Morin Baseball Trip 2019!
It was 6:30 am on 4th of July morning and we were packed, buckled, and ExCiTeD to go on our longest family road trip yet...8 nights, 9 days, lots of miles, 2 adults, 3 kids, 5 bikes, 2 coolers, 3 bags of food, 4 sets of bed sheets, 5 beach towels, 1 USA map for kids to track the states, 5 of everything else to wash, clean, swim, and wear for just over a week, and a partridge in a pear tree. We had a blast!
First stop was Chicago at the White Sox ballpark (Guaranteed Rate Field). We arrived around 11:30, 2 hours prior to game time.
So on the L we went! Luke has been to Chicago but for Ellie and Drew it was their first time in a big city AND on a subway.
My girl, all into transportation, LOVED it!
A beautiful, sunny day to celebrate our country!
Game time on the 4th!
It was SO hot. Thankfully our row was just under the shade in the upper deck.
The Sox actually played against our very own Detroit Tigers and the Tigers won! We had to drive all the way to Chicago to see the Tigers get that W!
After the game we drove to La Crosse, Wisconsin. We arrived just as the fireworks were going off over the Mississippi River. We woke up 3 sleeping babies and we all quickly fell asleep at the Hampton Inn. The continental breakfast the next morning is always a big hit for this family!
We grabbed our coffees and hot chocolates to go and took a stroll on the Mississippi River. We also taught everyone how to spell Mississippi. :)
We drove to our next stop, Mall of America, in Bloomington, MN. We checked into our hotel at the Embassy Suites and we were sold. Hallways to have the kids play hide and go seek. A large, open lobby that you you can see all that's going on. Glass elevators the kids could race each other. 2 SEPARATE rooms. Omelet bar at breakfast. We were fans!
Then a quick trip to the MOA for dinner and to see the lay of the land so we could plan our attack for the next day!
The first view of Nickelodeon Universe! That is a water log ride to the left and a few roller-coasters in the middle and much, much more. This was a for sure on our list for the next day!
As we walked through we saw Chase from Paw Patrol. This is Drew's favorite so we were all excited to see him meet this fella!!
Elle wanted a turn too!
We ate dinner at Chick Fil A at MOA (Ben's first time there...I can't believe we are married?! I LOVE it!) and back to the hotel we went because Ben was taking Luke and Elle to a Minnesota Twins game that night!
Our hotel was right next to the subway which was perfect and the 3 of them hopped on to go downtown Minneapolis to Target Field.
And what were the other 2/5 up to? I was so lucky to have a special date with my baby! We had appetizers and Drew had a nutritious Lunchable with a fireside table nonetheless. 
I mean, I am the luckiest mama.😍 Afterwards, we watched some Ninja Warrior back in our room and then hopped down to the pool and hot tub. Drew will tell you he met 4 new friends at the pool. We were exhausted and enjoyed going to bed before 10!
In other Morin news, this trio waited out the rain delay and soon it was time to play ball! I think the game might have started around 8:15 pm.
Luke and Ellie had so much fun on this trip together and were real buds with each other. Ellie wanted to do everything Luke did and so off to the night game she went!
Even after the late night travels, rain delay, and long game they stayed for the post-game fireworks!
Back home on the subway. They got back to the hotel at 1:30 am!
We were up the next morning and after a delicious breakfast we were ready for our day at MOA!!
First up was Nickoldeon Universe... Paw Patrol land!
Luke was "to tall" to play based on the measurement system but he walked around with them patiently until we decided to try out a few other rides. Drew and Ellie were in heaven.
First up was the Bubble Guppie ride but I'm never a big fan of anything spinny so I made the next choice, the Splat-O-Meter. Think Power Tower at Cedar Point but much shorter. Luke was so nervous and I was thrilled to go on it with him! After that, he loved it so much he went on it 3 more times!
Ben left pup land and took Elle and Drew on the water log ride. Ellie loved it! Sweet Drew had NO idea in this picture what was about to hit him. It took him by such shock that later that week when we told him were going on a boat ride (a pontoon we rented on a lake) he whispered to me, " It has no hills, right Mama?" What a trooper.
Meeting Rubble and Skye! Drew was back in his magical land of bliss.
Luke was excited to show the two littles the Bubble and Guppie ride! Lots of spinning here. :)
Then some more fun rides!
Luke was excited to teach Ellie all about the Splat-O-Meter!
Drew loved the carousel ride and named his horse Leah. During the rest of the day he would say, "I'm sad, guys." When we asked him why he would say because I miss my horse Leah. So sweet.
