FREE Screening of WONDER at the St. Paul Winter Carnival on SATURDAY

Free family fun?

How WONDER-ful! 

Join us on Saturday, February 10th for a special screening of WONDER in celebration of its upcoming release on DVD & Blu-ray! Screening will take place at 2pm in the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Auditorium located in the lower level of Landmark Center. Those in attendance will receive WONDER ValenKinds while supplies last and have the chance to enter to win a copy of the Blu-ray combo pack. The critically acclaimed film releases on 4K Ultra HDTM Combo Pack, Blu-rayTM Combo Pack, and DVD on February 13th!

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Dinosaurs at SMM

Looking for a different slant on a spooky activity to do for the month of October and Halloween, then go check out all the bones of the dinosaurs at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Nothing says Halloween like skulls and bones.

Two days before school started the kids that I decided to go check out the Science Museum and get some learning started early. I know I have shared images of the Science Museum of Minnesota before but it always serves as a nice reminder of this valuable resource we have in our state. My son loves the dinosaurs. And this was his choice of where he wanted to go for sure when we visited this last time.

While we were there we watched an Omni Theater presentation of Journey to the South Pacific but it is leaving there soon and a new movie is coming.

The Pixar exhibit has just left and a new exhibit is coming as well. You can see from the picture I took both the movie and the new exhibit are coming October 13th.

FREE Bike Helmet for Kids at Safe Kids Safety Safari

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 13th from 10am - 1pm for the Safe Kids Safety Safari that is presented by the Minnesota Safety Council and Auto Club Group Traffic Safety Foundation. There will be lots of fun, games and learning and each child can get a new bicycle helmet (while supplies last).

The event will take place at Como Zoo, so why not explore this awesome free zoo while you are there (donations appreciated!)

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Crayola Experience

I had the opportunity to go along with my son on his field trip to the Crayola Experience at the Mall of America last week. Crayola Experience only gives so many chaperone passes and I was not picked to be one of those but they allowed additional chaperones to come along for $9 a piece which is a bargain when you consider that the cost of admission is $19.99 a person. My sons admission was covered by the school so I didn't have to pay for that so for two of us to go for that price to check it out is a good deal. I really wanted to see what it was like because my kids have been asking to go but considering that it would cost $60 for me to take both of them I wanted to be sure it was worth the cost because $60 sure can buy a lot of crayons. Just to note you can buy a season pass which is unlimited admission for $29.99 per person or $99.99 per family. The next time we go, and there will be a next time we will be buying a season pass. Unlike other season passes we get this is a for-profit company so our season pass is not tax-deductible.

We were there for 3 hours on the field trip and managed to get around to all but one area. Some of the areas we had to rush through because we wanted to try to get as many as possible. I am not sure I could even pick out what my favorite area was. There is a lot to do here. You end up leaving with many projects but there are still even more areas that are just physical play or they are a digital type of area.

In the picture above you can see the crayon ring I made. That is in one of the areas and you get to choose between three different wax Creations, one of which is a ring. In that same picture you can see my son is watching his crayon drip and melt into his creation.

This next picture is a good example of some of the large motor skill play areas as well as digital areas. Same with the bottom picture which is two pictures of my son and I in a digital area where it appears like crayon wax is dripping over us. 

There is a couple of shows to watch while you are there. They are live shows. One of them shows how a crayon is made from start to finish and at the end they give them a red crayon which is what they are demonstrating being made. The other show was demonstrating the scientific properties of silly putty. Both shows are performed at various times throughout the day. So you are sure to be able to find one of them that fits into your schedule.

Besides getting a red crayon from the one show there is also another area where you get to name your own crayon can you pick out what color you want and put whatever name on it you want. So between the crayon mold, the show and the name your own crayon area you will leave with three crayons.

