Nature Illuminated...

 We started Christmas week with something new...we visited Nature Illuminated at the MN Zoo...it's a drive-thru look at animals around the world and in Minnesota...

The display breaks the world down to different biomes (things like the arctic, prairies, rainforest, temperate forests, etc.)...

First up was the arctic and antarctic...

As we drove through each section, there was an accompanying sound file that describe the animals and conservations efforts and needs for each region...

The oceans...

Lex's favorite is below...the tapir...the tapir at the zoo had a baby over the summer, but we never got to see it, very disappointing to Lex...

The bull snake of prairies...

Temperature forests, this is the red panda from Asia...

The brown bear...

The snow monkey...

The last section is a drive-thru representing Minnesota...starting with the Blanding turtle...

A very fun evening...

And a different take on the drive-thru events happening because of COVID and a different educational take on Christmas lights...

VCO and the Gunflint Trail...

 It's been awhile (teaching on the hybrid model and now the fully distant model takes up more time than most people know), but I'm still trying to catch up on posts from late summer and this fall...

Some posts from August outlined portions of a trip we took to NE Minnesota in mid-August.  Well, most of that trip (3-4 days) was spent at the end of the Gunflint Trail at Voyageurs Canoe Outfitters just on the outside of the Boundary Water's Canoe Area.  We spent our nights at one of their cabins and spent the days playing in and around the BWCA...

Within in moments of arriving, he was fishing off the dock...

Off the dock, he was catching some baby bass (and one large, pissed off painted turtle that he was toying with, then allowed it to bite), but out in the canoe we were getting into some good sized bass...

We've been visiting this beach at Seagull Lake for years...zoom in the picture, that's Lex way out there...I bet the water isn't even up to her waist...

Though they spent the most time this trip playing in the sand...

Evenings were spent canoeing in the small bay we were at and playing cards until bedtime...

During the day, we'd pack a day pack and head off in the canoe...

 

We'd get out when we could and do a little walking, or just resting...

But our day trips into the BWCA were meant as preparations for future, longer trips...

If campsites were open, we'd pull in and take a look...

Pretty sure this was the first time they saw a remote latrine.  Lex said "there's no walls!"  Lukie countered with "but there's a lot of trees."

This campsite could have easily been home base for 2-4 days...maybe it will...

Mornings were the best though...

We'll be back...the Gunflint is a special, special place...

Thanksgiving...

 We had the COVID responsible Thanksgiving today.  Kept to ourselves, yet had all the usual Thanksgiving foods/activities.  Watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while getting the meal ready and it was time to eat...

Lex had made some table decorations for us...

After eating way too much (and ready for a nap), we sat down for a movie...

After the movie, it was time for pie...even though no one was really hungry...a good day...

Lukie - Teeth Extraction...

 This morning was an interesting morning for Lukie...as of early summer, he needed 8 teeth extracted for the orthodontic work to be done.  He lost three of those teeth, but the time for the other five came due today...

His first time with an IV and he did great.  He had five baby teeth removed and a 'chain' attached to a permanent tooth that the orthodontist will pull into position over time (that's the one that is going to be sore the next couple of days)...

Thought for sure he'd take a nap afterwards, but he didn't.  We just watched some television for awhile (and he didn't like his picture taken for this)...

By late afternoon, we finished Back to the Future 3 (we started the trilogy a few weeks ago and they loved it) and it was back to normal...PlayStation at night...

Which reminds me that I have a lot of missing posts to add here, some are still from the summer...teaching on the hybrid model has been a ton of work and very time consuming...these posts will come soon (I hope)...

Minneopa State Park...

 Lex wanted to see some bison this morning (she really wants to see the baby tapir at the MN Zoo and used the bison at the zoo as bait, we'll be going in a few weeks), but we didn't have tickets, so we went to Minneopa instead...

Up first was the waterfall area...

It's been a real dry last few months...there was more water flowing than we expected...

Upstream from the falls...

The upper falls...

Then we went through the bison drive and stopped at Seppman Mill overlook, the herd was below the mill at a decent distance...good thing we brought binoculars (though taking this picture with Lukie holding the binoculars wasn't easy)...

We had planned on hiking down the hillside to get closer to the bison, but something spooked them and they took off running...that was cool to see...

They probably ran a couple hundred yards before they started walking, but there was no need to walk down the hillside, there weren't anywhere close...

On the drive out, this was as close as we got...

Near the group campsites, we took another short hike overlooking the Minneopa Creek valley...most of the oaks are past peak, the maples are just beginning to turn...

It was a fun morning!

Lex School Picture...

Lex 2020-2021 School Year, Grade 5...

Lukie School Picture...

 Lukie 2020-2021 School Year, Grade 6...

First School Day for Lukie...

 The last 'first' day of school picture...

He was nervous about moving to a new school...switching classes every 45 minutes or so...finding his way across the building...most of all was not being able to open his locker (inexplicably, when he was taken to open house, he was shown wear his locker was, but not shown how to unlock and open his locker...shocking FYI - I wasn't there)...

Good thing they can carry backpacks this year and I've got time to teach him (though it was probably the reason he didn't take his coat to school that he was planning on wearing...it was a chilly day in MN)...I'll take care of it, he'll be using his locker...the first day was still a success, day two in person is Friday...

Lex though, she was a 'seasoned' pro...day two done...

First Day of School (for some)...

 Today was the first day of school for Lex and I...Lukie waits until tomorrow so he can get his chromebook and online information for the days he's logging in online (every T/R and every other F)...

So the first day of school picture...

Lukie's plan for the day is pretty apparent...back to the couch...some PlayStation and who knows else (from texts throughout the day from him, he took a bike ride with a friend and hung out at another friend's house too)...

Lex smiling so much in the picture isn't all because she was that eager to go to school, she liked Lukie's idea of being funny...