Mom and Dad on the Ferris Wheel.
Double Dare was there and we were able to watch a mini show of it live!
Next up at MOA, we headed over to Crayola Experience! Don't mind the unfortunate placement of the black dot. :) We got there just in time before it closed at 6. We had a lot to do and scurried around pretty quickly but we had a lot of fun!
When you go there, you get to name your own Crayola crayon! This was the activity I was most excited for. So here we were choosing the color, making up a fun name when Luke got bummed that he "accidentally" chose a red crayon. He wanted the green so bad because he had the name "turfy" in mind. He asked if he could use my coin to make the crayon. I automatically said yes but let me pause for just a second. All day long moms sacrifice. We say sure you can have the best bite of my sandwich. Of course, you can sit in the best spot at the movie theater. Yes, I will put my book down at the best part to go push you on the swing. You get it and most of the time we find joy in this sacrifice but on a family trip this sacrifice is all day long. Well, yes Luke, you can have my coin to "re-do" a mistake you made. Well, this is where the story turns and it will be a memory I always hold onto. Luke finished naming his red "oops" crayon. When he was done, he brought it to me and he named it AWESOME MOM. Now to have my 9 year-old, to cool for school, son name that, in that moment. Tears actually filled my eyes. For all of the sacrifices, most done in joy and some with gritted teeth, we are noticed and appreciated. We are awesome moms!!!
Below are the names of our created crayons...
We stayed until they basically kicked us out.
Elle and Drew meeting some Ninja Turtles and riding some rides while Luke and I waited in line for TMNT ride.
Ellie in all of her glory!
On the TMNT ride! This was so fun!! We each sat in our own turtle shell and we could control our shell!
Next up was Fly America but I don't have any pics of that. This was all of our favorite and was similar to Soarin' at Epcot. The line for Fly Canada was shorter so we did that ride instead. They added smell effects, wind in our faces, and a light spray of water in our faces as we flew over the Niagra Falls. It was hard to explain to Drew what was actually happening, that we never left the big movie theater, but he loved it. :)
Then should we go home? Late night with the baseball game now it's around 8 pm...nope! This day we really pushed it but there were no meltdowns and so much fun so of course, a round of mini golf was next!
The theme of the course was to find the big, furry Big Foot! Elle and Drew loved this part of the golfing. Especially when we found him at hole 17. We hit our golf ball to the door of a closet and it would light up and show Big Foot's big snarling smile.
MOA, you were so much fun!
The mall was officially closed but we wandered as we ended the night with milkshakes. It was about 10 pm when we began to leave. The rides had stopped. Most of the lights were off and when Luke sat on the green slime below it gave out a loud burp. He jumped up so high and screamed and we all laughed so hard.
The next morning we took off for Minnehaha Regional Park and Falls.
Here are our bikes that we used throughout the trip. We were packed!
We were hot and sweaty from the hike and bike ride so the cool water felt pretty great.
Ben found a splash pad too!
We ate in the car and took off for Mille Lacs State Park, about 2 hours north of Minneapolis.
Checkout our cozy cabin. This for sure felt like a new bend in our road trip. No more glass elevators or omelet bars for breakfast!
We usually ate breakfast and lunch out of our food supply and would eat dinner somewhere out. That night we ate at the Cedarwood Restaurant. We were in the middle of nowhere. The only car on the street is ours!
This group all joined the clean plate club. Every bite was eaten and Drew found his love for hash browns.
After s'mores we had a blast playing LRC. Luke won! Drew was hilarious with blowing on his dice for good luck, yelling, "Let's GOO!", and flexing his muscles when he got a good roll.
The next morning we biked to a little lake at the Park.
And back to the cabin to pack up, make lunch for the road, and Luke wrote the journal page for our family to go in their Park Travel Journal.
After we packed the van up, Ben had one more surprise up his sleeve. He took us to a 10-story lookout tower. Yes, 10 stories!
These were the views. Yes, beautiful but I was so nervous about walking up and then having to go back down with 3 kids. If it was just the 2 of us, great. But this lookout tower was old and if you missed a step there was NOTHING stopping you from slipping through the wood-slotted stairs.
This was my view that I saw.
See the stairs! I held my breath until all of my family was safely off the STEEP, rusty, nothing to catch you in between stairs. We did it!
We drove off and onto our next adventure! We were off to Afton State Park, east of Minneapolis and right on the St. Croix river that borders Wisconsin and Minnesota.
While Drew and I were settling in, Ben took the older two on a bike ride down to the River.
