Cabela's

This morning we decided to take a little trip over to Cabela's in Rogers so that Anthony could see the all of the animals. We thought he would like it, but we didn't expect that he would love it.  We were in the store over two hours and he did great.  The only time he got upset was when he wanted MORE. Fortunately for us there was "more" around every corner in the store.  His favorite part was the aquarium. We spent a lot of time looking at the different native fish of Minnesota.  He probably could have stayed in there all day.  (Perhaps we should plan a visit to Underwater World in Mall of America - I bet he would love that too!)

I love this photo!  He such a big boy.

The moose was the first animal he saw and he was really into it as well as everything else around him.  The polar bear was HUGE and after seeing it that's when he really started to talk and point.

The African Exhibit was also quite fascinating for A.   The elephant, zebras, lions, rhinoceros, etc. were all quite captivating.  He loved looking at everything, but was a bit nervous as well.  I think he was trying to process what was real and what was fake.

Because it is opener weekend of rifle hunting Mark thought he would try his luck! Okay, so he didn't get the 8 point buck that Uncle Damon got, but he still had fun.  Plus Anthony was totally into it.  This was the area he really didn't want to leave and started to cry/whine MORE!  

I should mention that I tried as well, but I definitely wasn't as good of a shot as Mark.  Perhaps there is a reason I only deer hunted for two years.  Oh, and the fact I had to watch a beautiful deer die right in front of me - STARING AT ME -while mom is cheering as she's coming across the field.  Without a doubt, I will continue to leave deer hunting to Mom and Manda.  Good luck, ladies!

On another random deer hunting note, I realized this weekend how weird it is to not wake up to shooting.  Opener weekend was always busy up north and filled full of rifles going off throughout the weekend.  I grew up with that noise and I just realized this year that it's been void in my life for many years now.  It's interesting how much life can change and how memories can flood back to you over something so minuscule.