A perfect day

Today is my birthday. It was truly a perfect day. We biked to Minnehaha Falls. It was Jia's first time on a tagalong bike behind Joe. We biked about 12 miles and she loved it! I pulled Willa in a trailer. She also loved it because she got to sit with all her stuff and all the snacks!


At the falls, we ate at a yummy seafood restaurant called Sea Salt, then hiked around a bit.

Then we biked over to a nearby splash pad. Here the girls are sporting goggles they earned after finishing their swim classes.

A stop for ice cream on the way home completed our fun adventure!


To top it off, Joe and the girls gave me the present I always wanted as a child but never got - a rock polisher! We hunted for rocks at the falls. Yep, still a goofy child at heart!

Homers and History

America Week Part 2: Homers and History

Some of our reading:

We started off by visiting a local Pioneer Museum.

Looking through the antique viewfinder:

Her view:

Jia told me she wished she lived long ago when people wore fancy clothing.


We also visited the Gibbs Museum of Pioneer and Dakotah Life. The story of Jane Gibbs is a fascinating one and too lengthy to reiterate. We bought a book about her and loved reading it. We found it especially interesting that she lived (with the missionary family who kidnapped her, and the Dakota family who became more her own) at the lake right by our house! She eventually married and settled on the farm that we visited.



The prairie was gorgeous!

In front of the sod house:

Learning what school was like back then:

In front of Jane's custom rocking bench, she could sit and work on one side and safely rock a baby on the other!

A Dakota tribe annually shared the land there:


One of our American crafts - a corn husk angel doll!

We also attended a Twins game. The girls were each given a free bat!

(This was the best family picture we got.)


Our view:

We lasted an impressive few innings given that the heat index was a sweltering 109 degrees and we were sitting in the sun. The menu included take-away sundaes:

Killebrew root beers:

And lots of cool mists!

A jam-packed week!

Drive-ins, Fly-Bys and Ride Alongs

America Week Part One: Drive-ins, Fly-Bys and Ride Alongs

This week was great fun. Our plans included visiting Fort Snelling and the Mill City Museum, but both were closed due to our state government shutdown. In retrospect, we did so much that I don't know how we would have fit them in anyway!

We started off by taking the girls to their first drive-in movie! They couldn't believe they got to sit on top of the car!




We went on the night of July 3rd and there were fireworks...and fireflies! We got home after midnight. I think this will be a fun summer tradition!

And, of course, we ate at a drive-in restaurant as well:

The girls loved that our server skated up to the car.

Then, we met up with some friends and rode the historic Como-Harriet Trolley.



We also attended the 2011 Air Expo.




Ready for take-off!

Coming up next - America Week Part 2: Homers and History!

Lakes, ponds and wildlife

We have had some fantastic lake time with the kids as a family. The first lake we visited was gorgeous, calm and nearly all our own. A bald eagle was hunting there and kept swooping over everyone in the water. It felt like the perfect Minnesota afternoon.



You can see the bald eagle at the very top of this photo.

The second great beach day was at a more popular spot. Super fun as well.



The girls also spent some quality lazy time with Grandma and Grandpa by the pond.



Last weekend, I went for an early morning open water swim with some friends who are training for a triathlon. We went to a lake nearby (in the city of Minneapolis, not a suburb) and I noticed an animal streaking across the streets faster than I've seen any animal ever move. A coyote! Hope it found a better spot to roam.