Four Years

Last week I celebrated four years with my new knee. I started this blog that summer to document how we spent our shortened summer that year. It felt bittersweet that year to be giving up a month of our summer for my eight week recovery, but life is so much better now, and it totally worth it. I can hardly believe how much it changed my life, and don't know why I didn't start asking questions sooner. I don't even think I realized how bad it was until the pain was gone and I could actually move freely again. Now you wouldn't even know with the exception of a beautiful six inch scar going across the front of my knee. Every year my scar gets a little smaller and lighter, but I don't mind having it at all. I am so thankful for modern medicine and how many more things I can do thanks to such advancements. I loved the first time I was able to go down the slide with Jackson, go sledding with him, and all the other sorts of fun moving activities I couldn't do before, and actually enjoy them. Moving is great!

Big Dipper

Sunday was National Ice Cream Day, which meant that we absolutely had to get ice cream. This time we went to Big Dipper Ice Cream Shop in Blaine, located on 65 and Main Street at 1250 126th Avenue. We were excited to try a new place that made their own ice cream. Their facebook page says they have 52 different flavors, and when we got there it seemed like the counter just kept on going. They didn't have quite that many when we were there, because they had already run out some flavors for the day, so I am sure it pays to get there early in the day. There was a flavor for everyone, with fruity, candy, chocolate, cookie, and kid type variety of flavors. Jackson even had three different Oreo flavors to choose from. It was such a nice, comfortable, family-friendly shop, complete with a game on the table to keep you busy and young girls helping clean tables. Everyone there was so friendly and eager to serve, without making you feel rushed in making your choice with all those flavors. I loved that they had a step in front of the coolers for the kids to stand on and be able to see in to scope out the ice cream for themselves.

They had so many flavors, it was hard to choose which to get, and I ended up with a double because I just couldn't pick. Jackson decided on Chocolate Oreo in a dish with gummy bears on top, and was delighted that they even had his favorite topping of gummy bears as a choice. Paul got Cherry Nut, which he thought was awesome, and I saw her put fresh nuts on in between the scoops of ice cream so there was fresh crunchy nuts in it. I ended up with M&M and Red Raspberry, the M&M was good, but the Red Raspberry was delicious with real fresh raspberries in it. It was $3 for a single and $4 for a double and 60 cents for a topping, with the best part that a cake cone, dish or waffle cone are all the same price. They do only take cash or checks, so be prepared if you go. It was a good size scoop, and when Jackson ordered a topping, she put his in a bigger dish to make sure she was able to get plenty of topping on his ice cream. The ice cream was very creamy, just the way we like it, and a little softer texture than some we have been too, but wonderful, old fashioned, homemade ice cream. We love that it is a family owned shop, and were very impressed at the way everything was done. Paul said this may be his new favorite shop, so we will definitely be back.

Knoke's Chocolates

On Saturday we started our day in Cambridge, so Paul could run a 5k in support of his youngest sibling's youth group. I don't usually go and watch Paul run a 5k since it is usually early, and done in 20+ minutes, and it tends to be more trouble to wake Jackson or get a babysitter for such a short time, so it was fun to actually see him run a short race. Quite a few members of his family were running too, and it was great to see them all out running. We wanted to take the opportunity to find a local ice cream shop a little farther from home, but sadly it seems that a lot of those small towns only have a Dairy Queen as an ice cream shop.

We were off to Hudson then to meet up with my good friend Erin, and try the ice cream shop there that a friend had told us about. We went to Knoke's Chocolates, it was a fun shop selling fun candy, chocolates and ice cream- it kind of reminded me of the candy shop in Willy Wonka with the dark wood shelving all around. They sell Brown's and Cedar Crest ice cream, so we knew right away that the ice cream would be good. I had Brown's White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl, which was almost identical to the Cedar Crest version except this one had a syrupy, preserves type raspberry swirl instead of fresh raspberries- I would much rather have the fresh raspberry swirl any day. Paul had Brown's Rum Black Cherry, which he enjoyed and was as he expected, and Jackson had his favorite Cedar Crest Pirates Booty. It was $1.90 for 1 scoop and $2.37 for 2, which we thought was pretty reasonable and the scoops weren't as big as some places, but the price seemed in good correlation to the scoop size. There wasn't anywhere to sit inside the shop, so we had to sit outside, but the ice cream didn't melt too quickly despite the heat.

It was a cute shop, and perfect to go with the rest of the historic Hudson area there. We are going to have to try the chocolates next time, but knew with the warm day we would end up carrying around with melting chocolate. We enjoyed walking around and visiting some of the shops nearby, along with walking down by the river. We are glad that we made a stop at Knoke's, and know that when were are in historic Hudson again, there is a place to stop for quality ice cream.

