You see, back in the 80's, trips to GF happened twice a year . . . If I was lucky. We made the pilgrimage during the summer to get fireworks and then prior to Christmas for Christmas shopping. Whenever another unexpected trip occurred, my eyes lit up.
My mother always like to talk about how when I was maybe five or six, we had to take my grandmother to the doctor in downtown Grand Forks. While she was seeing him, Mom took me over to a large department store where I gleefully spent my time riding the escalator. Over and over again.
I remember Mom telling a security guard who was watching us, "We're from a small town."
But I had a blast.
Then as the '80's gave way to the '90s and I earned first my farmer's permit and then my official license, I could wait to actually get my own car and have the option to go to GF whenever I wanted! That was the coolest thing I could have imagined.
And, sure enough, once I did have my own car, that is exactly what I did, pretty much blowing every check I received from the Red Lake County Highway Department (my summer job for nearly a decade) at Columbia Mall (usually Dayton's).
So when Kristie mentioned going to GF yesterday to do some shopping, there was no way I was going to disagree with her.
Unfortunately, she woke up with a terrible head cold, so the kids and I decided to make the trek to GF where we'd meet my mother-in-law, Gail, for a little shopping and then lunch.
My mother would have loved to have gone with, probably just to spoil Cash and Kenz, but she would have gotten a kick out of things coming full circle.
Before we were out of TRF, though, Kenz vowed to do her homework (what Kindergartner is excited to do homework?). She is even putting the water bottle she got from Uncle Barb for a present to good use to keep herself hydrated during the homework session!
Cash, on the other hand, was all too happy to play his Harry Potter and Avengers Lego games on the iPad.
Once we hit GF, we promptly headed towards the mall. The kids needed clothes, I needed new shoes, and they were excited to burn off some energy at the play land in Scheels.
Kenz pulled her usually tricks at The Children's Place, picking out cute, "girly" outfits that she promised to wear this spring. In reality, once she gets them up to her room and is her usual surly self on a weekday morning, we'll see how many of these outfits she actually wears. I hope she does, but my money is on her beloved half a dozen pairs of sweatpants and her two beloved soccer shirts - or maybe her T-ball shirts.
Cash found this awesome hat and wanted to strike a pose to send back to mom.
After the mall, we hit our favorite place to eat - Texas Roadhouse (The Mexican Village is a very, very close second). Then it was off to Target before finally heading home late in the afternoon.
The highlight on the way home?
Well, unlike with my parents, the kids and I actually like the same types of music. I mean back when we had out Buick Skylark, which came with a type deck that the previous owner had installed, it was unimaginable for me to ask Mom or Dad (certainly not Dad) if I could pop in one of my Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, Metallica, or Iron Maiden tapes. That was what my Walkman was for, and that was one reason it was by my side on every excursion we ever took.
But the kids and I? We love the same music. So on the way back, Kenz requested some Def Leppard. I cranked "Photograph" and listened her sing the entire song line by line on the way home. Not bad for a kindergartner. I didn't get into Def Leppard until I was in third grade!!
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