Christmas Events, A Snow Day and A Trip to Miami

We had a very fun-filled busy month this past December. We went to the Rudolph play in Hopkins with our family friend, Joy, and we participated in the annual Toy Drive with the Salvation Army. The girls baked Christmas cookies with grandma Kathy. Grandma and grandpa took the girls to a sledding hill in Shoreview that they raved about for weeks. We even got a snow day where we built a snow octopus. After a full month of holiday concerts and parties, we headed off to Miami.

We were expecting warm weather, but a cold front moved through just as we were heading into Miami. Luckily, we squeezed in a day or two of sunshine before we had to return home. Our trip began with us trying to locate our AirBnB. Driving downtown Miami was hectic. Once we located the condo, we had to figure out how to get the key, but that proved tricky when there was no on street parking available. Christmas Eve traffic was making the entire area a large mess. We had to avoid walkers, bikers, other cars and trucks. Once we figured out how to get into the condo, we had to learn how to use a very confusing parking ramp without a pass. We had to be buzzed through multiple checkpoints (after a few days we got the hang of it but that first day felt crazy). After getting everything settled we headed to Target to get groceries. We thought we needed the car, but it turned out the Target was only a block away. It took us 20 minutes to park when it would have taken 5 minutes to walk. We also learned the hard way that everyone in Miami Christmas shops on Christmas Eve. Their favorite place to shop is, of course, Target. The line for purchasing items went from checkout all the way to the back of the store. There were roped off areas so that people couldn't budge in line and staff members that were strategically placed so they could send the shoppers back in line if needed. Erin even took pictures because she thought for sure no one in Minnesota would believe the craziness that was witnessed. After dinner, we decided to find the pool. To our surprise, it was nicely heated so that even the 40 degree weather did not deter us from easily jumping in.

We continued to visit the pool on a daily basis. On our first official day in Miami, we visited the Everglades to look for alligators. Even in the cold we were able to see an alligator. He seemed to be frozen by the temps and moved very slowly. We guess that was lucky because we were only 8 feet away from him when we spotted him surface in the water. After an hour or so of walking in the cold, we decided that our afternoon plans would need to be indoors. We decided to visit the Paradox Museum where we were able to take cool photos based on the angle of certain mirrors. We also did some walking around the downtown area.

On our second day it was still cold, so we visited the Science Museum. There were so many cool exhibits. The girls got to see a presentation called Fire an Ice as well as design their own asteroid and smash it into the "tin Earth." We also saw a hammerhead shark in the aquarium. Analise has been very into sharks recently. Outside the museum was a walkway filled with colorfully designed cat and dog statues. In the evening, we visited the restaurant Versailles in the Cuban area of town. The restaurant was so popular the line wrapped round the whole building. The girls tried plantains and yuka fries. Both were a hit.

The third day included a trip to the Fruit and Spice farm as well as driving down to the Keys. We got to see bananas growing, starfruit trees and plants for just about any fruit imaginable. By the time we got to the beach, the sun was finally coming out and we could wear shorts for the first time. We walked on a very long boardwalk/pennisula through the mangroves out towards some islands with only one tree growing on each. We also found a beach where they had created a child swimming pool by roping off part of the ocean.

On our last day, we visited the Miami Seaquarium and Miami Beach. At the Seaquarium, we saw manatees, sea turtles, seals, penguins and of course dolphins. We were able to swim with the dolphins and ride while holding their dorsal fin. We learned that dolphins can hold up to three times their weight. The dolphins we were working with were around 300 pounds. They did lots of tricks for us including splashing us so much that we were drenched and didn't care how cold the water was. We got to do some up close touches as well as hold their fins and give a "handshake". After our time with the dolphins we headed home to grab our lunch. Then we were off to Miami beach. The amount of people on the beach was more than we had ever seen before. It felt like we were at the State Fair with seas of people moving every which way. Again the parking situation was a bit crazy. Erin found an app online that helped us find free parking somewhat near the beach. The waves were gigantic and the jellyfish that washed up on the beach were electric blue. Everyone ended up getting their shoes wet by the waves. We threw around a football on the beach, but no one ended up going in the water. In the evening we visited a seafood restaurant next to the condo for some fried shrimp.

Time flew by and before we knew it we were back on a plane. Dan forgot his ID at the Seaquarium and didn't realize until we were ready to check our bags. He was afraid they wouldn't let him on the plane. Luckily, Erin and the girls vouched for him and after much scrutiny they let him on. The aquarium said they would mail him back his ID. Erin managed to trip over Emma's suitcase when Emma walked in front of her not thinking about where she was headed. She ended up with two very bruised knee caps. Analise ended up with a severe ear ache as the plane was landing and there was much crying related to the pain. Her ears finally popped about an hour later and all was good. When we arrived in Minnesota, the plane was delayed a bit and we had to sit for an extra 45 minutes. There were so many flights cancelled over the holiday, we were lucky ours even left Minnesota. Thankfully we made it home in one piece. We made the best of the weather we had and were so thankful we were not at home for Christmas with the negative temps. Not sure we will be traveling much in the next year after this stress filled trip, but the brain does tend to easily forget the rough stuff.

Girls on the Run Fall 2022

Emma and Ani completed their 5K race at the State Fair grounds this morning. It was a chilly 23 degrees. Thankfully there was little wind. They ran with a few friends from OH Anderson and their coaches. This was Emma's second race and Ani's first. We are thankful for such a wonderful program that builds girls self-esteem. Also part of the program is the chance to support the local community. This season the girls donated food to the food shelf and made up bags of supplies for the women's shelter. Pictures below are of Emma and Analise with Evelyn and Tori as well as coaches Kate, Trish and Eric.

