Day 8 - Last day in Des Moines and a great story!

Day 8 was a good one, a memorable one and a tiring one. So in honour of a long day the daily update will be a short story from the day and pictures.

So here is our story, after lunch the kids and Dad went to the Botanical Gardens in Des Moines. It was a hot day so we thought an indoor thingy would be nice, but of course indoor gardens like this are hot and steamy on a good day, and today was a hot one so it felt like a steam bath a bit.

But we still had fun looking around and Dad really liked the bonsai trees. We knew that at the end of hte garden was a water fall we could walk under and the hope was that it would be cooler in the shade and with some splashing water, and it didn’t disappoint.

As we were sitting enjoying the view behinde the waterfall when a young couple came up asking if we wanted them to take a picture of us, we had just finished our selfies and pictures so we declined but Dad offered to take a picture of them if they wanted. The fellas said sure as we walked out in front of the waterfall and he handed his phone to our daughter, and he said something quietly to her as he handed over his phone. He then asked if Dad would take a few pictures with his girlfriends phone. She said her phone didn’t take great pictures but she handed her phone over.

As Dad took photos and the oldest shot video the fella after a few seconds turned got down on his knee and proposed. The whole garden became quiet as the couple had a their moment. It was really amazing to be there and experience a little of the joy that they shared.

After we congratulated them and gave them back their phones we made our way out in the sweltering heat giggling how hot and sweaty they both must be after hugging and kissing, at this point the little guys says “Why were they kissing?”. Our daughter said that those two people are now engaged and are going to get married, and again the dude said “When did that happen, I didn’t see anything.” Turns out during the proposal he was off in a bush playing and missed the whole thing. Classic.

The kids, minus the short one, and Dad agreed that we should do something nice for the new couple so we went and adopted a plant for them at the botanical gardens and asked the staff to tell them on the way out and get their names to put on the little name tag beside the plant. This made the kids happy to do something nice for them, and the middle one said he hopes they come back on their anniversary to visit their plant. Love it.

Now pictures, bed and Wisconsin Dells tomorrow.

every kid had to sleep within 5 feet of Mom and Dad even though we had a pull out in the other room of the suite.

he was confused as there was no yellow button to push.

360 hours of lego work to make that golden gate bridge.

they had to build a building that would then have to withstand the shake table earthquake.

paper rockets were made and tested, some even exploded into shredded paper.

and energy was generated, this was Dad’s favourite.

we got Mom at lunch and headed to this gem.

dad ate a whole defibrillator. burger, bacon, pulled pork and brisket!

super cool to be able to see them up close!

it was cool to see lots of frogs and tadpoles in the pond.

daddy and daughter went out for a walk and some late evening pizza.

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 7 - Highs & Lows

Today started with everyone but Mom sleeping in, which was good, and we missed breakfast, which was bad. So we had to find all breakfast nearby and we were very happy to stumble upon Railroad Bill’s Dining Car.

You have to walk through the antique store to get to Bill’s.

It is a small spot with seating for maybe 25 people and it is in a great little old brick building that adds to the character.

this is the entrance into the antique store we had to go through to get to Bill’s.

Grab a menu seat yourself and when you have decided go up to the counter to order and fill your coffee or juice.

We ordered some bacon and eggs, one fried chicken and waffles, one steak and eggs and the little guy got a scrambled eggs, bacon, and ham hash. He was so hungry when the food came he shouted “Oh yes Please!”

he out most of this plate away in no time.

great start to the day…this is the high.

We then drove to Living History Farm in West Des Moines so we could explore Iowan history. Sadly the Living History Farm was almost just like every small town Saskatchewan museum and the kids have seen more than their fair share of them, we also didn’t discover this before we had paid admission. And since we had paid Dad decided that we all had to at least check it out. To the excitement of some of the kids.

and since someone wasn’t excited Dad laid on the Fun Dad shtick think.

the bank, and this was the low point. Haha!

this stream was the only think our daughter liked, well that and the exit she said.

there was a pig and it was playing with a tin can.

