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!

A Visit From the Grandparents

This visit brought to you by the movie "Frozen," which Grandma and Grandpa hadn't seen yet. We made sure we got the DVD the day it was released, so we'd be ready for their visit a few days later.

Lucy even made movie tickets.

Two of the six viewing party attendees.

An impromptu visit to Como Zoo (at least the inside portions, it's still cold!)

This photo taken by Lucy!

Morning puzzles and PJs.

Making monster cookies with Grandma.

Three generations of cookie bakers.

The finished product, served with a smile.

What a great weekend!

Bowling Initiation

This afternoon Lucy and I went bowling with a friend of mine and her son. It was Lucy's first time, and Town Hall Lanes was a good place to get her started. She bowled an 83 (with bumpers) which was pretty darn good! Definitely something we'd like to do again.

Presidents Day

Lucy had no daycare yesterday, since it was President's Day. It was not a holiday for me or Husband, but I took the day off to spend with our little one.

We started our day by sleeping in and snuggling, can't beat that! Around 9:00 or so we left the house and headed to Choo Choo Bob's Train Store in St. Paul. I had heard about this place but we hadn't been there yet. It is a store of course, but it also has a few model trains set up, as well as several train tables and a play area in the back. Lucy had fun playing with Thomas and his friends.

After that, we headed to Target to do a little shopping and then ate lunch in the cafe. We had to fuel up for our next stop, Como Zoo! This is one of our favorite spots.  Most of the outdoor animals were inside for the winter, but they have several buildings where you can view the animals inside or through a window - aquatic animals, monkeys, big cats, and Lucy's favorite - polar bears. They weren't very active when we were there, but the special treat was that a female and male lion were both inside and easy to see close-up.

Walking between the buildings was no big deal because it was 40 degrees and sunny on this February day! It also wore Lucy out, and she fell asleep on the way home and then continued with nice nap in her own bed, which gave me some time to do a couple of things around the house. Lucy was really, really good all day and we both had a lot of fun. I could handle starting each week like this!

Caption Corner

How about a caption for this one?

Polar Bear Exhibit, Como Zoo, November 2011

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!