Summer Weekend Warriors 7/12: All-Star/Campfire Sandwich

Did that title grab ya?

Friday evening, Mama got some "me" time and went to a happy hour for a friend of mine who is switching jobs. She also happens to have a side gig at KFAN, the local radio station that broadcasts Twins games, and had an in to the station's All-Star Game pre-party. It was a beautiful night of good company, free drinks, and music on a downtown rooftop. We also walked down by Target Field to witness some of the game preparations taking place. It's going to be a big week for Minneapolis!

Saturday night, we enjoyed our first campfire of the season over at Grandpa Lee's house, with Auntie Marcey, Uncle Haver, and friends. We roasted marshmallows, drank a few beers, and watched Lucy race around the yard. I love summer!

Today I caught wind that a series of special All-Star Peanuts statues were on display in a park near the Convention Center, where Fan Fest was taking place. After the game, the statues were going to be auctioned off, and who knows where they will end up...so I took Lucy downtown on a mission to see them all in one place, and of course for Lucy to meet Lucy! It was a fun time and I'm glad we decided to make the trip. Daddy was busy, so afterwards we also had a nice mother/daughter dinner and walked down by Minnehaha Creek. Another great summer day!

Ridin' the Green Line

This past Saturday (my birthday!) the Green Line, a new light rail transit line, opened between Minneapolis and St. Paul. All day rides were free, and there were parties/activities at several of the stations.

As part of my job, I worked a little bit on the planning of this line, but other people in my office were very involved in the design and construction over the past several years. It also runs right outside our office, so it's very exciting to finally see it up and running!

Although the day was pretty gloomy and rainy, Lucy and I decided to go "ride the line" anyway. We boarded at the station nearest my office and rode to the Stadium Village station at the University of Minnesota. This station party was sponsored by my company and was supposed to be kid-friendly with activities from the Minnesota Gophers and Vikings. Unfortunately, the rain and especially the high winds were causing a lot of problems for the tents, and soon after we arrived, they were issued instructions to pack it up because stronger winds were on the way. We hopped back on the train and rode to the Raymond and Snelling stations in St. Paul, which had similarly lackluster appeal due to the increasingly miserable weather. 

It was kind of a bummer that the weather wasn't cooperating with this grand opening, but it was pretty amazing riding the train anyway, and it was packed with plenty of people. We got wet, but we had fun!  Best of all, Lucy still talks about it. Well worth it to share this experience with my girl.

Out and About: Noerenberg Memorial Gardens

I saw a segment on Noerenberg Memorial Gardens on the news a couple of weeks ago, and decided to check it out as part of our efforts to see more of the Twin Cities. The gardens are located at Crystal Bay on Lake Minnetonka, which is just west of Minneapolis and perhaps one of the state's most well-known lakes. The Noerenbergs were the founders of Grain Belt Brewery and built their estate on this spot in 1890. In the 1970s, one of the children left the estate to the park board and directed that the home be razed and the gardens made available for public enjoyment.

This really was a gorgeous place, and we happened to hit it on a lovely summer day. There are hundreds of varieties of perennials and everything is very well-maintained. We sat in the gazebo inspired boathouse for awhile (influenced by the Noerenberg's world travels), and actually struck up a conversation with a man who was also sitting there, sketching the gardens. It's well worth the trip to check out this little treasure on Lake Minnetonka.


More photos here.

Out and About - Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Since the weeks/days before heading back to work or school are rapidly decreasing, Brandon and I decided that we would get out a little bit and explore some places in and around the Twin Cities. There really are no rules to this adventure, except we have to be able to take Lucy wherever we go. We started out a couple of weeks ago by visiting the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on the edge of Downtown Minneapolis. I picked out this first place, but I had also asked Brandon to come up with some places he would like to go, and on the way there when I asked him about it, the only thing he had come up with was "the place with the Spoonbridge and Cherry or whatever." I was happy to inform him that this is where we were going.

So here are the kiddos in front of said sculpture:


Brandon seemed to have a good time. We walked all around the sculpture garden, then over the pedestrian bridge that spans Hennepin/Lyndale Avenues to Loring Park. You can see more of our photos here. The ride home was, of course, interrupted by a stop at Dairy Queen.

I wanted to take this opportunity to spend a little time with Brandon, get us all out of the house, and also take him to some places he has never been (same goes for me, or at least places I haven't been in awhile). Last week Brandon was in the Boundary Waters, but this week we are back to exploring. Stay tuned for our next adventure!