Mall of America!!!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were blessed with the chance to get together with family to do nothing but have fun (and boy did we!). We met Kathy, Ryan, Amy, Jenna, and Molly in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon at a hotel. After unloading, we all piled into minivans and headed to the biggest mall in America - and it was big! We had to stop for a photo shoot in the mall by a stuffed dog. And then we were off to the Sea Life aquarium. What an amazing place! There were so many neat displays with so many things to look at. We were all in awe at times.

Wally loved the touch pools were he could touch star fish and sea urchins. The kid didn't hesitate. We need to get him to the ocean some day.

I love this picture of Molly, if only she was smiling in it.

We loved the jelly fish...somehow Wally knew all about jellyfish. He said he learned it from watching the Nemo movie, but I don't remember jellyfish in it. Maybe he has a better memory than me.

One of our favorite parts was walking through underwater tunnels. There were sharks and all sorts of huge fish and sea turtles swimming around us. A little interpretive dancing under the sea...

On the way out of the mall, we had to get a picture by the biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen.

We topped off the day with dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. Wally loved eating calamari. I'm not sure he ever quite figured out what it was he was eating though.

Saturday was the big day. We started it out at the American Girl store. To celebrate Jenna's birthday, the kids and Gramma had a tea party, dolls (and teddy bears) included.

Wally is probably about the only 5-year-old boy who would be totally excited for a tea party. He made jewelry to wear to the party for him and Heart Bear (a bear that used to be my grandma's). Because Heart Bear was a bit smaller than the dolls, he had to engineer a booster seat for him, but all worked out.
Aw, what a cute boy hanging out in the girliest store I've ever seen. We did actually leave for a little while during the party - Joel took me shopping at a tall girl store and got me a girly, super-warm coat for Christmas.

Look at all the fancy foods and hot chocolate! Wally's never been to a party like this before!

Wally was obviously having a blast with the art project (notice the face and shirt covered in hot chocolate - his eating/drinking skills aren't quite up to the normal standards for tea parties).

A very happy boy!

One of these is not quite like the others, can you find the one? Jenna was joined by some Minneapolis friends for the party - the perfect size for tea.

After the tea party, we went to the much awaited for Lego Store. The Millennium Falcon! Can you see the drool dripping from his chin?

Gramma Kathy bought Wally a Star Wars Advent Calendar, he was (and still is) a little excited about that! Thanks Gramma (and Reder and Ruby who also had the great idea)! Team Graff at the Lego Store.

After the Lego store, Joel and Ryan went to a bar to watch the Cat-Griz game with Tammy and Cheryl. Us girls and Wally were going to join them, but it had started to snow and the roads were very slippery, so we played at the mall. The best part of the Lego store, I thought, were the giant Lego statues that were above it. You had to go up a level or two or three to see them well.

One of my favorites was the saber-tooth tiger. Wally like the really big robot because "It was really big."

In the middle of the mall, there is a full-fledged amusement park. Wally was enthralled by it and really wanted to ride the roller coasters...so we did.

But first, Jenna and Amy (and the Olly twins) had to do a little dancing.

Wally: "I'm so excited to ride the roller coasters I can barley hold myself together!"

Jenna: "Yea! Let's do it!"

Molly: "I'm bored." Ready for our first roller coaster.

Though you wouldn't guess it from the picture, the Log Chute was Wally's favorite. Wally and I managed to get soaking wet, so logically, we rode the swings that go way up in the air and spin around like a merry-go-round. This dried us off quite nicely. The last big roller coaster we went on was crazy, not only did you go fast up and down and around, but the cars actually spun around too. Wally was laughing then saying, "I want to get off!" Once it stopped, he immediately said, "Let's do it again!" That's my boy! Molly also looked terrified in the video, but she wanted to do it again afterwards too!

Wally looked a little dazed, but was totally wanting more. For lunch, we ate at the Rain Forest Cafe. Wally had to hug the tree frog out front.

Joel, Ryan, Tammy, and Cheryl then joined us back at the mall. We let the kids ride a few more rides. I just love the expressions these three are making!

Joel didn't miss out on the action, he got to ride the Big Rig!

Wally learned a fun game...kick Uncle Ryan! We were all exhausted after a good 8-10 hours at the mall. We headed back to the hotel for some soaking in the hot tub and pizza. The kids were easy to put to bed that night! The next morning, we enjoyed the pool. It is amazing what a little peer pressure can do for a kid. Before swimming with Jenna and Molly, Wally would only do a little hop into the pool,but after watching his cousins, he was doing cannon balls, or at least a Wally version of a cannon ball. He was also seeing how long he could hold his breath under water.
Cannon ball!!!!

The cousins had a great time together. The day after we got home, Wally got really sad and said, "I feel left out. I miss Jenna and Molly." I said, "We'll get to see them in 1 month at Christmas." He says, "How about 1 day!"

Wally was exhausted and slept much of the way home. If you look closely, you can see that his nose is smashed up like a piggy nose on his coat. I took some pictures and then unzipped his coat as he just snored away.