The Zoe and Silas Show

8/1/14: This morning we headed down to a Minneapolis icon, the Mall of America! Dad & Mary took the kids on the Sea Life tour (unfortunately no pictures because I stayed behind to do some shopping with Stephanie). Afterwards we headed to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Silas is obsessed with all things mechanical, so I finally gave in to let him make a "souvenir" coin out of a penny. Of course we had to hit Lego Land and the amusement park, formerly known as Camp Snoopy! It was a super fun afternoon!  We got back to Sue & Bob's house from the MoA just in time for one last boat ride. It has been such a fun and memorable week with my family. I am so grateful to spend this time with everyone in one of my favorite places on earth! Already dreaming of next year...

7/30/14: Mom, her new hip and I headed out for a walk around the island this morning. The weather was beautiful! This afternoon we were invited to visit Auntie Stephanie at work at the Aveda Headquarters in Blaine. In preparation for the visit Zoe & Silas made cards for Stephanie to go with a gift they planned to give her. When we arrived we headed to see Auntie's office, where S&Z gave her the cards and a rock they painted with glitter glue. After lunch we headed out on a nature walk with Melissa, the Director of Community Outreach, to see the bee colony. We stopped to see the community garden, as well as countless other treasures along the way! After making it to the colony where over 200,000 bees work hard pollinating and making honey, S&Z each received a very special bee pin to commemorate our visit. Stephanie has worked for Aveda for 15 years. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to meet her co-workers and tour the...

7/29/14: We packed up and headed back to Sue & Bob's house this morning. Good thing we had the tractor to help haul all the stuff from the cabins up to the cars! Bye bye, Little Birch! We'll see you next summer... Stephanie and I wanted an afternoon to hang out by ourselves, so I took a quick shower once we got back and headed into town in Sue's sweet convertible to meet up with her for a day of sister fun! We went for a walk around Lake Calhoun, and then did some shopping. We ended the day with dinner in south Minneapolis. Meanwhile, the kids were spoiled rotten with a fun afternoon spent swimming in a heated pool at the house of Sue & Bob's neighbor. After baths they donned their aprons to help Grandma make egg salad. Just another fun day in Minnesota!!

7/28/14: Monday was our last full day at the cabin so we made the most of it! The weather was nice so the kids spent a lot of time outside- After lunch Auntie Sue took us for a boat ride. At S&Z's request she went FASTER! Later on Uncle Bob started a fire so that we could make s'mores. Just another awesome day at the cabin!

7/27/14: We woke up to a drizzly gray morning on Sunday. Thankfully we have a big craft table set up for the kids! There was time for books (Sue even had a children's book about loons!), And a 3-mile walk for me once the rain stopped.  In the afternoon we went to a nearby winery in Melrose called Whispering Oaks. The kids colored while we did the tasting.  The gardens were beautiful so we had to check them out before heading on our way.  Before dinner the kids got a ride on the riding mower/tractor - another first! We had hoped to have a fire after supper but it rained again. Thankfully my mom brought some glow sticks, which kept them busy & happy before bed!