Joel’s 10 year palooza….<3
Years ago when Graham was just a little fellow, I read a book by Bob Goff. In it he talked about taking each of his children on a trip when they turned 10 years old.
Granted he took them on pretty extravagant trips, but the idea struck a chord with me and I mentioned to Russ that I would like to do that for the grands since we missed the boat on the generation we raised.
The idea stuck and we have enjoyed taking Graham fishing in Wisconsin and Emmett to the Space Center in Alabama. We have tried to think of the child and their current interest and make the trip unique for each one.
Joel was definitely going to be sports themed and we batted numerous ideas around. The only thing we try to keep equitable is that they are the star of the show and we spend about the same amount of time away from home for the trip.
When John gifted us tickets for the Ravens vs. Vikings game in Minnesota for our birthday, we asked if we could tag Joel in for his 10 year trip as we thought that was perfect for him.
John was 100% on board and got an extra ticket in the row behind the original three seats.
So the pieces fell into place and on Friday evening we picked Joel up and headed to his restaurant of choice.
Yes. We dined on pizza, fried chicken, and lots and lots of ice cream.
Since I had worked that day and the night was waning, we planned to stay in his hometown and leave the next day for Rochester, MN.
Joel fetched a luggage cart and hot cocoa for the trip to the room. He brought just about all of his stuffed animals including this gigando elephant passed down to him from his brother.
We swam and had another little snack and hit the hay.
The next morning Joel had fun fixing his own breakfast at the hotel complimentary spread.
I think this is why Bob Goff selected age 10 for this kind of adventure. Old enough to manage a lot of the logistics, young enough to have fun doing whatever we come up with.
We loaded up and started the drive north. Of course we had to stop at the World’s Largest Truck Stop on I-80….it’s not Buc-ees but we had fun looking at all the corn related merchandise.
We arrived in Rochester where we planned to stay with Russ’s brother Randy and family. Our nephew Grant and his wife Kayla were there with their two little ones. Joel was pure magic playing football and showing them all his cuddly friends.
These two little guys were quite taken with Joel and it was a perfect evening for him to have some little friends to care for. Family is so important to Joel which was another reason this was a great trip choice for him.
Sonja had asked for his favorites and she was spot on with tacos and chocolate chip cookies. Though he was also still working on the Pizza Ranch birthday cookie from the night before!
We are so thankful for the way our family hosted this little guy and made him feel special.
We went to bed, praying Uncle John’s delayed flight would actually take off and he would be able to meet up with us the next day. The airline struggles hit too close to home, but he arrived in Minneapolis very late and stayed with cousin Olivia with plans to uber to the game the next day.
A divine meet up at his breakfast stop offered him a ride to the game and we were soon united outside the stadium. The Vikings stadium is designed to look like a Viking ship and it is quite impressive.
John and Joel love football with an equal intensity and it was so much fun to watch them during warm ups. They were pointing out players and discussing statistics and it was very special for me to watch them.
We had a great time and God answered my prayers that we sat around nice people with clean mouths who didn’t get obnoxious when the Ravens fans were treated to a win. See first picture and check the score….sigh…
After the game we made a cold walk to the car and headed for Olivia and Kris’s house for dinner. Olivia got the memo on favorites from Aunt Sonja and had prepared chili and cornbread. Another favorite of Joel’s.
We got to see littlest cousin and Benito, who is so well-behaved we hope he raises that young man up right to be obedient like he is!
Sam also joined us for dinner…
A trifecta for the cousins. So thankful.
After dinner we headed back to Rochester for more snacks, football and bed.
The next morning we packed up and said our goodbyes. Uncle John had one more special gift for Joel…
Once again we packed all the love into the back seat, got the books and puzzle games out and started south. As much fun as it all was, we needed to get him back home.
Because someone was missing her brother…
So thankful to Uncle John for the gift of tickets and then sharing the event with this little guy.
So thankful to Randy and Sonja for opening their home and making it such a perfect place to stay. So thankful for the nieces and nephews to all make every effort to get to see us.
Truly a memory we will treasure.
We are very blessed and grateful for all of it <3