Category Archives: minnesota

4th of July…

It’s only been more than a month, but better late than never, right? The 4^th of July weekend was a busy one for sure, but it was so much fun to introduce the kids to the joy of carnivals and staying up way past their bedtime to watch fireworks. We decided to start things off at A Taste of Minnesota and then to meet up with family later on. Enzo was excited about the rides and wanted to try out several, and Phoebe decided she was okay with a slow moving truck ride. Enzo was really excited about the giant slide (as always) and this one was pretty fast. Phoebe watched them go down and insisted she wanted to go as well, but… she was not a fan. We thought maybe she’d enjoy the pony rides since Enzo did at that age, but once again… not a fan and she immediately wanted off. Oh well. Enzo was also a trooper after he chipped his tooth on one of my least favorite rides. Poor guy was in pain off and on throughout the day.

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Lazy day at the beach

Not counting California, we’ve only gone swimming once this summer… several weeks ago. Not quite as often as I had originally planned, but what can I say? Neither Josh or I are very big swimmers, even though we do like the water. The kids are still getting plenty of water exposure, though, and are enjoying water days more and more. They do love sand, however, and that’s one thing we don’t have at home so we should probably try and take them to the beach at least once more before the summer ends.

Enzo’s an old pro at this point when it comes to wet sand and building castles, but Phoebe was a tad reluctant for me to even put her down. After a little coaxing (and once she saw Enzo digging in) she decided she was ready to get down, but she absolutely did not want to get her feet wet. Ha ha. That meant she also did not want me going in the water with Enzo, but he was having such a good time splashing in the water and didn’t even panic when he fell and got water in his face.

Eventually they both got more brave and Enzo decided he wanted to go further out than usual while Phoebe finally figured out that a little water between your toes isn’t such a bad thing. She didn’t necessarily want to go in the water, but before I knew it I was fetching her bucket after bucket of water so that she could dump it on herself. It was a nice victory. It’s funny how they surprise me in random ways almost every day.

See you later, July!

I feel like this week has been a blur… a busy, semi-stressful, hectic, and slightly “off” week. Maybe it’s the weather or something in the air, but I’m hoping to just unwind this weekend, breathe some air and decompress. These pictures have nothing to do with anything unless you consider how easily a cat is able to just relax and simply not care about anything. Ah, such a life.

Tomorrow we are taking a very excited preschooler and his completely oblivious sister camping. Enzo has been talking about it for about a week or so now, so we’re going to stay somewhat close to the cities and hope that camping lives up to his expectations. I think the campground we’re at should have plenty of trails to walk and we’ve got a couple of ideas to hopefully run them ragged so they sleep.

Based on previous experience I have stocked up on several methods to keep mosquitoes away, but worst case we do have the big tent we can play in… and even though I’m hoping to avoid electronics this weekend, if we’re trapped in a small space due to bugs I may just use them as a fall back. Fingers crossed we don’t get eaten alive and can actually introduce the kids to the wonders of roasted marshmallows around a campfire once the sun goes down. No childhood is complete without good camping memories.

American Swedish Institute

We knew we had to get out when we heard we were going to have some nice weather coming our way, so we figured we might as well do something new. I have a list of supposedly family-friendly places, so for this outing we chose the American Swedish Institute. The website showed at least one kid-friendly exhibit and a place to eat, so we figured, why not?

The ASI is contemporary and modern, while the Turnblad Mansion is historic and stately. Thanks to renovations, all floors of the mansion are easily accessible whether you have a wheelchair or in our case a giant stroller. We were also thrilled to see that there weren’t many people when we arrived.

The main exhibit while we were there was Nobel Creations which featured all kinds of displays all inspired by Nobel Laureates. Admittedly, we were more interested in the mansion itself, but some of the exhibits were intriguing.

It was definitely the ideal setting for two small kiddos. Just a handful of visitors (in the beginning) and we didn’t have to worry about bumping into anything or toddlers getting into too much trouble. They were both fairly agreeable and let us wander around. I may have been a tad obsessed with the fireplaces.

