Someone got into Janis' home and 'borrowed' this photo of her at 17 months old and put it in their local newspaper!! Her friend took her out for lunch on Sunday...40+ friends were waiting at her home when she 'came home to pick up the kids to take them to a movie'...oh sure!! It was an excellent party....she's still trying to figure out who put the ad in the paper...and it was NOT me.surprise 40th party
Someone got into Janis' home and 'borrowed' this photo of her at 17 months old and put it in their local newspaper!! Her friend took her out for lunch on Sunday...40+ friends were waiting at her home when she 'came home to pick up the kids to take them to a movie'...oh sure!! It was an excellent party....she's still trying to figure out who put the ad in the paper...and it was NOT me.Explore Minnesota
Well I am finally getting back to writing about states! We finished studying about them at the very beginning of Jan. so hopefully I remember stuff! :-) I have pictures I wanted to share though so I want to complete the project. I have been doing a series of posts on MN as that is my state and there is so much to be shared!
In this post I will tell about some places we have gone and enjoyed. I would really love it if any of you who know of neat places in MN would jump into the conversation and leave a comment about a place you would recommend.
~One fun thing we did last summer was to go Science Museum of MN which is in St. Paul. It was nice because we got to get in free as we had a membership at the science center in our town. I had been to the science museum as a child but didn't remember it all that well (and I am sure a lot had changed) and it was all new for everybody else. There are several floors with tons of things to see and do. Above the kids were having fun pretending to be a TV host. One of Ken's top favorite exhibits was a ball suspended that had the globe projected on it. The image projected was changing regularly with various things shown each time and there was audio explaining everything. All ages will have lots of fun at the science museum. There is also a bunch of outdoor fun including a huge sandbox with water, a garden maze, a water exhibit where everybody gets very wet and has a lot of fun on a hot summer day, a "camera" you can walk inside and more.
~The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is another very fun place for all ages. Just Ken, Aaron (when he was one) and I have been there so far but we would really love to take our whole family. It is in Duluth, MN and it is a huge old trail depot filled with normal museum stuff (You can learn all about logging, immigration, old clothes, you know all the things in a museum) but there is also a special children's section where kids can see things that interest them, do crafts, place in this super cool palace area with all sorts of neat toys. Then out in another huge area is the place where trains came in and there are trains in there now. Some you can go through and see how they sorted mail and threw it out as they went by, what the fancy dining car was like, how they used to shovel the snow off the tracks and much more. There are also some very cool miniature trains running. From this depot you can also get on a train to take a scenic ride up the north shore of Lake Superior.
~Of course if you are in MN you need to see and take a picture with Paul Bunyan and Babe his blue ox in Bemidji, MN. Part of "History" in MN is learning about Paul and Babe and please don't try to tell us that he was "born" in Maine, we know that he was born in Bemidji and has his grave in Kelliher. Paul and Babe are the 2nd most photographed statues in the USA (1st is Mt. Rushmore.)
~Another place to see is the headwaters of the Mississippi flowing out of Itasca Lake. At the headwaters there are stones that you can walk across, but be prepared to get your feet wet. You won't be impressed with the mightiness of the river at "the top" but it is fun to see the difference between it here and other points farther south. One year we decided to start at the headwaters and canoe for a few days. We couldn't even canoe the first part in August as it was too low, we had to walk in the water and drag our canoes.
If you don't want to try the rocks there is also a little wood bridge a tiny ways down. :-)
Itasca State park (where the headwaters is located) is a very pretty and fun park to visit and has wonderful biking trails.
~You also might like to visit the Mall of America. This is our nations biggest mall and it is BIG! You can't certainly get your exercise while doing your shopping and I can well remember how hard it is to find somebody once you have lost them! In the middle of the mall is the nations largest indoor theme park. Be prepared for crowds when you go, the MOA is the nations most visited destination.
~We also have some nice Zoo's in MN. The Minnesota Zoo is in Apple Valley, MN (Twin Cities area) and is very nice. We have also really enjoyed the Como Zoo (and its free!). At the Como Zoo there is also a very nice conservatory. We also have a nice place to see animals around here: Paul Bunyan's Animal Land.
~A place I really enjoy visiting is the North Shore of Lake Superior. The Lake is very impressive and the is a lot of beautiful scenery all over! Above is a picture I took of Temperance river right before it spills into the lake. Temperance river is so cool because of the way it is cut so deeply in the rock. There are a lot of hiking trails around there and a nice little campground.
~Gooseberry falls is another pretty spot near Lake Superior. We have enjoyed looking at it both in the winter and in the fall. (In mid December much of it was frozen but it looked quite neat!)
~My Sister Anna and B.I.L. Travis introduced us to the Bakken Museum this past year. It is all about electricity in a magnificent old house. It was great educational fun! (It is in St. Paul.)
~Another great addition to MN is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I am thankful that I have never needed to go there are a patient but I did enjoy doing a little sightseeing there this past Spring. Above is a picture of an amazing glass formation that was hanging up high in the Cancer area. Mayo clinic has the top medical knowledge worldwide in my understanding. Important people from all over the world go there to get treated.
Those are some places we have enjoyed. I would love to hear places you like to go to!
In this post I will tell about some places we have gone and enjoyed. I would really love it if any of you who know of neat places in MN would jump into the conversation and leave a comment about a place you would recommend.
~One fun thing we did last summer was to go Science Museum of MN which is in St. Paul. It was nice because we got to get in free as we had a membership at the science center in our town. I had been to the science museum as a child but didn't remember it all that well (and I am sure a lot had changed) and it was all new for everybody else. There are several floors with tons of things to see and do. Above the kids were having fun pretending to be a TV host. One of Ken's top favorite exhibits was a ball suspended that had the globe projected on it. The image projected was changing regularly with various things shown each time and there was audio explaining everything. All ages will have lots of fun at the science museum. There is also a bunch of outdoor fun including a huge sandbox with water, a garden maze, a water exhibit where everybody gets very wet and has a lot of fun on a hot summer day, a "camera" you can walk inside and more.
~The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is another very fun place for all ages. Just Ken, Aaron (when he was one) and I have been there so far but we would really love to take our whole family. It is in Duluth, MN and it is a huge old trail depot filled with normal museum stuff (You can learn all about logging, immigration, old clothes, you know all the things in a museum) but there is also a special children's section where kids can see things that interest them, do crafts, place in this super cool palace area with all sorts of neat toys. Then out in another huge area is the place where trains came in and there are trains in there now. Some you can go through and see how they sorted mail and threw it out as they went by, what the fancy dining car was like, how they used to shovel the snow off the tracks and much more. There are also some very cool miniature trains running. From this depot you can also get on a train to take a scenic ride up the north shore of Lake Superior.~Of course if you are in MN you need to see and take a picture with Paul Bunyan and Babe his blue ox in Bemidji, MN. Part of "History" in MN is learning about Paul and Babe and please don't try to tell us that he was "born" in Maine, we know that he was born in Bemidji and has his grave in Kelliher. Paul and Babe are the 2nd most photographed statues in the USA (1st is Mt. Rushmore.)
~Another place to see is the headwaters of the Mississippi flowing out of Itasca Lake. At the headwaters there are stones that you can walk across, but be prepared to get your feet wet. You won't be impressed with the mightiness of the river at "the top" but it is fun to see the difference between it here and other points farther south. One year we decided to start at the headwaters and canoe for a few days. We couldn't even canoe the first part in August as it was too low, we had to walk in the water and drag our canoes.If you don't want to try the rocks there is also a little wood bridge a tiny ways down. :-)
Itasca State park (where the headwaters is located) is a very pretty and fun park to visit and has wonderful biking trails.
~You also might like to visit the Mall of America. This is our nations biggest mall and it is BIG! You can't certainly get your exercise while doing your shopping and I can well remember how hard it is to find somebody once you have lost them! In the middle of the mall is the nations largest indoor theme park. Be prepared for crowds when you go, the MOA is the nations most visited destination.~We also have some nice Zoo's in MN. The Minnesota Zoo is in Apple Valley, MN (Twin Cities area) and is very nice. We have also really enjoyed the Como Zoo (and its free!). At the Como Zoo there is also a very nice conservatory. We also have a nice place to see animals around here: Paul Bunyan's Animal Land.
~A place I really enjoy visiting is the North Shore of Lake Superior. The Lake is very impressive and the is a lot of beautiful scenery all over! Above is a picture I took of Temperance river right before it spills into the lake. Temperance river is so cool because of the way it is cut so deeply in the rock. There are a lot of hiking trails around there and a nice little campground.
~Gooseberry falls is another pretty spot near Lake Superior. We have enjoyed looking at it both in the winter and in the fall. (In mid December much of it was frozen but it looked quite neat!)
~My Sister Anna and B.I.L. Travis introduced us to the Bakken Museum this past year. It is all about electricity in a magnificent old house. It was great educational fun! (It is in St. Paul.)
~Another great addition to MN is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I am thankful that I have never needed to go there are a patient but I did enjoy doing a little sightseeing there this past Spring. Above is a picture of an amazing glass formation that was hanging up high in the Cancer area. Mayo clinic has the top medical knowledge worldwide in my understanding. Important people from all over the world go there to get treated.
Those are some places we have enjoyed. I would love to hear places you like to go to!
Curiosity gave the cat its 9 lives
I recently read a magazine article (which I presently wish I could find!) which spoke about how being curious is good for your health. In other words curiosity may not have actually killed the cat but rather gave it more life. :-)
From what I remember, curiosity helps us in several ways. 1. Making life more interesting.
2. Keeping our brain active and young. and 3. With our curiosity making us follow our dreams, we are happier and have less stress. All of these mentioned are good for our health.
When reading through the article it made me ask myself: "Am I a curious person?" Deep down I knew I was but I took the time to think through the different aspects of my life and check each one over. In most areas I am quite curious but some areas I get lazy and there needs to be some growth. Here is a list of ways that I enjoy being curious as well as some things I want to work in.
From what I remember, curiosity helps us in several ways. 1. Making life more interesting.
2. Keeping our brain active and young. and 3. With our curiosity making us follow our dreams, we are happier and have less stress. All of these mentioned are good for our health.
When reading through the article it made me ask myself: "Am I a curious person?" Deep down I knew I was but I took the time to think through the different aspects of my life and check each one over. In most areas I am quite curious but some areas I get lazy and there needs to be some growth. Here is a list of ways that I enjoy being curious as well as some things I want to work in.
- Do you take the same route each and every time you go someplace? Try a new road! This is something I have loved since I was a child. I remember riding along to town and wondering what was down each road we passed. I loved it whenever we had a chance to drive down one. When my older brother Peter got his license we were able to start exploring some new roads more. I remember being with him on a trip when we were headed home from way northern MN and he decided to just basically follow his compass south and we took every new road we could. We ended up on a road that just turned into an old railroad bed, he had 4 wheel drive so that didn't stop us. When Peter and I were both in college in Iowa we and other friends went to a rural church. We tried every possible variance of route to get there. One time it took us through as little stream in a road that had no bridge. When I married Ken I was very happy to find that he also enjoyed exploring new roads. We explored much of South Eastern Iowa together. We still like to drive new ways, drive down a road just to see what is down it and also bike in various places. The kids love it!
- Have kids! Or just spend time with kids and enjoy learning together. You may have gotten tired of hearing a little kid say "Why?" (I know I have had my times!) but at the same time doesn't each "why?" make you wonder a bit too? Kids are very curious and if you let yourself you can re-learn from them how to be a little curious too.
- Homeschool! Homeschooling is perfect for encouraging curiosity. I could just spend times wondering about things but since I have little students to teach I feel like I need to find out the answers. Some examples in my life have been teaching various co-op classes about things like pioneers and colonial times different subjects I love to learn about but I wouldn't have pressed myself if I hadn't had a reason too. We also had a great time doing a fairly in depth study of the 50 states last year.
- Read! If you wonder about something, read about it. Try new books. Learn new things. I love to read! This year I want to stretch myself to read some books that I might not normally pick up.
- Use Google. It is amazing to me how quickly the Internet has become part of our lives. Just a couple of years ago I would have had to look through books, asked other people (And I still do those things some of the time) but now if I have a quick question I can just google it! I love being able to find things out so quickly. Lately I have started to use Swagbucks and so now when I search for something I can even earn points which I then can redeem for gift cards. Being curious can help the budget! :-)
- Study! I am personally going to apply this to the Bible. This is an area I am curious in but I see how much I need to grow!! When I am teaching someone else (be it children or adults) I usually do a fair amount of study to make sure I can teach well. But on my own I am guilty of having a question about something and thinking that I need to study it and then I never get around to that. I really want to work at being more curious in this area!
- Take Classes! Are you interested in something? Sign up for a class to learn how. Last year we went to a class were we learned to make Native American pottery, A couple of years ago I started taking cello lessons because I wanted to learn. This next week Ken and I are planning on taking down hill skiing lessons because we have never done that before. Don't stop learning just because you are an adult. Another class I would like to take is how to make pottery using a wheel.