Crafting Party

On Friday Emma and Ani both got to select two friends to come over for candle, food wrap and perfume making. Our house smelled like a Bath and Body Works shop once all the crafts were complete. Although you can see the intense concentration needed while candle making, the seriousness of the night was brief. The girls took in upon themselves to get rid of excess energy with some flashlight tag outdoors and a dance party in the basement inbetween craft projects. Erin was glad her friend Joy could come over to help out with projects or she would have had a hard time making sure all the crafts went home with the right kid. Next weekend we head to Stages theater for Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Bring on the fun!

Wrapping Up Summer and Onto the New

The girls finished off the summer with a horse riding camp. In addition to riding, the girls learned how to clean the horses hooves, how to put on a saddle and every day grooming techniques for their horse. Both girls learned that maintaining a horse was a lot of work and riding a horse takes time to get used to. To complete their animal fix, they also threw in some bunny snuggle time at the Washington County Fair and visits over to Chica's house.

When mom was working the last week of summer Dan took the girls on some adventures. They visited Crystal Caves and went to the Como Town/Zoo area. They discovered that Como Town was discounted on the days when the State Fair is occurring, so they got discounted rides. The girls said they went on the tilt a whirl and rollercoaster at least ten times each. They got to bring their friend Lucy along as a special treat and even managed to squeeze in the Sparky the Seal show. Grandma also had the girls for a few days and they did some art projects with the County Library. The girls made unique light switch covers with colorful clay.

As a family we wrapped up summer with a trip to Madeline Island. It was cold this year so we didn't get to swim but we found great hiking trails and explored some new parks further inland. We went to Nearstrand Woods and will definitely need to visit there again. They have some fun waterfalls to play in. We also saw some sea kayaking locations we can try out when the girls are older and found an amazing field to pick blueberries.

The weekend before school officially started, we served at Manna Market in Minneapolis. This market is for both families in need as well as homeless community members who need access to meals or easy things to eat on the go. We served with Erin's friend Joy and met many unique individuals who shared their stories and gave us a new perspective on life. We plan to return later in the year to serve again. In conjunction with our own service projects, Emma and Ani serve the community through their new school. The girls particiated in a Servathon month where they worked at the food shelf, made cards for Vetrans, put together flower boquettes for seniors in the local hospice center, raked within the community and made blessing bags for those in need.

We started school at St. Jude of the Lake this fall. The girls are in a variety of new activities related to the school. Analise started piano lessons and Emma started voice lessons with their music teacher after school. They are both involved in choir for the school and regularly sing at mass. Emma is hoping to one day be able to sing a solo at the podium. Besides choir, the girls are interested in trying out for the school musical, Lion King that will take place in March. Emma has been practicing for the role of Timon. Emma has also taken an interest in cheerleading and goes to practices regularly on Fridays with her two best friends. The friends also have a babysitting business together and regularly hang out at one of the team's houses on Friday nights. Analise has found a new friend whom she walks home with on Fridays. She will be attending her new friend's upcoming Halloween party. As a family, we are so happy to have friends that are so close the girls can go and visit anytime.

The following are some pictures from field trips the girls have already participated in this fall. The school is very into hands-on experiences. The girls take field trips on a regular basis. They also do a lot of work with STEM projects. Analise's class worked on solar ovens and designing homes for butterflies. Emma's class explored the Mississippi through a boat tour. They were able to look for birds, fish and tiny water creatures. The following week they visited a local creek to release the trout last years class raised. They are raising a new group of fish this year in the science lab. Emma is enjoying her elective time on Fridays when she gets to engineer. She has been designing with the 3D printer and working in the robotics lab. She said all the 5th grade girls chose art class and she is the only one who chose engineering. She said the boys just want to work on typing so she gets full access to all the technology and the teacher's attention which she loves.

As a family, we have gotten more involved in church events. We participated in our fall Cornfest by entering the Cornhole tournament. The girls went to play carnival games while we tossed bean bags for almost two hours. Who knew we would actually move through a few rounds. Dan has gone to a few of the dad's meetings with the girls. The meetings help to connect dads to their daughters. Erin hopes to get more involved with the school play and some mom's activities later in the year. Although there has been a lot of new things happening, we still have ice skating lessons and gymnastics to keep things regular. Analise now knows how to do backflips off of high surfaces (I have no idea what the official terms are for what she does but the moves are impressive). Emma can now do a jump while she turns. She was very excited the first time she made it and landed. She started working with a private coach this fall. Throw in a lot of homework, getting the yard set for winter, making sure the house was clean enough to have people over and the fall was filled to the max. Here is our yearly scarecrow display.

We did manage to throw in a few get togethers with friends this fall. The girls got to spend time with Carolyn's daughters when we visited Minnehaha Falls. It was very dry this year with no water flowing. This allowed the girls to climb on the rocks and explore fossils that we are normally not capable of accessing. The girls also spent time with Erin's friend Joy while Erin and Dan got to go on a date (who knows what those are anymore?) The girls explored the park and made Barbie clothes with Joy. They loved spending time with her. Joy has graciously said that she will watch the girls once a month so we can time together. We have gone to a comedy show and gone on a bike ride thus far. Since I don't have siblings, Joy has become my honorary sister and I am so thankful for her. Dan has also gotten some quality time in with his friend Wade. They have been watching games together and going fishing in Wade's boat.

As a family, we are traveling to Iowa over MEA weekend to see the Indian Mounds as well as visit some state parks in the area. We had originally planned to go to Duluth to see the fall leaves, but it snowed last week and became very cold. Duluth didn't seem as inviting so we decided to head south and see if we could get a few warmer days before we head into November.