In all we wandered around the Farm for close to 2 hours before we could find our way out, this was also Dad’s fault because he thought the tractor ride would be fun when all it did was drive you out to the far end of the Farm so you could “walk back through time from 1700s to the 1900s.”

Once we got out Dad had to quell the rebellion so we went to Zombie Burger for milkshakes and snacks.

he was worried the zombie would grab him.

couldn’t choose between cinnamon toast crunch and rice crispy cake milkshakes.

And like every afternoon here we came back to hotel for a rest/nap, then an hour and a half in the pool then we waited for Mom to come up. She got the evening off and so we planned to go visit the Historic Carousel in the Park, supper at the Spaghetti Works and finish it off with a round of mini golf. All went off well but the Spaghetti Works was bonkers busy so we settled on the Cheesecake Factory so Mom could experience it too.

we are so excited and the music was so loud.

This funny little side trip was a short stop but we all rode and we all had funny being goofy, it was the best $3.50 we spent this vacation.

after supper we drove by the Container Store and JUST had to stop.

Mom loved that they had a whole isle of packing cubes!

Strangely we spent 30 minutes wandering around enjoying all the containers and imagining all the things we could contain with them all.

This place was definitely not the nicest, actually pretty run down, but we enjoyed it none the less. They even had a hole that had us shoot the ball through a waterfall into cave and have it roll out the other side, pretty cool.

After golf we drove back in the dark and took the long way back going through downtown so we could see all the buildings lite up and the cool walking bridge that lights up. One more day in Des Moines tomorrow, not sure what we will be up to…maybe Science Center and Botanical Garden.

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 6 - Beach, Dumplings and Cupcakes

Today we realized that the complimentary breakfast, which is good, got even better. They have an omelette station on one side that is usually busy but today Mom overheard someone ask for bacon and eggs AND that they also make pancakes with a chocolate chip addition if requested.

fruit loops, scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes are a great start to the day.

After breakfast we drove off to the beach at Raccoon River. It is a nice park with ball diamonds, play structures and lots of green space. And being that we were there on a Wednesday morning we were practically alone.

dad loves taking pictures of people taking pictures.

The river was warm and the sand stretched out a good fifty feet into the water which made it nice and shallow, this made for a great place to swim and throw the football for the boys. After an hour Dad’s arm was actually tired and had to stop throwing to the little guy. And even with sunscreen we all got a bit too much sun and by after 4 hours we had to call it and pack up for the day.

The second best part of going to the beach is the cool down in a dark cool hotel room with ice water. But sadly for Dad the boys still wanted to go swim at the pool, Oy!

Dad and the oldest went out for a quick shopping trip when the boys were resting. It was successful in that we found all the things we were looking for and then we stopped at a local music store as the oldest wanted to look at the drumming stuff.

this place was sketchy outside, but full of old rockers inside.

And in the evening the kids and Dad went out for a walk to the Capitol Building to check it out and throw the football around.

who wants to play catch beside the parking garage on the way to the Capitol?

and we found out it is in fact real gold!

view from the Capitol down to the river.

On the way back from the Capitol and on the way to supper we came across the coolest thing! Dad squealed and the kids laughed, though they didn’t even know the Oscar Meyer bologna song.

this place was very hipster, but Dad pushed through.

After we all wished that we were eating fire roasted hotdogs in fresh buns we walked to Dumpling Darling and prepared for yummy. The littlest child was getting tired and was not that excited for “Dumb-lings” so we decided on a sampling of dumplings and made plans for him to eat something else later.

these beauts are the crab rangoon dumplings.

And to wrap it all up across the street from Dumpling Darling was Molly’s Cupcakes, who we were happy to find out won Cup Cake Wars on the Food network a few years back! The boys loved the cupcake bar which had swings as seats. But we all loved the cupcakes.

they wanted to stay here for the rest of the night

from the top, Peach Cobbler, Oreo and the Ron Bennington.

cookie monster - filled with chocolate chip cookie batter.

and Dad’s choice the creme brule - filled with creme.