HomeTown Creamery

We just discovered that there was a little ice cream shop just down the street from where Jackson goes to OT. Jackson and I went to scope it out last week after his appointment, and then got Paul to meet us there this week after work. The HomeTown Creamery is in a little strip mall in North Saint Paul, located at 2231 E 11th Ave, on the corner of McKnight and 11th Ave. It was a spacious shop, and I loved that they embraced the cows, with fun cow figurines in the shop. They make their ice cream on site and have 40+ flavors daily. Paul said they were selling their ice cream at the Red, White and Boom race, and I know they are at Marketfest in White Bear too, so who knows where else you might find them with so many festivals and such around.

The first time we went Jackson got Cookies'n Cream and I got Raspberry Krunch, and the next time I got Chocolate Chip and Paul got Blind Love. I love it when I can get a good simple chocolate chip ice cream full of mini-chocolate chips, and the Raspberry Krunch was so good with real raspberries, graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chunks. Paul thought the Blind Love was a great mix for him with oreo, chocolate, caramel and nuts. We all loved the flavors we tried and the ice cream was fantastic. It was so creamy and thick, you can tell it is good, fresh homemade ice cream. The kid's scoop is $2.85 and the scoop was a generous size. I was so impressed by the ice cream and the shop, it was a great local establishment. They make their own waffle cones, which makes the shop smell so good, and when we went Paul got a chocolate dipped sugar cone- love all those cone choices. HomeTown Creamery is my favorite place that we have been to so far, the ice cream was so delicious and they had a great variety of flavors both times we went. I have a feeling this may become a new favorite, which is not good since it is so close to OT. Their award winning, premium ice cream totally deserves those awards- Yum!

Lynden's Soda Fountain

On Saturday we spent the afternoon in St. Paul enjoying some local fare. First we went to the Nook for lunch enjoying the original Juicy Nookie burger- they were so tasty with all that cheesy goodness inside, not to mention the delicious fries.

After lunch we headed next door to Lynden's Soda Fountain for dessert, located at 490 Hamline Avenue South in St. Paul, right on the corner of Hamline and Randolph. We had been to Lynden's before, right after they first opened, but that was before we started our ice cream quest, so we thought it deserved another visit.
We love that they have Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, which is one of our favorites that we get when we are in the Dells, and our kind of ice cream, creamy and old fashioned. The first time we went we all got cones, and this time Jackson got a kid's scoop and we got a shake to share. The cones were a decent size scoop, although Jackson said his wasn't big enough this time when he got it in a dish instead of a cone, and the shake was the size we expected. The first time Jackson got Mint Chip, I got Strawberry and Paul got Expresso Almond Fudge, and on this trip Jackson got Ultimate Oreo and we got Coconut Almond Fudge. Mint chip is always a favorite for Jackson and as you can tell by the picture that he really like the Ultimate Oreo, so much that it was gone by the time I got around to taking a picture. I enjoyed my Strawberry last time and we both really liked the Coconut Almond shake, and Paul said his Expresso Almond Fudge last time was good, but not great (just a personal preference).

We felt they should have had a little more variety of flavors this time, (too many similar ones, and no basic fruit flavored ice cream) but didn't feel that way the first time. I am sure that changes on a regular basis depending on what flavors they happen to have that day. The price was $2.50 for a kid's scoop and $6.00 for a shake which we felt was reasonable and comparable to other shops we have been too. The shop is old-fashioned, vintage modern style and also sells old candy and classic soda fountain items- complete with the counter and stools. Jackson enjoyed getting a big gumball for 25 cents from their candy selection, check-out that cheek! Overall, a great shop, good ice cream and we will definitely visit again.

Dar's Double Scoop

Last Sunday we went to Dar's Double Scoop, a friend told us about Dar's, so we went in search. We were excited to find out they were not far from us, located in St. Paul's North End at 1046 Rice St
St Paul, MN 55117. It is a cute corner shop with a fun 50's decor, they serve pizza and hot dogs too, sadly we only had ice cream when we were there, but the pizza looked and smelled amazing. 

 They serve a mix of Cedar Crest and Kemps ice cream, with very resonable prices. We only spend six dollars and some change for 3 small cones with generous size scoops. I had the Cedar Crest White Chocolate Raspberry which was great, with lots of real raspberry and nice size chocolate chunks in a great creamy ice cream- exactly what we expect from Cedar Crest. Paul had the Kemps Sea Salt Carmel flavor and was not impressed. The Kemps did not taste very creamy and was softer and not nearly the quality of the Cedar Crest, more like a cheaper store bought quality.  Overall is was a great play to try, and we wouldn't mind going again, but only for the Cedar Crest flavors, the Kemps wasn't worth it, and we will have to try the pizza next time to see if tastes as good as it looked and smelled.