We ate pizza at a local pub and Luke was able to sneak in the All-Star Baseball game there too. Campfire, S'mores, and sparklers to end the night.
Cabin life...
The next morning, we packed up the van again and took off to hike down to the river spot where they had gone swimming the day before.
No one was there and we had the river to ourselves.
Jumping off the dock!
We headed off to Wisconsin Dells next after we checked out from the Park. Think Las Vegas for kids. All of the gimmick and tacky any kiddo would love all on one strip!
We stayed at another type of cabin thing. It had this man-made lagoon topped off with that plastic, floating swan.
Early the next morning, we were off to Noah's Ark Water Park! We walked in as the gates opened and we stayed every single minute we could. We all had so much fun!!
Ben and Luke waiting in line for the newest ride. RAJA! It was only an OK ride in their minds. Elle is super brave and fearless and went on every ride that she could go on based on her measurement! Luke surprised me and my more cautious and gentle kiddo rode EVERY single ride. He even went on the Point of No Return twice which I couldn't believe! Drew was more cautious after that log ride at MOA but he enjoyed all of the spray parks, lazy rivers, his favorite the wave pool, went down a few slides by himself, and went on a family raft ride called the Congo Bongo. Ben LOVED the whole day and rode all of the rides too with Luke!
Below is the Stingray and it was such a surprise! It was so fun!
Closing time played as we were riding the waves in the wave pool one last time. Drew fell asleep as soon as put him in his stroller to go home.
Each of us are pointing at our favorite water ride on the map!
Ben: Black Anaconda
Courtney: Stingray
Luke: Black Anaconda
Elle: Flying Gecko
Drew: Wave Pool
That night we headed back to the Pizza Pub where yes we did just eat at the night before as well. We loved having the salad bar option to go with the pizza! The salad bar is a great secret for our kids. They can pick their veggies, eat chopped ham, and Jell-O for dessert.
Breakfast the next morning back at our "cabin". We packed up and drove to Madison where we rented a pontoon and met up with Ben's friend Chelsea from our WMU days and her family!
The day was beautiful and we had so much fun cruising on Lake Mendota with the Dennis family!
Captain Ben!
My sweet girl getting to ride another mode of transportation on the trip! She loved driving!
Checking out the University of Wisconsin's student center from the water! A little bit like the 'ol Bernhard Center. 😉
Elle, Ben, Luke, Houston, Court, Drew (sleeping), Chelsea, Merritt, and J.H.
That night we had so much fun staying at Chelsea's home! The kids played so well and at bedtime they all crashed so the adults could have fun adulting.
Broncos reunite!
Goodbye till next time...Aren't kids just the best.
We drove over to Madison for the day to checkout the University of Wisconsin!
In the late afternoon we drove over to Milwaukee for our last night of the trip! We parked at the Milwaukee Mitchell Park Domes and rode our bikes through the city to this cute farm to table bistro called Story Hill BKC. The bike ride was long so Ben biked back to the van and picked us up after dinner.
Ben on the bike ride back with the Brewers ballpark in the background.
Here we are. Miller Park!!
Ellie had her own money and decided to purchase a Gatorade on her own.
The park provided posters and markers to design our own posters for the game!
Ben had picked the correct "color guy" on the jumbo-tron to win the race! Luke not so much.
At the end of the 7th inning a few seats emptied behind the catcher. Ben took Luke and Elle first to nab the preamo seats! I took some pics of the TV's out in the concourse of them sitting behind home plate. They made the TV! Do you see Ben talking to Luke and Ellie watching??!
Drew and I headed down after the 8th inning. We saw a grand slam by the Giants right in front of us and that won the game in extra innings!!
We were all tired and headed back to the parking lot ready for the drive NOT home but to Commerce Township, MI. We cuddled the 3 babes in the back. Elle and Drew in the captain seats in Luke sprawled across the backseat. We put on a show for 20 minutes and then that was it. They fell asleep and Ben drove us there through the night.
We drove up to a campsite by Maple Glen Park around 6:30 am and we all slept for about 2 hours in the van in the parking lot. We woke up, got dressed and ready at the campsite bathroom, ate cereal in the car, and drove down the road to Maple Glen Park for Luke's Rochester Hills Little League County Tournament!! It seems only appropriate to end our baseball trip with Luke playing baseball!!
Luke's team came away with the big W!!! We were off to the next game in the tourney tomorrow.
The trip was so much fun, exhausting, exciting, and an adventure for all of us. We drove home with new memories we will cherish forever.