There was also the most beautiful stained glass window.

They also had a table set up featuring the Nobel porcelain, which was as refined as one would expect if they were to attend such a dinner.

There was so much beautiful detailing everywhere, and we realized we had actually missed a few rooms, so we’ll have to go back again. I’ve gotten used to having to visit places multiple times now, though. Kids are just kind of distracting, so we aren’t always able to spend as much time perusing.

The kids started getting squirmy right as we reached the third floor, which was thankfully where the child friendly exhibit was located. We were the only ones there with kids, so we had the run of the place, which was also really nice.

Josh was also able to get some of the wiggles out. Museums tend to make him fidgety. 😉

Alas, after setting munchkins free, they did not wish to be confined again. We let them roam for a bit, but more visitors were arriving and we began to have trouble keeping our young hooligans from getting underfoot.

We decided to finish up our tour and head down to the cafe, where we got several looks from other patrons and our server acted somewhat surprised that we would be staying. Thankfully I had some snacks to keep the kiddos busy, but overall they were really well behaved. Another thing you get used to as a parent, though, is receiving the stink-eye now and then. I’m not going to let other people stop me from introducing our kids to new experiences or keep Josh and I from having a good time. We always try to be good patrons and clean up after our kids and not disturb others, so when the kids did start to get a bit loud, I took them outside to run around while Josh took care of our bill. I do wish we lived in a country where overall children weren’t seen as such a nuisance, though.

Anyhoo, overall it was a fun little excursion and we’re looking forward to more outings this summer. I’m hoping we can hit up some new destinations with our little buddies.

Surprise Travel with Kids

Last month we decided it would be a great idea to plan a last minute weekend trip to Duluth with the kids. Not only that, but we decided to buy tickets for a short holiday train excursion, the only tickets available being for an evening ride. Right after we made plans and bought tickets, Phoebe started sniffling and coughing and we second-guessed ourselves, but decided to press on anyway. It was incredibly foggy, and both kids were not themselves – acting out a bit more than usual and when we arrived at our hotel we found out it wasn’t ready and we couldn’t check in. So, to dinner we went.

Understandably, the kids were wriggly and didn’t want to sit still after a 3 hour ride in the car. We questioned whether or not we should continue with the night, quickly ate dinner, and drove back to the hotel crossing our fingers that the room would be ready. Thankfully it was, however, it was also right next to the very noisy pool. Oh boy. The kids were bouncing off the walls and being naughty, but we had those tickets, so off we went.

Both kids seemed excited about the lights and the train itself. It wasn’t a long ride, but enjoyable nonetheless. We arrived at the train depot and they got to look at a few trains before we were rushed over to the reading. Enzo and Josh sat on the floor, but Phoebe wasn’t having it. She wanted to crawl and move and was tired and fussy, so I walked around with her while everyone else listened to the story. I would have loved to look around the train museum, but we didn’t have much time.

There were a lot of people and older kids, but Enzo managed to play a little before it was time to get back on the train and go. At this point, however, he did not want to go. He was having fun, and proceeded to lie on the floor underneath our seats and make known his displeasure to all.

He gave up once everyone was aboard and decided to strike up conversation with the gentleman behind us, who was only semi interested in having a conversation with our 2 year old. Enzo was not to be deterred, however. Eventually we made it back to our hotel and all 4 of us ended up in bed together due to the pool being too rowdy and loud for the sleeper sofa and Phoebe refused to stay in her pack n’ play.

We had breakfast in our hotel room the next morning before deciding to just head home a little early. Enzo was in full on toddler terror mode and Phoebe wasn’t feeling 100%, so we figured it was for the best.

I’m still not sure what had gotten into them that weekend. A full moon perhaps? Change in routine? Let’s just hope that if we continue to surprise them with spontaneous jaunts it will eventually go more smoothly. 😉

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures