The Minnesota Zoo

We spent time at the zoo yesterday with Anna and Nadia. A family membership to the Minnesota Zoo is one of the best things you can buy if you live anyplace close to the zoo. Seriously, it only takes a few visits for it to be cost effective, and the kids love the zoo.

Our first stop was the butterfly garden. This shot, as cool as it is, does not do justice to the beautiful garden. There are butterflies everywhere - Rose #3 kept saying "FLY! FLY! FLY!" and beautiful flowers. It is so peaceful and floaty and beautiful. If our kids hadn't been there (and if about 1,000,000 other people hadn't been there) I would have sat on the bench and watched the butterflies for awhile. It was lovely. Anyway, this is one of the butterflies that H caught on his cell phone camera. I think it is a swallowtail.

Even though this is lilies, my husband H said, "Look: Three Roses Minnesota!"

After the butterfly garden we went to the new grizzly bear exhibit. It is called Russia's Grizzly Coast, and it is a very well designed exhibit. They have sea otters and grizzly bears in a very nice exhibit. You can see the sea otters swimming up very close, and you can also get very close to a grizzly bear. The girls loved it.

After you see the sea otters and the bears, you get to a spot where you can pretend you are digging out a woolly mammoth. This held the interest of Roses #1 and 2, and Nadia, for quite awhile:

Rose #3 also very much enjoyed digging in the sand. Regarding her attire in this picture, here is the thing. Between the butterfly garden and the grizzly bear exhibit is a HUGE water fountain in which children are expected, nay, encouraged, nay, nearly compelled, to run. We had 1) no swim diaper 2) no towel and 3) no change of clothes. For either Rose #2 or Rose #3. (For some reason I had a change of clothes for Rose #1 which my colleague, quite correctly, pointed out was kind of strange. Who carries a change of clothes for the 6-year-old but not the 4- or 2-year-old?)

Anyway, all of this by way of explanation regarding Rose #3's diaper peeking out here. She was just wearing a t-shirt and diaper by this point (luckily I at least had a dry shirt for her)!


After the sand pit we checked out the wild boars and then headed home. We had a very delicious dinner with Anna and Nadia of brats, bean salad, watermelon and lettuce salad.

I am very grateful that we can do things like take our kids to the zoo and then bring them home for a delicious dinner with good friends. At dinner, Rose #1 said to Anna, "I feel like you are members of our family, and that Nadia is one of our cousins." Rose #1 is such a good girl. I was very, very proud of her to say that.

The Lemonade Incident

Yesterday was a mellow, around-the-house kind of day. Until approximately 5:15 p.m, that is - more on that below.

Rose #1 had a fabulous outing with her best friend from daycare days. They had lunch and then went to a local amusement park (indoor amusement park, this is Minnesota after all) and rode the rides! Thanks Liz.

Rose #2 was very jealous so we had a cookie baking event (to appease her a bit). It was kind of a hot day so I didn't really want to turn on the oven. Oh well.

Rose #3 had to "help" with the cookies.

As we were preparing dinner, Roses #1 and #2 were fighting over playing games on our laptop computer. After a brief but horrible silence the father of the roses came running in for paper towels - lemonade spilled all down the keyboard of the laptop, and the monitor was making a horrible flickering before we came to our senses and removed the battery. The laptop is still sitting on its side letting the lemonade run out. Roses #1 and #2 were banished to their room before dinner.

The father of the roses had a part in designing a device that was on the Mars Phoenix lander, which successfully landed on Mars yesterday! Good job dear!

I've Always Wanted to Start a Blog

And now I have. Hmmmm. This will be interesting.

Rose #1 recently attained the ripe old age of 6. Her grandparents gave her an aquarium starter set. Before we are overrun with slime, etc. and delinquent on cleaning the contraption, we are still quite enthusiastic about setting up the aquarium so we all piled into the car tonight and headed out to the pet store. 15 lbs. of gravel, two resin/plastic toys (made in China) and one small bottle of water conditioner later, we are ready to set up the 10 gallon monster. It is hard to understand when you are 6 why you can't go home with the fish on the very first night.

Rose #2 picked out a very garish shell for the aquarium after being granted this privilege by Rose #1. She is my girly girl and wants everything pink! This is an orange shell that opens to display a fake pearl.

Rose #3 was transfixed by the RAT in the cage at the pet store. She also put her stinky feet in my face after we got back in the car. Every time she put her feet to my nose and I exclaimed "ooooh stinky feet" she fairly grunted with laughter and showed me her pearly white teeth!