Minneapolis Spring Break

Last year, about this time, we spent a long weekend in Minneapolis.  It was such a great trip, we decided to do a repeat this year.  Our days were spent doing some repeat actives, and trying out some new things as well.  When we pulled into town, the weather was beautiful, so we drove straight to Minnehaha Falls to stretch our legs and enjoy the beautiful park.      

 After the park and some dinner, we almost headed back to the hotel before noticing a couple walking down the street with an ice cream cone that looked too good to pass up.  Turns out one of the places I had already planned for us to go was just down the street!  Ice cream for everyone!

After joining in worship at Bethlehem Baptist Church on Sunday morning, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Como Park and Zoo.  We were extremely impressed with the exhibits and grounds for a donations-only admission.  

The girls in the Sunken Gardens.

We had planned to skip the Mall of America on this trip and try out the water park, but after seeing the price of admission (good grief!!!), we opted for another trip to the middle of the mall to let everyone pick out a ride.  Bridgette was excited to ride the carousel this year, and Gretchen chose to try out her first real roller coaster.  I don't have any photos of us riding together, but she LOVED it and I love it that she loved it! =)

Minneapolis' "Sculpture Park" needs a little help.  This was the extent of the sculptures.

One morning was spent at the Institute of Art where the kids and I worked on a scavenger hunt and found artifacts from periods of history we've been learning about while Ryan read and browsed at a slower pace.

Back to Victor's 1979 Cafe for a Cuban breakfast.

We spent our last afternoon at the Science Museum.  We arrived just as the school groups were leaving from field trips and had the place seemingly to ourselves.  Rooke was old enough to try one of the experiments: observing a cheek cell sample!  I have vivid memories of doing that in the sixth grade and loved watching him try it out.  

Gretchen may be on to something . . . =)

We had a little too much fun with the giant astronaut!

It's good to get away.  We ate yummy food, did some shopping at Ikea, watched a few episodes of Little House on the Prairie, and overall enjoyed a change of scenery together. 

Team Ice

Gretchen participated in her first team sport this year: indoor soccer.  There was some initial drama with wearing the required shin guards, but once we got over that obstacle (which was more challenging than I would like to admit!), she looked forward to her practices and games.  Gretchen can run pretty fast for a six-year-old, and played hard, was teachable, and could also be seen dancing while waiting for the ball to come back her way. =)  She always kept score in her head and got pretty frustrated when one of her teammates accidentally scored a goal for the other team!  And like any good kids' team sport, the snacks were a highlight! 

We were thankful for a little sister playmate for Bridgette

The teams were co-ed and the other girl on Team Ice was a fellow red-head =)

Way to go, Gretchen!  We are proud of you!

Birthday Fun!

The photo below is what our house looked like well into the evening on my birthday.  My husband organized a reverse surprise party for me this year and it was so much fun!  Around dinner time, just as I was starting to make pizza (yes, somehow Ryan worked it so that I was making my own birthday pizza dinner?!  He's a good attorney! =) ), the doorbell rang.  I answered and it was my sweet friend and neighbor, Joanna, with her husband and son, and she was holding two dishes of food.  "Are you coming over for dinner?"  She smiled and said, "I think so!".  I love surprises, so I didn't ask too many questions and just let it play out.  Over the course of the next hour, more and more people showed up with all sorts of delicious food!  I told Ryan it was a bold move inviting friends over at the end of the week without telling me . . . who knows what sort of state our house (or us!) is in by Friday!  Thankfully my husband knows me well enough to trust that my love for birthdays, surprises, and having people over surpasses my concern for the random toys left out and un-vacuumed floors.  I was humbly blessed by everyone who came out to party with us.

friends from teaching music together, church, and neighbors

a blurry shot, but I loved getting to include the kids in the party - they were as surprised as I was!

 the girls had their party dresses on already and didn't even know it =)

Patricia made a delicious chocolate mint pound cake

My dear husband, who loves me well . . . such a fun night!

And then, as if the surprise party wasn't enough, I got to slip away for a trip by myself.  Last year I went to Arizona for my birthday and it was too good not to repeat - thank you, Ryan!  Phoenix is about the only place you can get a cheap ticket to fly direct from Minot.  And it just so happens that a dear friend lives in the area!  So I flew down to stay with Kenan and her family for two nights.  We went on a few walks, packed a few boxes since they are moving soon (well, she packed and I talked - oops!), and talked as much as we could to catch up!  I was grateful to soak up some warm sunshine with her, and meet her youngest daughter.

Jessie had planned her own get-away at the same time, so she picked me up on the third day and we hit the town of Tucson together!  The next two days were non-stop talking with activities thrown in and pauses only for bites of delicious food. 

 Don't let this picture fool you.  She creamed me at ping pong while we were waiting for our food!

Having grown up in the area, Jess knew about some great local spots, including this shaved ice place and a disc golf course!  Talking and food.  And talking about food.  That about sums up our time together. =)

The trip was the perfect combination of time to be alone, time to be with dear friends, a break from normal responsibilities, extra sleep, and sunshine.  And when it was over, despite being the last one to board the plane, I really was ready to go back home.  I only wish I could have brought the perfect weather with me!

We're Learning!

I haven't done great at regularly documenting our homeschool projects and learning, but thought I'd share just a few of the photos I do have from what we've been up to the past couple of months.  I am beyond grateful for the time I get to spend with my three kids and the opportunity we have to homeschool together this year.  It has been a great experience for us so far!

 As long as the weather permits us to be outside, we are out for a walk every day!

Working on a mosaic project while learning about Ancient Greece.  Rooke is not usually an "art project" kind of guy, but really enjoyed this activity and a lot of thought into how to create a mosaic that resembled our fish, Red. =)

We are grateful for the art museum in town which offers free art classes for homeschoolers once a month.  This month was our favorite project yet: printmaking!

P.E.!

 Learning how to count and write numbers 1 through 10 in Chinese during our weeks of learning about Ancient China.

The curriculum I'm using this year only planned for one week on Ancient China.  I had too many ideas to only spend one week, so we stretched it out to almost three weeks and ended around the Chinese New Year.  We made a Chinese meal to celebrate, complete with homemade dumplings!

Rooke working on his Trojan Horse during our weeks of learning about Ancient Greece.  He worked to make a trap door in the bottom of the horse, but was disappointed that his lego men wouldn't fit easily.  So he disappeared to his room and emerged later with a fantastic Trojan Horse built with legos, complete with functioning trap door!

Our 100th Day of School Party was one of my favorite days!  We filled the day with all sorts of activities related to the number 100, including creating monsters with 10 sets of 10 different body parts!

10 sets of 10 different snacks

Building with a pile of 100 legos 

It's not always smiles and giggles, but we are having fun learning together!