Minnesota Mishaps

     Does anyone else initially read the word mishaps as mi-shaps? I dunno. That's what I read when I first look at it. 

     Anyway, I have been super busy for the past month or so (could I wish for anything else? :P). On June 10th, my sister Mary's birthday, Emily (pictured below) and I went to a Panic! at the Disco concert! Brendon Urie was absolutely astounding live; his voice is positively angelic. I could say more (especially about his cover of Bohemian Rhapsody!), but I'm moving on before my inner fangirl gets out of control.

I finished a bulky seed stitch hat with some yarn that I got from The Sated Sheep, and it is delightfully soft and fuzzy!

     The Tuesday after the concert, I took a chemistry test and got an "A" (thank goodness, because I felt ill-prepared). On June 30th, I took another chemistry test (this one I felt more prepared for, and got another "A", for those of you who wish to know.), and finished packing some clothes and all of my essentials (read: works in progress). Early the next morning, all 13 of us piled into the Party Van and headed toward our first stop: Oklahoma. On the way there, we stopped at the Wichita Mountains and stared at some relaxed buffalo and super fat prairie dogs. 

     Saturday, July 2nd, brought us to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, where we  posed on the toy saddles like the happy people we are (from the left: Emily, me, and Zachary).

     I also got put in jail for the first and final time in my life, which was pretty cool.

Me trying to look like a seasoned criminal, but looking kind of sunburned instead.

     Then, on July 3rd and 4th we went to two different Laura Ingalls homesites: one in Kansas and the other one in Minnesota. These next two pictures are from the Independence, Kansas, homesite.

A replica of what the Ingall's house would have looked like.

Emily, half of Victoria's face, Caleb's back, and Hannah's arm at the post office. :' D

     After driving through Nebraska and Iowa, which involved A LOT of staring at corn, we finally arrived at Plum Creek!

From left: Zachary, Emily, and Caleb standing on the rock that might be the "table rock" in On the Banks of Plum Creek.

     If you're still reading this, and aren't yet bored, I commend you. You're now about to find out why I began this post with the word "mishap".

     The Party Van broke down on our way to the Mall of America! 

     So we sat in the grass next to the busy road while Dad examined the car, and I began putting the finishing touches on my pink shawl.   

From left: Natalie, Hannah, Jonathan, Zachary, Gabriel, Caleb, Emily, and Victoria.

     Which I have now completely finished, by the way!

     Thankfully, the tow truck got to us in about an hour, so we weren't waiting very long. In fact, it was pretty nice, because Minnesota isn't nearly as hot as Texas. ;)

     After we rode in the car ON THE TOW TRUCK, we were dropped off at a repair center (which was closed because it was the fourth of July) and hired some Lyft drivers to take us to our hotel. 

     The next two days were full of walking! I know people say that the Mall of America is big, but you can't fully grasp the size of it until you're in there and gaping.

From left: Zachary, Emily, baby Tabitha, Victoria, Hannah, Mom, and Dad.

Seriously, the place is huge!

     The first day we spent mostly at Nickelodeon Universe, which was really fun. It was nice riding a roller coaster in air conditioning! On our second, and last day there, July 6th, we went to a ton of stores that we'd never heard of before, including Alpaca Connection and Sox Appeal.

There was a sign on the window that said, "How's your sox life?" Lol.

     We separated the return trip into just two days, driving all the way back to Oklahoma on the 7th, and then back to Austin on the 8th.