Taking my cue from Rita over at The CoffeeShop Blog and many other bloggers out there, I will be showing one image each Friday that inspires me, makes me laugh, or makes me think.  It will be just a snapshot of our life out here in Minnesota, and hopefully an expression of who we are.

For my first selection: Noah and the Pom Pom. 

Over Memorial Day weekend we travelled back home to MI for a substitute party for Noah, and we had a wonderful, delightful, family filled time.  We were having so much fun, and had such a whirlwind trip with driving in Friday, the party Saturday, family time Sunday, and then driving back home Monday in order for Jim to be back to work the next day we didn't have much time for our typical favorite restaurant visits, driving past places we loved growing up in south-west Michigan, or *Gasp* taking very many photos.

But it was really nice to just get to be there during the party and not worry too much about posing family members, and trying to orchestrate the moment so that it looks good, and thus putting myself out of the moment.

If there is one thing that this year has taught me so far, it is of the need to really treasure your family, and to make sure that you take the time to just be with them and to simply be.  I feel like this party was really a step in me letting go of trying to have too much control over things-- to make Noah's life perfect, when really there is nothing that we can do to perfectly plan everything.  And in the few photos that I do have from the party, I don't see any less enjoyment because my party bags were full of leftovers that were only applicable to the Air Zoo venue, or that the cakes didn't have the little plane toppers we were planning on-- I just see Noah trying to boop my cousin's new baby on the nose and the delightful laugh on his face in the next image at the success of his mission.

For our inaugural visit in our summer mission to visit all of the parks in the Three Rivers Parks District, Noah and I will be visiting the North Mississippi Regional Park and the Carl Kroening Interpretive Center tomorrow- June 14th at 10 am. 

We have been to the center, which is situated right along the west side of the Mississippi, on previous outings when Noah was a bit smaller, but we haven't had the chance yet to play in their splash pool as of yet, and I am really hoping that the weather will behave itself. 

We will be joined by the adventurous Jess B. and her lovely ladies, but she doesn't bite, so if anyone is looking for something to do, come on out and help us fulfill our goal! 

We will be meeting in the Interpretive Center first because: it might rain and this way we can get right to the fun, and B- I have a feeling that even for a nature center my little boy who told me "Swim," in the bathtub tonight, putting his face underwater and holding his breath will have a hard time being taken away from a pool tomorrow until he is absolutely exhausted.  Which sounds just lovely to me.

 This is the year that I will remember as the year that holidays stunk to high heaven.  I am not sure what has happened, but we seem incapable of having  a calm holiday, here at home with everyone simply enjoying being around each other.  And I am just not sure what to do with all of this holiday disappointment.

I guess I should revise that-- this is the season that holidays have stunk to high heaven. 

I suppose it started with the passing of my grandmother.  This year Noah's birthday was on Easter, something that won't happen again until 2038, and unfortunately her passing mid-April meant that the plans for both of these special days had to be scrapped.  We  so wanted to take the opportunity to use the holiday weekend to head home, book a really cool venue and do the obsessive parent party thing, and to get to celebrate Easter with Grandmas, Grandpas and all of the assorted extended family. 

Instead we found ourselves driving 12 hours one way to Arbyrd, MO and back, which was a sad, beautiful, wonderful and terrifying trip (we ended up holed up in a hotel just south of St. Louis the night of their recent tornadoes as we raced back trying to get home so that we wouldn't have to travel Easter morning.)

Then came Mother's Day, where I got to celebrate a bit the night before, but got to spend the actual day driving Jim to the airport and dealing with a crabby toddler.  That day ended with me weeping about my happy holiday after Noah threw a block that hit me in the head.  Yeah, happy Mother's Day to me. 

Then, Memorial Day was relatively okay.  We drove home to MI for a whirlwind weekend trip since the only family we had seen since Christmas was at the funeral, and we wanted to have some family fun.  We got to have a great do-over party for Noah, but once again we managed to bring the tornadoes with us despite oddly chilly weather (we have literally been in three different towns this spring as they have had tornadoes or similar storms touch down) and spent the actual holiday driving home to MN and marvelling at the uncharacteristically nice weather.

Now comes Father's Day.  Poor Jim will not only be working  a show at the convention center that day, but also be doing tear down that night, which means that he will get done at about 10 pm that day.  I would choose another day that week to celebrate, but Monday is another show's set up, and right now he is in Chicago for some company meetings. 

