Tag : staycation

3 posts

201708/08

T Tuesday: tree house edition

Mini-me and I took a little excursion to the MN Landscape Arboretum. We had several things in mind. Photography, exercise and scouting locations for senior pictures. As we walked the 3 mile drive we saw a few of the art installations for this year.

Amazing Spaces: tree houses is the overall theme. We did not see all of them nor did I get photos of each. Each was unique. Some better than others or perhaps more detailed and understandable in concept.

This is the one I fell in love with. A human sized birdhouse as you can see by Mini-me peering through the glass.

I was amazed and thrilled by the level of detail that went into the interior.

As I stood on the step to take it all in, I saw that someone had set things up for tea. Oh how I wished that we could sit and have tea for real inside.

All-in-all it was a great morning spent with my girl. Incidentally we did go back with J to take senior pictures. They turned out great. There is a little part of me that really wants to share a couple of my favorites but I made the decision long ago to never show their faces or use real names for them as they are minors.

We still plan to take more senior pictures in a more urban setting as well…just to make the choice even more difficult. LOL

Today Mini-me and I might go to the zoo…or else that will be tomorrow. Today we’d be on the clock to get home in time for a meeting. I don’t like to rush fun outings especially when they are quite pricey like the MN Zoo!!

This is our last “free week” or I should say mostly free week so we are trying to get in some stay-cation activities before that school bell rings.

What are you doing today?

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photography, staycation, T Tuesday

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halleday

201703/27

T Tuesday: spring break edition

So the kids are on spring break and the sun finally came out…so what do we do…go to the biggest indoor mall in the USA. Hmmm…something a bit off about that decision.

This is the amusement park in the center of the mall. Before noon on a Monday it definitely wasn’t too crowded. We decided we needed to explore some of the shops to work up an appetite.

Since we love board games the first store we set foot in was Games by James.

This book had me cracking up…I just had to snap a photo.

Eventually we got hungry enough for lunch. The Hard Rock Cafe had no wait so we went for it. The food was ok. We were seated right next to the kitchen and a speaker blaring music. Not so great for conversation.

After lunch we wandered around a bit more. Mini-me was in search of a special drink she’d heard about.

We finally found it after circling the another level of the mall…or maybe that was when we were trying to find our way out. Anyway…her drink was, bubble tea which is some sort of chai tea flavored milk with these strange dark gelatin balls in it. Very shocking when you suck one up through the straw. It was tasty but weird at the same time.

My mom’s surgery went well…taking her to the oncologist this week with the results of her biopsy and potential treatment plan if needed. There is also another college visit scheduled this week. Never a dull moment around here.

What are you doing today?

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staycation, T Tuesday

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halleday

201609/27

T Tuesday: Ryder Cup edition

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday! This week is an odd for for me… My kids have barely started school and now they are off for a week due to the Ryder Cup which is being held smack in the middle of our school district. When I first heard about this about 2 years ago I was like….

Now that I know more about it I realize that having this event really is going to disrupt things and having school in the midst of an estimated 250,000 additional people isn’t really going to work. Leaving town, like so many families we know, just wasn’t going to work for our family this week due to both work and sports. Instead we are going to treat this time like a stay-cation. as much as possible between obligations.

Mini-me snapped this photo after a volleyball game. We didn’t go to the shops but heard from those who went that it was pretty amazing what has been built on the golf course grounds. It’s like a small city they said. The celebrity cup starts today I believe and the real competition begins on Thursday.

Yesterday Mini-me and BFF went to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. It’s over 100 years old. Of course there have been many changes and more humane treatment for the animals. I was telling the girls about what it was like 40 years ago when I was a child…just the changes that have about since then are amazing.

The flamingos were nearly orange instead of pink which was odd to me but beautiful anyway.

Speaking of orange…isn’t he gorgeous! I can’t even begin to count how many crumby shots I took before getting this one.

The giraffes always make me smile. Can you see the one in the background stretching his tongue out to grab a leaf?

The primate building is always so much fun. These two sat hugging each other the entire time we were in there. They’d adjust a bit but just sat there snuggled. Made me say AWWW more than once.

This guy made me think of a teenager on a day off…living a life of leisure.

But this one was my favorite with his awesome mustache.

Since the zoo is clear on the other side of the Twin Cities from our house, I’m not familiar with any restaurants or even fast food in that area. The girls and I decided to eat at the zoo cafe…super expensive for what we got and totally not worth it. It was super busy…captive audience I’m sure.

We were going to go into the conservatory next to see the gorgeous flowers…

but then we realized that both girls had food and drink with them which is a big no-no. We walked around the exterior while they tried to finish.

This building has changed very little if at all since I was a kid. I remember going there after church some times and marveling at the warmth inside the building and beautiful flowers in the middle of winter.

I love being able to share places I explored as a child with my kids. This little day trip made me want to do more of them.

On our way home Mini-me snapped a couple of photos of the new Vikings stadium in the heart of Minneapolis.

It was fun to see from the freeway but now I definitely want to see it up close and personal.

Today I’m not sure that we’ll get out for any “day trip”. Lots on the plate for today…an appt, volleyball match and work will keep everyone busy until past dinner time today.