They were just amazing! We ate them with reckless abandon and regretted nothing. Such a fun place to visit and great cupcakes and treats to boot.

And to fill the supper hole in the little guys belly we found the best Italian food money can buy.

tired and happy for pizza pockets and pizza bites. ugh.

Well another day is in the books and we are exhausted. Tomorrow will be a day of using our minds as we explore Iowan culture.

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 5 - Checking out the place

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Mom today as she had to go to her Conference that goes for the next 4 days. At least Mom and Dad got to have breakfast together as the kids slept in. Once the kids woke up we started on our random wandering of Des Moines.

First things first we walked to the Scenic Route Bakery a couple blocks away for a iced coffee or three. Turns out an iced latte for the middle boy was still to ‘coffee’ even with 3 sugars.

First stop was Barnes & Noble for a novel for each kid for reading later on. The little guy had a sample tiny cup of passion fruit green tea something or other and immediately wanted a large glass of that delicious tasty pink juice! And luckily we got a $1 off coupon when we bought our books, the stars aligned.

Costco was next. And unlike Regina this Costco was not full of a quarter of all citizens within 10 miles of the place. The kids surprisingly enjoyed Costco, unlike at home. Except the sample pieces of tiny pizza both attacked the boys and fell on their shirts, oy!

costco couches are perfect for tired kids.

For lunch our daughter decided on Cheesecake Cafe, Dad did not argue. The food was good and we all took leftovers.

grilled cheese cut like how Grandpa does it!

And then we tried to tackle the cheesecakes. FML. Foolishly Dad allowed each kid to pick a slice, which lead to a slice of red velvet cheesecake, oreo cheesecake and a massive slice of chocolate cake.

“oreo goes in my oreo hole!!!!” exact qote.

red velvet was ridiculous, cream cheese frosting and cheesecake…

We failed is all I need to say. Not a single piece was finished in restaurant.

Then after a long relax and almost 2 hours in the pool everyone, sans Mom who was still conferencing, walked across the river and explored Downtown Des Moines.

you can see the Embassy Suite across the river.

take my picture in front of that tall one there.

In no time we found the coolest place!! Fong’s Pizza looks like an old chinese restaurant on the outside and a dive bar crossed with a tiki bar on the inside. But this all comes together with a stellar menu and amazing pizza.

Fong’s Pizza is a small little space with so much personality.

We ordered 3 personal pizzas, one cheese, one meatzilla and one ham, pineapple and basil. Dad almost ordered a crab rangoon pizza but thought twice as he was still full of cheesecake.

meatzilla on top and ham, pineapple and basil on the bottom.

The service was great, the pizza was better and Dad bough the damn shirt! Highly recommend this place if you make in to Iowa.

By this time Mom was done for the day and she walked over and met us at a beautiful park/garden behind the World Food Prize building along the river. This was a great finish to the day as we had brought the books we bought earlier and we just hung out and read and ran around and splashed in the fountain.

such a beautiful fountain soon to be defiled by the boys.

Now bed time as tomorrow is a beach day at the Raccoon River.

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 4 - To Des Moines!!!

Face of a kid who didn’t expect to swim at a beach today.

Today we had no plans other than driving from Minneapolis to Des Moines, and of course anything else that comes up. It was only a three and a half hour drive so we took our time in the morning and stopped for coffee at McD once we reached the edge of Minni.

Apparently McD are everywhere but their menu varies a lot based on where you are. Mom asked for 2 extra large coffee and they giggled and said they only had large, no big deal. She asked for bagels with cream cheese and they shook their heads and were surprised to know Canada McD had bagels. So we settled for breakfast burritos which were spicy and oozy, and oozy was not a positive descriptor.

So the drive was uneventful and we were just tearing down the interstate when Dad saw a billboard for Frank Lloyd Wright house nearby and a small lake with a beach just a few minutes from the house. So we took Exit 194 and Dad was out voted and we visited the beach first.

a few minutes after testing the water all three had their bathing suits on and were cooling off.

