Summer Time Fun - Fishing, Swimming, and Playing in the Sand

These are photos of the kids at a local campground.

Minneapolis / St. Paul

We took a mini-vacation to Minneapolis/St. Paul in mid-June. After arriving at our hotel Tuesday evening we took the hotel shuttle bus to the Mall of America. Wednesday morning we headed out to Como Zoo, a free zoo in St. Paul. The kids decided that the rides in the mall looked better than the ones at the amusement park adjacent to the zoo. So, indulgent parents that we are, we headed back to the hotel to catch another shuttle. (It had nothing to do with the fact that we had not even begun to exhaust the possibilities at the mall the evening before!) Anyways, Joseph and Elena thoroughly enjoyed the rides. Joseph insisted on riding the biggest rollercoaster in the place. (We may have unleashed a monster, because a month later, he heard about a much bigger amusement park near Minneapolis that he really, really wants to go to.) Elena was content with much tamer rides and liked to have her brother go with her. Thursday we again drove into St. Paul to spend the day at the Minnesota Science Museum. The dinosaur exhibit was a big hit and there were some fascinating displays of the human body. The kids' favorite, though, was The Big Backyard, where they explored the wonders of water, sand and rock (especially water!). Here are a few snapshots.



The rides at Nickelodeon Universe

(in the Mall of America)






























The Science Museum of Minnesota

This climbing area in the dinosaur exhibit captured Benjamin's attention. He went from one end to the other and didn't want to leave!



Joseph studied,
Elena poured,
and Benjamin tried to catch the water.

Pool time!

We had been thinking about getting the kids a bigger pool this summer, and a friend had one they needed to get rid of. So we took the plunge... ;-) (That was a David pun if I ever heard one!) The kids were thrilled, to say the least.

June 1... "helping" Mom set up. Not that complicated... that is, after dragging it around the yard trying to find a flat spot!

Joseph & Elena finally were still long enough for me to snap a picture! They spent many, many hours here this summer.

And we couldn't leave Ben out of the fun. He really didn't spend as much time in the pool as this shot suggests. His water time was mostly spent emptying the pool into my flower pots, one scoop at a time. But he sure had fun!