Bethany College- Day 5

Wow. Ladies and gentlemen- today was a day of fun. I know, you are thinking, "Could it really get any better??" I think it could and it did. Now, let me preface for those of you who think like my husband- we went to a mall today. Not, not, NOT to shop. This was a playing kind of mall. You see, yesterday we had a rough morning here at the college. We got bored, watched too much TV, spent too much time on the computer, and then became generally moody for the rest of the day. I woke up this morning again, already in a sour mood. Plans changed with John needing to leave earlier than I had expected, and Little Boy waking up MUCH earlier than expected. It was snowing again outside, and I know it was fun on the first day, but not so much anymore. I could see the misery starting again- so drastic action had to be taken if we were going to actually enjoy each other. SO, to the mall we went! This is no ordinary mall- it sits on 30 acres and has the largest indoor theme park in the middle of it anywhere in the US. It is in fact, the largest mall in the US. At least that's what I think I was told. Anyway, it's called the Mall of America and I took the boys by myself this morning. First stop once inside was the local Starbucks- thanks to my friend Emily for the heads up on the Pumpkin Latte. WOW! I digress. . . .We stayed until almost 2, we were having so much fun! If you look at the pics below you can see the highlights. We rode the train ride, the "car" ride, and a mini-roller coaster. Everyone had loads of fun. We then walked around for a bit, found a Rainforest Cafe (another really fun place) and ate lunch. Our last big hit was the Lego Store. It's really big with lots of cool lego sets that you can't find other places. Big Boy was the photojournalist at Rainforest Cafe for us, and I took most of the rest. Notice all the crazy things made out of legos. . .

Then we left the mall and went to pick up daddy. He had finished lunch with a friend and wanted to join the party! We went to Trader Joe's for the first time. It was pretty cool and I was really working to remember the kind of salsa that my sister got that was so good. I tried, sis. Don't know if I got it right or not, but was definitely thinking of you around 2:30!



THEN (as if the day wasn't fun enough) we went to IKEA!!!! It was such an interesting place and we went into the wrong side first (the one where you pick up the furniture you want to buy, because it's all still in the boxes and we couldn't figure out what anything looked like). Anyway, on that side we saw the "bents and dents" section. My Christmas present came early this year and I got a new $300 dresser for $111!! Can you believe that?? It is totally cool and though the back window of the van will remain open for the next three days, it is totally worth it. I'll have to take a pic and show you tomorrow. It's really quite hilarious. We had a moment of panic when the back door wouldn't even shut and we had already paid for it. Ahhhh.... it shut....barely. :)



LAST but definitely NOT LEAST, we went to a wonderful chili dinner for us. It was a great time to visit with some new friends (hello MN blog readers! love to you all) and connect more with this community. Our kids had a blast, we ate some good chili, and we got to share about what the Lord has been doing in our midst. He is good- and often times he is doing some of the same things in different ones, very far apart. He is sovereign, patient, and kind. Loving fully his children. We are blessed to know ones that love him wholly.

Goodnight and goodbye!