stuff

Helper. And someone who once got her chin pinched in a helmet clip and refuses to put it on again.

Looking forward to FALL. We're going to do Zoo Boo at Como this fall. And know what? The weekends are already getting booked up. BEST time of the year :)

One last hurrah in the water.  We had a hot one yesterday and we went to one of the closest parks to us. I forget about it because it's kind of a weird location.

But on a Wednesday at the end of summer...

When the kids in the neighboring district have gone back to school...

It's not so crowded.

The sign outside the gated area said "Pool Capacity: 129"

I wouldn't want to be there that day. 

But this was awesome. Only a foot deep.

A nice place to go back to next summer.

And it's free.

William O'Brien

Short walks in the woods.

by the St. Croix. Or the little chocolate lake as my little brother, your Uncle Andy, used to say when he was your age.

With Andy, Laura and Lucy!

And a presentation on....

Snakes. You couldn't get Roman away once he had his hands on it. 

Zoe did touch it, but she didn't stay put like her brother.

I'm not fond of snakes. Nope. But thankfully it hasn't rubbed off on you.

Yet.

An evening capped by a bonfire at Andy & Laura's.

Marshmallows roasting on an open fire.

And an exit before total meltdown.

Sticker pots

You like your sticker pots.

Pot stickers. 

Might be the only way to get you to eat chicken.

AWWWWW

"I want to hold Roman's hand"

Soybean Shuckers

Edamame.

One of these kids actually EATS them.

The other smushes them when I'm not in the room.

Dead set on destruction, that one. 

Lake of the Isles

Post Sunday night dinner walks.

I like city lakes.

SO Zo.

Alliteration: ain't it awesome

Someone's mastered the art of writing the letters Z, O and now E.

Earlier this summer we were at library storytime and a boy smaller than you two wrote his name on his nametag. I was flabbergasted. Really? This is possible? And I think Briana and maybe the Grandmas have been working on letters with you in the last few months.

You were in the car last night talking about the day Daddy had planned for you two on Friday (a glorious day without work OR school!). Como. Zoo. He mentioned how it's spelled and you happened to have a notebook and pencil. This is what you produced. The writer.  

I always wanted to create a book called Zoe's Zoo (there's your Shutterfly project Mike!)

Family fun night at Costco.

If letting you cut your hot dog into little pieces while it cools down is what it takes to keep you calm, then I'm all for it.

30 minutes later. 

BUT I WANT ICE CREAM.

Playing catch at Como

Here's the video I took about a week ago with that friendly seal.
FETCH!
I apologize up front for the cackle.

Como Town

Won't you take me down, to Como Town?

co-o-mo town.

This is about the slowest moving train I've ever seen. But you loved it.

Early in the day I could get you to pose.

But once you found the rides...

That was it.

Roman refused the teacups, but Zo plopped herself down with these girls in the pink cup.

Giddyup!

Another first: cotton candy. Or as Roman said "clowns hair". To be fair this wasn't totally out of the blue. There was a picture of a clown on the bag. But still.

Back to the teacups, only this time Zo had watched the previous riders and figured out she could make the teacup spin. And spin it she did.

Yep. Tall enough for the classic cruisers.

Apparently a favorite.

And since we had an all day pass it was possible to cater to your whim. You want to ride again? Good. Go!

And a final ride on the train.

By the late afternoon you had the opportunity to be the 'driver'. ;)

A fun, exhausting day.

We attempted "a rock and roll show" as Roman kept saying, but unfortunately the drizzle came down after just one song. Brilliant idea to have concerts our on the green lawn between the zoo entrance and the conservatory though: Groovin' in the Garden

Como Zoo

We spent almost an entire day at Como the other week. Summer is winding down...the ComoTown vouchers were burning a hole in my pocket and the weather was perfect.

Time to go.

We actually didn't spend a lot of time in the zoo part, but we were able to see the old favorites.

Never enough giraffe.

Note the teeth.

And this guy is SO impressive.

He was diving for his dinner. When he got a carrot, he'd come to the window and hold it up to the glass.

 

So we could see his impressive paws.

Zoe was so upset that we missed the Sparky show. Furrowed brow: "Next time we have to get up EARLY!" Okay then. We had our own interactive show though. Video soon.

Gotta pose on the turtle.