Neu Family Reunion: Day 6...Como Zoo and Mall of America

On our last day in Minnesota we went to the Como Zoo. Surprise, surprise, right? Cohen and I totally collect zoos. The Como Zoo is free and they offer giraffe feeding, so it seemed like a good choice. I've been to a couple free zoos and I will say this is one of the nicer ones. The giraffe feeding is a little ridiculous because they charge $5 for a leaf of lettuce (YES...ONE LEAF). You have like 10 seconds and then you walk off. You don't really get to enjoy it. The giraffe feeding at Animal Adventure park was 100 times better.

We then headed over to the Sparky Sea Lion Show. It was nothing like the show at the NYC Aquarium, but it was still entertaining. To tell you the truth the little tank was kind of sad looking. Also, the sun was beating down on us so we were like baking!

Clara, one of my nieces, really wanted to go see the butterfly exhibit. I'm not a fan of the one at the Bronx Zoo, so I wasn't all that excited about going, but I'm so glad we did! It was AMAZING. SO much better than the Bronx Zoo! Several of our family members had butterflies land on them, which was so much fun and entertaining to see how excited they got. Cohen wasn't so thrilled with the butterflies. He was afraid of them and really didn't want to stay long.

 

On our way out, we went to check out the sloth. He was a cool looking guy just chilling in the tree. Cohen was lucky to have some amazing cousins around that were willing to lift him up so he could get a better view.

We then headed over to the Mall of America. This was Cohen's first time there and he was so excited when he saw all the rides. He really really wanted to go on a roller coaster, but he was too short. It's so hard trying to explain to a 3-year-old that they can't go on a ride because they are too short.

We went and grabbed some lunch at Shake Shack with the fam and walked around the mall a little. After a quick Old Navy stop, Cohen, Jeff, and I went to try some rides.

Cohen got to go on three rides, which meant that Jeff and I took turns going on three rides because Cohen was too little to go on his own. I can't wait for Cohen to grow 2 inches (he's only 40 inches). I'm not sure which was his favorite. He loves all train rides, but they did have a little roller coaster that Cohen really enjoyed. We finished with the carousel since it's a classic and another favorite of Cohen's.

 

Neu Family Reunion: Day 3....Madeline Island

On day 2 we spent most of the time indoors since it was raining, but on day 3 Jeff, Cohen and I busted out the paddle boat for Cohen to take a quick spin. Cohen and I arrived late on the day that everyone else played with the paddle boats and Cohen saw them sitting there and frequently told me that he wanted to ride one. I kept telling him, "another day." Well, the last day came and it was now or never. I'm really trying to not be a parent that tells my kid something to blow him off and then... blow him off. Since I didn't want to ride in the boat with him, I just put on my swim suit bottoms and pushed him around for a little while. He loved it so it was a win for everyone.

After checking out of the cabin, Jeff, Cohen and I headed over to Madeline Island for a quick look around. Two of the families went over a couple days before and weren't too impressed (Even tried to discourage us from going). They had warned me, but I felt that I had come all that way I might as well experience it for myself since I probably would never be return to the Apostle Islands. It was a learning experience for sure. I figured out that if I DID ever return to the Apostle Islands I would do it completely differently than this time. I would load up a car with camping gear and go camp on Madeline Island! We unfortunately didn't bring our car on the ferry, so we didn't get to drive around to the other side and see the park and go on a hike (Cohen also didn't have the right shoes on for a hike).  So, I don't want to rag on Madeline Island because we really weren't prepared to take advantage of all she had to offer. It's all good, Cohen loves riding on boats so the ferry ride was a total win with him.

The little town that the ferry docks in on Madeline Island is really small but it was fun to walk around. There were a few souvenir shops and a couple places to eat (ice cream and a bakery). If we didn't have Cohen with us I totally would have rented a Vespa and rode around the island.

We walked through a few of the stores for souvenirs and then checked out the local bakery. It was amazingly small, but they had a nice variety of sweet treats. The women working said they make all the baked goods on site, which is totally impressive since the kitchen in the back looked tiny. Cohen really enjoyed his donut with sprinkles.  I had the berry coffeecake (I was told it was the best seller) and really enjoyed it. Jeff had the carrot cake and wasn't too impressed (surprise, surprise).

We really only spent 30 minutes on the island and then returned to Bayfield, WI to grab lunch at the Fat Radish (AGAIN!) and of-course finished of our Apostle Islands trip with a chocolate ice cream cone for Cohen!

We then headed to Anne's (in Minnesota) for dinner and quality family time. I really do enjoy spending time with Jeff's family. They are such loving people. My sister-in-law Emilie told me that one of the things she likes about Minnesota are the amazing clouds. She was right! I couldn't believe how beautiful all the clouds were.

Newport: Day TWO...Newport Pier, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Sea Hag

On day two in Newport we went for a quick walk on the Newport Pier. There were a lot of people fishing and crabbing, which was really entertaining for Cohen. He loved going up to everyone and asking them a million questions. He's such a social little guy.