There is also a puzzle making station and a painting station and a hot wax Spin Art station and a hot wax painting station. You will leave with projects from all of those if you do them. There is also a station for Model Magic clay that you can do. This station as well as the crayon naming station take one token each period we were given a token for each one for each person when we arrived. They do have a station where you can buy more tokens that is by the Model Magic dispenser. The Model Magic dispenser gives you one color of Model Magic clay / token. Tokens were two for a dollar.

There is also two big play areas with slides and tunnels and monkey bars that kids can play in one is geared towards younger kids and one is towards older kids. There is also area where there is a huge Lite-Brite to play with. The number of digital areas is probably about a half-dozen of them. I didn't do those as much because there is only so many stations and we had so many kids that were wanting to play that the adults just watched in these areas

There is a Café there and they do serve a variety of food but we had brought bunches. I'm not sure if they allow you to normally carry in food or if they only allow this for school groups.

I am sure I am missing telling you about some area or private we got to create but as you can see there is quite a bit to do to fill your time.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Valleyfair

Did you hear?

Valleyfair just opened for the season!!!!

We went about 10 days ago for the season passholder preview day, but it just opened this past weekend for everyone. We got season passes to Valleyfair last year and it worked out well for us. If you only go 2 times it has paid for itself, but go more than that and it's basically free. 

This year we did not go on the new ride, North Star. None of us are thrilled about spinning in a circle up so high. But I did get my daughter to go on 2 more roller coasters with me, the Renegade and the Corkscrew. Last year she went on only two other roller coaster rides, Mad Mouse and High Roller. She is slowly but surely, trying them all out. Plus there is a smaller roller coaster that both kids will go on called, Cosmic Coaster. My son went on High Roller last year and hated it and won't go on again, too scary for him yet. He did go on Mad Mouse and likes that one, so I guess he has some he liked. He likes a lot of the spinning rides, he doesn't get motion sickness as easily as the rest of us do. I can't wait for the waterpark to open up, that is where we spent a handful of days this summer and will again this summer. 

In the fall, we go there for Valleyscare. That was a lot of fun and is included in our season pass too.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? St. Paul Cathedral

I went with a friend to tour the Saint Paul Cathedral in St. Paul Minnesota a couple weeks ago. When I was in college I had toured several churches and cathedrals in Malta during a j-term course. I was curious to see how this compared to those venues with even more historic significance and story.

They do tours at 1 p.m. On Tuesdays through Fridays for a $2 donation. They have a volunteer to a guy that has a script and will bring you around and tell you who is in the paintings, statues, and stained glass and the significance in the numbers of different items around the cathedral.

This month we are going to tour the Basilica in Minneapolis and see what kind of differences there are between the two Catholic churches. And this to her we learned that the architect who designed the St. Paul Cathedral also was the architect for the Basilica.

Review: Ice Castles

The Ice Castles experience wasn't open for very long in Minnesota this year. Last year we missed out on it because they closed just two days before we were supposed to go. This year they had closed briefly in January because the weather was warm and the castles were melting and they couldn't keep adding more ice to them. Thankfully they reopened and continue to grow the castles and the experiences taller.

As soon as I had heard they were reopened I immediately went on to book tickets for us but found that the first weekend they were reopened they had already sold out of every time available. I promptly then looked at the next weekend after and obtained our tickets to go then. We had heard from friends who had went a couple years ago that the best time to go to see the castle both during the daytime and also lit up at night is to go around 5 p.m. so that is exactly what we did.

You will see some of the pictures here are colored lights that they have at night and some pictures are obviously taken during daylight. It was an incredible experience and I had some amazing photographs as a result. The kids had a fun time and enjoyed going down the big ice slide.

There is some entertainment there on the weekends as well. Because my kids are older we didn't care to be there when the Disney Princesses were, but we did arrange our timing to be there when the fire dancers were there. It was quite packed when watching the fire dancers and it was hard to see unless you were right in the front. After a while we just chose to go explore the castle one more time before we left that evening. On your way out they give each person a button if they choose.

