Category Archives: attractions

More on our crazy busy weekend!

This past week was full of spontaneous decisions and last minute changes. We knew it was going to be hot and come Saturday morning the kids were already getting antsy. So, I figured we could stay at home all day or we could find something free to do indoors. We had all day, so on a whim we decided to drive 2 hours to see the new Spam Museum. Its Minnesota… how can you not love Spam? It’s interactive with a fun kids play area, so we really couldn’t lose. Until we went to buy Spam in the gift shop and Enzo wouldn’t stop touching and grabbing things and when I asked him to hand over what he had he did the dreaded wide open scream that all parents dread when shopping. So it was just me and Phoebe maneuvering the stroller while I tried to keep her from grabbing things and an oh-so friendly employee followed us around, probably worried that we were going to cause more trouble. Anyhoo, it was fun, but I think they’re still working on filling in some blanks. Also, because Josh was wearing his Spam shirt, we got freebies, which Phoebe pretty much ate all of.

While we were on our way to Austin, MN, we drove by the RAD Zoo and decided since we already out this way we might as well stop there too, so we made our way there next. They have a large variety of reptiles and amphibians, though the main draw is their massive alligator Big Al who is 12 feet long. It felt a tad over-priced, but it can’t be cheap feeding all of those animals. We didn’t stay very long mostly because there was no AC in this giant warehouse-like building and it was around 90 degrees outside. The kids seemed to like the turtles best… personally I liked the lizards.

Both kids were tuckered on the way home and watched a movie while we headed home. Amazingly we were scheduled to arrive home right at dinner time, which rarely happens when we’re being so impromptu.

On that note, this post has far too many pictures to even consider adding to it, so I’ll post about our beach time next. 😉

Dinosaurs!

The dinosaurs are back at the Minnesota Zoo and this year we decided to walk through with the kids. It costs extra, and I’m still not sure if it’s quite worth the extra cost. I think if it was just Josh and I we would have felt it had been a waste, but the kids seemed to enjoy it and watching their reactions was worth it.

Enzo was stoked when we saw the first dinosaurs, but then his focus became more about seeing a T-Rex and only a T-Rex. We had a hard time getting him to slow down and not skipping everything in between. Phoebe took some warming up. We had to convince her that the dinosaurs were not in fact real, but because they were animatronic she didn’t quite believe us at first.

If it hadn’t been for the baby dinosaurs, I think Josh might have had to carry her the whole way through, but as soon as I saw one, she scampered over and was all, “Ahhh, cute!”

There was Jurassic Park music in the background and various facts along the trail that we didn’t really have time to read because… kids, but it was fun to walk through and not overly crowded or hot thanks to shade here and there.

Once we finally made it to the T-Rex, Enzo was excited for about 5 seconds while Phoebe jumped into Josh’s arms and had to once again be convinced that she wasn’t going to get eaten or anything.

By far the kids favorite part of the dinosaur exhibit was the end wherein they got to crawl in big dinosaur eggs and we all got Icees because it was so hot out. So, all in all the kids gave the dinosaurs exhibit a thumbs up, but more so for the Icees.

Driving, Toys and Eagles

Last Friday day care was closed for annual training, so rather than sitting around the house, I thought it would be fun to get out and do something. The weather was supposed to be nice, so I figured we should go for a drive and hopefully see some wildlife. The National Eagle Center is around 2 hours away, and then I realized that Lark Toys was just 10 minutes away from that, so we had our plan! We popped a movie on for the kiddos to watch and we were golden! Phoebe managed to take a quick nap in the van and by the time we arrived at Lark, both of them were more than ready to get out some energy. Also, they were hungry. Why is it that whenever we’re at home they pick at their food, but the second they get in the van they (okay, mostly Enzo) become famished and want all of their snacks in the first 5 minutes.

