Sunday, March 13, 2016

Family Babymoon Weekend in Owatonna

Prior to becoming pregnant we had planned to take a family vacation right about this time, probably a Caribbean cruise.  Once we found out I would be due early May we knew a big vacation wasn't going to happen.  A couple months ago Jimmy suggested we do a weekend stay at a waterpark hotel.  Instead of just choosing one in the cities we went about an hour south to Owatonna.  It was close enough that weather would be a minimal factor, but far enough to feel like a getaway.  Plus it was about $100 cheaper!  We drove down Friday night and arrived in time for a late dinner at the hotel restaurant, 43rd St. Pub & Grill.  The food was pretty good and they had pizza for Parker!  We even had enough leftovers for the lunch the next day!
 We decided to check out the water park after dinner too!  We knew it was a pretty small one, but it was perfect for Parker.
 They had a zero entry pool with a slide and fountains.  It got to the perfect depth for Parker, right up to his neck.
He even learned a new word, which is probably is very favorite now!  When we told him it was time to go swimming he had all his clothes off in about 30 seconds!
Parker got his own special pull-out bed in the hotel, which he thought was pretty cool! 
 We were all up pretty early on Saturday, so we were eating breakfast before 8!
 Kernel Restaurant was a great hometown diner.  They have breakfast all day, great lunch and dinner options and over 20 types of pie!  Jimmy's banana pecan pancakes were incredible, I wish I could have had more than one bite!  Parker even got some fun bear/mouse shaped ones.
 I had originally planned to take a walking tour of downtown, but the Chamber of Commerce was closed so we couldn't get a map.  We decided to hit up a local park, then just wander around a bit.
 Every great small town needs a bakery and we found it!  The Perfect Day Cakes had lots of cupcakes, donuts, and pastries.  It was time for a morning snack, so we got a regular cake donut and an old fashioned, both frosted!
 We headed to the Medford outlet mall for some more walking and shopping.  We didn't get a ton, but I was pretty excited about the pink hat and mittens I got for .47 at Old Navy.  Parker was gracious enough to try them on!
 We ate lunch, went swimming again and just relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  Parker didn't take a nap, so he was pretty exhausted by dinner time.  This face was a combination of that exhaustion and disappointment with leaving the hotel (that's where the pool is!)
We just relaxed for the evening, watch some hockey and went to bed.
 Parker was snoozing about 3 minutes after bedtime prayers.
 After a quick breakfast in the morning we headed down for one final swim.  Our only complaint about the water park was the temperature.  Most hotel pools/water parks feel pretty humid when you walk in.  This makes it much more comfortable to come out of the water.  It wasn't cold, but definitely not as warm as we would have liked.  Parker seemed to stay warm while in the water until the last day, so we cut our swim short.  It was such a fun last getaway for our family of three.
We were on the road before 11 and even stopped to visit Jimmy's dad in the hospital before going home.  He is doing really great.  He no longer has an IV of any kind, is off of oxygen, and will hopefully be getting the chest tubes out soon!  We can't wait for him to go home (neither can he!)  

Have a great week!

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