Mall of America

While the cousins were here, we did the tourist thing and took them to the Mall of America.  For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's one of the largest indoor malls in the states.  It was built on the old football stadium/parking lot and it covers a lot of acres.

One of the more interesting facts about the MOA is that they don't heat it, even in the winter.  There are enough people circulating in the mall to keep it warm, even in the MN winters!

One of the most attractive things for families is the full size amusement park in the center of the mall.  It's a Nickelodeon Universe® so it has Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob rides.  Pretty cool for the grands.

After our shopping foray, we told the kids they could ride three rides.  We bought tickets and headed for the big swing.  It was BackYardigans decorated, but the typical swing that goes up and out.  The kiddos loved it!  You could hear them squealing and laughing as it went round and round.

They had safety shoulder harnesses for the little tykes but the bigger kids were able to just ride with the lap strap.

The next ride that the grands demanded was the ferris wheel. It sat up on the next floor, so we climbed a staircase to get to the entrance.  Everyone was tall enough to ride alone except for Charlie.  So Uncle Zack rode with Charlie.  He made a friend for life!

The kids enjoyed how high the ride went and how they could look over the floor of the amusement park and see everything.  The only higher point there is the zipline ride.  Luckily, they were not tall enough for that.  I could never have gone along with anyone on that ride!

Their final choice for a fun ride was the SpongeBob bouncey house, "The Pineapple Popper".  They loved it, but suffered buyer's remorse almost immediately when they realized it was their last ride.  I'm sure they would have stayed all day, left to their own devices.

The amusement park has redone some of the rides to incorporate the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme to promote the new movie.  There were a lot of kids riding the new coaster and flapping their turtle shell wings.  Overall, it was a pretty cool place.  The kids had a grand time!!

--  Sandee Wagner

Cousins! And the Strong Man Competition

While in MN visiting the grands and my #2 son, my #1 son and his family flew in for a long weekend.  It was great fun.  All the cousins got to spend time together and the brothers got a chance to catch up.

For me, it meant all 5 of my grands in one place at one time!

We visited the Scott County Fair on Saturday.  There were some great exhibits and shows.  There was a harness horse competition with some BIG animals.

There was a Miracle of Life exhibit with really small and newborn animals.  The kids got to pet new chicks, ducks, lambs and to see calves that were born 12 hours earlier.  It was a really fun experience.

The 4-H kids had rabbits, chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep and cows all competing for ribbons.  We were there in time to see the marked winners.  It was interesting to try and determine what made one animal superior to the others.  The large animals were all getting washed and blown dry for the auction.  I chatted with one young lady who was about to auction off the calf she raised for a full year.

I wonder if it made her sad to part with a cow she hand raised for a year.  It didn't appear to.  Farm kids are tough that way.

We also went to see the Strong Man Competition.  There were all kinds of events: a farmer's carry, tire flip and yoke carry.  Really, REALLY heavy weights.

One of the more interesting parts of the competition was watching the volunteers move the equipment BACK to the starting line for the next heat.  Seriously, that guy in the gray tee and sunglasses walking alongside the yoke carry entrant flipped the tire more times than any contestant!

I really think the whole festival was fun but the tiny babies in the Miracle of Life exhibit stole the show.

--  Sandee Wagner

Blueberry Picking in MN

Today we went berry picking.  It's blueberry season in MN.

We drove about an hour to the Little Hill Berry Farm in Northfield.  After parking the car, we found the farm owners, the whole family, under some pop up tents giving out containers.  The farm is certified organic and uses no pesticides.  They had some of the bushes "tented" and we wanted to ask why, but we forgot to.

The owners asked everyone to wash their hands before picking and encouraged everyone to taste as they go!  No problem.  The grands tasted and tasted.  In fact, we had to make a rule that you picked the berries that you ate.  You couldn't go dipping into the basket of picked berries for snacks.

The kids did great.  Mostly they hit the bushes and picked the big, OBVIOUS ones.  My DIL and I came behind them and got the small berries and pretty much stripped the bushes.

The farmers were very organized.  They walked folks down to different rows and kept track of what had been picked and what had not.  It kept some separation, but it was still like picking in one, big, happy family.  All the kids found other kids their age and compared their baskets to see who had picked the most.

We picked 7 lbs of blueberries.  That is a lot of berries.  I'm looking forward to the jams and pies that should be on the horizon now.

Compared to store prices, it was a great value.  We paid about $4.50 a pound to pick our own.  Considering how much the kids put away that we didn't pay for, I'm calling that a huge win for the Wagner family.

The friendly farmers said they really only did the 'pick your own' one day a week.  They watched the fields and when the berries were ripe for picking, they announced it on their Facebook page.  Usually, the locals who streamed in to pick stripped the ripe berries in their fields in just one weekday.  Then they shut down and waited until the next round of berries were ripe.  It seems like a great way to keep local produce in the hands of locals.  Plus, no transportation costs or farmer's market fees.  We went right to them.

We had a great time picking berries at Little Berry Hill Farm!

--  Sandee Wagner

World's Best Grandma!

Today we made a small road trip to Jordan, MN to the biggest candy store in MN.  It was about ten minutes down the road.

The structure was bright yellow and built from some arched metal buildings linked together.  I would say Quonset huts, but I think these were a bigger, possibly farm-related relative of the Quonset hut.

They boasted 114 varieties of root beer. There were also a variety of imported foods and specialty items to tempt even those folks lacking a sweet tooth.

We couldn't resist some of them.

We bought some salsa, some bacon flavored salt and bacon jerky.  The caramel corn was locally produced so we had to get some.

All the kids got a buck to spend on whatever candy they selected.  They were very selective.

We steered them away from some of the grosser stuff, but there was plenty to tempt kids of all ages.

We found some Dutch cookies and imported German candy bars that begged to be taken home.

We also picked out some boxed candies for movie night tomorrow.  It was a fun trip to the candy store!

The only problem we had was in the decor.  They had a stuffed bear head (that did not look real to an adult) that moved and chatted.  My three year old grandson was pretty distressed that he was stuck in the wall and we couldn't help get him down, like he was asking.  I'm sure it was motion activated, but the bear asked for help and I spent a lot of time explaining that it was a joke, a machine, not real.  I have some very compassionate grands!

--  Sandee Wagner

Fused Glass Flowers

I'm spending a few weeks with the grands in MN.  One of our favorite sights to see here is the Arboretum.  It's lovely and changes with the seasons.  We went to enjoy the outdoor sculpture garden and were surprised by a fused glass flowers exhibit.

The installation was very specific.  They put the glass flowers that looked like specific plants right next to those live specimens.  It was fascinating to see what a glass artist could make to resemble a pretty plant.

I was quite taken with the wisteria.

The water lilies were floating next to real water lilies and both were gorgeous in the sunshine.

The sunflowers stood tall on copper tubing.

The poppies were glorious and there were so many shapes and sizes.

The grapes were stationed right beside an arbor of grapes that covers a walkway.  These were ripe and purple, the real grapes were tiny, immature and green.

The fir tree was stately and its iron trunk looked almost lifelike.

This art installation really worked with the live plants.  Both added to the visual attraction and made for a wonderful trip to the Arboretum!

Mid Century Mess

So, the renovation begins at the front door.  Can you believe they covered this wall of glass up with a board?  I can.  There are five BB holes in that glass.  Shot from the inside.  The Zummos raised three boys here and those BBs were fired from inside the house.  So instead of plugging the holes or replacing the panes of glass, they just covered it up.

I like it better with the glass showing.

I will get some price estimates for replacing the panels that are cracked and shot up.  I'm pretty sure it will be a worthwhile investment.

The kitchen has been gutted and the new space planning has begun.  Since I took this picture, the soffitt is down and so is the wall between the laundry room and the kitchen.  Right now, it's a big mess.  But it's just the first week of renovations, so I'm sure the progess is good.

--  Sandee Wagner