Easter fun at the Minne-Hop-Hop

We headed over to Minnehaha Falls for the Easter Hunt and Festivities this year. It was pretty busy so we didn't stay too long, but we had fun while we were there!

With the number of kids, no one got many, but it was 2 minutes of craziness. There was an art project courtesy of Lakeshore Learning. Turtles! A bouncy house. Dancing with a kids DJ. And the Easter Bunny. We wanted to check out the petting zoo, but we didn't want to stand in line that long.

#409-430

The Joy Dare continues. Learn more here.

MY LIST CONTINUED...

 409. The Girl's joy at getting her very own library card

410. Creating a kitchen backsplash mosaic that the homeowner loves
411. Working on a tile project with my aunt
412. The accomplishment that comes in finishing a job - and within the time frame I had!
413. Sangria with maraschino cherries
414. A walk at twilight around a quiet Stillwater lake
415. Rocks, twigs and pinecones - The Girl's treasure trove after a nature walk
416. Excitement that comes with looking forward to something
417. Easy-to-cut travertine tiles
418. Rice bowls
419. Staying up late with wine and good conversation
420. Morning cuppa tea (or two)
421. Learning a new game with friends
422. A child's all out there style of love
423. A Facebook reminder to appreciate the amazing early childhood years, despite all the work that comes with them - they really are so precious
424. The Boy's swagger
425. The Boy's exaggerated swagger when we notice and start copying him - HILARIOUS!
426. Buildings with books, so many books we can borrow
427. New public art created by students at the high school
428. High school students with paint brushes in hand, focused on their role in a larger mural
429. A last-minute babysitting request filled
430. The brown coffee mug from J. with its large flowers that I use every day

#377 - 408 - Spring, oh warm spring days!

The Joy Dare continues. Learn more here.

MY LIST CONTINUED...
377. Sun warming my bare arms during a walk with good, old friends and lots of kids
378. Sitting in the sun with a book, planning out my garden

379. Making felted eggs
380. Sunlight glinting off glass beads

381. The Boy's first painting project

382. The Girl's painted mugs
383. Finishing projects and watching the kids finish projects. I love finished projects.

384. Sage Norwegian advice for growing flowers
385. Visiting a coffee shop I've wanted to get to for over 6 months
386. Silver ceiling tiles at Keen Coffee
387. The Boy sleeping in my arms for over an hour at the coffee shop as we talked with subdued voices
388. Whimsical artwork hanging on the coffee shop walls - in oh, such bright colors!

389. A classic yellow Tonka truck

390. The Boy's fascination with this sky - he kept looking up and then looking up again to catch a glimpse of the blue and white and black

391. Green rain boots - They're way too big for the Boy, but that makes them easy to get on and he simply loves them
392. The quote AJ picked for her coffee mug project: I solemnly swear I am up to no good
393. A stolen half hour without either kid to read a book - Thanks A and J!
394. A packed community meeting regarding the Midtown Farmer's Market site
395. The soft feel of my baby's hair while we snuggle
396. The way The Girl still fits in my arms, gangly at age 5

397. Shrieking cousins at a birthday party
398. My Shutterfly photo books, a way for me to capture our family history
399. Audio books
400. Short videos made by a teen showcasing Minnesota's birds in the spring
401. Bird calls

402. My big fat fluffy black cat
403. Chicory and mango juice
404. The Girl learning 1-5 in Spanish just like that when music and dance were added to a lesson
405. Shiny, soft yarn
406. Tea tins
407. Curious George - music, movies, books and stuff animals
408. Stan Tekiela's field guides

Gifts redeemed, round and uncovered

The Joy Dare continues. Learn more here.

Joy Dare Prompts:
3 Gifts Redeemed
3 Gifts Round
3 Gifts Uncovered

MY LIST CONTINUED
361. White and black tiles from a floor project at the Cambridge house
362. Birds roosting on the pillars of the Hiawatha/Lake bridge
363. Another dinner redeemed as this night's soup
364. Ugly power station redeemed by artistic panels that turn to gold in the last light of day