After an hour we were dried off and on to the main event of the area, the FLW house or as the kids said once we pulled up “That is an old looking house that is kinda newish.”

pretty cool! not a huge architecture fan but this is still neato.

Then it was time to fuel up the belly and hit the road to Des Moines. We wanted a local joint to find a sandwich and we found this little deli restaurant on Google and our daughter and I said yes, the others wanted Subway. The both of us talked smack all the way to the restaurant and once we pulled up to it we stopped talking and they all started laughing.

the inside has some funky appeal and small menu.

the address was actually such-and-such street back alleyway. hahaha!

this hoser wouldn’t take off his Fortnite pajama pants once Mom bought them the day before.

a Dad made happy by his daughter when she surprises him with these beauties from Walmart today!! #keto

we made it to the Embassy Suites in Des Moines, the kids loved the view.

the little one loved the pop machine during evening snack time. Free snacks and select boozy drinks for Mom and Dad

snacks and drinks. Mom had a tequila sunrise and Dad had a tom collins, though the collins had about 3 to 4 ounces of gin. it was almost too strong to drink. #gottipsy

early evening walk around the historic east end to check out the neighbourhood.

Mom and the wee one stayed back from the evening stroll for some games.

Only a couple blocks from the hotel we found Zombie Burger! It just looked cool from the outside with neat neon zombie lights and a nice looking patio. We had to go in and grab a burger and a shake or two.

this is the ‘counter’ side of the restaurant. the other side is sit down and service.

grabbing water while we wait for our food. great movie posters that were zombiefied.

yup! it is a cinnamon toast crunch milkshake our daughter orders a zombie bride cake shake.

this was the ‘they’re coming to get you barbara’ burger. grilled cheese as buns with bacon, cheese and zombie sauce.

Even though it was a shorter drive today we still are exhausted and ready to explore more of Des Moine while Mom has to go to her conference. Looking forward to getting to know this city more this week.

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 3 - More Mall

Day 3 started much like the day before with everyone sleeping in a touch. But we couldn’t dilly dally as we had to visit the aquarium at 10:00. Strange though that the mall was almost empty at 9:30 on a Sunday morning…

this button doesn’t do a damn thing dude!

And since we were there early/first the Manager asked the boys to push the button that woke up the sharks in the aquarium. He then rolled over a cart with a goofy large button on top that he told the boys would turn the lights and wake the animals up. little one was excited and the older boy didn’t fall for it.

someone was very happy to be bringing home a fuzzy ray to the stuffy farm.

After a good morning of rays, jelly fish, sharks, fish, turtles, and cute little sea horses we went to the Mall mini golf. It was a great course with lots of interesting holes and fun obstacles and ramps. Just make sure you get there early as it fills up pretty full, should have known that as the occupancy limit list was 500!!

After a round of golf we headed for a pre-lunch snack at the cookie dough store. 5 cookie dough samples for $6, and we had to choose from 12 different flavours.

sugar cookie and chocolate chips was the best.

Then we went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch and a giant volcano brownie to celebrate our 18 wedding anniversary. 6 years ago today we visited the same Rainforest Cafe in the same city and we all ate the volcano brownie for dessert. Mom and I couldn’t think of a more fun way to celebrate that today!!

Afterwards we had a short rest at the hotel an hour of swimming some more shopping at Target, Kmart and a few sketchy Dollar Stores and than a late supper. And by late we mean LATE, we sat down for supper at 8:45, how outrageously cosmopolitan of us.

Now we are ready for bed and get ready to drive to Des Moines tomorrow. Looking forward to the Farmers’ Market!

walking back to the hotel from the Mall this evening.

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 2 - MALL OF 'MERICA!!!

The plan for the day was to wake up early and get to the Mall of America, which is right across the street, and spend the day shopping, riding rides, eating and walking. This was all delayed by a miraculous full family sleep in until 9:30!!! This is such a rare occurrence because the middle kid is usually up at 5:00 am and because Mom was so excited we all worried she would be up at 7:00 giggling and jumping on the beds.

