cousin-palooza

Ten days of cousin time was not enough, so when the girls flew home their cousins came too! They all arrived with a list of all the things they wanted to do in Minnesota, and we wasted no time crossing off the list.

We made our first stop the Mall of America. It's funny because this didn't even cross my mind until one of the kids mentioned how excited they were to go to the Mall of America. To us it's just a mall that we've been to a hundred times, so I forget that it is pretty unique. Fun fact for Austin - MOA opened in 1992. It is the largest mall in the United States, the largest mall in the Western Hemisphere, and the 12th largest mall in the world.

We introduced them to Juicy Lucys.

We bought candy (lots of candy) at Minnesota's Largest Candy Store.

We ate hot dogs and roasted marshmallows on the deck.

We spent a morning at the ninja warrior course.

We checked out an arcade with the largest collection of classic arcade games in Minnesota. If it wasn't for the kids getting hungry I'm pretty sure Braden and I could have stayed there all day.

We spent a day at the waterpark.

We spent almost every evening watching movies or playing Super Smash Bros.

We took them to the barn where they helped with the family BBQ business, and afterward they got to drive the little tractor around.

We took them to Rita's (one of Emma's favorite places).

We spent an afternoon at the Minnesota Zoo.

Of course a visit to Minnesota in August would not be complete without a visit to the MN State Fair! It ended up pouring down rain, so we didn't stay long... but long enough to get most of our favorite foods.

These five have been together for 20 days straight, and yesterday their cousins flew home. Apparently they all had a good time because they all asked if we could do it again next year. ❤️