The kids smiling in front of the clock that we gave to A Slice of New York.
Looks nice, doesn’t it?!
Just don’t look at Helena’s teeth.
Month: September 2012
Measures of center
Helena and Liam just decide to try their hands at mean and median after school.
Minneapolis United Soccer
Liam’s travelling team has a pretty bad year, but I think that this game out in Eden Prairie may have been their lowest point. I don’t think anyone knew how many goals were scored by the other team at this game. Liam came close twice, but nothing went in.
This is a photo which pretty much sums the game up for Liam’s team.
Minnesota Renaissance Festival
We had backstage passes to the fair, which was nice. The kids really liked going up the balcony above a shop to look around. I’m not really sure that they understood that they were pretty much the only ones allowed up there in the whole park, but they ran up whenever they got the chance.
It was a long day, but the kids had fun. Liam and Ada were dressed up a bit as I was. Liam really liked shooting the bow and arrow – he talked about that for days afterward.
Puke and I.
I couldn’t get a very good photograph of the girls on the elephant, but if you look hard, you can see how excited Helena was. Ada was having a great time, too.
Thumbs up!
Helena did her best to get all of the Puke and Snot jokes, but I’m not sure that she understood any of them.
After dropping Helena off at a sleepover, Liam, Ada, and I went to Michelangelo’s Pizza. Ada and Liam played this game of bingo until they realized how many pieces were missing.
Here is Ada showing off some of the cheaper souvenirs that she picked up off the ground at the Renaissance Festival.
Ada’s Homework
Ada forgot about this homework, and I had to go outside in the dark without a flashlight (kids kill the batteries!) to find one. Luckily I remember seeing one out by the car.
But Ada just had so much fun doing this homework. When I told her that she had enough, she wanted to write one more thing. She then put it into her backpack all excited about giving it to her teacher the next morning.
Then when I cleaned out her backpack, I saw it in there, and she said that she never gave it to Ms. Chhun. Well, at least she was excited about it for one night.
Making Dessert
Brussels Sprouts
Ada loves them. With lots of butter.
So I got her a stalk.
Liam’s First Travelling Soccer Match
Out in Orono. But they have grass there, so it was something different.
They lost 6-0, and never one a game until their very last game when they beat a team from Duluth which had never won all year long, either.
Then after the game we went to Cooper’s in St. Louis Park to eat lunch and for Liam to watch the Vikings game, which they surprisingly won. By the time we got home and Liam finished watching some more football, he was pretty beat.
Woody
We found three woodpeckers today. Two in the trees in our alleyway and one in the front of the apartment complex next door.
How kids see things
Liam: “Dad? Are the players on the Vikings the same players that were on the team last year?”
Dad: “Most of them, but there will be some new players and some players have left.”
Liam: “That’s good. The Vikings need an upgrade.”
Neighborhood Stray
“Mittens” as the kids call her visits quite often. We also think that she’s been the one bringing all the dead rabbits to the house.
Minnesota Stars
I told my kids that we were just going to go somewhere new for dinner. They asked where, but I said that I’d just drive around until I found something.
When I got up to Blaine, I found a restaurant near the stadium, and ate there. They had this lawn game there that the kids liked playing, especially Liam. Helena saw an albino squirrel which may have been the highlight of her day up to that point. She tried taking a photo by chasing it around, but that didn’t turn out.
Near the end of the game, we could barely make up the announcing of something at the stadium, but the kids still had no idea where we were or what the noise was. Anyhow, they were a bit surprised and excited to be there, although it wasn’t our first time.
The kids were cheering for the visiting team on accident for a long time which I thought was funny. It probably happened because it was breast cancer awareness night and the home team wasn’t wearing their normal colours, but pink. The girls especially liked the sea monster that rises when we score.
During the second half of the game, we went over to the Dark Cloud supporters section despite them telling me that they didn’t want to. They had a lot more fun due to the noise and general atmosphere over there. And the free nuts that were given to us (that were being passed around). They were a little too spicy for them, but Ada and Helena made a friend because of them, which they liked. The game ended up 1-1, and all three kids were very disappointed in the refereeing.
After the game, we followed another group into the National Sports Center’s Schwann’s Super Rink. I saw a lady that works there go up to the other group and it seemed that she was telling them that it was closed, so I ran with the kids upstairs and we got to explore for awhile, which they absolutely loved. They wanted to see all eight sheets of ice, and they liked all the exercise equipment, too. On our way out, two young guys were surprised to see us since the rinks have been closed, but they didn’t seem to concerned about us and let us out through the now-locked doors.
Walker First Saturday
I like it when I take the kids to something that they don’t want to go to and by the end of the three hours they have had a great time.
At the Walker, we made books, walked through the Conservatory, went through a bunch of exhibits, played on the hill with Frisbees, and picked out some bags to take home.
And I took photos with a cell phone which, by default, works with some pretty strange dimensions.
Loring Park Bike Trip
Ada’s first trip out in the street (okay, for a little more than a block) was down Bryant, across the Lyndale bike bridge down to Loring Park. The girls were more interested in climbing than riding their bikes, though.