With the sleep in we only had 30 minutes to stuff our faces at the hotel breakfast, the youngest was happy with the cocoa puffs and Mom was sad they ran out of yogurt. Too bad, we had to eat what we could and head for the mall.

slushees and cookies from the Toll House cookie stand.

“This Mall is bigger than all of Regina!”

we are a bit excited, though we made plans for what we would do if Dad barfed.

giant gummy bear of a stick is a must when touristing it up!

creepy ‘selfie’ made at the Crayola Experience.

he loved the fish rod balloon hat, Mom also enjoyed the fish hitting her across the table all lunch :)

just getting ready for the 5D Shark Research Experience. the youngest and oldest kid didn’t want to do it,

Then after 8 hours at the Mall the kids all went to swim in the pool for an hour or so. It is a good pool with a good sized pool, kiddy play pool and hot tub. All it was missing was a waterslide to help sap the kids energy.

he went up then down that wee slide over and over and over and over…

Tomorrow we will hit up the Mall Aquarium at 10:00 am then celebrate Mom and Dad’s anniversary with lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and then a rousing round of mini golf.

Now it is time for so sleep.

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Day 1 - epic drive on first day of vacation

Well we started our 2019 summer family road trip vacation with a long day of driving to get us from home to Minneapolis in 13.5 hours. That is an extremely huge feat for our family as we usually prefer short drives with more not driving, so this long drive with no fights, whinning or awful happenings.

Mom organized a epic game of car bingo that wasn’t won until around hour 7 of the trip. The shortest one shouted bingo when he finally saw a live gopher and received the grand prize of a travel ping pong game that only takes one person to play.

much art was produced on the drive also he wore those pajama pants all day. lucky kid.

I think most of the credit for a great drive has to go to Mom. Other than the car bingo she packed great snacks and lots of presents or toys to keep kids busy. Some of the presents even had names of town on them so the wee kid had to wait to unwrap the present until we had reached each town. It was a small thing but it had him focus more on what is coming up than on being bored and trapped in the car.

The strangest gift the kids opened were plastic hand cuffs, two sets for each kid. The older ones were confused and not quite sure what to do with them, but the oldest found she could clip them to the head rest and balance her phone on them. Kids can be creative if they want to.

Even though it was creative I am glad the police didn’t pull us over and see this.

We pulled into our hotel at 8:45 pm, checked in, unloaded into the room and then the boys swam in the hotel pool until the pool closed at 11:00. At least everyone will be exhausted and should sleep well.

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Various things we builded

We are by no means masters of anything, even though we have some skilled craftsmen in our extended family, but always willing to try and make stuff.

Mom wanted to buy or find a mail box for the kindergarten class at her school a few years ago. She was not able to find one she liked that was the right size or price so she found plans for a wooden mail box online.

One evening we bought lumber and went to town. A few days later we had it made, after a couple coats of enamel red paint it was ready for little kids to send letters in their class.

The next thing we built a few year after was a rolling book shelf/caddie for mom's school library. She wanted something mobile and low to the ground for little kids to be able to access the books easily.

A few drawings and plans were made and we settled on this design with side boxes and the top fully open with dividers to keep boxes organized.

The family got to work and a few weeks of intermittent work later we had a wheelie-book-cart-doodad. This cart has spent it's life in a couple school now and it currently in the garage in preparation for it's new home next year as mom moves to a new school.

The last family build was a deck chair for the dirtiest of the family.

We had recently purchased new deck furniture so we can all sit outside and enjoy the weather. The kids pointed out that Dewey, the dog, didn't have a chair of his own.

So we searched plans for a deck chair and shrunk the dimensions by a third.

What came out was a tiny deck chair that fits the pup quite nicely.

I would be lying to say he was sitting in it nicely, he was sitting nice because mom had a piece of chicken behind me.

We finished it off with a dark stain to match our existing furniture. Truth be told I think Dewey sits in it once for every ten times the kids sit in it. Oy!

