Megan hangs out w/the giraffe

Today we spent the afternoon watching the animals play at the Minnesota Zoo.  They were all so active, even the tigers were moving about.  We started out by watching our favorites….the monkeys.  They were playing tag with each other and for the first time, we saw them swim in their little man-made pool/pond.  It was so funny to see them all wet and then shake and get all furry.  Hilarious!

The giant grizzly bear was very playful as well.  He kept himself occupied by playing with a stick.  It was fun to see him holding it with his two paws and also using his foot to help balance it.  He’s not that coordinated we found as we watched him lose his balance & fall into the water.

The highlight at the zoo this summer is their African exhibit with the zebras and giraffes.  We fed giraffes when we were at the zoo in Arizona and it was such a fun experience that we just had to do it again.  Once again, I’m so grossed out by their long tongs but am amazed at how beautiful this animal is.  It was exciting to see them up close.

We ended our day by coming home and enjoying root beer floats.  A cool refreshing summer drink.

Kelly feeds the giraffe a rye cracker.

I had such a fun weekend filled with so many activities that I got behind on my blogging.  I guess I’ll start with Friday and move on from there.  My friend Dawn came over to scrapbook on Friday night and we got a lot done.  I was glad that she came over because it made me work on my school pages and I was able to finish the girls’ albums.  And good for Dawn…she brought Michael’s school pictures and finished lots of pages.  She’s making progress and nearly finished with 3rd grade!!  ha! (Michael is now in 6th grade)

On Saturday, I spent most of the day prepping & making food for our dinner with my brother Jim and his girlfriend, Sandra.  There was a lot of work that went into this meal, but after tasting it, it was worth it!  Mmmm….Lemon-Ginger Fried Chicken, cole slaw (homemade), Parmesan corn-on-the-cob, sliced watermelon, corn bread muffins and chocolate butterscotch-caramel chocolate cake for dessert.  And I’m not even going to mention the appetizers!  What a delicious summer meal that we enjoyed with a glass of Rose’ wine, out on the deck that evening.  Perfect…

Sunday was such a gorgeous day that I felt the need to be outside and away from the house.  So we decided to go and play disc-golf.  We have never done this before but we found out that we love this game!  We went to a local park in AppleValley (Alimagnet Park) that had a disc golf course.  It’s played similar to golf, only you throw a disc/frisbee at this circular bin/basket.  The course took us on a hike through the woods as we played the game.   It was beautiful with lots of scenery & even a lake that I didn’t know was back there.  Luckily I had my camera along and got some nice shots.  I would recommend this game to anyone.  It’s not easy to aim that disc, but fun for everyone… kind of like bowling.  After our golfing adventure, we weren’t ready to head home just yet so we headed down to Minneapolis and toured the sculpture garden.  This was someplace that Nate has never been to and had always wanted to see.  We enjoyed walking through the gardens & greenhouses and taking it all in on a summer’s day in Minnesota.    By this time, it was getting to be near dinner time, so we traveled yet to another destination…Fat Lorenzo’s.  This is a little “hole-in-the-wall” pizza place near Lake Nikomas that Nate & I had gone to many, many years ago.  The pizza there is terrific and the girls liked it too.  Their table cloths are white paper that you can write and draw all over.  It keeps you busy while you wait for your pizza.  So we asked the girls to draw something that they saw or enjoyed this day…they both drew the spoon & cherry bridge from the sculpture garden.  Too hard for me, so I drew my disc from golfing!  A round circle!

I hope you had a great weekend as well.  These don’t happen all that often, so I’m happy that we took advantage of the weather and all that our cities have to offer and got out there!

sculpture garden - Mpls.

The last couple of days have been busy ones.  We’re slowly getting ready for that “back to school” day that we all know is coming.  Yesterday the girls found out who they got for their teachers.  What a day that is!  Our phone rings non-stop for about five hours straight with giggly girls screaming loudly into the phone.  It’s fun at first, but then I definitely look forward to the quiet.

Today was a rainy day and we spent it at the mall shopping for school clothes.  This turned out to be pretty fun and I enjoyed watching the girls try on different types of clothes and seeing what styles they like.  They really do know how to dress well & pick out pricey items.  Hmmm….I wonder where they get that from.  But in the end, we did pretty well on our budget.  Megan found name brand clothes like Hollister, at discounted prices and Kelly did well at Old Navy.   Now it’s Mom’s turn!!  I have to go back to school too!

