Biking to Eat Street Crossing and Funlandia, Commence

We had unusual summer temps in early spring this week. I thought we'd have snow piles until mid May but everything melted this week.

I guess it was time to take a look at the gardens.

Meadow set up her fairy garden.

Oh hey they did actually come back and take our old boiler.

No more lawn ornament.

Meadow and I recovered from a stomach bug and were ready to get out of the house to enjoy this weather.

Much later we'd realize our fridge wasn't fridging.

Our first trip to Eat Street Crossing; a food hall just down the block from our house.

Nice to have an ice cream shop that's only a quick bike ride away.

Bebe Zito is probably the best ice cream in town these days. So it's nice to have it so close. Just wish they offered the same flavors as the original location.

Smaller than I thought but it was a nice space. I imagine it gets crowded during the colder months with the patio closed.

We go to the movies once a year. This year we had to take the kids to the new Super Mario Bros movie. I'm glad we picked the noon showing, because by the next showing the theater was packed.

Everyone loved the movie. Theo declared it the best movie ever.

Our attic space was officially ready. Before moving things up we had to bring down all the tools.

So many tools. I'm glad to be more or less done with this space.

Meadow was excited to finally have her reading nook.

We started collecting rugs and furniture to furnish this space. The braided rug in the background came from our basement; left by the previous owners. I have a soft spot for this type of rug, since we had one when I was growing up. After many vacuums it was perfect for the space.

Meadow had officially moved into her space.

Funlandia is open for business. We originally thought this space would be an extra living room but once we brought up all the kids stuff it turned into a playroom.

It seemed way bigger without all the kids many, many toys.

Since Theo has turned five he has become a whole new person. He's learned to swing on his own, play at the playground with other kids and now is semi-interested in riding the balance bike.

He's been going on walks with me to the playground. A few days ago this playground was full of kids, the temp drops and now there's no one.

We've been getting Mexican food from the local Mexican market just down the block, La Casa, when we're too busy too cook. You can buy everything ready-to-go in bulk. Warm local tortillas are even ready in a cooler. Much better than Dominos; not as cheap.

Comments

Hike Trip with the Kids to Nerstrand State Park

Meadow and I had so much fun hiking and geocaching last weekend, we decided to do it again. I was busy photographing for a project in Lake City. Our state park pass expires at the end of the month so we decided on Nerstrand State Park. A short drive from Minneapolis I'd always wanted to go. I love that they had this natural playground. First we wanted to see the waterfall. Little hiker. The waterfall was a lot smaller than I expected but it was open for free play. I let the kids play for awhile. Then we found another area to play. Mr Independent had to hike back himself. That's my stubborn little guy. We took a lunch break before geocaching. Meadow didn't believe me she had smoothie on her face. Theo either. We finished our day by hiking almost the whole park to find the cache. Too bad Scott couldn't have joined us.

Chelsea and the Boys Visit Minneapolis

I told Chelsea earlier this year she was the only one who hasn't seen our house yet. She said she would visit this summer. She texted me earlier this week asking when she could come. Looking at our calendar I said, this weekend or the weekend after Labor Day. When they arrived Theo gave her a tour of our house. I told her we had plans to go blueberry picking and she agreed to go along too. They had never gone before. Hoo, boy. Was I glad that I got out of blueberry picking this year. I spent the day painting back at home. I don't know why, but I do enjoy berry picking. Afterwards we picked up food from the co-op and had lunch in Stillwater. Then we went swimming at the St Croix River Boom Site. We parked our towels right next to the natural spring that flows into the river. Blake... The sunny skies soon turned to clouds and then it started raining. The kids just kept on playing. I couldn't believe they were still out in Stillwater. Then we went over to Teddy Bear

A Twin Cities Mississippi River Summer Weekend

Two summer weekends in Minneapolis? Yeah, it's true. We followed Scott again on one of his jobs, which brought us to Maplewood Mall. I had heard there was a double decker carousel there and had always wanted to check it out. There is a weight limit on the horses so Scott and I had to sit on the swinging bench. Brooke and I must've had empty stomaches. We were both so dizzy after getting off the carousel. Or we're getting old. Scott always complains we never do things in our own city. Since we were going to be near St Paul, I had been wanting to take the kids to the Mississippi River National Recreation Area Visitor Center to get a junior ranger badge. St. Paul is one of Twin Cities, so it's OK to have fun just across the border. It's those suburbs I loathe (though honestly sometimes enjoy). Downtown St. Paul maybe sleepy, but it's very charming. The Mississippi River National Recreation Area Visitor Center is in the Science Museum lobby. Somehow we had never

Search This Blog