Except for they really didn't. The Twins actually played a pretty horrible game Sunday when we went but we had fun anyway! We bought tickets to the game for Gabe as his birthday present this year. They had never been to a major league game before so were super excited to go. We also found a good deal on a hotel so went up and stayed overnight. My parents graciously agreed to watch Ezra so we could go,Ezra definitely would not have enjoyed the game.
We headed up Saturday morning and made a quick stop at Cabelas on the way. The kids loved the animals.
After our stop we made our way to the mall in Roseville where we finally found the boys reasonably priced Twins shirts and ate some lunch. After lunch we went to Como Zoo and Park. It said on the website to park and ride the free shuttle because parking is limited and very busy. They were right! After discovering this for ourselves we parked and rode the flamingo shuttle to the drop off point by the Como Park Conservatory. The kids liked looking at all the plants and gardens.
After looking at the gardens the kids were ready to go see the animals! Unfortunately I think everyone in the state of Minnesota were going to see the animals that day as it was super, super busy. I didnt even really get pictures in the zoo part just because the opportunity never presented itself there were always too many people. After shaking the crowds a little we took this picture. All the people made us a little crazy:)
We rode the very crowded shuttle back to our van and decided to try our luck at Como Lake instead. We knew they had paddle boats to rent and Gabe had been dying to try them out. Fortunately the lake was MUCH less busy and we were able to rent a paddle boat and paddle around the lake.
Gabe and Ty rode on the back of the boat and Callie in the middle. Gabe really wanted a chance to pedal so we docked and I got off so Gabe could pedal. Ty of course really wanted to also but he is still a bit too short to reach so he settled for steering instead.
After a great time on the lake we went to check in to our hotel. We ate some supper late and then walked a LONG ways down to the river to watch fireworks(Minneapolis was celebrating aquatennial so they had them that night). We sat on a bridge and watched one of the best fireworks shows any of us has seen(and Carl and I have been in Washington, DC on the 4th). They were great. My camera doesnt do well in dark settings so no pictures, you'll just have to take our word for it. The kids were tired but did great walking a LONG way back to the hotel to crash. The next morning we went for brunch at Hell's Kitchen where we had the most awesome Lemon Ricotta hotcakes ever! Then we checked out and started heading to the game. We walked again and the kids wanted their pictures taken in front of various things. Ty and Callie wanted theirs in front of the fireplace in the hotel lobby.
Here they are at the "checkpoint" what they called this fountain near our hotel. I think they were just happy to see it each time we walked by because that meant we were close to our hotel.
Mustaches and funny faces in front of the planter.
They also wanted pictures on these bikes which turned out to be an omen. As we neared Target Field and saw several people selling tickets it occured to me to ask Carl if we had ours. The look on his face said it all and the kids and I went ahead to wait at the stadium while Carl trucked it back to the van to get the tickets out of his bag. He got them and then rode one of these lovely, green rental bikes back to meet us, so while I didnt get his picture on the bike you can see what he rode:)
While we were waiting for our tickets we took some pictures in Target Plaza.
When we got in the gates we finally found the pink Twins shirt Callie had been wanting! She also found a purple Twins hat that she used her money from Grandpa Tim to buy(the boys got throwback batting helmets). We got the kids some lunch(ballpark food prices never cease to amaze me) and found our seats.
That Sunday was kids day at the park so after the game the kids got to go on the field to run the bases. They were pretty excited! It was hot down on the field! Here we are making our way around the warning track, we had very strict reminders not to step on the grass.
There goes Ty(#7 jersey) starting out at first base with Gabe and Callie coming behind him.
Coming home!
And the accomplished base runners as we were leaving the field. They decided those bases were much further apart than their little league bases and the field much bigger :)
After this we walked back to our van and headed for home. We had a couple tired little base runners.
And one who said he wasnt tired but I'm pretty sure he was at least a little tired.
We had a great weekend and are hoping to get up to another Twins game sometime soon. Maybe next time Ezra will be able to sit still for more then 2 seconds and can come too.
