What started out as a joke turned into an excellent overnight trip up north for New Year's Eve- we went to the Minneapolis temple and the Mall of America! We'd been trying to find a time for this classic temple trip all year, and the week between Christmas and New Year's ended up being the perfect time to go. Even though Leah said she didn't want to leave the house while she was visiting, even she admitted that a few days away was an excellent idea. We headed straight to the temple, where we met some youth visiting from Arizona and a girl from Leah's Heritage Halls building.
There is a $250/crumb fee assocociated with eating in the Peach, regardless of the weather outside. Crumbs are not welcome!
After the temple we made our way over to dinner!
Fish 'n chips and poutine- two delicious things we got hooked on back in 2022.
It was much snowier and colder in Minnesota than it was in Iowa, and we all hopped in and out of cars and buildings as quickly as we could the whole time we were there. The girls made friends with an older man shoveling snow that they were sure was the vanishing wise grandpa filled with sage advice from every classic Hallmark movie who keeps popping up to guide the heroine toward her destiny.
We spent some time shopping around the MOA before checking into our hotel, where we casually rang in the new year!
Thanks for the butterbeer, Jason! It paired quite nicely with the first Harry Potter movie, which we paused to officially ring in the new year, New York style (meaning, at 11 PM local time).
2026!!! What does this year have in store for our family?
Whatever it may be, we're ready for it!
After the official celebration, I went straight to sleep. Got to start the new year off right with good sleep hygiene! The next morning, the girls slept in while the boys hurried over to secure their in-demand Lego sets.
For a family that generally spends New Year's Eve and Day at home, we had an excellent time celebrating the start of this year at Nickelodeon Universe!
Starting off with crepes!
Surely this amusement park has shrunk over the years. It used to take us all day to make a full loop, and now it's no big deal at all to split up and ride all of the rides!
Ahh, the joy of the log ride.
I really, really, really didn't want to get soaked.
These crazies all dried right off by riding the Rock Bottom Plunge!
And swinging on the swings.
We did do a bit of shopping while we were there. Picture a missionary nametag here!
A joke within a joke- we ended up at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner! Somehow Noah doesn't remember ever going to this place, but really, when was the last time we were here?
He played along with the magic of the rainforest. The thunderstorms are still pretty epic.
These dumb lightup souvenir cups were $15 each, and we didn't even want them, we just wanted the strawberry and peach lemonade that came in them. We left them behind, but not before taking a few cheesy shots first.
Volcaaaaaaaaanoooooooooo!
We might have told them it was Leah's birthday.
As we were leaving, the girls asked if the Mall of America had changed or if it was always just.... a mall.... and they were too little to really realize it before. That is the correct answer- it's just a mall. But it's a pretty fun one if you're not just there to shop!
Unless you're shopping for Lego, that is. The boys had a great day spending Christmas money and even filling an order for Uncle Bubba.
This mini trip was a great start to our 2026!
