Bungy Jumping, Laser Tag and Bumper Cars

On this afternoon, we went back to the House of  Bounce to meet up with some friends in Rochester.  The kids jumped a little in the bounce houses, but wanted to do other things this time.  Like wearing big vests and playing laser tag.

And getting hooked up to bungee cords and jumping to the ceiling while doing flips.

Then they wanted to do the floating bumper cars.

Can you tell they had fun?  :)

We Have a Biker in the Family

This was the first long trip we took with Chloe riding her new bike.  It started with a few practice rounds in Grandma Vicki's driveway/parking area.

Chloe did GREAT at keeping her balance and turning in either direction!

Once Owen and Grandma Vicki were ready, we took off and Chloe led the way out of the neighborhood and down a hill.

We stopped and waited every once in awhile to let Grandma and Owen catch up.  They were having deep conversations about reading and schoolwork.

Chloe really liked going fast and far, but would stop and wait for me to catch up.

She was just posing for a picture.  Her helmet was in the grass behind me.  :)

Owen was excited to use Mommy's camera to take a picture of all the girls.  I had a flower tucked behind my ear that the kids picked for me.

We walked down the steps to the little river flowing through Rochester and the kids liked sticking their hands in the water.

One of my little flower pickers.

We were in a tunnel under a main street while walking/biking down the bath.  The kids liked sliding down the sloped side.

Todd had been out playing tennis and met us at a pizza restaurant for lunch, which was just on the other side of that tunnel.

Later in the day, we drove out to Lakeville so Kelley could photograph a couple of guys and their new house (she bartered her photography skills for their graphic design skills to make her a new business logo).  While she went on her photo shoot, the kids rode their bikes and roller bladed around the little pond in the neighborhood.

The Rest of the Day

After Mall of America, we dropped Grandma Vicki off at Aunt Stephanie's while we went over to our friend Sean's home to hang out.  Chloe had fun playing a game on his X-Box.  Controllers weren't needed as the sensor recognized hand/arm movements.

After Chloe was done playing the X-Box, Owen chose to watch a movie.  It was a nice afternoon.

Afterwards, we met the rest of our family at a restaurant in downtown St. Paul to celebrate Aunt Stephanie's birthday.

Chloe did her best at being silly and making her Grandma Vicki laugh.

Aunt Stephanie got a sparkler instead of a candle with her birthday cupcake.

Happy Birthday Aunt Stephanie!

Mall of America

We came to the MoA so the kids could ride the rides.  They chose the log flume for the first ride and Todd went down with them

Looks like they might have gotten a little wet.

Love the smiles on the guys' faces.

This ride got a thumbs up.

We were pleased they decided to ride in a double swing together.

Our stomachs churned a bit watching them up so high and swirling around so fast.  But the kids liked the ride.  :)

They did bumper cars together.

Owen drove and Chloe supervised.

Can you tell Chloe really liked running into other cars on this ride?

They went on a ride together that went through the dark and they had to shoot targets.

Then Kelley went on the orange roller coaster with the kids, taking up the last two rows.

This roller coaster went up higher than any of the other rides.

Chloe liked this ride!

They took a hot air balloon ride.

But the excitement didn't last long.  Apparently this was a rather boring ride.

This was another stomach churning ride to watch for us, but the kids loved it and rode it multiple times.

On the way out of the amusement park, we stopped for hugs with this movie character.  Owen was shy and wouldn't give hugs or shake hands.

We ate lunch in a Mexican restaurant in the mall that looked out over the amusement park.  The kids were captivated with the view.