Our Ice Cream Story

Here is the story behind our love of ice cream:

We like to use the facebook check-in to remember our fun outings and memorable days, and thanks to the new facebook timeline, it is even easier to go back and look to see what we have done on a specific day or holiday. Now my husband really likes ice cream, A Lot, and always enjoys stopping for a treat when we are out and about. Many of my friends starting commenting on how we must really like ice cream since we seem to frequently stop for ice cream. So we started checking-in and posting on facebook each and every time we had ice cream, even if it was just a quick cone at McDonald's. Other times we would get ice cream, like when we went to the Twins game, just so that we could post it on facebook. These frequent ice cream stops, and my husband's love of making "best of lists" has led us to needing to find more establishments to patron and our summer ice cream goal. What started as purposeful check-ins every time we ate ice cream just because people were commenting, has turned into an ice cream quest.

Our goal for the summer is to try as many ice cream shops as we can, and see if we can find some new favorites along with keeping track of the best. We love the little local shops and good old fashioned, creamy, traditional ice cream and our basis on what makes great tasting ice cream. I am going to keep track of where we go, both old favorites and new, along with our thoughts on taste and value. Now onto our summer of the best ice cream.

Back to Blogging

I have decided that I want to get back into blogging. I started my blog originally to post how we were making the most of our short summer the year I had my knee replaced. I enjoyed posting all our outings and fun things we were up to, and it was a great way to keep track of all our memories. We have been pretty busy the last couple years with Jackson starting school and making new friends, me working a little more, Paul running, and our biggest change- Moving into our first house! I feel like we have been in a state of transition the last couple years, and that we are finally feeling more settled. So on to the fun and making more memories to blog about.

Here is a snapshot of some of our biggest moments the last couple years:

A New Place to Explore

The last few months we have been frequenting the Science Museum, and it has become a new favorite of ours. It has been nice to find somewhere new to explore and learn that Jackson enjoys. I think that having friends invite us to go with them that enjoy the Science Museum have helped with our new found enjoyment, along with Jackson getting older.

Here are the highlights of our last few visits:

The thing that sealed the deal for Jackson was all the maps of the world- the one on the lobby floor is by far the favorite. He has been so interested in geography since the spring, and it is great that he can see the diversity and vastness of our Earth.

There have also been so many fun new things he has enjoyed exploring. The wind tunnel was by far the most fun, he would have played there all day. We have gone a couple times on Monday for the Preschool Playdates, and the activities have been awesome. There are so many more hands-on activities in the museum than I remember. Jackson has been so interested in all the science and I love all the areas that encourage his curiosity and learning.

The days were even better since we shared our experience with friends.

If you haven't been to the Science Museum recently we would highly suggest that you go. We also recommend going on Monday's for the Preschool Playdates, children under 5 are free and adults admissions are 2 dollars off, which is a savings of $10.50- what a deal!
Have fun!

Signs of Spring

This afternoon we decided to take advantage of the 50 degree weather. Rain boots were a must today with all the melting snow, along with the need to jump into the many puddles from all that melting snow.

Thanks to finding a pair of rain boots on clearance recently, I was even able to join in the fun.

Jackson noticed that the water was making a river through the ice, so we decided to have some stick races. He thought it was so much fun watching them floating and twisting their way through the makeshift river. As an added bonus his sticks even won the race.
What a wonderful day enjoying the outdoors.

Family Valentines

We spent our Valentine's Day together as a family, especially since Jackson declared Mommy as his valentine this year.

We started the day our at the ECFE Valentine Sock-Hop. We had a great time dancing and seeing friends.
We a festive dinner with heart shaped pizza, chocolate covered strawberries, valentine heart jigglers and heart cookies.

Paul and I did get a chance to go out on Sunday. My brother came over and spent the afternoon with Jackson, for some good uncle/nephew time.
I had a wonderful time with both of my valentines.

Warm Winter Fun

We spent a day at the Mall of America where it was warm and full of fun activities to help with some cabin fever. It was great to be able to spend the whole day with out jackets and feeling toasty.
We made a stop at Underwater Adventures, always a favorite with us. We stood behind Belinda Jensen from Kare 11 while in the tunnel, and embarrassed Paul by talking to her.
Then we went for a few reminders of summer and warm weather to come.
A stop at Met Statium home plate, an excuse to talk about Jackson's favorite- baseball and the Twins.
Then we played a round of mini golf to brush up on our skills. We are looking forward to many more rounds and new courses come summer.
We did a little shopping too along with lunch and dinner.
It was a great day, and we look forward to the no coat days soon to come.

We did also make time for the big game on Sunday. Chris and Rachel hosted a party, so we were able to just go and enjoy the excitement. Here we are with our 3-D glasses, all decked out for the 3-D event during the commercials.

A very fun and successful weekend to help beat those winter blah's.

Sledding Fun

Our ECFE program had a sledding party on the hill at school. They had hot cocoa and the large muscle room open inside for the kids to take a break and warm up.
We had so much fun, and I was thrilled to go sledding for the first time in years (thanks to my new knee).
Here are our highlights:

Jackson with his best friend Aaron and his dad helping them getting to go down the hill.

Mommy and Jackson on our sled ride together.

The dads getting ready for the sled race.

Racing down the hill- they were all smiles and giggles the whole way down.

A New Year

I have been thinking that I would like to have some sort of post that I do weekly to keep me blogging on a regular basis. My friend Erin suggested that I keep track of all the money I save through dicounts and freebies. She is always laughing at me, in a good way, for my sale and coupon combinations, and at all the contests my husband signs up for resulting in many free items or entertainment.
I also read on Elizabeth and Sarah's blogs about project 365, where you take a picture every day of the year. Before my surgery I took a lot of pictures when I was keeping track of all the things we did, and I really enjoyed it. I thought this would be a good excuse to do it for the entire year. I have created a new blog for those pictures and will post a link on my blog.
I would also like to do something to share my knowledge and ideas of fun activities, places and events. I am always trying to find new and fun things to do and keep us busy, and I love to share them with others, because it is always nice to have a new and fresh idea.
I haven't completely figured out how or what my ideas are going to look like, or even how they are going to look on my blog,but I hope to soon. I am looking forward to adding more to my blog and our stories.
Happy 2009 and all that lies ahead!

December Highlights

All of our December celebrations are over, so here are a few highlights from the last few weeks.

Christmas brought us baking and the fun of frosting and decorating both cookies and gingerbread houses. It also meant lots of family along with new toys and games to keep us busy during our whole two weeks off from school.
After Christmas we had birthday celebrations for my sister Laura, Paul and Paul's dad. We enjoyed celebrating with them and ate plenty of birthday cake.
We had a fun New Years and look forward to all this new year has in store for us.
Happy 2009!

Our Gingerbread House

After much anticipation, we finally made our gingerbread house. I bought a set this year that had all the cutters and directions to make one from scratch. We decided it would be fun and were up to the challenge, and set off on making our own homemade gingerbread house. It was tricky at times, but thankfully I had a few extra hands with Madison and Sam over. The candy decorating was the best part and we all had a great time making it.
Here are what all four sides looked like- it turned out great!
Check out the cute little gingerbread men we made to go with it- they even fit through the little doorways.

Pretend Library

We discovered a new playtime activity the other day that Jackson absolutely loves-
Play Library.

We set some books up on display on the fireplace

Found a lamp and an old gift card for the self-checkout and a library card

Then checked out books until his heart content!

Try it, we had a blast.

Sled Fun

With the first significant, plowable snow yesterday, we thought we had better get out and enjoy it today by testing out the sled. I pulled Jackson down to get the mail, and then we tried out our little hill. It isn't the greatest for sledding, but we had fun and that is what counts.
Jackson was so excited, he has been talking about sledding every time it snows even a little. It only took him a few times down to figure out how to keep the sled going upright by shifting his balance. Once he did, it was great fun and he didn't want to come in. We are looking forward to much more sledding as the winter continues on. I may even have to go myself this year with my new knee.

Ready to go at the top

Making it all the way to the bottom for the first time

Expression of pure delight on his face on the way down

Thanksgiving Prep

After much anticipation it was finally time to make our Thanksgiving pies. I love making pie, and make everything from scratch, from the crust to using a fresh pumpkin. Jackson was thrilled to participate in the whole process.
Here are the highlights from the last two days of our pie baking:

Prepping the pumpkin to bake in the oven

Using the pastry blender for the first time to make the crust

Time for a cookie break in between pies
(notice the cookies are decorated with a number and as a turkey)

Cutting and peeling the apples
(this is the greatest kitchen gadget)

The finished product-
Pumpkin and Apple pie
We can't wait to enjoy them for dessert on tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!