A Trip to Scheels

We were supposed to get the concrete today for the basketball pad in the backyard, but the contractor stopped by and told us it was too wet and would have to wait until tomorrow. The kids were SO disappointed! They were looking forward to the big trucks and the excitement. My sweetie even took a day off for the event.

We decided we needed to do something fun with the kids who were off-track. My sweetie thought I was crazy when I suggested a trip to Scheels. He said we would never be able to afford to buy anything there, but I insisted I had heard good things about visiting that had nothing to do with shopping.

So we piled in the van. The kids were a little confused, but they are always willing to try a new adventure. They loved the statues in the front of the building, especially this one of Abraham Lincoln.

The minute we stepped inside, they could see the huge Ferris wheel that took up the whole middle of the store. We managed to walk past it and head upstairs on the long escalators. We wandered a bit, just looking until we found the game simulator. Sport was happy to try it for us. Each play cost a quarter or a token, but that's not bad for 3 minutes of throwing fast balls. The kids all gave it a try, even me and Baby Doll (although I think she got a better score than me!).

Then we went back downstairs to ride the Ferris wheel. Curly was a little timid until he learned that he could ride with his dad and then he was ok. I took Baby Doll with me (she was not a bit afraid!) and Sport and Scout took up a third car. It only cost a dollar each, so that's not bad. My kids had never been on a Ferris wheel before, and it definitely qualified as an adventure. Baby Doll and I were stuck near the top while they loaded and unloaded cars. Still, she sat calmly and looked around the store at the animal display and at the ceiling.

When we finally got off, they all wanted to climb right back on again, but I explained that we had no more tokens and the line had gotten long, so we decided to find the aquarium. It was pretty cool, part of it going right over the top of our heads. They got bored of the fish quickly though, so we made our way to the kids area where they have a playground like you might find at a fast food place, and it was free! They loved climbing all over and we hung out there for about 20 minutes.

Our last stop was the candy factory where we sampled several flavors of their fudge before we settled on a few kinds to bring home to all the kids for FHE treat. Even before we got out the door the kids were asking when we could come back!

I think Scheels might just have to make it to our list of fun (mostly free) things to do.