I know this is an experience that my kids will not forget and I now have a desire to see real life ice castles up north that are created by Mother Nature.

You may be able to still check out Ice Castles in other states, but it was just too warm in Minnesota this winter for it to be here for too long. If anything, add it to your winter bucket list for next winter!

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Science Museum of Minnesota

I honestly think it was 10 months since we have been to the Science Museum of Minnesota. I think we have just been busy and we went to some other science museums when we were traveling and then let our membership lapse, but now we are back and renewed our membership.

Since we had not been there in a while, there were some new things going on including a new exhibit called Sportsology, which was a lot of fun and eventually we did get around to most of the exhibits within this one. Most the exhibits within this one are stuff you actually get to do and be quite physical.

We also saw the new IMAX movie in the OMNI Theater called "A Beautiful Planet", we were at the 2pm showing and it ended up being a sold out show (they show it every hour on the hour!) It was very good and quite interesting and I learned a few things from it. We also did some experiments in the lab there. I was with my daughter and we did an experiment to learn about enzymes in our saliva that break down our food. My son went in to the lab with his dad and did his first experiment in there.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Christmas at the Mall of America

Last week I met up with a friend at the Mall of America to spend some holiday time together. The mall was beautifully decorated throughout with various assortment of holiday decorations. Throughout Nickelodeon Universe there were large Christmas bulbs in SpongeBob SquarePants characters.

The Rotunda was decorated with two enormous trees and had a stage setup where different school groups would sing or perform band concerts. There were also a couple other areas with large hanging displays of ornaments and snowflakes, two different displays.

The other performance stage area was surrounded by large nutcrackers like the one you see in the picture. There were a lot of people stopping and taking their picture in front of these nutcrackers that were enormous.

And of course, Santa was there. We saw him from the second floor but if you are walking by on the first floor you would not see him because he is guarded by all of the decorated trees.

The decorations were very pretty and help to add to the holiday feel at the mall.

Where Did We GO WEDNESDAY? U of M CSE Winter Light Show

This year we had a chance to check out the light show put on at the University of Minnesota by the College of Science and Engineering. I had read about it before as something to do for the holidays that was free. It is a 15-minute light show set to music. There was 5 different songs that they programmed the light show too. The video I have included is just of all of the lights on after the show was completed.

We were already at the campus and had paid to park to see the Cirque Dreams Holidaze show. Otherwise comma it is a short show and not worth paying to park to go see but if you are already going to be on campus the weekend they do the show it is just something else fun for the holidays to do. It was a bit cold while we were watching and the snow was falling which made it feel like a nostalgic Christmas thing to do.

15 Ideas for Week Day Holiday Fun in the Twin Cities

So, it was just in November that I wrote a post that was a long time in the making of 100 Places that Adults Want To Go in the Twin Cities and while it is a great list to find stuff to do at any time of the year it doesn't encapsulate any holiday specific fun, which is what I went in search of for December to plan a get together with a friend.

Sure there are lots of plays and musicals and craft shows to go to on weekends, but finding stuff to do on a week day can be a bit more challenging. The good news is that most of these items are also available on the weekends, as well as during the week day.

I decided since I had spent quite a bit of time looking up items, I might as well share them with my readers and then have them to reference next December when I am planning our get together.

1. Bachman's Holiday Idea House
2. Holidays at Flyover America
3. Holiday Music Festival at the Mall of America
4. Songs for the Season Courtroom Concert
5. A Christmas Carol (one man show by great-great grandson of Charles Dickens)
6. Weekday Matinees of A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie (currently sold out for weekday matinees, they advised calling a week or less before the show to see if anything opened up)
7. Nordic Holidays Exhibition at the American Swedish Institute
8. Ballet Tuesday "Clara's Dream" Excerpts at Landmark Center
9. Holiday Flower Show at Como Park Conservatory
10. Wells Fargo Winterskate
11. Various Holiday Events at the James J. Hill House
12. A Victorian Christmas at the Ramsey House
13. Holidays at the Mill Performances at Mill City Museum
14. "A Day In the Life of an Elf" at Macy's Santaland
15. Holidazzle Village (Th-Sun)