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Spring Family Tradition

It has been a family tradition of ours since we had kids thatxwe celebrate the first dead bug that splats on the windshield.

This stretches back before we had kids to Grandpa always buying his kids ice cream on the day that he drive into the first bug of the year.

We have continued this tradition with ice cream, years or anything else that seems celebratory.

This year was no different with a custom bug splat cake.

Loot Llama!!!

For our last big vacation (Disney World) we filled a large piggy bank.

And so this time we thought what new piggy bank could we get to help the family save for the next big vacay.

In no time the boys came up with an idea from Fortnite, not surprisingly with how much they play that game.

Loot Llama!

So mom and I began to figure out how we would make a paper mache loot llama. The interwebs were not very helpful as most Google searches for 'homemade paper mache loot llama' resulted in weak looking pinatas.

So we took upon ourselves to create an original loot llama.

it started as a multi layer paper mache over a large balloon. Then we used small pop cans for the sturdy llama legs as this pack animal had to hold lots of loot.

Then we too a empty instant oatmeal box and cut and taped it into the shape of a llama head. This was taped on to a paper drink cup used as a neck and we had a full llama body. This was covered in numerous layers of mache and finally a custom paint job.

Now that we have this behemoth complete we cut a slot in the back for loot and set ourselves on filling it up.

So far we have done well, I'd say in 3 months we have is a third to one half full. The distruction of the loot llama will be epic.

Especially since we built a Fortnite pick axe to bust it open.

Stay tuned for those pics.

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

My first attempts at Ramen

I have been reading a lot about ramen and the big community of folks who make it at home and even small popup restaurants.

This got me thinking I should give it a try as I love real Japanese Raman when I've had a chance to eat it.

This was my first attempt. The noodles were a bit over cooked, the chicken a tad tough and the broth was lacking some zing, but I felt good with the pork belly and the egg.

I took my time cooking the belly and that made it nice and soft and tender in the broth. The egg was fun to try for the first time, though I put them in the soup cold this time so decided to warm the slightly next time.

Over all not too bad for a first kick at it.

This next time I spent more time making the broth with my own stock from a chicken carcass and some chicken wings I roasted down. That worked wonders as the fat sure made the broth silkier.

The noodles were the same ones I picked up from Superstore, thigh this time I did the last so they didn't get over cooked.

As well I took longer with the eggs and once they were 'cooked' I marinated them in soy and mirin for a day before.

The green onions also added a good crunch and freshness to this bowl, definitely keep adding those bad boys.

Looking forward to the next bowl, I think I will try some mushrooms and beans to the next one. I see corn in a lot of bowls but I can't get my self to do that yet, I enjoy it at ramen shops but seem odd in my homemade bowls.

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Steve Torgerson.

Cruise Food

The food on the ship was good for us, it had a nice mix of options for snacks, breakfasts and lunches that we could all get our fill.

Feburary 2019 - Family Cruise

Now this is a little late, about 4 months, but better late than even later.

Day 3 Sicamous to Chilliwack

Nice 'short' drives through the mountains are rarely short. 175 km isn't the same hour and a smidge that it is on the prairies.

nice cold swim first thing before we leave Sicamous.

somebody decided to to thesis work at the beach.

small one saw u-pick blueberries so we had to pull off highway 1 to pick.

Tomorrow we will be mini golfing, farm visiting, shopping, swimming, and fruit picking.

Posted on July 7, 2018 by Steve Torgerson.

Quick Update from Day 1 and 2 of Chilliwack 2018

So today is day 2 of a quick shot to Chilliwack for work with the family tagging along making fun along the way.

Highlights, luge in Calgary, Takawaka (sp?) Falls to wash our hair in glacier water, Giant Cedar, and the best is D Dutchman Dairy for cows, ice cream and milk.

we made a pit stop at the Canmore Biathlon Park and made this guy happy.

my new friends, I don't know their names or anything about them but we will be best friends

Giant Cedar is always on the list of stops!

