Splash pad!

This Sunday, it was hot and muggy. Like over 90 degrees, with the kind of midwestern humidity where you just know that there's going to be gigantic thunderstorms later in the day (there were), and you can't wait for it to start raining because then it won't be so crazy humid outside. The girls and I thought, what's more fun on a hot and humid day than playing in the water? So off we went to the Minnesota Zoo, to check out their splash pad, which just opened for the summer.

When we got there, the fountains weren't on yet. So we went to the little playground nearby, called "Woodland Adventures."

Ella was a spider...

 And Maisie was a turtle.

We did that for a while, and had a little snack. And then it was time to play at the splash pad! The girls changed into their swimsuits, and were off. The next hour and a half was spent like this:

The girls loved it, and I did too. I ran into a friend whose kids were also splashing in the water, so we got to chat while the kids played. And both girls were tuckered out from 90 minutes of solid running!

This is definitely getting added to our list of fun things to do on a crazy hot day. We'll be back!

Hammock time

Poor Ella was sick yesterday - very low-energy, and running a little fever. Normally the girls have swim lessons on Tuesday, but there was no way she was up for it (plus we didn't want to get anyone else sick!). So Aaron took Maisie to swimming, and Ellie and I hung around at home. It was really nice out, so we sat and swung in the hammock, and took some pictures of ourselves with my phone.

Silly Ellie:

 Sick, sad, and snuggly E:

 This next one has us doing what Ella calls "monster teeth"... you jut out your lower jaw, show your bottom teeth, and go RRRRR!!!!!! like a monster.

 Monster teeth for me, pouty face for her!

A happier looking Ella... I really like this last picture.

Mother's Day

I had a WONDERFUL mother's day! It was an absolutely beautiful day - sunny and not too hot. I wanted to get outside, so in the morning we went to beautiful Minnehaha Falls. Here's the view from the top of the falls:

And here's the falls from the bottom!

We spent about an hour and a half "hiking" (walking, really; it was easy going!) around the falls. It was so beautiful and so fun. The girls spent a lot of time looking for interesting rocks... Ella managed to fill her pockets!

Part of the trail goes through a really swampy area that has a raised metal walkway through it.

It was cooler and pretty, but the ground was so wet and boggy. It was nice now, in May, but I bet it'll be mosquito central before too long. I'm glad we got in there before that happens!

On the way back, we stopped to splash around in the water for a little while and look for more interesting rocks.

Just about the ONLY thing I didn't like on our hike was the "army worms" (a.k.a. tent caterpillars) that were EVERYWHERE. GROSS! I remember these things from when I was little - we used to have to wrap the trunk of our apple tree in tin foil so that the army worms didn't totally decimate it.

The girls of course were just in love with them and kept going "Look! Caterpillar! Awww.... cute! Look, here's another!" I was like, yeah, there is no shortage of these things, you guys. Ella had a stick that she kept waving around, calling it her "caterpillar finder." The idea of dowsing for caterpillars made me laugh.

Anyway! After our hike it was time for lunch! We went to one of my absolute favorite restaurants, conveniently located at the top of the Falls: Sea Salt!

If you haven't been - it's delicious. I had a crab cake basket - the best crab cake in Minneapolis. Aaron had a grilled catfish po' boy, and the girls had fish baskets. SO YUM.

While we waited for our food, we checked out the rock samples we collected. Here are Maisie's finds:

And here's Ella's. Turns out she had a pocket full of little limestone pebbles. Not the most interesting geology, but she was happy with them!

After lunch, and naps, we'd planned on going to the rescheduled May Day parade & celebration at Powderhorn Park. But the girls were experiencing some tummy issues, so we decided to stick closer to home in case of urgent bathroom needs. They played outside while I did some yard work I'd been wanting to get done for a while.

It was wonderful, and exactly how I wanted to spend my Mother's Day!

I mustache you a question...

Who could this be? She's in disguise thanks to Grandma Jo...

Morning cuteness

Good morning!

Weekend roundup

No story to today's post; sorry about that. Just some cute pics of what we did this weekend. What can I say? It's Monday and I haven't quite had enough coffee yet to build a cohesive narrative structure.

Ella and I played Candy Land at the Chatterbox on Saturday, while Maisie played Mario Brothers.

Then the girls drew pictures. Maisie is always drawing and writing these days; we go through little pads of paper faster than you could believe. Here's Maisie's picture of two cows, a mama and a baby.

Ella's taken up drawing too, like Maisie. Unfortunately I have no idea what her picture is... she told me but I can't remember.

On Sunday the "girl team" (me and the girls) went to the zoo. Here's a penguin fight!

The girls posed for a picture on the tortoise statue, at the top of the Tropics Trail.

We also went through the Minnesota Trail, part of which goes outside and past a bird feeder. There was a huge wild turkey hanging out there, eating bird seed off the ground. Maisie was suitably impressed by it.