- Try new hobbies! My motto is to always try something once as long as it is legal, would please God and it looks interesting. Because of that motto I have a huge list of hobbies that I enjoy. I have fun though!
- Try new foods! Thursday suppers are our time for trying new foods. When we were studying the states we would do a recipe from that state. Soon we are hoping to do foods from different countries. This is not only fun but it allows you to find new favorites and helps the whole family to be more open about foods. When we go out to eat I usually try to order something I haven't had before.
- Be interested in People. It is amazing what you can learn if you are willing to listen to others. (Now if I could just learn to be quiet!!) Speaking of listening to others, I would love if you would share your two cents in the comments!
Those are some of the ways that I am curious, what about you? What do you love to learn about or try new?
Super Saving Saturday
This was my very fun grocery trip to one of our local stores this week.They had a deal going were if you would buy 10 various (out of a list) General Mills items then you could get 4 dollars off (with a store coupon). I figured there must be some way to get a good deal with using the store and manufactures coupons so I set to work to find out.
I was able to find $.60 off coupons for Chex Mix which were on sale for .99. (I had one coupon already and then had access to 2 computers so I could print 4 more.)
*There are also $1 coupons available (check on Money Saving Mom) , but I couldn't get them to print. Emily did and was able to get a really great deal.*
Another of the items listed on the $4 coupon were Progresso soup which was on sale 2/$3. I was able to print out 4 coupons for $1.10 each.
I ended up buying 6 Chex Mix and 4 soups and payed .54 cents for those items.
I did also buy a 12 double roll pack of toilet paper which was on sale for $5.49 and I had a $1 off coupon for. And I bought oranges which were .58 cents a pound.
My total was $7.21.
As far as my goal of spending only $150 this month this is my new total:
Spent first week in February: $74.58
Shopping trip above: $7.21
Milk from Dairy: $15.00
TOTAL: $96.79
Frugal Valentine Ideas
We are getting excited about Valentine's Day around here. The kids are thinking about cards and notes and the sweets that usually come with the day. I have been dreaming about how I can make the day extra special to show my husband how much I love him and also share some love with the kids.Our Valentines days are generally pretty frugal but that doesn't make them any less fun. I thought I would share some things we have done to make it special and also some links that I have come across with fun ideas or pictures.
- Have fun decorating! I enjoy bringing out anything with a heart shape, stuff in red, candles and then cut out paper hearts to add about the room.
- Make heart shaped pancakes for Breakfast and top with red berries or syrup. My kids love shaped pancakes and they really aren't that hard to make if you aren't looking for perfection. Ken and I enjoy pancakes too.
- Have fun dressing up for the day. We enjoy doing stuff like wearing red and pink and so forth. It makes the day seem more special.
- Leave notes! My family really enjoys this. One year at Valentines Day I put notes all over the house labeled with the recipients name. Everybody thought it was a lot of fun. Little notes actually have a long history in Ken and my relationship. When we were engaged he had asked me to mend his Bible case and I sent it back with notes in all the different pockets. He really enjoyed that and then later in our marriage when I had to be out of town I came home to notes all over the house. Notes are a great time to share things you love about your spouse (or your child), things you might not say otherwise.
- Homemade cards are always frugal and can be extra special if you put some thought and time into them.
- As part (or all) of the gifts we give we often give candy. Now that I have learned how to coupon shop I can stock up on candy and other fun treats much more cheaply. Last year I saved a heart shape candy box (a Reese's one) that Ken gave to me and I plan on redoing it to put some candy that he like in.
- One of Ken's favorite desserts is Cheese Cake so that is often part of our Valentine's day as I will make a heart shaped cheese cake.
There are so many simple but fun ways to make the day special. Here are some links to other fun ideas:
- A Valentines Party with cute fuzzy hearts at Faith Acre Farm.
- Here is a super cute picture of heart pockets that Emily found.
- I had fun looking at the pictures of what my friend Esther did last Valentines day.
- I enjoyed the Simple Dollar's 9 tactics for a frugal Valentines day.
- Here are some cute paper animals made out of heart shapes. This would be very fun way for the kids to make valentines.
- Here is a list of gifts from A-Z that are environmentally friendly. It is a rather fun read.
For more frugal tips (I noticed that Crystal wrote about Valentines day as well) visit Biblical Womanhood.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
