Getting Out of the House

It's always this time of year when "cabin fever" starts to set in.  The idea of special outings is lovely, but the reality is that it's a pain in the you-know, especially when I look at all the layers I will have to throw on Kendall (who loves to rip off clothing, especially shoes, socks, and hats, dropping them to the slushy earth beneath us).  But, as I discovered last year, I am a much happier person by making intentional trips out of the house.  And now that Kendall is able to enjoy other activities besides strolling in circles around the mall, it's getting fun to look for extracurricular events around town.

MOMMY/DAUGHTER DATE:  Caribou Coffee Christmas Storytime
We LOVED this!  A friend of mine is in management training at Caribou, and organized a cute little storytime for the kiddos complete with free hot chocolate and a visit from Carrie Bou :)  Since Kendall was one of three kids in attendance, we got lots of personal attention!

The Canal Park Caribou Coffee has a perfectly sized loft for storytime, complete with couches!

Good listeners :)

Not so much a fan of sitting on the caribou herself, but with Mommy it was okay!

We ended our time with a kid-sized treat- hot chocolate, with all the messy fixings!

MOMMY/DADDY DATE:  Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Since losing our regular babysitter to Moorhead (thanks, Brianna!!), date night for us is a little bit of a scramble.  Fortunately, I got the name of a highly recommended babysitter from our church youth group, and Chris and I planned a night out!  We had a lovely dinner, then headed to "Bentleyville" at Bayfront Park in Duluth.  It's a pretty amazing Christmas lights spectacular, with the added luxuries of meeting Santa Claus, toasting s'mores, and sipping on hot beverages- all for FREE!  If you can brave the zero degree weather, it's worth the walk- but I'm glad I left the buggin at home :)