Zoo Field Trip/Lots O Soccer/Last Day

Brendan's last school field trip for 1st grade was to Como Zoo in St. Paul. I haven't been able to go on the trips due to babysitting Logan or not having someone else to watch Aiden so it was really nice to be able to go on the trip with him.

Here he is with a mommy and baby orangutans in the background.

I was 'in charge' of Brendan and the little boy to the left, but we were paired up with another parent and child for the day. Here the boys are at the indoor lion enclosure. Unfortunately you can't see the huge female lion sprawled out behind them sleeping.

Taking a short break at the Sunken Garden in the Conservatory - the Conservatory was probably their least favorite place. Too many plants and flowers!

The boys watching the koi.

A random photo of the kitties being teased and taunted by all the birds outside. They play together all the time, but aren't cuddly with each other so it is rare to see them even sitting next to each other like this. This is first thing in the morning after opening the inside door and giving them a good view of the feeds out front and the many birds getting their breakfast.

The last full week of school the first graders had an Author Presentation for the parents. They each had a sheet of paper to read from; some with parts to the poem Over in the Meadow and others with corresponding science facts about things that live or grow in a meadow. They did an awesome job!
Our smiley guy :)

Afterwards, they read two books they wrote and illustrated themselves to us. Brendan's books were about tigers. One was a non-fiction using facts he'd looked up on the computer and the other was a fictitious story about a tiger stuck in a tar pit.

Aiden, our newest little soccer star! He was so excited to go to his first practice and be on a real team and have a real team shirt ;) He takes it very seriously too and is a super attentive listener.

Getting some instructions...

Playing a game...
Brendan in a new role of watching/supporting his brother at an activity. Usually it is the other way around!

Brendan has had several soccer practices this season in addition to his games. Here is one of them where Aiden was particularly impatient to get going. Always a smile for the camera though!
Aiden in charge of taking photos - a result of me caving and letting him loose with electronics in order to get through the hour of practice! A nice action shot of Brendan.
Waiting to throw the ball back in while the coaches are giving tips and pointers to the boys.
Aiden still taking pictures - he loves the little babies! Little sisters of two of the boys on our team.

A day that seemed so far away - the last day of 1st grade! My how time flies. And now on to summer - and all the craziness it brings.

Interstate State Park Trip

For Memorial Day weekend we took the boys on a day trip to Taylors Falls and visited Interstate State Park. It's a cool place with lots of hiking trails as well as some glacial potholes. The kids are very interested in volcanoes, etc, so showing them rock formed from lava and the circular holes formed by swirling glacial water was a neat lesson.

Here we are starting up one of the trails.
Poor Brendan has a very genuine fear of heights so the trail was a little scary for him. He did a great job though and was able to do the whole loop with us.
Our little family on the banks of the St. Croix River.

Beautiful view; we'll have to do the paddle boat another time.

My guys!

Much happier to be on level ground again :)
Checking out one of the glacial potholes.
Down the stairs in a very wide and deep one.
A little relaxing in the shade - super hot day!
Our handsome little kiddos!

Farm Day and Museum Day

I'm going to try to get caught up here! I have lots of pictures so I'll try to go in order - our days/nights/weekends have been filled with fun and activity. Depending on how far I get I might just do some short posts until I get back on track!

Mid-May we took the kids to visit a local farm about an hour north of us. Our friends, Becky and Pierre, had found Snake River Farm while searching for a local farmer raising grass-fed animals. We both ordered from them last year and the meat is very good. A few times a year they have days for customers and friends to come out to the farm for some fun. The kids get to see all the animals, ride ponies, feed goats and chickens, pet baby bunnies and just have a great time. We even took a wagon ride around the farm with the owner, Tom, as our tour guide.

Right off the bat, Brendan loved this place! He is all about gadgets and these little grinders to take corn off the cobs and other ones to crush the corn kernels were like a magnet for him.

Pony rides are always a hit! This was the sweetest pony ever, Buckwheat. I could have taken him home with us.
We had packed a lunch and because everything was still wet from a storm that morning we had a picnic in the back of the Durango - kids loved it!
Wellyn getting in touch with nature - his favorite kind since he could leave it at the farm ;)
Do you think he was having fun?
The boys with friends Audrey and Sophia getting ready for the wagon ride tour of the farm.
The bison herd - they are really big animals.
A quick stop at a little cabin they have in a beautiful stand of trees. My friend Becky and Sophia.
Some 'real horsepower' for the trip!
My boys!
The cattle herd... I didn't bother to go into detail about one of those being dinner later this year...
An old one-room school house on the property. It's no wonder they moved the bell outside - it is so loud!

What kid doesn't love pumping water?
Aiden checking out the piggies... again, no details about the bacon they all love.
A little trip around the yard on the tractor.
Brendan in serious love with this little bunny. He held it for the longest time and did not want to go home. We thought we might need to surgically remove the bunny from his arms!
Aiden getting one last ride on Buckwheat before we headed back. Some very tired and happy kids at the end of the day. We hope to make it back up to the farm this fall and again this winter for bobsledding!

Random photo of Jag all curled up in a box.

Another random photo of Aiden playing outside with our neighbor on a hot day. Dollar Store water shooters - very fun.

Another trip to the roller skating rink for our neighbors birthday party. Aiden was having a great time. Brendan had really improved so he was off and rolling, we might have a video of him somewhere, but he had no time for photos!
With our friend Gracie - she is such a doll!

Aiden is playing on his first Jr. Kickers Soccer team. He has been anticipating it for so long - all these games and practices watching his brother has really made him anxious to play. One day before his soccer started he decided to put on all of his brothers soccer stuff (including the too big shoes and socks) so he could be a 'real soccer player' like his brother. So sweet!

A weekend trip to the St. Paul Children's Museum over Memorial Day weekend. They had a bunch of these pogo stick horses that were hugely popular.

Hanging out at the dinosaur exhibit.
'Digging' for dinosaur bones in rubber mulch.
Climbing the tower on the rooftop garden.
The ever popular crane - trying to stack the 'steel beams' is harder than it looks.
Aiden getting a little help from Dad.
A very tired Aiden making some huge bubbles.

This is by far Brendan's favorite part of the museum. They have these foam bricks that the kids can send up and down via a kid powered conveyor. He could just do this all day...
The boat races there are the best.
A family trip to Mickey's Diner. Such a small place with so much history to it. The kids had French toast and it was absolutely the best I've ever tasted. The waitress told us the pancakes are even better so we'll be going back there to try them out!