MEA Weekend 2014

Every year in October the schools close for two days so that the teachers can attend the MEA conference in Minneapolis. Many people use this as an excuse to get out of town and do something exciting during the long weekend. This year we decided to hang out at home and make our own fun. The weather this fall has been the most gorgeous I have ever seen it during October, so there was really no reason to escape. With warm temperatures and gorgeous colors all around, we seized the opportunity to be outdoors and enjoy it while we had the chance.

Our first little adventure took us to the largest candy store in Minnesota. Although we've passed this little place many times on our way to one of our favorite apple orchards, we had never stopped to take a peek. We were certainly in for a treat! It was a candy lover's dream, full of old standby favorites as well as new and delightful sweets that you won't really find anywhere else. They also have more kinds of sodas than I knew even existed! We browsed the aisles one at a time, taking it all in and filling a basket with all the fun things we found. Then we narrowed it down by letting the boys each pick three things to take home along with their choice of one soda. It was a super fun place to visit and I am sure we'll be back!

After the candy store visit, as the kids loaded up on sugar in the car, we headed out to Richardson Nature Center for a hike on the trails to get out all that energy. It was SO gorgeous outside--I can't even describe it--and the colors were really starting to pop. We had such a great time just exploring. The boys love finding large sticks, interesting leaves, and any sort of little creature they can spot, so it's always a great way to spend a few hours.

not my favorite part of the day, but picture worthy none the less!

The next day we headed over to Como Zoo for some more outdoor fun in the sun. The zoo was setting up for their Zoo Boo trick-or-treating event, so there were decorations and wooden cutouts everywhere, giving us lots of fun picture opportunities.

Sometimes the best weekends are the ones spent just hanging out together!