100 Places that Adults Want to Go in the Twin Cities

Whether it be a date night or meeting up with a friend, I hope you find this list as a good resource for ideas of places that adults will want to checkout. Yes, I do have kids and we have plenty of places we like to go with them (guess maybe I should make another list for that). I started making this list when a friend moved and I wanted to find fun and interesting things to meet up to do. She had suggested several times I should make up this list and finally I decided it would be nice for me to share my ideas, as I looked at so many other lists for ideas but ended up coming up with many of my own ideas that you may not have seen on other lists. I generally try to keep costs down, so many of these things are free or lost cost.

FYI - These are in no particular order, just in the order I thought of them, did them or learned about them.

100 Places To Go in the Twin Cities Area

1. Try out the NEW Adult Nights Out at the Minnesota Zoo (FREE for members!!)
2. Or try out a Social Science Night at the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM and MPR members get a discount)
3. Have a 3-course dinner for two at Kafe 421  for only $25 (salad, pasta and dessert to share)
4. Play bocce ball or go bowling at Pinstripes in Edina and have dinner (go on Monday night for $10 Bottomless Spaghetti and Meatball and Chopped Salad)
5. Knock over some pins at Memory Lanes Bowling for as little $1.99/game.
6. Walk the 4 mile trail around at Cleary Lake at Cleary Lake Regional Park (also, add in the other 3 miles of trails), then.....
7. Grab some fresh pastries or soup and sandwich from Edelwiess Bakery and Cafe in Prior Lake
8. Take a guided tour of the St. Paul Cathedral and/or 
9. Tour the Basilica of St. Mary
10. Visit the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul (FREE admission on Tu evenings)
11. Do some hiking and exploring around Fort Snelling State Park and while you are there, 
12. Visit Historic Fort Snelling
13. Discover 19th-Century Minnesota at The Landing in Shakopee
14. Play Disc Golf or use the cross country ski trails or lay out at Wirth Lake beach at Theordore Wirth Park and while you are there,
15. Meander through the Quaking Bog as well as take a 
16. Stroll through the  Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary
17. If you want to see more flowers still, check out the Lyndale Rose Garden
18. Take in all the sights and sounds at the Longfellow Gardens in Minnehaha Regional Park
19. Learn a little at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (free admission)
20. Take in even more art with a tour of the Weisman Art Museu
21. Browse and appreciate at the Walker Art Center on Target Free Thursday Nights or Free First Saturdays (this one also has family activities) 
22. Have a picnic and explore the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
23. Take a cooking class at Mississippi Market
24. Watch a free performance of the St. Paul Ballet on Ballet Tuesdays at the Landmark Center and while you are there, why not check out
25. The Landmark Center Museums and Exhibits, as well as
26. Have lunch at Anita's Cafe an Lunch
27. Don a pair of skates or blades and go skating at Skateville in Burnsville (they have times for 18+ and Active Older Adults)
28. Have dinner and ride the bull at Cadillac Ranch at the Mall of America
29. Be a thrill seeker and complete the course at Dutchman's Deck Adventure Course  and when you are ready to be back on land, 
30. Try out your skills on Moose Mountain Adventure Golf
31. Go tubing or skiing at Elm Creek Recreation Area
32. Take a beginner lesson in skiing or snowboarding at Buck Hill 
33. Take a class at their Outdoor School or try out the climbing wall at REI in Bloomington
34. Take in some nature at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (FREE admission on Thursdays Nov-Mar, and 12-6pm Apr-Oct)
35. Go to the opposite side of the Cities and check out the Muriel Sahlin Arboretum in Roseville
36. Enjoy a cruise on Lake Minnetonka with Al and Alma's  (this is the one I did, but there are others and often there is a Groupon Deal for this kind of cruise) 
37. Ride on a working steamboat on the Steamboat Minnehaha
38. Stroll around Caponi Art Park and Sculpture Garden
39. Hike Around Minnehaha Falls and grab a fish taco at the Sea Salt Eatery.
40. Spend some time shopping and eat on Grand Ave.  
41. Enjoy some ice cream at the Grand Ole Creamery and Pizzeria
42. Stop in at ArtScraps Reuse Store and see what you can find to inspire a new project
43. Watch a show at the upgraded Omni Theater and Explore the Science Museum of Minnesota (get a membership and it pays for itself very quickly)
44. Or consider going to a monthly Behind the Scenes at the Science Museum of Minnesota, it's on Monday afternoons which is not a day they are typically open.
45. Spend an afternoon at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
46. Dine and Shop at Midtown Global Market, check out their events calendar to find free events and discount days with vendors
47. Attend free events at the Mall of America, events are always changing and may include live performances, book signings, meet and greets, fashion shows and much more!!!
48. Catch a free performance, concert or movie at Centennial Lake Park and Edinborough Park Ampitheater
49. Take a leisurely paddleboat ride around the Centennial Lakes waterways 
50. Take your pick of the many hiking trails that make up over 15 miles of trails around the many lakes at Lebanon Hills Regional Park
