Minnesota has been a relaxing stop for us. We've had an opportunity to do some resting and some playing between visits. One of the best parts of life on the road is creating memories wherever you go. Whether it be at a truck stop, or a palace, there are adventures to be had.
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| Shiloh and Tate |
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| Juliann and Tate |
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| Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Juliann and Tate |
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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Ryder
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Tate and Choice
Just to keep things really exciting, we even allowed the kids a chance to drive the big rig. If you are in the state of Minnesota, I recommend staying off the roads for the next few days. :-) |
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Choice and Jason
It has been a peaceful drive nonetheless... |
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| Choice and Morghen |
These are our school pictures for this year's homeschooling. The kids created their own masterpieces.
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Shiloh |
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| Choice |
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| Tate |
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Juliann
Morghen has been a trooper! She is still going strong even while having to rough it. She has gone from washing her hair daily at home and showering each night before bed, to using a cold water bottle for a shower to preserve water. I have to say, she has done great rolling with the punches. With my hippie tendencies, this has just made a convenient excuse not to shower. |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, and Morghen |
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Juliann, Choice, and Tate
This Wal-Mart parking lot in Hastings MN has been our home away from home for the past several days. The employees have become accustomed to our frequenting their restrooms and picking up donuts each morning for breakfast. |
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| Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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Rusty, Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder
There have been some really fun experiences for us this week. One of them was our trek over to Mall of America. Not only were we anxious to check this item off of our bucket list, but we were able to spend the day with dear friends who live in Minnesota. I'm not sure if the kids were nearly as excited as me and Morghen. |
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Morghen, Ryder, and Juliann
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| Tate, Choice, Juliann, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Juliann and Morghen |
However, their enthusiasm peaked when they realized Mall of America is also home to Nickelodeon Universe, an awesome amusement park smack dab in the middle of the mall. The 5 hour wristbands we purchased for the rides were well used by the time they expired.
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| Tate, Shiloh, Dominik, Bradley, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Krystle, Tate, Shiloh, Dominik, Bradley, Ryder, Choice, and Juliann |
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| Tate and Choice |
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| Juliann and Shiloh |
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| Juliann and Shiloh |
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| Sponge Bob and Juliann |
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| Bradley, Choice, and Tate |
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| Bradley, Choice, and Tate |
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Tate and Morghen
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Juliann, Shiloh, Dominik, and Ryder
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| Juliann, Shiloh, Dominik, and Ryder |
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| Tate and Bradley |
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Ryder and Dominik
The highlight of the day for the grownups was meeting the Ninja Turtles. |
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| Leo, Juliann, Morghen, and Raph |
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| Leo and Juliann |
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Leo, Juliann, Morghen, and Raph
The little boys agreed to come along... |
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| Leo, Tate, Choice, Bradley, and Raph |
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| Leo, Tate, Choice, Bradley, and Raph |
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Leo, Tate, Choice, Bradley, and Raph
The older kiddos made it their mission to find the most daring and dangerous rides. Shiloh was tall enough for some of the big roller coasters. |
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Juliann and Shiloh
However, there were some extreme rides that Ryder and Dominik rode by themselves. |
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| Dominik and Ryder |
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Ryder, Shiloh, and Dominik
Nickelodeon Universe had rides for kids of all ages so everyone stayed busy. |
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| Bradley, Choice, and Krystle |
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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Tate
Despite his best efforts, Choice was unsuccessful in his attempts to sneak onto some bigger rides with Tate. |
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Tate and Choice
Mall of America was a blast, however, it made for a very long day. By the time we made it back to the bus, the kids had crashed for the night. That amazingly entertaining day had come to an end, but our trip to Minnesota had not. There was still more fun to be had.
We were able to spend some time in the water. The kids swam in a backyard pool with friends, as well as a local water park... |
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| Ryder with new friends Josh and Cole |
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| Choice, Chloe, and Shiloh |
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| Choice and Shiloh |
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| Choice |
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| Choice, Chloe, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Dominik |
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| Choice, Chloe, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Tate, and Dominik |
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Shiloh |
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| Dominik and Choice |
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| Shiloh and Choice |
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| Choice and Ryder |
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| Choice and Ryder |
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| Choice |
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| Shiloh and Tate |
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| Rusty and Choice |
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| Rusty, Choice, and Tate |
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Ryder
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| Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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Shiloh, Morghen, and Choice
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| Shiloh, Choice, Tate, and Bradley |
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| Choice |
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| Shiloh, Choice, and Bradley |
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| Tate, Choice, and Bradley |
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Tate, Choice, and Bradley
Once we rung the kids out to dry, we spent some time picnicking at the park. The weather here is beautiful this time of year...if you can defend yourself against their vicious state bird...the mosquito! |
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| Juliann and Choice |
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| Ryder and Choice |
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| Dominik and Tate |
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| Dominik and Tate |
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| Dominik, Tate, Jason, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Tate, Jason, and Choice |
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| Dominik, Ryder, Jason, and Choice |
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| Jason, Choice, Dominik, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Choice, Jason, Tate, and Dominik |
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Dominik, Tate, Ryder, Jason, and Choice
| I've fallen in love with it here. Every time I mention moving here at the end of this trip, Morghen is sure to remind me that I should visit in the winter first. She knows me well enough to know that I am a weeny in the cold. |
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Morghen and Choice
The great things may outweigh the bad weather though. Like this little hole in the wall restaurant. It is called the Chatterbox and whoever came up with this idea was a genius!! It is a family friendly restaurant that offers good old-fashioned entertainment while you eat. They have every game system you can imagine, old and new, set up throughout the restaurant. They invite you to play games while you wait for your meal. Or, if you'd rather, you may eat your food right on the couch while you fiercely compete in a game of Super Mario World or Mrs. Pacman. Those are only a few of the options. They also have many of the classic board games I played as a kid available to play at your table. |
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| Ryder, Tate, Juliann, Choice, Morghen, Krystle, Bradley, Dominik, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Tate, Juliann, Choice, Morghen, Krystle, Bradley, Dominik, and Shiloh |
We played games while we hung out, ate, and visited. Games such as Connect 4, Life, and Trouble.
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| Kiley and Tate |
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| Bradley and Choice |
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| Juliann |
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| Morghen |
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| Choice and Morghen |
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| Dominik, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Dominik, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, and Dominik |
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| Tate, Choice, and Bradley |
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| Tate, Choice, Morghen, Shiloh, and Ryder |
At the conclusion of another fun-filled day, a lite rain accompanied the rising moon. It was such a peaceful and calm atmosphere. Yes, even in the Wal-Mart parking lot. It allowed for us to get some reflection and some journaling done while the kids were fast asleep in their beds.
We each have our own personal workspace where we like to do our mediation and reminiscing. Morghen had a nice set up with a view of the night sky.
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Morghen's work space
My selection was a little less convenient...
It isn't about WHERE we are, but WHO we are that counts. I have had the amazing opportunity to meet people across this entire country. Regardless of where they live, they are finding their own unique and beautiful way to leave their footprint on this world. Each of them leaving it better than they found it. It is not because of where they are but who they are that makes the difference. After all, we lived in Prescott AZ at the time that these individuals and organizations reached out to bless us. They had never met us but because of who they are, they took it upon themselves to make a difference in our lives. They never knew they would meet us face to face, but they blessed us anyway. I feel empowered by their examples of service. I want to bless others, regardless of where I am. May we all continually look for ways to leave our positive mark on this world and SPREAD THE BETTER!
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