Festivities

The past two weeks have been filled with lots of swimming, biking and reading. The girls lucked out when we ran into friends, Lily and Violet, from school while visiting Lake Elmo park. We also found some new swimming holes on White Bear Lake. Birch park and Chautauqua park seem to be our new favorites. We can bike to both easily. We had to give up our old favorite, Willernie beach, this year because the lake is too shallow with the lack of rainfall. Thank goodness we can bike further distances and the City of White Bear is working to make a bike trail that goes all the way around the lake. Next year we will have access to the downtown and all the beaches using the trails. Over the weekend, Erin and the girls attended the Swedish Maypole activity at a farm in Scandia. We toured all of the historial buildings to learn how the Swedish people lived when they first came to America. The girls were fascinated by the story of the Tomte told by one of the historians. Erin was impressed she got to stand in the oldest functioning church in Minnesota. The church was made with no nails and the boards were put together in a Lincoln log like fashion. Following our building tours, we participated in a variety of activities. The favorite activity seemed to be making flower crowns with wildflowers. Coming in a close second was running with the metal hoops followed by milking the cow and wringing out clothes using an old fashioned tool. Everyone was impressed by the amount of Swedish we were hearing families speak as we passed by different groups. We had to leave the Maypole ceremony a bit early due to rain, but we got to hear the Swedish National Anthem and some songs in Swedish.

Unfortunately, the Canadian wildfires have made it hard to breathe outside for the last week, so we have had to make due indoors. We walked at the indoor ice arena and found some free bowling tickets for kids to pass the time. Hopefully, the ash won't last all summer.

Belated Birthday

Emma decided she wanted to celebrate her birthday at the sand castle building contest on White Bear Lake this year. She invited three friends to build with her. Analise decided to have her own team, including her friends Ellie and Emily. Both teams worked hard for the entire time given. Emma's team created a porcupine with tons of quills. Each girl told a fact about porcupines when they presented to the judges. Analise's team built Old Jerusalem. When they presented they talked about all the key places within the city. Emma's team ended up getting 3rd place for the "Creatures" category this year and Analise's team got 1st place for "Castles" category. After the judging, we all walked over to Cup and Cone for some ice cream. We were lucky it was a clear sky day and everyone had an enjoyable time. The girls hope they can get their friends together again at some point this summer.

Spring 2023 (but really ending winter and then hitting temps in the 80s)

Both girls continue to take figure skating and gymnastics year round while picking up some other sports based on the season. This spring the girls participated in Girls on the Run. This was Emma's last season before she starts middle school track.

As a family we like to take hikes and be outside as much as possible. We managed to fit in a few bike rides before the heat came as well as a trip to Trollhaugen for a high ropes course.

We are not sure where May went. The weekends just zoomed by. We celebrated Aunt Sharon's 70th birthday and Uncle Michael's wedding. Aunt Sharon was able to get almost the entire family together for the event. Michael had a perfect day for his wedding. The celebrated at a distillary. The girls enjoyed the games they had set up for kids to play.

At school, the girls participated in their yearly Chronological Quest. This year Emma was Hera and Analise was Mumtaz Mahal. Hera's costume proved difficult to keep together and the morning of the presentation, Emma had to make some quick repairs. Analise insisted on having a "real" Indian dress. Luckily, Dan had a friend from work that helped us out with her request. Grandma Kathy helped to add a headpiece and jewelry.

Emma performed in the band and choir this spring and Analise's class put on an Alice in Wonderland play. Emma enjoyed playing "Star Wars" and"Mary Poppins" on her clarinet as well as singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Analise was a flower that talked back to Alice while in Wonderland. Both events were fun to attend.

Emma moves into middle school this next year. She is nervous but also excited to move onto the next level. They had a nice graduation ceremony for her where they told her strengths and gave her the name of a Bible character that they believe represented her personality. Emma was given the name Joanna for her strength and independence. Emma also earned an award for Latin and joined the 97% and above excellence group. Emma received 97% or better in all of her subject areas.

Once again we attended the school picnic to wrap up the year and Analise had a third grade end of the year party at a friend's house the following day. Into "summer" we go! In the next few weeks, the girls will attend Circus Juventas camp, the "Descendants" play at Stages theater, and an art camp where they make beaded picture designs. This year Emma is planning to have her birthday at the Sand Castles and Creature contest on White Bear Lake. We'll see what they create. Emma's friend Abby will be moving to Montana at the end of June. We are hoping that we can visit them when we are out at Yellowstone in August.

Two seasons this year- Winter and Summer

With this winter came lots of snow which meant we got a few more days of winter activities. The whole family made it out downhill skiing at Wild Mountain and we even got a sled dog training experience in through our local library.

For Analise's birthday this winter, the girls decided to try snowtubing on a giant hill. Analise brought Tessa and Emma brought Svea. After a few bumpy starts on the tow rope, they were off and running. A couple of hours later, their arms were getting tired and we decided to call it a day. The weather was perfect and much fun was had.

While it was still cold out, we helped with Manna Market and Feed My Starving Children in Coon Rapids. The girls helped box food for 700 families at Manna Market (donated food from supermarkets across the metro) and made meal kits for children in Central America. We hope to return to Manna Market this summer to help even more families get what they need.

There were a few days days off of school where Emma and Analise were watched by Grandma and Grandpa Walczynski or Erin's friend Joy. Joy took the girls sledding at the Como Zoo and then they did artwork together over at her house. Grandma got a nicer spring day and was able to visit Grandma Kubacki's memorial bench with the girls.

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.