51. Do some outdoor ice skating at Wells Fargo Winter Skate at Landmark Plaza (free to skate and show your Wells Fargo check or credit card for free skate rental!)
52. Take your ice skating indoors at The Depot Ice Rink (check the website for specials and discounts)
53. Take in a film or two or three at the  Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (pretty much is ongoing most days in April)
54. See any movie for $5 on Tuesdays at Marcus Theaters (plus rewards members get free popcorn too!!)
55. See 3 movies for the price of 1 at Vali-Hi Drive In Theater (Plus $1 hot dogs!)
56. Another cheap movie option is $2 matinee or $3 evening tickets at the Riverview Theatre
57. Learn more about raptor at the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota
58. Learn more about the Swedish Heritage at the American Swedish Institute
59. Take a guided tour of the James J. Hill House
60. Get up close with nature at the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington
61. Go canoeing at the Rice Creek Chain of Lake Campground and Park Reserve
62. Enjoy the Macy's Flower Show in Minneapolis in the Spring
63. Try out a SUP or paddleboat for free with Midwest Moutaineering  (check their schedule for dates)
64. Learn more about the history of St. Paul and trains at the Minnesota Transportation Museum at the historic Jackson Street Roundhouse
65. Go watch the ponies at Canterbury Park (be sure to look at the website for deals and specials as they usually have them)
66. Tour the Wabasha Street Caves (year round, but there is a Ghosts and Graves tour in October!)
67. Or if you have already done the cave tour, try out the St. Paul Gangster Tour
68. Try to find your way out of the Riddle Room.
69. FREE Schubert Club Courtroom Concerts: Thursdays, October through April
70. Sundays at the Landmark FREE Events
71. Attend a Preview Performance at the Guthrie Theater, most preview show tickets start at $15
72. Have a meal ANYTIME of the day, ANY DAY of the year at Mickey's Diner. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, been featured on Food Network, in national magazines and in several Hollywood movies.
73. Tour a MN Brewery. Some of the tours are free and often give a free tasting and others may cost about $5
74. Get in the Holiday Spirit and tour the Holidazzle Village (late Nov thru Dec)
75. Enjoy the many events of St. Paul Winter Carnival (the majority of the events take place one week in Jan/Feb, but there are several events leading up to it for a couple weeks as well as a couple afterwards)
76. Target Practice at Gander Mountain in Lakeville (others may have it but this is the one I have been to)
77. Get your paint on at Simply Jane Studio either with a scheduled class or Drop-In paint time
78. Check out the comedy at ComedySportz on Thursday for $10 Thursdays
79. Or get some FREE laughs at Open Mic Night at Acme Comedy Club on Mondays
80. Enjoy 2 for 1s (beer) and participate/watch some Karaoke (M & Tu) or Stand Up Comedy (W) at Dulonos Pizza, they have no cover live music but no 2 for 1s during live music
81. Find your way through the Amazing Mirror Maze (you can go through as many times as you want during one session, be sure to check Groupon as there is often a discount there for it)
82. Attend a Signature Event at the Alexander Ramsey House, including the Victorian Christmas, History Happy Hour, Ramsey After Dark, History Chef and more!
83. Go Cross Country Skiing at Hyland Park Reserve (they have a 5k route with manufactured snow, so skiing conditions in the winter on that route are often good)
84. Attend a FREE Music Under Glass Concert (8 week series in Jan/Feb) at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
85. Or listen to the Minnesota Sinfonia at one of their FREE concerts or educational programs
86. During the summer, attend one of the Minneapolis Parks Music and Movies in the Parks 
87. Reserve your tickets for a FREE Taping and Performance of Lowertown Line on PBS
88. Go for a bike ride. No bike? No problem. Get a 24 hour pass for $6 for a bike through Nice Ride Minnesota.
89. Savor a Juicy Lucy with Jojo's at the original 5-8 Club, or try out one of their other 3 locations
90. Be amazed at a Shakopee Prior Lake Water Ski Association Show FREE water ski show
91. Or depending upon where you are in the Cities, watch a performance on water by the Twin Cities River Rats
92. Watch the Minnesota Twins play for as little as $6 a ticket. To get a price this good you have to plan ahead buy tickets early and bring some binoculars for better viewing.
93. Or watch the St. Paul Saints from the Berm ($5) or Bleachers ($6) at many of their games
94. For only $2 (one ride) ride the Lake Harriet Street Car or ride all day for $5
95. Get a group of 6+ ladies together for a Thursday night out for a show at Old Log Theatre and get $5 off each ticket and a free glass of wine each
96. Put your way through 9 Holes of Mini Golf at Putter There for only $3
97. Check out an event at the Gay 90's, No Cover M-W for 21+ and drink specials
98. Try out lawn bowling, watch some rugby on TV or test your trivia abilities while enjoying some fish and chips at Brit's Pub.
99. Attend a monthly FREE tasting event at Sweet Science Ice Cream.
100. People watch and listen to free concerts at the Minnesota State Fair, be sure to buy gate tickets in advance to save a few bucks.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Mall of America

