Spring Break: Day One

(Joe said, "the girl sitting next to me had such teeny-tiny shoes.")


Day One of Spring Break took us to the Mall of America on a rainy Monday. Joe rode on 6 rides. And we even found a great deal on a new Vikings Sweatshirt for the fall.

Yum Yum

How to make Chocolate Chip Bars:

*Stir in flour*

*Stir in chocolate chips*

*Taste! Mmm-mmm!*

Fox 9

Here's Dave being "High Def Husband" for the Fox 9 Morning News.
This was a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to post it. He's demonstrating how to use some high tech stuff.

St. Patrick's Day '09

We celebrated Dave's birthday by bringing him some green frosted shamrock cookies to work, taking him out to lunch, and then we rode the lite rail downtown for the St. Patrick's Day parade on Nicollet Mall.

Blue Hair

If we had a girl, maybe she'd look like this....
Joe looks so silly in this blue wig!

Long Lines at the V8 Cafe

This is what Joe does most days...makes lines of cars at the V8 Cafe! Obviously they are lined up to get checked in for a car wash! I counted 60 cars this time. Wow!
*Note to family and friends: Joe does not need any more Matchbox cars!

Beach Day

Though it's 45 degress today, it's not quite warm enough for shorts. But it was "Beach Day" at Joe's preschool today, so he got to wear them anyway.
(And I need to take a minute to vent about the design of boys shorts. Please designers, make them shorter. 4 year olds do not need to be wearing capri-length shorts in the summer when it's 90 degrees. All the shorts I can find go down practically to Joe's ankles. It's so frustrating!)
He wanted to wear his sandals, but since they are from last summer, they didn't fit. But he tried them on for the pic. I can't wait until we can finally go to the beach for real!

An Afternoon by the River

*Climbing down the rocks to the River*


*Joe drawing on his chalkboard at lunch*


We spent an afternoon in Hastings, MN a few weeks ago. It was very pretty (and cold!). We climbed down some rocks to see the shores of the Mississippi. We went into town and went to an antique store and stopped at a great little cafe for lunch. And stopped at the chocolate store for a truffle afterwards.

Valentine

Joe had his Valentine Party at Preschool today. Here he is with his Valentine box and all the Valentine's he got from his friends. The special Valentine treat they had a school was a strawberry ice cream float. Joe said it was very yummy.

Karaoke

*Eric & the shirt we made him for his Bday*

*Jayne & Dana*

*Dave & Eric*

*Dana & Jayne belting out some "Pink, So What"*

*Dave & Eric being rappers*

We spent a Friday evening at the Hattrick in Round Lake for Eric Oye's 30th Bday party. We had a great time (Thanks Jayne!). We sang a few karaoke songs and I was surprised to find out Dave is a pretty good rapper. Who knew?!

Down to the Farm

*Grandma & Joe at the restaurant in Round Lake, MN*

*Grandpa shows Joe the trains he set up at the shop*

*Uncle John, Grandpa, and Joe with the trains*

Joe was so excited to go visit Grandma & Grandpa in Round Lake last weekend because Grandpa got the electric trains running! He set up a track on a table at the shop, and it's perfect so Joe can get really close and watch the wheels. The train wheels even sparked sometimes. And at the house, Grandma set up the "Christmas train" for Joe in the living room and even made him a town with her glass houses (that we are to this not allowed to touch, but for some reason they become toys for Joe...).

A Trip to the Zoo

*Riding the monorail*

*Joe afraid the dolphins are going to get him*

Joe and I used our free passes from the library to check out the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. It was lots of fun seeing the dolphins swim, riding the monorail, and walking through the tropical forest. We were so tired afterwards, we barely made it back to the car.

St. Paul Winter Carnival

*Dave, Dana & Joe - The Vulcans!*

* Joe & Mommy at the Snow Maze at the State Fairgrounds*

*At the Snow Maze*

*Pig driving a tractor!*

*Joe driving a Snow Firetruck*

*Ice Frog at Rice Park downtown St. Paul*

*Look how big the snow blocks are!*

We spent the warmest day of the year (it got to 45 degrees!) checking out the St. Paul Winter Carnival. We went downtown to Rice Park to see the ice sculptures, then headed to the State Fairgrounds to see the snow sculptures and maze. Joe had a great time. He loved all the snow. He even licked the ice sculptures! It was a perfect day for family fun!

Space Party

*Joe, the Astronaut*

*Shooting 'Stomp Rockets' in the gym*

*Ms. Patty (Joe's favorite teacher) draws a rocket on Joe*

Joe had a Preschool Space Party on Saturday. He had a blast! There was an obstacle course, moon sand, a bouncy house, and the awesome Stomp Rockets! We had lots of fun.

Jackson Street Roundhouse

*Going to the Jackson Street Roundhouse*

*Sitting in one of the vintage train cars*

*The Parlor Car was very classy!*

*Joe loved watching all the model trains*

*The vintage train cars were so beautiful! They were all wood; very pretty!*

*Dave and Joe sitting in one of the private rooms on the train.*

The Jackson Street Roundhouse is so much fun! We got 2 free adult passes with the Library's museum pass, so we even saved $14. There were about 6 vintage train cars inside the building we walked through, and a few model trains that Joe couldn't take his eyes off of. They have train tables to play trains on, train bells to push, and even a real caboose ride! It was great. We'll have to go back againin the summer when the turntable is working!