The kids were overcome with joy looking at all the toys, and thankfully there were a lot of toys that are actually okay for kids to play with while they look. Phoebe did not want to leave behind “her” baby that she had found and it took some coaxing to get them to move on to other things. They have been playing with their own kitchen and toys a lot more since we went, so I call that a win since it reminded them how much they actually enjoy playing “house.”

Besides all of the great toy displays, the highlight of Lark Toys was the carousel. I wish I had gotten more pictures of it, but the kids were antsy and had so much pent up energy still. We went on one ride, got some lunch and then decided to head to our next stop.

I think we were both a little surprised at how busy the National Eagle Center was on a Friday. It was a lot later in the day than I had originally planned on arriving, but with kids that’s not exactly unusual. It was chilly, but the kids enjoyed some fresh air while we looked for eagles. Alas, they were all pretty far off and despite being zoomed in as far as I could, it just wasn’t far enough. Inside, however, the kids got to see them up close and without glass or anything in the way.

(Enzo took this picture of the barge – time to get him his own camera!)

We tried to stay as long as possible, but both kids were acting rather unruly and at this point could not hold their wiggles in and were running around and yelling and the last thing I wanted was for them to get underfoot of other people who were there trying to enjoy their day as well. We went ahead and called it and headed home so the kids could run around like maniacs in the comfort of their own home. We did get to see more eagles flying around and some in nests, but one of these days I’ll just have to drive around on my own… or wait until next season to do so.

Soda Sampling

We decided to let the kids have their first taste of soda this weekend when we cracked open a couple of bottles from the Blue Sun Soda Shop. We don’t really drink soda very often anymore (at least I don’t), but every so often it’s a fun sweet treat. We also figured it wouldn’t be the end of the world if we allowed the kids a couple sips of caffeine-free soda for the first time.

We started off with this amazingly yummy caramel cream root beer. So smooth and tasty. Enzo was a fan, but Phoebe was on the fence.

The next up was this orange soda that Josh picked out. Not surprisingly, he chose the Gamer soda, but we both found it kind of ironic that the Gamer soda was non-caffeinated.

Josh and I thought it was okay. The orange flavor was really light and it was very fizzy. We’re pretty sure that’s why the kids gave it a thumbs down.

Granted, it didn’t stop Enzo from giving it a second chance. He determined it was still yucky, though. Both kids were done with soda after our little taste test and had zero desire to try anymore the next day. I seem to have forgotten the photos of those, however, and therefore can’t even remember which one I chose.

I have a feeling the kids won’t be asking for soda anytime soon, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Ha ha.

Oh! Just remembered – the next day I tried a Key Lime Pie soda and Josh had a bubble gum flavored one. I’m going to try and post photos and keep track of all the flavors we try.

Ice Castles and frosty toes

For someone who is without a doubt, an introvert, I get stir-crazy very easily. It is for that reason I tend to drag my family out of the house – Phoebe comes more than willingly, but sometimes I have to convince Josh and Enzo to come too. Something about the phrase “Ice Castle” had Enzo even more excited than Phoebe.

We decided to go opening weekend since it was the first weekend where the temps were at least in the 20’s. In hindsight, we should have probably waited until it was a tad warmer out. Enzo doesn’t mind getting bundled up, but Phoebe is really not a fan of layers and gets very unhappy when it’s time to put her big coat on. I don’t blame her; I really am not a big fan of bulky layers either – I get claustrophobic and uncomfortable.

Anyhoo, it was cold, but the kids thought it was neat for about the first 5-10 minutes. One big draw was an ice slide, which Enzo obviously wanted to do, but Phoebe was cold and just wanted to be held, so Enzo and I rode down the slide together. While my hips are padded, they sure could have used extra on the way down. Totally worth it to hear Enzo’s excitement on the way up and then down. Alas, due to a faulty battery and Josh’s phone dying, we didn’t get a lot of pictures and none of us coming out of the slide. Thank goodness for smart phones! We walked around a bit, but the kids got cold fast and wanted to head out, so to dinner and home we went!

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures