Grantsburg, hunting, Mall of America

Friday morning we wake up bright and early and head out to Grantsburg to visit with Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim. Michael was planning on going hunting with them over the weekend and the rest of us were off to the Mall of America. Since the trip was about a 4 hour drive we knew we would have to stop often. First stop was the gas station for fuel. Second stop was Walmart in Baraboo to get Michael some gloves. It turned out not to be very busy at 8am so I picked up a few xmas gifts too. Third stop was the Kwik trip cause Alex needed to go to the bathroom. Fourth stop was at a Walmart somewhere to get Alex some stomach ache medicine, oh and I picked up some more xmas stuff cause it was still on sale at 10am. Fifth stop was lunch in Rice Lake at Taco Johns, we thought about stopping at the Walmart there too but decided to skip it. Final stop was at Barb and Jims. We pulled up to the house and right away we saw a deer hide on the wood pile, I guess it was there to keep the wood warm. Jim came out to meet us and as we were on our way in through their garage we noticed the deer hanging without the skin and guts. Alex took one look and said "Yep, that deer is really dead!" I don't know what gave him that impression. Anyway once inside we said hello and unloaded the van. Michael got a quick tour and then they were off in the woods for hunting. Kato, Alex, Jade and I went for a ride through town and stopped at a few stores. Once we got back Katos cousin Matt and his girlfriend Erin were there. They said they just heard a few shots fired so we were anxious to hear if the mighty hunters got something. It turned out Michael took a shot and missed so he took another one he thought he got it but they ended up not being able to track it. We all ate dinner together and then Jade and I turned in early. The rest stayed up and played poker. Jade and the hunters were up early the next day and we were going to Mall of America. It was about 1 1/2 hours away but it went fast. The mall is huge and it wasn't too busy when we first got there. We went to the aquarium first. Alex couldn't wait to see the sharks. Walking through the glass tunnel and watching all the fish and turtles was so amazing. Underwater is really beautiful. Jade seemed to like it too. We saw sharks and all kinds of fish, seahorses, turtles, starfish, sting rays, jelly fish, crabs, and eels. After the aquarium we got some lunch and then walked the mall. It was 5 hours total. We didn't buy that much stuff but it was a good time. We all slept on our way back except Matt and Kato who talked about spiders at the cottage. We heard the sad news that the hunters didn't get anything but would try again in the morning. We ordered pizza and played poker. Everyone slept well that night. The hunters were up early again but so was Jade. They went out until 9 and did not have any luck. It had snowed the night before so all the trees and bushes and ground was covered with a coat of snow. It was very pretty. We packed up everything and headed out. It was a great weekend and we plan on going again next year. Thank you Barb and Jim for having us and taking Michael out hunting. thanks for reading xoxo