Mall of America

I surprised my kids with a trip to the Mall of America just for fun stuff for kids on the day before school started. There is certainly a lot more things to do than we did here but this is what we limited it to based on funds and time. The first thing we noticed when we got there is the new slime bench that is at Nickelodeon Universe. We actually had to go to that bench several times because it make some kind of noise sound or says something when a person sits on it. Some of those sounds include burps and a baby crying or a cow mooing plus many other sounds.

A trip to the Mall of America is not complete without a stop at the Lego store where the kids can play with a whole bunch of different kinds of Legos. My son was busy building but my daughter thought it would be fun to create our family out of the available Lego people Parts they had there. 

As an American Girl doll fan, we had to check out that store as well and we ended up buying three books for her that she had not read it yet. They always have a photo opportunity there with the doll of the year as well. 

The main purpose of the surprise trip was to take them to Build-a-Bear where they could pick out their own stuffed animal and accessories. My kids really do like to play with stuffed animals a lot too. And we ended our trip with some Dippin Dots. That was a treat for them because I had never let them get them at the fair and at the Dippin Dots store at The Mall of America they have so many different kinds of flavors to choose from.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? MN Renaissance Festival

MN Renaissance Festival

This was the third year we have taken our kids to see the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. It just ended this past weekend so you have missed it but if these activities look fun to you you should add it to your bucket list for next year. It is typically open the last two weekends in August and all of September.

