Sunday, September 22, 2013

Daddy Day!

A little while back the Little Scoot and I had a much anticipated Daddy Day.  We were going to the Science Museum.  On the bicycle.  The Little Scoot loves the Science Museum, and loves riding on the back of the bicycle, a perfect combination.  The Coffee Queen was spending the day with her mom, and so off the Little Scoot and I went into downtown Saint Paul.

The Science Museum was closed.  Apparently they close every year after Labor Day for cleaning and maintenance, and this was the one Saturday of the year they weren't open.  Little Scoot was very disappointed.  Backup plan: the Children's Museum, also in downtown Saint Paul.

And it turned out to be the perfect day.  The highlight was the pretend street filled with everything from a grocery store, to a doctor's office, to a music studio.  And how the Little Scoot loved that!  The stage has a blue wall in back, so that on TV you can watch yourself perform in front of different backgrounds.  The Little Scoot was in his element.  He danced to song after song, either playing a pretend guitar or singing into the toy microphone (yeah, definitely the child of two actors).  I've never seen such joy.

Little Scoot's performance debut

Eventually the stage became crowded with so many other kids it was time to move on (I'm not sure I ever would have pulled the Little Scoot away otherwise).  This exhibit also had a make-believe post office complete with postal uniforms.  So the Little Scoot dressed up and delivered mail to the other stores and houses (each had its own mailbox, how clever is that?).

Is that cute or what?

Really, a wonderful day, if a hot bike ride back home (no, Daddy, can't answer your question right now, he's trying not to die biking up this big, big hill).  And what Daddy Day would be complete without an ice cream treat?

Ice cream!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The Last Days of Summer

While the weather has still been wonderful these past few weeks, something's changed.  There's a nip in the morning air, the light is fading early in the evening.  Yes, it's fall in Minnesota.

The State Fair is considered here to herald the end of summer, one last hurrah before we all start to prepare for the long, inevitable winter we've all tried so hard to ignore.  The Coffee Queen, the Little Scoot, and I made our annual trip to the Fair on one of the hottest days of the year.  We biked there while it was still cool, which allowed us to skip the hassles of traffic and parking, but it warmed up fast.  We ate ourselves silly, as usual, which included the obligatory cheese curds.

The Coffee Queen and the Little Scoot eating cheese curds

We also spent time in the animal barns.  The rabbits and sheep are always favorites, as is the Big Pig.  It's a really big pig.  Little Scoot also requested a ride on the SkyTram and loved the view from up high.  We headed home after lunch when the heat became too much.  And thus it became official: the State Fair (for us) was over, and fall was upon us.

The Coffee Queen and the Little Scoot: Up, up, and away!

We've seen a lot of monarch butterflies in our backyard this year, thanks to the Coffee Queen planting zinnias next to the vegetables.  The monarchs love the flowers.  I suppose they are fueling up for their long migration south.  Little Scoot enjoyed watching them... for about five seconds, and then couldn't understand why Dad kept snapping pictures.  We need something to remember these last moments of summer, to remember that the warmth will come again, even when we're buried under three feet of snow.  By then the monarchs will be in Mexico.  I think they have the right idea.

The monarch butterflies in our backyard

Monday, September 9, 2013

Rainy Monday

It's a drizzly, grey Monday here in Saint Paul.  Not such a bad thing after all the warm, dry weather we've been having.  It does, however, thin out the crowd in the motorcycle parking.


The Zuma 125 that lives near me was still there, as was a Kymco maxiscooter, a Harley, and a Yamaha motorcycle.  I found it a pleasant, cool ride this morning, although it did hit home that fall is here, which means winter is just around the corner.