This summer we chose to do a “staycation” instead of traveling with our toddler who has all kinds of crazy sleep problems. We figured this would be less stressful for everyone AND it means Nick and I can take a romantic getaway vacation in the fall when his parents will be in the country to keep our girls.

I did some planning so we could have an adventure every day. Plans shifted a bit since we ended up with fall-like temps at the end of July. I’m not complaining about the cooler weather, but I do wish we could’ve tried out the new outdoor waterpark in town. Outdoor pools and waterparks are hard to come by here in Minnesota – home of 10,000 lakes.

Our first day was laid back since Nick’s dad was in town for one day on his way from Missouri to Michagan. We stumbled upon Barbie and her dream house tour at a local mall. SO fun for Mariah! I did realize, however, I’m not that crazy about Barbie and what she stands for….fashion, boys, shopping….but now Mariah feels she “needs” more Barbies. Ick.

Saturday we relaxed at home before heading out to the cute area of Linden Hills Minneapolis. We ate ice cream at Sebastian Joe’s and climbed on giant turtle statues, pet a cute little puppy, and chased birds in the backyard. We walked down the street a bit to Creative Kid’s Stuff to play with cool toys and then headed to Wild Rumpus Bookstore. I’ve heard about this place and I’ve been wanting to check it out for awhile. The store is full of animals…chickens, cats, birds, ferrets, chinchillas…Mariah kept calling it a museum and paid no attention to the books on the shelves. Then we rode a trolley and played on a huge playground before heading to Famous Dave’s for dinner.

Sunday was church, out to lunch and frozen yogurt and then the big adventure was indoor camping. We don’t have a backyard since we live in a townhome, so we thought this would be the next best thing. We gathered firewood from the woods near our house, and walked to the grocery store for s’more supplies. Our neighbors joined us for s’mores after dinner. Lana and I slept in our own beds while Nick and Mariah camped out. Mariah loved it so much, she camped out again the next night all alone.

On Monday we ditched the kids and went to Valley Fair to ride rollercoasters. They played with their BFFs and we got a date. I hadn’t been on a rollercoaster in about 10 years – Nick and I were just dating the last time I was there. I was scared every. single. time. Most of the time, I ended up loving the ride. I did not like the X-treme Swing. I thought I was going to die. Buuut….I would probably ride it again. That night we joined our kids and BFFs for pizza and ice cream.

Our last day we did an indoor pool and just relaxed. It was the perfect way to end our staycation and start adjusting back into our regular routine again.

Taking the time to add adventure and relaxation to our lives was so good for me. I faced the rest of the week with new-found strength and peace of mind. I also realized how much happier everyone is – myself included – when we add some excitement to our days. I decided to start doing more to make our lives more exciting and active – for the sake of all our moods.

p.s. My plan was to post more pics with my “real camera”, but I ended up liking all my instagram ones best. Guess it’s time to dust that thing off and get back behind it.