365. Round wooden cupcake toys to play with on a playdate with a friend

366. Letter V lesson

367.  Wingspan as wide as...

  368. Round grain elevators with the world's largest mural spread across

  369. Round bicycle and stroller tires we can finally take out because the snow is melting!

  370. More round grain elevators - there are two rows stretching along a railroad in this area of Hiawatha Ave.

371. Exploring a new building in our neighborhood

 372. Curvy landscaping near the historic panels at the Longfellow Station

373. Each panel tells a story...

 374. Our sandbox is no longer covered by snow

 375. Leaves uncovered after the looooooooong winter

376. An experiment on grass that has been uncovered from its winter blanket - Volcanoes!

Watch the birds at Wood Lake Nature Center

I was minutes from home in South Minneapolis, but I felt like I was out in the country. My brain knew that I35W was on the other side of those trees, but the only thing my eyes saw was a marsh. Birds. Trees. Ah.

How peaceful.

Next time my heart yearns for a rural view and I don't have time to drive up to Cambridge, I'm heading to Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield.

The kids were thrilled to catch them feeding the 3 resident turtles -- especially The Boy who just loves turtles. The snake gets fed once a week, as well, but it must not be on Mondays.

The Boy also loved all the taxidermy animals, and was brave enough to stick his little hand into the Guess It area. The Girl loved checking out the different bird calls. We all enjoyed sitting near the bird feeders and watching the large number of birds that visited. And the coolest thing was spotting a coyote - or was it two?! The coyote came almost to the window once. Wow! And then it went back out on the iced over marsh. Next time we're definitely going for a walk through this amazing marsh that's right in the city. Fed, in fact, by the city of Richfield's stormwater system. (Isn't that a great idea?!) I'm also interested in their classes and fun birthday party outings.

Listen to various bird calls

Informational board contained this very informative article!

The main room was full of different stuffed animals and a few dioramas.

A view out onto the marsh -- WHERE WE SAW COYOTES!

Maple Syrup boiling down in the courtyard

Painting, learning letters and studying birds - what a great afternoon!

Learning our letter V

What a great kids corner...

with a puppet stand!

#344-360

The Joy Dare continues. Learn more here.

Joy Dare Prompts:

3 Gifts White
3 Gifts Entwined

MY LIST CONTINUED
344. Photos of The Boy and The Girl wearing long johns in the freshly fallen April snow
345. A wonderfully shaped white coffee mug
346. White tips on the Wet Brush that makes brushing the wet hair on a child so much easier
347. Little fingers in mine
348. Two heads of blond/brown hair
349. The gratitude list I keep and the one my best friend keeps
350. The sound of the rain
351. A black crow flying towards a white fence
352. The white husky standing guard in front of a city house, standing on the leftover snow
353. Rice and beans and salsa - our new favorite lunch
354. The felt butterfly eye patch
355. AJ feeding The Boy
356. 3 heads bent together - one 11, one 5 and one 1.5
357. Memories of the Arrowsmith concert C- and I attended in the 1990s
358. The Mona Lisa mural on Fat Lorenzo's outdoor wall
359.  Blue boots searching for every puddle
360. Turquoise in the stained glass window at Park Ave. United Methodist



THE GIRL'S LIST
- Bunny ears
- My white hat
- My school books
- Notebooks
- Birthday decorations
- Houses
- Car wash
- Frogs

Joys #327-343

The Joy Dare continues. Learn more here.

March Joy Dare Prompts:
3 gifts spoken
A gift sung, written, painted
3 gifts almost gone

MY LIST CONTINUED
327. Praise for my guacamole from Auntie
328. Thanks for organizing a field trip
329. Telling my Hawaii stories from a 12-hour layover when I was 12 to The Man
330. Rediscovering old music (Petra, Michael W. Smith, Collective Soul, White Heart, Steven Curtis Chapman)
331. My Bible Study's gratitude list

332. The Girl's beautifully painted birdhouse

333. AJ's great watercolor inspired while we were at Wood Lake Nature Center
334. Teasource Spice Blend

335. Sap from the maple trees (such a short, sweet season) - one we learned about with our preschool homeschool group

336. Gorgeous snowy views

337. Tasting the watery sap right from the tree

338. The mud puddle under the gutters in the back yard

339. Finally - A walk through the neighborhood in near 60 degree weather and exploration of what is near

340. A history lesson written on the side of a new apartment building

341. A picnic lunch indoor with friends

342. The last tile laid on my bathroom project! It's almost a workable bathroom!

343. Hard plum cider imported from England, drank in Minneapolis