A Summer Saturday to savor

"Colorful. Eclectic. Amazing" is how Dave described this place. "A Junkyard" is how Jeni describes it. The kids? We spent a summer morning venturing through this modern art collection in the middle of Minnesota nowhere -- The Franconia Sculpture Park.

The kids loved the Ghettoblaster tower.

Dave loved this crazy Lemony Snickets meets Alice in Wonderland playground.

Our day continued in Taylors Falls where we explored the tunnels, caves, and crazy rock formations of the glacial potholes in the State Park.

We took a short break to take in the beauty of this quiet little spot on the St Croix River.

Lastly, we headed out to Square Lake for some summer fun on the beach. This is said to be one of the clearest lakes in the state.  

Enjoying some air time!

With all this fun, perhaps the highlight of the day was "fishing."  No hooks, no bait, no poles, no problem. Ellie spent about a half an hour trying to catch a minnow. Finally, Daddy stepped in and scooped one up for her.

Of course, Ellie wanted to take her new friend home. I'm not sure what got into her Daddy, but he agreed that she could keep it! This fish became our families' first ever pet. The minnow stayed in the State Fair "Grandma's Cookies" tub for weeks! This fish stayed alive for four months, by Ellie feeding it sea weed! This fish, named Lily, will go down into our family folklore!

Finally Minnesota Fairgoers

During our house-hunting trip eight years ago, we received a strong recommendation to check-out the 'greatest state fair on the planet.' We resisted the crowds that year and have stayed away ever since, as the thought of manning a stroller through a sea of people in the heat seemed too daunting. However, this year we decided to brave it after Ellie won four free tickets through our county library. We received all sorts of advice from Minnesotans before attending, and Teyah's first grade teacher advised us to all wear the same color. So, in order to keep up with Teyah's demands, and to be able to keep track of our 'team,' we all sported yellow for the day.

To our surprise we actually made it through most of the day without spending a dime as the fair was full of fun, free, family activities. Our kids especially loved the Kemps "Little Farm Hands" exhibit, which allowed them to drive mini tractors, plant seeds, and do real-live farm activities, and then be paid with 'money' that they purchased real ice cream and snacks.

We saw a lot of unique things, but the butter sculptures were probably our girls' favorite. Each day a teenage dairy princess steps into the freezer booth to have her face sculpted in butter. Our kids were mesmerized as the sculptor transformed these blocks of butter into works of art.

For years, we heard the legend of "Sweet Martha's Cookies" and couldn't resist the $15 overflowing bucket of warm cookies. We devoured these cookies. They were definitely yummy!  But worth $15? Um, probably not, but I suppose we were paying for the experience? I don't think our kids will ever forget the overflowing bucket of cookies in our yellow shirts! I felt like attending the fair, seeing the butter queens and eating the cookies all added up to us finally being able to call ourselves true Minnesooootans! I truly was giddy by this!

Fun Summer Pics

Summers in Minnesota are surreal.  After the snow melts and the spring rains fall, this place turns into a lush green paradise with lots of fun things to do. Here are some of our favorite pics from the summer that help capture some of these special moments.

This first pic is entitled "Pure Joy" with Ellie soaring in the sky over the shores of the St Croix River.  We discovered this particular park that had swings that towered into the sky about 15-feet-high -- swings aren't made like that anymore!


This next one is, "New-found Freedom." In June, Teyah went from riding with training wheels to becoming a true bike rider in just a few weeks. Before we knew it, she was blazing trails around town! Her bike with no pedals, definitely helped this transition!

This pic, I will call, "Three Amigas."  These girls truly love each other and enjoy spending time together. This is taken just south of Stillwater on the St Croix River. Notice the thick book in Aubrie's hand -- that's a constant wherever she goes.


Let's call this one, "Sky Dancing." This was an Australian performing troupe (Swoon) that performed dance and acrobatic routines, while attached to 20-foot-high poles. Our kids were mesmerized as the performers glided through the St. Paul City sky during the International Children's Festival.

Our kids love riding their bikes to this neighborhood park, aptly nicknamed, "Spider Web Park."  Kyler and Ellie love scaling this "web" to the top of the 15-foot-climb -- much to my nervous dismay.  

Lastly, this pic is entitled "Best Buds." This captures the carefree days of summer and our kids' love of going out and doing. Living in Minnesota, we try to savor each warm day!

Aubrie's first boating

Having lived in Minnesota for eight years, you could say we have deprived our kids of boating experiences. I am not sure why because we are surrounded by some of the most beautiful lakes and most pristine rivers on the planet. Luckily, Aubrie's friend Sophie helped fill the void by inviting Aubrie and her friends for a boating birthday party.

Dave decided to take half the day off and join as a "chaperone."  They had fun tubing the St. Croix and holding on for their lives.

Aubrie and her buddies also spent some time coming up with creative dives into the river.  I think they called this the "mustache jump"...notice the mustache they have made with their hand as they fly through the air.

I'm pretty sure that boating on a beautiful Minnesota day doesn't get any better than that!