We have high hopes for Independence Day though.  We are all going to be in town, we have a three day weekend, and Jim scored Twins tickets for that weekend from work, so everything is lined up for a relaxing time.  Then, shortly after that is my birthday, where my folks will be visiting and hopefully I will even get to have a DATE with my hubby for my birthday!  Wonders never cease. 

However, I can't seem to feel excited about those possibilities.  I am all set for the eventuality that something will go wrong and we will spend the next holidays fulfilling jury duty, or something just as festive.  I suppose it is my faulty, for I always put a lot into holidays and the feelings of holidays-- we were even married on Thanksgiving weekend- one of my favorites.  I jokingly told Jim that I am done with holiday planning from here on out, which is usually one of my favorite things to do. 

So what do I do with all of this holiday disappointment?  Do I never plan another special day for my family?  Do I take it as a sign that I am not meant to celebrate-- which I dearly love?  Or do I take it as a challenge and plan the most elaborate 4th of July weekend ever?  What was your worst holiday disaster ever?

(I think I can remember one from my childhood involving chicken pox and the words, "I hate Christmas" coming out of my mouth-- so maybe this trend isn't as recent as I have been thinking it is.)

In my last post, I detailed just some of the easy sources I have found for recreation and events in the Twin Cities area that are good for those of us with small kids.  Since then I have been toying around with an idea for a summer goal for Noah and I to motivate ourselves and get out into all of the wonderful fun that our home here in Minnesota has to off. 

So we have decided--- to visit all of the Three Rivers Parks District Parks and nature centers over the course of this summer.  With 21 parks on their list, we should be pretty busy this summer, but there is so much great to see that we have already visited, and that we are planning on seeing for the first time.

I was inspired, in part, but my own mother.  When my brother and I were just to the phase of childhood where you are bored by everything, she whipped out our local park map, put some blue Kool-Aid and some sandwiches in a cooler and took us out to canoe in the Portage Creek, or attend an outdoor concert.  I don't remember all of the places that she took us, but to this day when I see that blue sugary drink, I think of those times spent with her sitting in the shade of a local park. 

Noah and I will be continuing this tradition between now and Labor Day, and visiting one or more parks per trip.  Some I am sure that there will be plenty to do, like the Gale Woods Farm, which is sure to entertain with the baby animals and space to run, but others like the Glen Lake Golf and Practice Center may be a bit more of a challenge to entertain a 2 year old.  He does love golf balls though, it might be more of a challenge to stop him from running into the driving range. 

I will be posting our adventures here and on Facebook and if you, reader, would like to join us for any of our trips, I'll pour you some Kool-Aid as well and be happy to have you along!

Where: Minnesota History Center- St. Paul MN

What: On Tuesday nights from 5-8 pm the Minnesota History Center is offering FREE admission for everyone. 

More Info:

"An interactive museum with both permanent and changing exhibits, the Minnesota History Center hosts concerts, lectures, family days and other special events throughout the year. The building is also home to the Minnesota Historical Society library and archives, a research destination for schoolchildren, family historians and academics."  ~MHC Website.

I have been recently surprised by something: a couple people have asked me how I find things to do in the Twin Cities- specifically how do I find places to go to explore the natural world around our home here in Fridley. 

This has kind of shocked me; I am used to being the newbie here, and often find myself at a loss as to locations of cities and attractions people are talking about, even after three years here in Minnesota.  However, I think that we transplants to the are have a surprising advantage over  native Minnesotans or long time residents.  We are forced to work to get to know our new home, and we often find ourselves simply driving around and looking at the abundant parks, museums, cities, libraries and other amenities that are perfect for families in the Twin Cities.

It seems that many local residents don't realize just how good they have it.  The sheer number of bike paths and parks is a striking contrast to our former home in MI-- even before the current budget and housing issues there.  When you are from an area, you often forget or overlook a lot of the fun things to do, simply because you have visited them in the past, or don't have the incentive to learn new places and people.  It is only now that we have moved away that we have come to appreciate several of the museums back home and have visited them on vacations. 

So-- my astonishment aside from being a source for things to do in the Twin Cities caused me to take a few minutes to write down where I really do look for events and activities, and I was surprised at the number of things that I do when I am antsy to get out of the house.

Facebook Pages:

Eastman Nature Center-- This Nature Center is a part of the Elm Creek Park Reserve in Dayton, MN and has a wonderful nature center (currently closing to build a new facility) and has great family programming and miles of trails. Their Facebook page is often updated with new activities and photos quite often, and it seems that there is always something going on up there in summer and winter.