When we returned from the zoo, Ella took a nap and Maisie and I went to Target. Check out her addition to our shopping list...

That's WILD TRCEE (wild turkey). She thought it was hilarious!

Crafty project

Last week I picked up a cute little sundress for Maisie - pale pink with a twirly skirt. She liked it, but thought it was kind of plain. Yesterday, during Ella's nap, we decorated it with freezer paper stencils!

Freezer paper stencilry is a really easy and fun project, I think. The paper is waxed on one side. You use an Exacto to cut out your stencil, and then iron it on to your fabric, wax-side down. The wax adheres and keeps the paint from bleeding over the edges of your stencil. Wait for it to dry and then voila! Stencilry complete. Maisie wanted a butterfly and a flower on her dress, so here's the pattern I used.

While I cut out the stencils, she chose the colors: blue for the flower, with gold sparkles, and green stem/leaves. We did the flower first, on the skirt.

Maisie did a great job painting; she was really careful with it, making sure that the green and the blue didn't overlap.

Once the flower was painted, we waited for it to dry so we could take the paper off and place the stencil for the butterfly.

It didn't take too long to dry, and we were ready to go again! For the butterfly, Maisie chose to paint it monarch-style: black body, orange wings with black stripes, and iridescent sparkles.

Finished product! Close up of the flower:

The butterfly:

And the whole thing:

I left for work before Maisie got up this morning, so I don't have a picture of her wearing the dress. But I'm sure it'll be cute as can be. And even more importantly, Maisie was so proud of her creation! I'm glad that she enjoys crafty projects as much as I do. It can be so rewarding to do it yourself!

Big changes!

Yesterday we got the news we've been waiting for - Maisie's kindergarten assignment!

By way of background, Aaron and I both grew up in smaller towns, where there just wasn't that much school choice. So when we started investigating Minneapolis Public Schools, we were kind of overwhelmed by the number of options we had. There's a "neighborhood school" that is assigned by where you live, and to which your kid is guaranteed admission. Then there are various magnets and charter schools in your bus zone, choices like an International Baccalaureate or Montessori or French immersion or environmental science magnet. Then there are all the magnets and charter schools outside your bus zone, which your kid could attend but you need to arrange transportation. There were 16 K-5 or K-8 schools in our bus zone!

We put a lot of work in, narrowing down our choices and comparing schools and asking questions and finally making school visits, to get our choices down to two (which is all that you're allowed to list on your card). And wonder of wonders, we found out yesterday that Maisie got sorted into our first choice! (I really do envision the process happening with a Sorting Hat, like in Harry Potter. Where the school district puts the card into the hat, which shoots it out, yelling "Folwell Performing Arts!" or "Hmong International!!")

So, yay for first choices! It's a K-8 school, which is great, because we won't have to go through this again until high school! And because there's sibling preference, we won't have to worry about where Ella will go either. Yay all around! This does, of course, mean that Maisie will be leaving her beloved preschool that she's been at for three years. We're all a little sad about that, but as someone once said, the only constant in life is change. She's had a wonderful time there and learned so much, but I know that she'll have a great experience at her new school too.

With that out of the way, I decided, the heck with waiting until the weekend. Let's get Maisie's hair cut now! So we did!

In process:

Almost done!

Final product - front view:

And back view:

Maisie is super happy, and just loves her new haircut. I like it, even though it makes her look SO grownup! But it'll be easier to keep tangle-free, especially now that she's going swimming once or twice a week and the chlorine is wreaking havoc on her hair. So that's our big day yesterday!

Springtime

Out for a walk on a sunny spring morning.

Haircut

Maisie insists she wants short (chin-length) hair and bangs. She really likes ponytails and braids, though. So we compromised: we cut off two inches, to bring it up to her shoulders, and said that if she still wants it shorter next weekend, we'll go back.

Stay tuned...

Public Art

A little more than 5 months ago, I started a new job. I'm now working in downtown Minneapolis. I was pretty excited about working downtown for a lot of reasons. But one thing that's making me happy on a daily basis came as kind of a surprise: there's art everywhere!

I think I was kind of aware of this already, to some degree. There are lots of beautiful fountains and things all around. But I guess I'd forgotten just how easy it is to find. For instance, here's a drinking fountain and a tree planter that are right next to the stop where I get off the bus in the morning.

Aren't they pretty? And really, for no good reason other than to be themselves. I love them.

There are some Minnesota-themed manhole covers on the 1000 block of Nicollet mall.

Corn:

Walleye:

There are also ones with pine cones, showy lady slippers (our state flower), a loon family, and a few others. I wonder how many people walk over them every day and never notice?

There's also murals everywhere. This one is tucked in an alley next to a bookstore:

And finally, this one is totally iconic. There used to be a Schmidt Music store in this building. It's gone now, but the music remains. I took this picture walking into work:

This mural has been around for decades. Here's a much older picture of it, with another Minneapolis icon: