End of Minnesota Summer Fun

Summer has come and gone again! It seems like as soon as the MN Fair is over, BAM! fall comes swooping in. I love the crisp fall air, being able to bake without steaming up the house, wearing hoodies, and so many other wonderful things about fall! BUT this cooler air also means that winter is on it's way. Bleegghhh! Here is a last look as some of the wonderful things of this summer. Good bye summertime!

Fun in the water

boating is exhausting!

 Garden Fresh Sun Ripened Tomatoes

Hours of Sliding in the Back Yard

We were given this monster pink & purple play set from a friend whose daughter has outgrown it. He loves it, but our house now looks like twin girls live here rather than a boy!

Trip to the Sculpture Garden

always running...

Hey look at me! I'm about to make a run for it!!

Ice Cream

The Como Zoo

Minnesota Summer

Despite the fact that I have only camped outside of an RV once, live in the city, sun burn in a matter of minutes, and freak out when lake weeds touch my feet, I have a strange delusion in my head that I am "out-doorsy". Part of this is my inner wish that I was a rough out doors-woman and part of it is that I live in Minnesota, where most everyone relishes every moment they can spend outside and try to wring every last drop of out door fun from the short 3-4 months of summer that we have. This spring/summer started amazingly early and has been one of the best I can remember!
In order to be a true Minnesotan you must looooove the lakes that surround us! ButterBean had his first trip to Minneapolis' Lake Calhoun not that long ago. I thought he might be wary of the water, but he had a great time even though it was an extremely windy day and there were whitecaps on the lake. Whhewww! He IS a Minnesotan!

My Calhoun Surfer Boy

 Yesterday he went on his first cruise of Lake Minnetonka and played in the Murphy Bay beach area. I've got to get ButterBean in the lakes as much as possible this summer to make him think he's out-doorsy too! We are actually going on a REAL camping trip in a couple of weeks, so I'll put my "roughing it" skills to the test. Expect an interesting blog posting!
Our other "outdoor" adventure recently has been a trip to the Como Zoo. The only animals ButterBean actually paid attention to were the monkeys. The rest of his time was spent finding any door he could sneak through, crawling up any stairs he could find, and pushing the stroller. Oh, and pounding the glass of the polar bear exhibit and screaming for no reason - the bear was nowhere to be seen. 

We didn't get to the Sparky show, but we did pose with the Sparky statue

Me: trying to get a picture with my son. Butter Bean: trying to get into the sea lion exhibit

As I sit in my air conditioned home, looking out at the 93 degree muggy day, I'm still convinced I was meant for the outdoors. Maybe it's because I'm wearing no makeup and KEENs?