Exploring

**  Warning: epically long picture post ahead

There are literally limitless things for kids to do in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.  In fact, it is touted as one of the top places in the nation to raise children.  Although we are moving to the area, the house we are buying is really too far outside the 'burbs to be considered part of the Twin Cities.  We chose that area for that reason.  However, day trips to the St. Paul/Minneapolis metro area will be still possible for us.  In the future we will probably still enjoy some of what the metro area has to offer, but less of it.

But my parents (where we are current staying until our house sale eventually is completed) do live in the metro area, so any attraction is within 30-40 minutes tops.  So since everything expect minimal toys and clothes are boxed away in storage until further notice, our theme of the summer is "Out and About" to explore the area and keep us busy while we wait for our house to move into.  We've been going places every day since we first moved and I get to spend every day with Sam and Anna.  It is a big change from last summer's learning based project summer, but has been a good fit so far for my adventurous twins.  Here's what we've been up to so far:

On our first day, we hit up Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minn.  It's a free zoo (donations accepted) and my duo are still animal lovers, so it seemed natural for us to do this first.  I remember going to the Como Zoo myself many times growing up.  It's a smaller zoo and we pretty much saw almost everything in one long morning.  I was worried about being on my own with them once I saw the school buses full of kids on a field trip, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well Sam and Anna listened and cooperated.

The next day we went to Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater, Minn. because there was a free Music Together concert being held that morning.  I had heard great things about park, but had never been to the it.  It was crazy busy even though it was a weekday morning (probably because everyone thinks it is an awesome park!), which caused me a little stress to keep track of two three-year-olds by myself, but dressing them in bright color shirts made it easier and knowing that there was a small gated entrance also helped.  Sam and Anna were way too excited to play on the playground so the music concert wasn't a big draw for them this time.  Biggest drawback here- a perfect playground for preschoolers and only one bathroom stall for women?  Epic fail.  Anna had an accident while we waited our turn to use the one bathroom, and so I rushed her into the one men's bathroom to avoid pee soaked shoes.

 

On Wednesday we attended story time at a local library then headed to Daddy's work to have lunch with him.  We are making visiting the public library a weekly summer event that I plan to carry on every summer as Sam and Anna grow up.  Plus, our massive personal library is boxed up and we are used to a much larger variety of books than we current have in our possession.  I think I was happier than Sam and Anna were to have new reading material.

Thursday was a special puppet show at the Maplewood Nature Center.  It was adorable and very educational not to mention free.  We also had fun exploring the animals and things inside the nature center.  After the puppet show we walked around the pond and did a nature Bingo scavenger hunt. 

 

Friday of our first week was spent making Father's Day gifts and checking out a playground I used to play at growing up!

 

We headed to my in-law's cabin for the weekend.  I am thrilled that instead of a 7-8 hour drive it's only a 3 1/2 hour drive to the cabin for us now.  Although it was too cold to swim, we spent a lot of time enjoying ourselves fishing... and of course, s'more eating!

Our second Monday we explored a walking trail near my parent's house and did some airplane spotting.

 

Then on Tuesday we went to the Science Museum of Minnesota for their Preschool Playdate event.  Children 5 and under are free from 10 - noon on Tuesdays and they have special age-appropriate activity stations for younger kids.   There's so much to see, but more to do, much of which was wayyyyy beyond their comprehension, but it was still entertaining and fun to see the dinosaur fossils among other things.  Sam and Anna's favorite were not the complete dinosaur fossils, but changing the size of their shadows in the light exploration area.

Wednesday we headed back to the library  for our weekly visit but this time they had a special comedy performance for their summer reading program.  Loud, but giggle-inducing.  I signed both Sam and Anna up for the reading program while we were there (kids younger than school age can participate too).  Then we checked out Grandma's Target (an adventure as well!) and stopped by Barnes and Noble to buy a new chapter book to read at bedtime and sign up for their summer reading program too (each child can get a free book for participating).

Thursday, I braved a part of town I wasn't familiar with to check out the closest splash pad that was free at Lewis Park in St. Paul.  It was small but we were the only ones there, so it was perfect for my twin three-year olds.  The fountains were also right next to playground equipment so when Sam and Anna got tired of splashing they could just move over to the climbing equipment and swings.

After storms Thursday night left us without power the next morning including drizzle and very humid weather, I decided to go to someplace indoors to play for the morning.  We went to an indoor trampoline park called Sky Zone in Oakdale, Minn.  Oh my gosh, was it a blast and great for burning off excess energy!  We were there for an hour and towards the end, both Sam and Anna laid down on their trampoline section for a bit to rest.  You can bet they took awesome naps that afternoon! 

(Sam and Anna spent the next weekend at Grandma's so we could have a weekend away to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.)

Our third week started out hot and sunny, so I took Sam and Anna to Lake Elmo Park Reserve's swimming pond.  It is a man-made, chlorinated and filtered pond with a sandy beach all the way around.  We were there for 3 hours and could have stayed longer.  I'm sure we will be heading back there again next week.

The next day was still humid and hot, so we went back to the splash pad.  You can't argue with free water fun!

That Wednesday was our library day, and this time they had a kid-friendly magician performing.

Thursday we ventured out to a new playground in Woodbury, Minn. to check it out and attend a puppet wagon show.  The kids watching the show had the chance to see and hold the puppets at the end.  I fondly remember attending puppet wagon shows when I was little.

 

 

Friday rounded out our third week of fun in Minnesota and the threat of rain drove us inside to check out one of the many indoor playgrounds in the Twin Cities area- Eagle's Nest in New Brighton, Minn.  It was right next to a public library branch so we stopped there before leaving to return books and get a new batch, plus our summer reading program prizes!

 

There are still quite a few things on my list of things I don't want to miss and an endless number of parks to explore... but I bet the splash pad and swimming pond will be regular weekly events along with the public library as long as we are staying here!