The not, Hot Air Affair

Right around this time last year we did one of Marcus's favorite things EVER (not exaggerating).  We went to the Hot Air Affair event in Hudson Wisconsin.  This is a hot air balloon event.  Today we tried to go again. The event was scheduled for all week-end with morning flights on Saturday and Sunday and lots of other events.  We got up early, met my dad, and drove across the metro area to Hudson Wisconsin but when we got there this is what we saw... lots of cars looking, and an empty field where there should have been hot air balloons.

 

I am not kidding when I say that Marcus was pretty heartbroken (and tired from getting up so early).  He didn't understand when the pilot tried to explain to us that it was too windy and none of the balloons would be going up or inflating because the wind was too fast and it was safe.  He just wanted to see the hot air balloons. Poor little guy!\

We decided since we were up so early we were going to try and find something fun to do (turns out there isn't a lot going on at 7:30 am on a Sunday morning) and after a few missteps (one wrong turn, and showing up at a restaurant before it was opened we did come up with a good idea.

Mickey's Diner

For those of you who don't know.  This is a city of St. Paul landmark that  is a train car-  I learned by reading the back of the menu that it was actually ordered to be a diner and was never actually in use as a train. This is definitely a greasy spoon type of place but it is so good.   We got there right around 9 am, and there was a bit of rush but we were able to get 3 chairs right at the kitchen bar.  Marcus LOVED the place.  He ordered a waffle, but he pretty much ended up eating my toast with jelly- so Grandpa and I ate the waffle- it was pretty good.

On a Sunday morning this place is never slow.  The entire time we were there it was hopping and the surly cook was busy.  It is worth the trip to St Paul to check out Mickey's dinner. 

 

I am not going to pretend that Mickey's dinner was as good as seeing the hot air balloons but we still had a good time.

And we still have next year.....

 

We are also thinking of checking out one of the other hot air balloon festivals around this summer...

A Pinterest Win for Mommy

We took a note home on Thursday of last week that said for Valentines day all of the kids in Marcus's class needed to bring a Valentines Box (and Valentines of course) for the class party next Thursday.  I have to admit, I was surprised, I thought he would at least be in kindergarten before I had to accomplish this task but I guess it really starts in preschool.  Marcus and  I spent some time looking at Pinterest to see what he liked.  We settled on 2 finalist ideas-  he really like the post box and the penguin.  At first he was gung ho about making the mailbox and we get picked up the paint but in the end he decided that he really wanted the Penguin.

Marcus's Favorite Pinterest Examples

It turns out the Penguin example he picked didn't actually connect to a web page-  just a picture.  I didn't see that has a huge deal but it meant I had to think about what we were going to go and what needed to get it done.

Here were the supplies we used:

• A box for the frame.  We used a boot box from target and it was just about perfect.
• Felt/fleece.  I actually went to the store looking to buy felt for the entire project but when I saw that fleece was on sale for $2.99 a yard I decided to use that for the black to wrap the box (It worked great). 
• You can get prestick felt sheets and I highly advise those.  I didn't use them for all parts but they were way easier to work with and wish I would have just gotten them for all of the features (except the feet).
• I also didn't realize that you could buy small felt letters (saw them after the project was done).  In the future I will sue those rather than mess around cutting out letters.
• Here the colors we used, black, white, red, pink, and orange
• Glue-  I used two types, tacky glue and a glue stick.  Was glad I had them both as they had slightly different strengths.
• Scissors
• Goggly eyes-  Make sure to get big enough eyes.  I ended up going to back to the store when I realized the set I had were way to small and made the penguin look odd.
• Thin cardboard for the feet- this way they will be sturdy and not flap around
• Pencil-  Used this to trace my shapes before I cut them.
• Feathers-  We only needed these because we made our penguin a Rock Hopper- Marcus's favorite Penguin.

Once we got all of the supplies we pulled our sample pictures and started working.  Marcus's job was to sort all of the feathers to get the yellow ones that we needed out.
.

Here is what we did:

1. I started by doing the cut out on the top of the box.  Make it big enough so the kids can easily drop the valentines in.
2. Cover the box with the black fleece/felt and glue it down
3. Get all of your pieces cut out.  We just looked at the example and pretty much copied the design with a few modifications, i.e. we added feather to make him a rock hopper and we lined the wings with the extra white felt to give our penguin a more realistic look.
4. Lay all of the pieces on the front of the black box and play with them until they are just right.
5. Glue them on- one at a time, double checking the entire time that they are where you want them.  Make sure the eyes are even or it will look odd.
6. Add the feathers if you want.
7. Add the wings, make sure you cut them to a point so they look better.  You can line them with white if you want.  I used the tacky glue to attach them to the box.
8. Glue the cardboard to the bottom of the feet and glue the feed on.



We actually ended up cutting
 the middle piece twice because
 the first time it was way too small

Marcus being helpful and
cleaning up the extra pieces. 

That is it, you are done, and it probably took you less time than me because I messed around with it for a long time.  Luke was also very helpful - he cut out some of the pieces and helped me arrange the front of the box to make it looked just right.  Here a few pictures of the process.

 

And here is the final product-  I like it.  The guy in the middle is an actual Rock Hopper Penguin so you can see the yellow feathers. 

Overall I am very happy with this project.  Marcus LOVES it.  Our biggest problem now is keeping it out his reach or it may be destroyed before Thursday when it needs to go to daycare..

I want to end this with a funny Mommy Failure-  I hid the cute Valentines Day cards that Marcus picked up for his classmates from Marcus.  I have NO clue where they are, after pretty complete search.  Opps I guess that we will have to pick up some news ones.  They might even have to be penguin themed!

Twin Cities Snowshoe Shuffle

 

 

Two years ago my Dad and I completed the Snowshoe Shuffle.  It was just about a month before I started blogging so I don't have a blog about it- Just a brief Facebook post.  We didn't do it last year, neither of us could remember why but this year we strapped on our snowshoes and completed the Twin Cities Snowshoe Shuffle 5k dog walk one more time.  It was a blast, and what made it even more fun is that this year, Luke joined us. 

 

Twin Cities Snowshoe Shuffle Webpage

 

My mom came along as well but she actually took Marcus to the Eagles Nest- which is a play area less than a mile from the actual event at a the New Brighton Community Center.  The day was a success all of the way around.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

 

Time to go Sandy!

 Over halfway done now.

When we hiked across the lake we got a nice Vonnie, Luke and Sandy pic

Both the view and temp were wonderful.

It took us about 1 hour 20 minutes to complete the hike.  Sandy slows us down a bit but this year was actually way better than two years ago, when at one point Sandy he laid down and refused to go further.   This year he was faster, we gave him so treats and water and he was all good.

 

Here is the route we took on the dog walk.

The Life of a Traveling Mom

For about the last 10 years I have had a job that required some work travel.  The actual frequency and time away has varied based on what is going in my job and that flucuacates a lot.  But this has been a reality Marcus's entire life- Mommy travels for work.  My first trip was when he was around 12 weeks old and we have figured out how to make it work since.

I always think it is kind of funny when I talk to Mom's who have never (or extremely rarely) spent a night away from their child.  In honesty, I have spent more nights away than Luke has (he never travels for work).  In our house it isn't something odd or unusual- it is just life.  I know that without a supportive spouse this would be impossible.  It is hard enough to leave home and miss your family.  I am lucky enough to know that when I gone, Marcus is getting loots of LOVE, TIME, and JOY with his Daddy.

My favorite thing is when I get text messages with pictures and stories.... It makes me feel like even though I am far away I am still part of the family.  Today, I am at a work conference (yes on a Sunday and it makes me a bit crabby) and Luke sent me a ton pictures that made me smile and at times giggle.  Looks like they had a lot of fun without me today!