We didn't have much planned for today. And that was okay because we all are still adjusting to the all-day-every-day routine of work and Kindergarten, so some down time was just what the doctor ordered. But as we left lunch at Waldo Pizza (yum!), we walked by a couple of city buses and the kids began saying "I want to ride the bus! I want to ride the bus!" My husband and I looked at each other with that "Why not?" look and after some quiet time at home and some research on bus routes, we headed out.
We hopped on the bus in Brookside with no idea of where we would end up. As we rode through the Plaza, we considered stopping at the Art Fair, but it had just started raining, so we stayed on the bus. And eventually we decided to get off at Crown Center. It was pouring down rain by then, so we ran into the building and spent the next hour riding escalators, walking through the pedestrian bridges, riding to the top of the Westin in the glass elevator, and topped it off with a trip to the candy store. The kids had a BLAST and the only money we spent was $6 for the bus and $3 for candy.
I think as a parent I sometimes forget that kids don't NEED to be entertained with a big ordeal all the time. Yes, it's fun to go to a theme park or a big festival sometimes, but it doesn't have to be that kind of fun every weekend. Sometimes just running around riding escalators will do just fine!