After the pier, we met a friend of ours (Amy) at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Cohen loves aquariums. This one had an amazing underwater tunnel that allowed us to see some great sharks. Cohen really got into it, which is always fun.

We then headed to the Sea Hag (Depoe Bay) for lunch. I had a crab louie that looked like a crab. It was fun :) Really I just got it for the amazing shrimp and crab on it! It was a great lunch catching up with Amy.

We took a few pictures after lunch. I LOVE Depoe Bay! It's just so beautiful.

 

Neu Family Reunion: Day 1 for me....Day 4 for everyone else

After an amazing week with my family in Washington/Oregon, Cohen and I joined Jeff and his family in Bayfield, WI for the Neu Family reunion in the Apostle Islands. Everyone else arrived a few days earlier, but Cohen and I arrived late so we could be in Oregon for my grandma's 85th birthday.

We all stayed in a bunch of cottages on Lake Superior. It was lovely hanging out with family and enjoying the absolutely beautiful scenery.

For Lunch, Jeff, Cohen, and I went to check out the small charming town of Bayfield, WI with Sharon, Ben and Atticus. We had lunch at a little place called the Fat Radish. It was totally delicious! If you ever find yourself in Bayfield, WI :) you should totally check this place out. 

After our amazing lunch, we grabbed some taffy and ice cream at a little place called Sweet Sailing. Cohen has becoming a taffy fan, so he was all over helping Aunt Sharon pick some out to share with the fam. It was a lot of fun watching Cohen and Atticus walk down the street holding hands. Even cuter was watching them eat Jeff and Sharon ice cream. 

Later in the day a few of us went on a 3-hour boat tour of the Apostle Islands. I really enjoyed both the company and the view! It was a very relaxing trip and it was nice catching up with some family. Cohen seemed to really enjoy the tour too. Mostly because he loved hanging with some truly amazing cousins. He also really enjoyed eating his body weight in Cheetos!

Another Trip to the Enchanted Forest

While in Washington we met up with a couple of my cousins and my aunt at the Enchanted Forest! We had taken Cohen there in June of 2016 and he loved it, so we thought it would be fun to go again. Now that Cohen's older he could go on more of the rides and he loved it! He went on his very first roller coaster (the Ice Mountain Bobsled). He plastered his head into my chest the whole time, but he seemed to enjoy it. He also went on the little Ferris wheel, bumper boats, and the little train. He sure loves the train. It was kind of hard that to explain to him that he couldn't go on all the rides because he wasn't tall enough. I can't wait until he's 42' tall!

It was nice spending some more time with my family!

A surprise birthday party for Grandma Olsen!

The main reason Cohen and I made the trek to Washington was to go to my grandmas 85th birthday party. It was a surprise party so she had no idea all her family were traveling from all over to be there to celebrate with her. Her birthday actually isn't until August 31st, but we had it early to accommodate many different schedules and get as many of her grandkids there as possible. Grandma Olsen also recently moved out of her house which she has lived in for over 55 years and moved into an assisted living home. It was a great way to celebrate her birthday and have a little apartment warming party!

It was so fantastic to see my cousins again (many I haven't seen in years) and meet new members of the family. Cohen had a blast hanging with Jake (son of one of my cousins) and they kept themselves entertained throughout the festivities.

The moment Cohen had been waiting for...the Anderson family Water-fight!

After an amazingly couple of days at the beach and camping, we spent Friday preparing for my grandmas 85th surprise birthday party and hanging pool side. Well, hanging out in the blow-up pool my parents bought in preparation of Cohen coming to visit.

It started out innocent enough. Cohen would splash Auntie Harmizzle....Auntie Harmizzle would splash Cohen. All in fun!

It was a bit of a slaughter at first since, Grandpa was the only one with the water gun. However, when it was empty he handed it to Cohen and then ran inside to get the second one. Grandpa was kind of cruel since he filled up the water guns with freezing cold water from inside the house. He also went in and out of the house to shield himself from the return fire.

Pretty soon both Cohen and Auntie Harmizzle had the super soakers, but that didn't deter Grandpa and Grandma! They had the little water guns that you just suck up water really quickly. It didn't have a lot of volume, but the quick reload made Grandpa and Grandma very formidable foes. Cohen was having the time of his life!

Then something that happened that no one expected.... (See pictures below)

1. Cohen and Auntie Harmizzle were putting up a good fight!

2. Cohen appeared to be covering Auntie Harmizzle while he reloaded her gun.

3. However, in a surprise move he handed his super soaker over to Grandpa!

4. He then returned to Auntie Harmizzle and asked her to give him the second (now fully loaded) super soaker. 

5. It appeared that he was going to take Grandpa on all on his own....

6. But then he quickly ran to the other side of the pool and yelled, "Come on Grandpa!....Let's get Auntie Harmizzle! My little Benedict Arnold asked Auntie Harmizzle to fill up his gun and then used it against her! It was absolutely HILARIOUS!