Admission can be pricey but you can find discount coupons out there pretty easily. We were able to find $5 off coupons in various places that offered them.

The Renaissance Festival offer some different experiences that you might not be able to have another places. The Renaissance Festival is the only place where we have seen elephants available to ride. They do have camels at our Fair so the kids are typically more drawn to try riding an elephant. Also both kids agreed that the bungee jumping apparatus here is a lot better than the ones at the fairs.

I find food prices to be a little better here than they are at the state fair or the county fair but then again admission price is quite a bit here compared to those things. There are lots of shows to watch but be prepared with extra money because they are collecting tips at the end of every show. They collect tips to meet any character as well to. As we were walking around my son stated that the Renaissance Festival seemed like it was mainly a place to just shop and eat. In years past it seems like there were more activities for the kids to get Hands-On with and they seem to be decreasing. There was a scavenger hunt in the ferry Forest and we attempted to do that but it required a lot of reading that was written in a script type handwriting which was difficult to read through. It looked like a lot of people had given up on doing the scavenger hunt and threw away their sheets.

Parking is free here but plan to walk quite a distance and less you are there very early or come later in the afternoon when the early people are leaving. We had a nice time but I don't think this will be something we do every year it seems like every other year.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? To Canterbury Park

Canterbury Park

I have decided to change up my Wordless Wednesday and call it "Where Did We Go Wednesday?" I used to do Wordless Wednesday because I participated in WW blog hops, but I just don't have time for that anymore, but I still do want to share some of the pretty cool field trips and outings we go on, so it's time for a change, Change is good, right?!?!?!

What you will notice is that I might add some more text to these posts instead of just a link to the location and leaving the post virtually wordless.

So, here it goes. Recently we went to Canterbury Park. It was our 2nd time there ever and our first time this year. We went there specifically on this particular race day to see the weiner dog races. Can't you just imagine how adorable and hilarious that was. It really was. They also had the other family day events going on including pony rides, face painting, petting zoo and photo ops. It was a fun time and we also watched the horse races too.

Wordless Wednesday: Kelley Park in Apple Valley

Kelley Park in Apple Valley, MN

15% OFF at Ice Castles in Eden Prairie!!!!

WHAT: Acre-sized, all-ice castle in Eden Prairie, MN. One of four Ice Castles in America.

WHERE: 17970 East Miller Parkway

Eden Prairie, MN 55347 USA

WHEN: Jan 23rd -March 5th

M - Th: 3pm to 9pm

Tuesday: Closed

Friday: 3pm to 10pm

Sat: Noon to 10pm

Sunday: noon - 8pm

VISUALS: -- Amazing ice features including archways, tunnels, slot canyons, ice slide, caverns, glacial waterfalls and a frozen throne.

-- Kids and families squeezing, squishing, sliding, stomping and crawling through parts of the stunning, Narnia-like display.

-- Natural frozen ice tones during the day; colorful LED-lit ice set to music at night.

My readers get to save off admission! Fun and Unique experience with your family at Amazing Ice Castles! UT,NH,MN,and AB! Save 15% off admission! .@usfg USE CODE: USFAMILY

Wordless Wednesday: Science Museum of Minnesota

We've shared other visits to the Science Museum of Minnesota with you, but right now they have the Space exhibit there. We were there when it opened in the spring and plan to get another visit to the Science Museum in during the summer.

FREE Admission at Walker Art Center on Thursday Nights

Thursdays from 5-9pm is FREE admission as part of Target Free Nights at the Walker Art Center. If Thursday nights don't work, they also have FREE admission on the first Saturday of every month. Also, the Sculpture Garden and Conservatory are always FREE!

Wordless Wednesday: Minnehaha Falls Regional Park

If you are in the Twin Cities area, a visit to Minnehaha Fall Regional Park is always a nice addition to your plans. You will have to pay to park, but that fee is nominal.