Category Archives: photos

The One Where We Pet the Fluffiest Chicken and Experienced Art

I go back and forth when it comes to blogging, but truth be told, when I was blogging I enjoyed that it gave me some motivation to take pictures of things and I like being able to go back and look at what we did. I wish I had more photos of my own childhood, so at the very least I can do something that my kids will be able to look back at one day if they’re curious.

So, better late than never, right? We finally went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art… well, the kids and I did. I’ve been meaning to and I figured it was a good opportunity to do something new with them and hopefully broaden their young minds.

First, we went to the Wild Rumpus, though. It’s another place I’ve had on my list to take the kids to and we were mostly not disappointed. We went on a Saturday, so I should have expected how busy it would be, but my complaint is mostly toward parents who were just inconsiderate of other people. The store is small, so too many people with strollers or huge bags and baby carriers gets crowded fast. The kids just wanted to look at books and had a hard time doing so.

The other draw is the shop animals, though. We saw a bird or two, a chinchilla, two cats, two rats and our favorite… the fluffiest chicken ever. We didn’t even notice this little guy at first and literally had no idea what it was until we started petting it and it clucked. We are absolutely getting silkies when we have our hobby farm.

The MIA wasn’t too crowded once we got away from the featured Egypt exhibit. There was so much to see and the kids were a little tired, so I knew they weren’t going to last long. So, I got us all turned around and lost wandering halls and rooms, while trying desperately to keep Phoebe from touching everything and setting off alarms. Ha!

To help give them some purpose as we explored, I told them they could each take some pictures of things they liked, and I attempted to get them to talk about the art a bit. Thankfully as we wandered into a more modern art area, there was a wonderful woman there with some activities geared toward children to help them better explore and examine the art. I am definitely using her tips the next time we go and it’s always fun to see just how different our kids are and the different ways in which they see and do things.

They may not have lasted long, but I feel much more prepared for next time and I also want to go back by myself or maybe with Josh as well for an afternoon date. I give you a variety of things the kids and I found interesting. I think that perhaps next time I will bring a better camera as well.

*Also, bear with me as I get used to WordPress’s updates… I need to get used to the changes*

Currently…

Is this a return to blogging?  Not sure yet.  Either way… it’s something.

Currently :

Reading… The Dog Stars, The Arthurian Saga (on Book #3)

Watching (on TV)… The Second Season of a Handmaid’s Tale, The Curse of Oak Island

Playing… Don’t Starve, Stardew Valley, The Forest and as of tonight, Detroit : Become Human!!

Listening to… A variety of tunes, can’t seem to make up my mind what I want to hear, so I listen to everything on Spotify.

Drinking… Too much coffee, Sparkling water, Dark beers, Sweet wines

Eating… A few too many snacks of late.  Gotta switch it up!  Craving lots of grilled veggies and stuff, though!

Planning… Some fun crafts/cosplays, creating an outside living space on our deck

Wearing… Summer clothes!! I think we skipped spring entirely…

Enthusiastically… Picking up my camera again here and there, getting outside, finding myself in things that I love (dancing, baking, reading, creating, and so many other things).

Trying… To create better habits and routines.  I’ll get there.

Looking forward to… Summer activities like camping, pub crawls, picnics, yard work, Ren Fest, hikes, fairs, the works.

Enjoying… My weekly pole classes.  I need to push myself to be better about practicing during the week at home, though.  It’s my favorite time to just be myself and get away from everything. I’ve always enjoyed dance.

Disliking… The Freaking Frustrating Formidable Fours.  Who knew my little lady would develop such sass and attitude over the past couple of months?  I’m hoping a switch flips when she hits five.  Oy vey.

Feeling… “… stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

Impromptu Nature Walk

When you get thrown gorgeous weather in September, you take advantage of it, so even though we were going to spend last Saturday cleaning and organizing, I talked everyone into going on some walks at a nearby Reserve!  It was one of my best ideas and despite some bug bites, I think everyone had a really good time.

We went to the nature center first to check in and get an idea of what was in the area, which led us to their outdoor play area.  We told the kids they could play for a while, but then we’d have lunch and do some exploring!

We were even joined by a little slug at one point!  It was fun just watching him creep along and then Enzo gave him some of his apple.

Have I mentioned that the day was beautiful?  Because the weather was amazing!  It was so nice to just leisurely stroll and see what kinds of fun things we could spot.  Enzo even saw a fish pop up to eat a bug when we stopped at one of the lake docks!

With so many different potential trails to go on, we chose one that had a boardwalk through a wetland area.  Considering we forgot bug spray, it probably wasn’t our greatest decision, but thankfully the mosquitoes haven’t been as bad this year as they usually are. We survived to tell the tale!

I was the one lagging behind for most of the day.  I am at my happiest in the woods, though, and I was soaking it in.  Plus, there were a lot of things to see!  Spider webs stretching across the trail over our heads, fungi and so many pretty flowers.

Now, this flower I thought for sure was a fungi, but it turns out it isn’t!  It seems to be most commonly known as Ghost Plant or Indian Pipe and is part of the blueberry family!  It looks so white because it has no chlorophyll and is a non-photosynthetic plant. Because it doesn’t photosynthesize, it’s basically a parasite that lives off of other plants like trees.  Anyway, it was the first time I had ever seen them and they really are kind of eerie growing in the darker shaded parts of wooded areas.

Just as we were headed on our way back to the nature center, we (or rather Josh) spotted a fantastic prairie area that we naturally just had to go explore. There was a breeze, and better yet, no mosquitoes, but it was nice to just see the prairie grasses wave in the wind and watch bees flit from blossom to blossom.

I’m pretty sure we’ll back.

Find Joy

There is a whole lot of Yuck happening right now around the world, and while I know it’s important to know what is going on, there are times when I need to just take a few steps back and just focus on what is immediately around me.  Focus on my family and all of the things I am grateful for, but always conscious of the things that I can do to hopefully make the world better in some way.  Sometimes simply deciding to smile when all you want to do is cry can make a difference.  I can’t personally focus too much on everything that is wrong in the world, so I choose to focus on what is right. I choose to remain an optimist.

Walnut Grove 40th Pageant

So, for our anniversary, Josh decided to surprise me with a random nerdy outing. Unfortunately for him, I talked him into giving me a hint and I accidentally figured out what the surprise was. Whoops! Due to my bookwormish tendencies since I was a child, we were heading to Walnut Grove, MN to see the annual pageant that is performed in honor of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  It’s a bit of a drive, and made for a late night as it is performed outside and doesn’t start until 9pm, but it ended up being a really fun day since we both appreciate a bit of cheese, but also history, and we of course both took plenty of pictures to share with everyone.

So, the first place on our list was at someone’s house. It was quiet and we weren’t sure if parking there would lead to us being tied up and hidden in a barn or an actual sod house. Turns out they actually have recreated sod houses (very few if any original sod houses remain).

It was extremely hot out, but we made the most of it.  It was actually not that hot inside the sod houses, and the main one was surprisingly nice.  Apparently at one point the owners actually let people sleep overnight as a fun B&B.

Lap of luxury.

 

Cozy, but not awful… it stays nicely cool in the summer and I imagine it warms up well in the winter months much as I imagined when reading the books.  Granted, we got a more realistic look at what most sod houses started out as with dirt floors and without plastered walls.

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