The National Eagle Center, which is about an hour south of the Twin Cities in Wabasha,  is also near the home of Red Wing pottery.  I have never been that far south along the river, but a day trip is soon in the works.  Their Facebook page has abundant photos, links to live webcams of bald eagle nests and flooding along the Mississippi and although there is a charge to get into the center, the prices appear reasonable. 

A lot of the stuff I find otherwise is through the Three Rivers Parks District website, which I have used to find a lot of my locations for  photo sessions when my clients live in areas that I'm not familiar with.  There is a wonderful clickable map, a page that lists activities by a wide variety of criteria and there are events geared for kids as young as 2-5, photos and maps of trails and features in each of the parks.Some I am really excited to visit this summer are the Gale Woods Farm, as well as another visit to Norenburg Gardens on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. 

In a couple weeks I am also having a session at the nature center down in St. Louis Park-- Westwood Hills. I've never been there either, and I found it by visiting the city's website and looking at their map of parks and my knowledge of the general area where my client's live.  This is one area where I have had something forcing me to venture out of my comfort zone here in the north metro, where otherwise I might never have visited some really lovely places.

Other places we've been and like is the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge's Bloomington Visitor's Center and trails, which is a nice contrast to the Mall of America down there in Bloomington, and was first visited driving around a sleeping baby while waiting to pick up the Hubby from the airport. 

State Parks:  Us Minnesota Westons make it a policy that every year we try to visit a Minnesota State Park on National Get Outdoors Day on June 11th when all 72 Minnesota State Parks and Recreation Areas have FREE admission.  Yup-- free. We typically head to Ft. Snelling State Park to see the recreationists and hear the cannon fire.

Other places we love include Minnehaha Falls, Hidden Falls Regional Park, and we've driven the all the way from our house to Minnehaha on East River Road, which takes you to some really great scenery and makes me want a river-going boat. :)

As Noah grows and matures, so many new adventures have opened up for us, and I am so excited to see what we will discover next.  I'm so happy to get to share these adventures with anyone who reads here!

That is the question we Westons found ourselves asking this evening.  Jim and Noah were playing in Noah's room and Jim randomly looked out of the window to spot of all things- a turkey foraging for food! 

I grew up in a small community-- meaning I had to travel about 20 or more minutes to get to a Target.  Now to live here in the real land of suburbia with Target headquarters about that same 20 minutes away, at times I forget just how wild and empty a lot of Minnesota and points westward are.

It may seem odd to forget the wildness around me with the reminder of the barren wasteland of a Minnesota winter so near in my memory, but with the nearness of the Northstar Commuter Rail, the skyline of Minneapolis visible from our side yard and the fact that Jim daily commutes into the shiny edifices of downtown, I needed a reminder. 

The turkey must have known that the neighbor's Great Dane was safely hidden away because it calmly foraged for a while, pausing only a few times to look up at the three odd faces peering at him through the nearby window, and then calmly loped his way into our yard and across the street to the bike path and a wooded area. 

We do occasionally get a random tumbleweed rolling down the street- even when we lived downtown, and I often wonder where they came from, and if they crossed the Mississippi on their way-- and by what bridge. We also have our fair share of deer, raccoons, bobcats, bear and other random animals that mistakenly stray a bit too far into our secure little world and remind us that we really don't have it all under control, and that wildness is just a window's-worth away. 

I am not overly concerned about the animals-- in fact I love the idea that things here aren't quite as civil and Nordic as everyone would like to pretend, I like the random turkeys, and although I will be carrying something heavy to fend off the bears and bobcats while we play outside this spring, I am ticked by these little reminders that God sends our way, even in the gangly form of a turkey.

Noah and Jim fell asleep last night on the big bed in our room.  They do this periodically and usually on weekend nights.  Tonight they were watching Star Wars: Clone Wars together after Jim declared that, "it was time" that Noah be introduced to that part of the Star Wars Universe. 

I should be upset when this happens.  Noah typically hasn't had a diaper change right before bed, and he is almost always in his clothes instead of cute and comfy jammies.  And definitely no nap when they do this.  But as I listen to their progressively quieter comments and exclamations from Noah at the wonder of whatever Da is showing him, I just can't quite pull myself in there from the Mommie time they are giving me. 

Then I typically hear any talk stop as the sound of the movie continues, and I wander in there to see if they really have conked out again.  I go in there, and the sight of the two of them cuddled together, their hair and faces looking so similar when relaxed in sleep, that I just want to wake them up just to kiss them, but instead I slowly turn down the noise of the TV turn it off and cover them up.  Then, I take one more look, and turn out the light.