NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Words cannot describe how much my kids love this elevator

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These photos were taken before the sadness that ensued because of the elevator. They did not know of the horror around the corner.

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Ada’s Birthday

Ada started out her birthday morning by cleaning up her big mess in the house, but once done with that I asked her to come out to the garage to get her bike where she found her birthday present – a balance beam. Liam seemed to enjoy it as well, but wouldn’t do much on it other than hop from the trampoline onto it.

After that we went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for awhile. In the summer, they have lots of activities outside, but today they had much more than usual. Painting, drawing, board games, lawn games, bubbles, dancing, and more and more.

We did go inside to see what was going on and to do the scavenger hunt. We were confused by the scavenger hunt because it was a bit different than usual, but once we actually read the directions on the front, we got it done pretty quickly.

Ada then took us all to Chipotle for dinner. The rule is that the kid picks a place to go and all she wanted was a cheese quesadilla. But she did get a large one.

Then it was time for cake and to open presents.

Another Night Out

We usually go to A Slice of New York for a pre-show dinner, but it was the last night of the Januany at Subway that the kids were singing, so we went there and each got a foot long sub, which really is a lot of food we found out.

Then we went to the Big People’s Museum, where the kids walked around and played in their favourite elevator.

From there we went to see our play, with a picture outside the theatre that made us think it was spring, if only for a second during this long, very cold, winter.

Children’s Theatre Night

We went to our regular pre-show dinner at Slice of New York. The photos that the kids love to look at were down for painting.

Once inside the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, we were having so much fun with the Native American art cart that we missed the beginning of the play.

Year of the Dragon at the Institute of Arts

Ink drawings





Liam waiting for the girls to finish and looking a bit tired.

I’ve been trying to get the kids to read the maps on their own during the scavenger hunts. Much work needs to be done.

The kids were awesome at being a dragon. There were three other people taking photos of them as they went around. The man who was helping the kids with the masks said it was the best he had seen all day. I was even surprised. Helena was moving the head up and down and side to side, and Liam instinctively knew to keep the back so that the seams wouldn’t show.

Here was an Asian family taking photos of the kids.

Then they got to make their own dragons.



Institute of Arts Family Day

Helena asked to do the scavenger hunt even before we got in the building, so the first thing that we did was to get the map. Ada insisted that she wanted one, too, but by the time we had finished doing the artwork, she had lost it. Liam was nice enough to get her another one (after I told him to!)

They are as much as excited to use the map as to find the art work on the walls (or in display cases), and certainly more than learning about the artwork. Liam had to pick up a museum map after awhile because Ada kept getting mad at him when he would want to figure out where to go next.

We noticed that kids had lost of styrofoam pumpkins and fruit on our walks, so we went to the place we usually do to do our second piece of art work but it was closed. Luckily on the way out we found out where we could make them. I mad a red pepper, Helena made fruit, Liam a soda can, and Ada a jackolantern. Then the kids wanted me to make something else, so I mad a Guinness can and for Ada, some autumn-colored malted milk balls that we’ve been stealing at Rainbow. (Actually, the kids have liked the sponge candy more, lately)

Swimming and Institute of Arts

90 degrees in September for the third day in a row. Time to get inside and enjoy some air conditoning.

My camera ran out of batteries at the swimming pool at Lifetime, so there isn’t much here. ร‚ย We went to the store for a few things, then home for lunch, then off to the MIA for the Family Day activities where they made flags and we got our picture taken which I hope would be online. We did get a small photograph of us dressed up (well, the girls and I since Liam wanted no part of it) and Helena laughed like crazy because my wig kept falling off.

Institute of Arts

We’re doing a scavenger hunt at the Institute of Arts and we have to find the painting shown here which shows Artemis (or Diana? – I can’t remember) with hunters in the back. I ask Liam what is going on and he thinks that it is a dog park.

Then we have to go find the bust of Medusa. Ada sees the photo in the scavenger hunt brochure and as soon as we turn a corner, she sees her:

This all happened before we temporarily lost Ada and after their art project.

At work:

Smiling

Projects