Ruby getting her head scratched at Dutchman.

nice hot day to enjoy Dutchman ice cream.

Tomorrow we will be off to Chilliwack for a couple days after we hit up the beach in Sicamous.

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Steve Torgerson.

The last few days in Vacation-ville

The party is winding down and we spent the last few days visiting other fun places and shopping at the largest tourist traps around.

The Blazing Tomato was a yummy little pizza place that allows you to add your toppings and rocket the pizza through a wee pizza oven. I enjoyed the broccoli, garlic, feta, ricotta and parm pizza. Mmmmmm.

We stumbled across this place called Chocolate Kingdom, it promised an educational tour and chocolate treats. We thought even a sketchy place called Chocolate Kingdom would be fun.

But this place was a blast! The tour was an hour and a half long with information ranging from how cacao is grown to the history of it's uses. Including a great little video with a cartoon dragon and a Prince who want to make a pair of chocolate shoes for the Princess of the chocolate castle.

It was just the right amount of corny and cool information. We also were able to sample candied cacao nibs, a spicy chocolate drink, chocolate covered marshmallow, and other samples of different types of chocolate.

But the best part was being able to design our own chocolate bar! Pick your type of chocolate and the 4 ingredients from lots of kinds of nuts, carmel, toffee, bacon, m&ms, peanut butter chips, cacao nibs, coffee, etc. Then at the end of the tour they make your bar infront of you and then they wrap it up for you. So fun.

We also bought a syringe of hot milk chocolate that we squirted in everyone's mouth.

Then we ended our vacation with a glorious night at Medieval Knights. The two boys lost their minds screaming and shouting at the blue knight hoping he would win.

Sadly he was the first stabbed and out of the running. But we still yelled our faces off and had a jolly good time.

Tomorrow we flap our way home.

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Steve Torgerson.

Universal Day 3 and 4

We needed a good breakfast on these two days because the temperature dropped and we would have to generate our own heat.

That being said we still wore shorts and hoodies, but a light rain fell for some of the day. We used these last 2 days to hit up all our favourite rides a few more times.

We took more than a few picture on Hagrid's bike.

The entrance to Diagon Alley is so cool.

Of course that meant spending a tonne of time in the Harry Potter areas in both parks. I think we could have spent the whole time here for all 4 days.

But we made sure to go on all the rides we could. Grandma even went on the laaarrge roller coaster that made me pee a little just looking at it.

Though the highlight of the day for me was meeting Dora and Boots.

The boys highlight was eating Dipping Dots Ice Cream in the cold. They Got a few strange looks for sure.

Though we all put up with the chill because we knew the condo we were staying in has a hot tub on the patio. Perfect!

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Steve Torgerson.

Universal Day 2

Oh man was today long. Breakfast at 7:00, into the park early at 8:00 and go, go, go. We hit the 2 big Harry Potter rides first thing in the morning, Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts. They were both amazing and because the young guy didn't want to go we kid swapped, one parent stays with him while everyone else goes then the other parent takes him while the others go again. It is a great deal for the older two kids and grandma.

The sleeper hit of the day was the Hogwarts Express, we expected a train ride and instead it was just like in the books. So cool!!

After we did those big three we explored Diagon Alley and all the cool shops and alleys they had.

Then a whirlwind of a morning visiting various rides and places to play. The day really turned out nicely with clear skies and a nice warm sun. Perfectly hot for us, though still more than a few people still rocked the winter coat and mitt look.

The Simpsons ride which somehow turned out to be our youngest's favourite ride today.

The middle boy said this was "Just an ugly old creeper van painted nice."

We were a bit peckish so we went to the Chocolate Emporium where there was so much chocolate it was too much. For real! The milkshakes and desserts were craaaaaazy! A definite experience, though the steampunk theme was a fun at first and then odd after a while.

Then with the weather turning nice and hit we headed back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and a quick rest. This was a nice wet rest for the tired feet, yesterday I took 19,000 steps.

Tonight we headed back to the park for the Holiday parade. It was super fun with the original floating floats.