Camping on the North Shore

The annual camping trip on the North Shore for myself, Kieran, Luke & Papa just ended (though a day earlier than planned because of the government shutdown closing the state parks).  It was Luke's first time ever sleeping in a tent and he did fine.  Lot's of good times and great sites seen, of course losing the van's alternator five miles from the Canadian border was fun - trust us, there's not a whole lot available up there, except one very generous man........

Kieran's Birthday

The day started early with the hopes of birthday presents.  He got his wish and opened his presents in the early evening then off to dinner at the Pizza Ranch with Grandma and Grandpa.  Then more presents and cake.....the excitement and sugar may wear off sometime....

Minneopa State Park

Kieran's got a school project for the next month -- take a clown around and take pictures of places he/it visits.  At the end of the month he'll need a display showing the clown's travels, I'm sure Kieran will have lots of input with the display.  We had to go to Mankato today and the clown made it's first visit to Minneopa State Park.  You could compare these pictures to the ones from last fall if you scrolled to the bottom of the blog.

Maple Syrup Season 2011 --- an update

Here's an update to give you and idea how the season is progressing.  The pictures try to show you how the sap first moves from the trees to the collection areas, how it gets moved to the trailer for the trip to Norwood and finally a little of the processing.  Take a close look at the finished product......doesn't the picture look a little like the Grandpa (Count Sam Dracula) on the Munsters?

SeaLife -- Mall of America

SeaLife, formerly Underwater World, is always a good time.  Teachers get a free adult yearly membership and can add additional people to the membership for $10 each.  So if you go just one time in a year, it's worth it --- if you go at least six times a year like we tend to, it's really worth it....

Lex's next move....

Just learning to crawl a two weeks ago to pulling herself up....

Maple Syrup Season 2011

The second year of maple syrup making started today with placing 37 individual taps into Sugar Maple trees.  The location is the same, in the Minnesota River Valley near Franklin, MN.  There is an awful lot of snow out there, Kieran had no problem with it though (he's light enough to walk right on top of it), but pops and I sank right to mid-thigh or our hips in a lot of spots.  Of the last few pictures is the newly created 'Sugar Shack' or 'Playhouse' depending on who you ask ---- it'll be responsible for processing the sap.  You have to boil off the water from the sap leaving the syrup behind, they say it's about 40 gallons of sap per gallon of syrup.

Lexy's learning to crawl.....

Lex has been busy the last few days....each day she gets a little better....she's definitely becoming a mover!!