "Antelopes, where are you? Come out antelopes!" 

We finally arrived at the farm, and were eager to see the animals. We started off with the baby goats. Since everyone else was trying to feed them bottles, Harper and I just entered the gates on a mission to find the calm goats. Goats totally freak me out, so every time I'm surrounded by them I get a little uneasy. Harper and I made a beeline for the big group of sleeping babies. I quickly decided I don't mind sleeping goats. Harper was excited to pet them, and even a "gentle" pet from a 2-year old didn't made these animals move. 

While wandering the rest of the grounds - we saw the parrots, monkeys, kangaroos, guinea pigs, flamingos, elephants and zebras. Harper even fed the camel and llama, which she thought was the coolest thing ever! After a quick lunch and a much needed sno-cone, we were back on the tram headed to the car. Before we left we made a pit stop in the gift shop, where Harper picked out a commemorative Llama stuffed animal. We couldn't leave without seeing the main attraction, the Budweiser Clydesdale horses. It was another beautiful day, and a fun experience for all of us.

The weekend flew by, like I knew it would. We woke up Mother's Day morning and started packing and getting ready. Aunt Joan was hosting a lunch at her house, but since we were leaving for the airport straight from there - we had to get all our stuff together. It was my Mom's first Mother's Day without my Grandma. I know we all thought about her all weekend, especially Sunday. I'm sure she was watching over us. Over the weekend, we went through her old clothes and Aunt Joan even modeled some doozies we found. 

Lunch was great, and the weather was beautiful yet again. It's obvious I've lived in Minnesota most of my life. The humidity seemed unbearable, and it's only early May. I also came to the realization I'm not very excited to finish the last few months of this pregnancy in the scorching summer heat. In the 80 degree humid temperatures I experience last weekend, my toes and fingers looked little like sausage links and I was constantly sweating. It was not a pretty sight. It might be a long summer. I see a lot of air conditioning in my future. 

It was a great long weekend in Missouri, and it was fun seeing family as usual. Grandpa watched his fair share of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora and Little Einsteins and never complained once. Harper ate most of his cookies during our visit, but he just sat there with a smile on his face. He was a wonderful host, and we couldn't be more thankful he let us stay with him. 

Although it was a great trip, we were eager to get home. The flight home was smooth, minus the insane turbulence we experience during our descend. It was so intense, people's beverage cups flew out of their hands and there were screams and curse words from our neighboring passengers. Harper never screamed, but her eyes did get pretty big. After all the commotion, she looked at me and said, "I didn't like that." I could only smile and say, "me either!" On her fourth flight in the last month, I think we finally have a comfortable flyer on our hands. She did wonderful all weekend, it was a great Mother's Day with my lil' girlie and Mom.

While we were in Missouri, I got a text from Mitch showing me his money fish! A 29 inch walleye weighing 9lbs, he was pretty excited. It sounds like the boys had a nice trip, but like us - were ready to get home. We sure did miss him while we were away. 

Hope all the Mother's had a great day, I know I did.

Until next time, 

The Helleen's