We had a very nice weekend with Geri & Cardell (aka: grandma & grandpa Solberg).  On Saturday morning, Nate & Del took Megan over to her soccer tryouts.  They stayed and watched while Megan sweated in the heat.  After that (and showers), we headed over to Burnsville’s Art & All That Jazz Fest.  We listened to three different bands that definitely have their own style of Jazz.  Each were unique and we enjoyed them all.  We missed having the sunshine but we were happy that the rain held out for most of it.  We were smart and had our umbrellas along, just in case.   That evening we enjoyed a nice warm pasta dish for dinner. 

This morning we had a wonderful blueberry strata for breakfast before saying good-bye to Grandma & Grandpa.  It was very nice of them to drive over this summer and we loved having them here.  For the rest of the day, I think we might just take it easy and relax.

Nate’s parents are in town for the weekend and we are delighted that they are here.  All week we have been preparing for their arrival by grocery shopping, cleaning and planning the menu.  Which leads me to my title for today.  Nate prepared a turkey on the grill tonight.  He bought this turkey back in November when they were on sale for Thanksgiving.  He thought he’d freeze it and we could hopefully prepare it within a couple of months.  Well, it took until August to pull it out of the freezer, but ooooh, did it taste good tonight.  We also made stuffing, fresh green beans & cucumbers from the neighbors gardens, and apple crisp for dessert.  It was a feast fit for pilgrims.

Tomorrow we are planning on heading over to  Burnsville’s Jazz-fest and enjoying an afternoon of music.

Today the people of Burnsville were actually singing because we got rain!!!  It was a beautiful sight to wake up to and lay in bed and listen to.  It rained for about five hours this morning before letting up.  It is so dry here, that we would welcome another five hours of the same. 

These showers led me to a day of scrap-booking.  Perfect weather for sitting downstairs surrounded by my albums, cutters and paper.  I got right to it this morning and was able to finish Megan’s school album.  Next week, I hope to accomplish the same task with Kelly’s album.  They’re lots of work, but they sure turn out cute and the girls love looking at them.  It’s fun to see how much they’ve change throughout their school years.

Yesterday, Dawn & I went to Goodwill in search of  inexpensive books.  A friend of mine told me that they had .15 cent bins full of books.  And they did!  We had so much fun exploring these bins and racks of books.  We were like kids in a candy store.  Kelly came along and found many chapter books that she was interested in.  Dawn was good to have along, because she has read many more books than I have, so she would point out good ones that she was familar with and I’d add them to my pile.  We were sorry that we didn’t grab a basket on the way in, because we had so many books that it was difficult to carry them and keep searching without dropping them.  As we would pick up books and read their backs, a man would come around and throw in another stack.  This went on the entire time we were there, so of course, Dawn & I would go back to that bin to see what he tossed in.  It was a viscous cycle we couldn’t get out of!  We finally said, “enough for today” but I know we’ll go back again soon.  I ended up with 15 books for $18 and Dawn got 8 books for $5.   What a bargain!!!

Hayley, Megan, Kelly & Melanie

We had a nice long weekend with Nate’s brother, Chad, his wife Jody and their daughters, Hayley & Melanie visiting.  The girls got to hang out with their cousins and play.  On Friday, we had a fun BBQ outside, consisting of ribs, potato salad & corn.  It was delicious and nice to eat outside in the evening.  After dinner & full bellies, it was time to head downstairs and rock out for a night of Guitar Hero!  That was a lot of fun and humorous.  On Saturday, we hit the Mall of America  and the girls had fun going on a few rides and their cousins wanted to see the American Girl Store.  It’s a big mall, so we didn’t see too much of it but having kids along, we mainly enjoyed the amusement park.  After that, we headed over to Minnehaha Falls to enjoy some ice cream and see the waterfall.  But since we haven’t had much rain, it was a pretty “thin” waterfall.   After all the outings, we headed back home where Nate made his famous home-made pizzas and the kids got a Papa Murphy’s…which they were thrilled to eat!

Today we said good-bye and we’ll see each other again at Christmas time.  I overheard Melanie telling Megan that she wanted to stay for another ten days!   I think they enjoyed each other.