Hidden Falls Regional Park

We had Zoe again today so Keith and I took them to Hidden Falls Regional Park.  We didn't do as much hiking around as we did yesterday but we did do a lot of rock skipping.  Keith does a great job of rock skipping, me, I could only get the rock to skip once or twice.  Alex and Zoe just threw the rocks in the water!  We didn't go see the falls, we'll have to do that on another trip.

Click below for pictures and a video of Keith rock skipping:

Hidden Falls Regional Park- St Paul, MN

Spring Lake Park Reserve- Schaar's Bluff, Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Yesterday Keith and I took Alex and her cousin, Zoe to Spring Lake Park Reserve in Hastings, MN.  This was Keith's first time there and he really enjoyed hiking around in the park.  The park overlooks the Mighty Mississippi river and it has a great playground for the kids to play.  We walked on a different path this time and I will say this was not the time of year to be walking in the woods.  The mosquito's we're horrible!  After having a snack, letting the girls play at the playground, and finding a Geocache, we drove to the Lower Spring Lake Park Reserve.  At the Lower Spring Lake Park we we're able to follow a trail to the Mississippi River.  We enjoyed all the hiking and the much needed shower when we got home.  Click below for pictures and a funny video Keith posted:

Spring Lake Park Reserve-  Hastings, Dakota County, MN

Click HERE for the video Keith posted on facebook.  He was trying to be silly by editing a "horror" movie!

Cousins

Yesterday morning we met up with my sister and her husband's children at the Como Zoo! Above is Zoe, Alex, Billy, and Winona! The kids had so much fun seeing the animals and watching the Sparky show! I took some video but I haven't had time to post it!

Last night Alex, Keith, and I watched our friends child Megan and I took a couple pics of the girls doing some yoga moves! Then today we took Alex to the Leprechaun Days Parade in Rosemount! I have pictures from that too but I've been too busy to post any! So check back in the coming days when I have more time!

Lorence's Berry Farm

Today we spent the day with Zoe, my niece and Alex's cousin. I wanted to find something fun and different for the kids to do so we went to Lorence's Berry Farm in Northfield, MN. Today they had the raspberries ready to pick (and eat)! The girls and I had so much fun! Zoe told me she could pick berries all day long and Alex just wanted to eat up as much as she could! By the time we left Zoe's clothes we're red stained and Alex had red smeared all around her mouth! We ended up picking a couple pounds of raspberries. We had some for lunch and gave the rest to Missie, Zoe's mom.

Look who got into the makup!!!

Here is Alex and her cousin, Zoe trying on some of mom and grandma's makeup! What a mess, but they had so much fun!!! :0)

Spring Lake Park Reserve- Schaar's Bluff

Today I took Zoe and Alex to Spring Lake Park- Schaar's Bluff in Hastings, MN. They had an easy trail for the kids to walk on! They had a fun time looking at all the butterflies and pretty wildflowers.

Here are some of the pictures I took from our little hike:

Spring Lake Park Reserve- Hastings, Dakota County, MN

Geocaching

On Saturday, I tried my first attempt at Geocaching. I went to the Geocaching website punched in my address and looked for some locations of geocaches. I printed off the coordinates and got my TomTom and took Alex and her cousin, Zoe along. I chose to look in some nearby parks. I figured that it would be fun for them to play at the parks just in case we didn't find anything. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful. So if anyone has any tips on geocaching I'm all ears.

I found a nice walking trail at Nordic Park, which is across McAndrews Road from the Minnesota Zoo. It was fun getting outside and taking the kids on walks and they had fun playing at the different parks. Nordic Park had a nice trail so I took a few pics of the girls. You can click below to find the pictures.

If your unfamiliar with geocaching you can go to this website: http://www.geocaching.com/

Nordic Trail and Park, Apple Valley, MN

Miami Seaquarium and South Beach

Yesterday we spent the day at the Miami Seaquarium. It was a little cool out but it was still fun to watch the shows and see the sea animals. The kids had a fun time too. My favorite show was the Killer Whale show. Alex's favorite was the Dolphin show!

Yesterday was also my birthday so we went out to dinner at Mamajuana Cafe restaurant in Coral Gables. I ordered the Salmon which I thought was really good! Keith and my dad ordered the pork which they thought was way too much. I think their one meal could of fed all of us. We felt guilty not being able to eat it all. You'll have to check out the picture I took of Keith with his meal to see what I mean.

My family leaves today at 8pm (flying out of Fort Myers) so this morning after breakfast we went to South Beach. I have lived here for a few months and haven't gone there, even though it is a short drive. I wish I would of gone earlier because this is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. There was so much white sand and the water was clear blue! The beach went on for miles, as far as I could see. There we're so many shops and restaurants with outside seating! It was just so beautiful. We saw the Art-Deco area which is really an architecture which was kind of neat. We also drove by Versace's old house which is now a hotel, they call it The Villa by Barton G. Click below to see pictures. I'm also working on uploading videos from the seaquarium that I will post on here in the next day or two.

miami seaquarium and south beach

Historical Museum of Southern Florida

Well, we were planning on going to the Miami Seaquarium today but the weather reports weren't looking too good so we decided to do something inside. I looked on the internet for something for us to do and we ended up at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida. I had never been there before and when we showed up we saw that the Miami-Dade Public Library and the Miami Art Museum we're all in the same location. So I got a pass for 10.00 to go to the Historical Museum and the Art Museum and there is no expiration date. They just happened to have a "Crime in Miami" exhibition going on that was really interesting. I wish I could of spent more time there but Alex and Zoe we're running all over the place. They had fun but weren't interested in reading all the plaques. The museum had a little booking station, fingerprint area, and line up area that the kids enjoyed.

After it rained the weather cleared up and the kids went swimming. Tomorrow we are planning to check out the Miami Seaquarium. It may be a little chilly but Zoe and the grandparents really want to go there.

Jungle Island, Little Haiti, and Little Havana

Yesterday we went to Jungle Island. Jungle Island is an animal park near the Children's Museum and near where the cruise ships come in. They mainly have tigers, monkeys, and alligators. Luckily I just happened to go on a day where they we're offering an annual pass with an admission ticket. So now Alex and I have annual passes for the science museum, the zoo, and now Jungle Island.

Alex and Zoe had such a great time! We saw lots of beautiful birds up close! They got to pet some big tortoises and baby kangaroos. We also saw a tiger show and a cute to creepy show where they showed monkeys and snakes. The kids really loved the shows! One bummer though was that someone stole our stroller as we watched the second show! Luckily we we're able to get another one. The park was a little smaller than I expected and I also felt the ticket prices we're a little high. But the park was packed full of people so I guess the ticket prices don't keep people from coming. I'm sure it helps being near a cruise ship port.

Today we drove to Little Havana and stopped at a cafe for some Cuban coffee. Cuban coffee is basically just espresso with cream and sugar in it. Very strong and very good! Little Havana in Miami is also referred to as Calle Ocho-- since it is located on 8th street. Today was also the first time I encountered someone who didn't speak English so I got to practice my Spanish speaking skills. After Little Havana we drove to Little Haiti. Little Haiti was not so pretty. It looked like a very depressed area. So we decided not to stop there. We headed up to Broward County and stopped at a Korean market in Sunrise, Florida. Lily, another Ross spouse here had told me about it and had picked me up some thinly sliced pork. Keith loved it so much that I had to go back and pick up a bunch more. Now that is all he wants to eat everyday of the week!

Afterwards we headed home and I took the kids to the park for a while. Then Alex got to go to Grandpa and Nanna's hotel room for a sleepover with Zoe. I hope she gets enough sleep tonight!!

I took a ton of pictures from the last day. Click below for pictures:

Jungle Island- Miami florida

Family Comes to Visit

Yesterday my Mom, Dad, and niece, Zoe flew down for a visit. They will be here until next Thursday. The first and really only thing Zoe wanted to do when she arrived was go swimming. For me, and for most everyone else it was a little cold to go swimming. But that didn't stop Zoe! She was so excited to see green grass and palm trees! A big difference from snowy Minnesota!
We also stopped for dinner at Khoury's Mediterranean Restaurant in South Miami for a nice dinner.
Today, the plan was to go to the beach. The weather started out somewhat warm but it didn't get any warmer. Just cooler and windier. We did spend a little time at the beach. Zoe of course wanted to swim and it was also her first time seeing the ocean. Alex was busy playing in the sand! After the beach Alex, Zoe, and I went to the Science Museum while my parents went to the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. They really liked it, although unfortunately they forgot their camera so they didn't take any pictures.
The above picture is of Alex and Zoe playing outside at the Science Museum and the Below picture is of Alex at the Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables.

Tonight Keith works his second ER shift-- from 7pm to 7am. It sounds like Jason had a pretty good experience and did get to work with some English speaking patients. So hopefully Keith will have a good experience tonight too!

Minnesota Children's Museum

Sorry I haven't been updating my blog recently. We've been staying at Keith's mom's house and she doesn't have internet! You don't realize how much you depend on it until you don't have it! So I've decided to write a quick entry while at my parents house today!

We are leaving for Miami in one week! We can't wait! It is so cold here. Yesterday the temp started out at -19 when we left the cities to visit some friends in Mankato. Then coming home I saw the readout in my car: -32. Wow is that cold!!!!

A few days ago I took Alex to the Minnesota Children's Museum to see their new Dinosaur exhibit! Alex absolutely loved it!!! She was so excited! Here are a few pictures from the day!

Easter with Alex and Family

Alex had so much fun looking for Easter Eggs with all her little cousins.  She especially had fun looking through her older cousin, Abby's stuffed animals.  She had two rooms full of stuffed animals and there were a few Care Bears too.  Click below for the pics:

Easter 2009

Alex and Zoe at the Como Zoo

Here are a few pictures of Alex and Zoe at the Como Zoo.  It was busy there today... maybe a little too busy.

Zoe Comes to Spend the Weekend in Mankato

Zoe came down on Friday night to spend the weekend with us. She had so much fun! So did Alex! On Saturday morning we went to the mall to play and buy some Christmas gifts. Zoe picked out a couple of gifts for her mom and Jecci. After lunch, I did Zoe's hair and then we went outside for a little bit after Alex got up from her nap. Alex was not happy about being outside at all. She also wouldn't put on her mittens because they weren't cute enough. So Zoe and I walked around the neighborhood a little bit. Right before dinner the electricity went out so we sat in the dark for about a half hour... Then after dinner we drove around and looked at Christmas lights.

Zoe comes to visit Alex for the weekend