We're Leaving on a Jet Plane.....

(anyone else remember that song??) Ok, well, we're not really leaving on a plane, but rather in our full size van with broken air conditioning.

My girls and I are making our 2nd annual trip to the Mall of America. We're bringing two of their friends on our foray into the wild world of oversized shopping malls.

My husband and sons hunt, so have a long weekend away every fall. He calls this our hunting trip...which is actually a pretty good description of shopping, especially in a place with 3 floors, hundreds of stores and accompanying 4 teenagers with an eye for bargains...ours just ends with oodles of packages and not gutting an animal in 20 degree weather.

We're spending one night in a hotel near the mall and Rachel (15) said "packing for this trip is so easy, it's like going to a sleepover." While her list may contain only her makeup, purse, a change of clothes, her swimsuit and some pajamas, mine is considerably longer! Packing for an overnight trip isn't much different than packing for a few days for me.

We eat our breakfast and lunch in the car on the way, to save the girls money on food and leave them more for shopping. We also eat our own food for breakfast in the hotel and we bring snacks for the car trip home. With Ruthie coming along, we need a stroller and all her paraphenalia, too. I've learned a lot about myself over the years and know that the more work I do ahead, the more I can enjoy a trip, especially a short one. So yesterday I did the grocery shopping (usually a Thursday job), baked cookies and gathered up as much of what is going on the trip as possible, leaving only the final packing for today.

Also on my agenda today is as much quilting as I can squeeze in as there will be little, if any, time to do any while we are gone.

So think of me over the next two days, in a van full of giggling girls in 90 degree heat and no air conditioner, walking the biggest mall in the world, getting swollen feet and entertaining a two year old along the way...and know I'll be having just as good a time as they are!