One of the first things on kid's agenda were RIDES! While the older kids went on some big rides, the littler kids went on the carousel.
Amaya and me on a horse which she named: Rosie.
Arwen and Miles
Steve and Hope watching the action.
Obviously, Amaya LOVES the Carousel and is one of her FAVORITE rides.
Next up... the Diego Bus. It goes around in a circle frontwards and backwards. It goes up pretty high in the air, but it didn't scare Amaya or Miles!
Lead the way to the Train!
Then the Swiper Sweeper... reminds me a little bit of the Scrambler except that it just goes around in a circle.
It's a pretty tame ride... right, Arwen?
Both of us were pretty surprised at how fast it was! I got the giggles so bad because Arwen was screaming so much! Even when Grandma went on the ride, she was laughing so hard!
The kiddos were still wanting to go on more rides... so right next door was a Hot Air Balloon Ride. Here we are waiting for the passengers to get out.
Arwen and Miles
Grandma and Amaya
Now it was time for the grown-ups to get some rides in. This is one of my Mom's FAVORITE rides that we call "The Platform."
We were on the one side and the boys were on the other side.
What we like best about Mall of America is that there is a variety of things for everyone to do. After a few rides, we ate lunch at the food court and then broke up into groups for free time.
The girls took their American Girl Dolls and headed to.... the American Girl Store!
They went to the bistro and had desserts and a fondue party with their dolls.
I can't wait until I can start buying American Girl dolls for Amaya.
The boys went off to Lego Land to spend their mad money.
Steve, Amaya, and I headed to Barnes and Noble for Amaya to pick out some books with her money where she bought this bear and a couple of books about preschool.
Then, we went on a few more kiddie rides and she saw Dora and Diego in REAL LIFE!! We didn't get a picture because she thought Diego was a little scary.
During free time... some fell asleep
Some resisted sleep.... because of too much excitement
And let the rides continue! Lydia is absolutely FEARLESS! If it weren't for her height, she'd be going on every scary ride there!
Amaya's first Roller Coaster ride!
Speaking of fearless, Joshua decided to go on the ropes course.
WOW! WOW! WOW!
Dan and Hope on the carousel! Hope's first carousel ride!
The log ride! Amaya wanted to go on this ride, and even though she was tall enough, we thought we'd wait until next year.
Being 36 inches tall is the greatest! Now Amaya can go on some of the rides by herself. I'm actually surprised that she was okay going by herself and LOVED it!
Just one more ride?!?
An absolutely awesome day! Great rides, great food, great company, and a whole lot of laughs and memories! (Thank you Dad for treating the kids to the rides, giving them spending money and for sharing the pictures with us!)
Grandma and Amaya
Now it was time for the grown-ups to get some rides in. This is one of my Mom's FAVORITE rides that we call "The Platform."
We were on the one side and the boys were on the other side.
What we like best about Mall of America is that there is a variety of things for everyone to do. After a few rides, we ate lunch at the food court and then broke up into groups for free time.The girls took their American Girl Dolls and headed to.... the American Girl Store!
They went to the bistro and had desserts and a fondue party with their dolls.
I can't wait until I can start buying American Girl dolls for Amaya.
The boys went off to Lego Land to spend their mad money.
Steve, Amaya, and I headed to Barnes and Noble for Amaya to pick out some books with her money where she bought this bear and a couple of books about preschool.
Then, we went on a few more kiddie rides and she saw Dora and Diego in REAL LIFE!! We didn't get a picture because she thought Diego was a little scary.
During free time... some fell asleep
Some resisted sleep.... because of too much excitement
And let the rides continue! Lydia is absolutely FEARLESS! If it weren't for her height, she'd be going on every scary ride there!
Amaya's first Roller Coaster ride!
Speaking of fearless, Joshua decided to go on the ropes course.
WOW! WOW! WOW!
Dan and Hope on the carousel! Hope's first carousel ride!
The log ride! Amaya wanted to go on this ride, and even though she was tall enough, we thought we'd wait until next year.
Being 36 inches tall is the greatest! Now Amaya can go on some of the rides by herself. I'm actually surprised that she was okay going by herself and LOVED it!
Just one more ride?!?
An absolutely awesome day! Great rides, great food, great company, and a whole lot of laughs and memories! (Thank you Dad for treating the kids to the rides, giving them spending money and for sharing the pictures with us!)