The Park Project - Part 2 Hanover Park

Hanover Park is just a mile or two away from us which is perfect because it is too far to walk to but only a short drive. I think the kids feel like they are going a lot farther away then they actually are because we take the van to this park.

I love that Hanover Park has a huge playground nestled under 100 year old Oak trees that provide wonderful shade on a hot day. They also have a picnic pavilion and nice bathrooms. I took the kids here when I wanted to keep them entertained but I didn't want to drive too far.

They played for about two hours and we had a nice snack at the picnic pavilion. It was a great no fuss field trip. I like that we have such a nice park system in the western burbs and I intend to take full advantage of the many fantastic playgrounds in our area. If you are ever out near St. Michael, Hanover Park is a wonderful playground to visit.

During the year they host all kinds of fun activities such as the Hanover Festival and an Easter Egg Hunt a day or two before Easter. We have a great time here and I'm sure we will be back many times over the years!

The Park Project - Part 1 Triangle Park, Rogers MN

Summer is definitely more laid back for us compared to the school year so I have to find ways to keep the kids busy. I came up with the idea of "free field trip day" because there are a lot of things you can do with your little ones that are very inexpensive or free!

What I have found to be the most exciting for my kiddos, ages 2 and 4, is going to different playgrounds in the cities surrounding us. I call it "The Park Project." Once a week, we try a different playground. It can be as near to us as a bike ride or in another county all together.

Our first free field trip was to Triangle Park in Rogers. I had heard through Moms Club and ECFE that this park was really nice so we took off early one morning to try it out. I brought our mid morning snack and the kids played for over an hour!

Triangle Park has lots of mature trees so there is plenty of shade. It also had a pavilion area with plenty of picnic tables. In fact, they had "Art in the Park" going on for school aged children when we visited.

The kids really enjoyed the playground. It had a lot of things for preschool and school aged children. Lily was able to do some things but not all of them. This park is perfect for the four year old set, though. It has plenty of things to climb, jump off of and slide down. They also have nice swings. I think we will visit this park again because it had a decent playground with plenty of shade and parking! The kids had a great time playing and eating their snack in the park. They also liked watching the big kids make their art projects.

IndependEnce Day Tradition - Radisson Arrowwood

When I was a child, every year we would go up to Raddisson Arrowwood a resort located in Alexandria. It had everything we could ever hope to do on a Minnesota vacation - golf, swimming, family contests and games, dances, horse back riding, a park, and long winding hallways that just begged us to run down them screaming.

So many things on the resort are the same but there have also been some major improvements. In addition to an indoor and outdoor pool, they've added a water park. It has three awesome adult water slides and a kiddie water park, hot tub and snack bar. They've also added a nice new playground and a mini-golf course. The marina has been relocated and a number of water toys have been added to the repertoire, most notably Jet Skis. They've also built town houses that can be rented by families with their own decks and fire pits. Home away from home. I think this would be absolutely fun to rent out with my cousins and their families. Finally, they replaced Luigi's, which used to be an arcade, and made it into a luxury spa. I miss Luigi's but I think the spa was a good idea.




We did so much on our vacation to Arrowwood this year and I feel so blessed that we can carry on this tradition with our kids. They loved every minute of it. Logan learned how to swim with a life jacket, and they both spent hours at the water park. We took them horse back riding, on a pontoon ride, and watched a fantastic fireworks display from our veranda. The kids did so great horse back riding! Even Lily tried it and she held onto the saddle like a big girl and did lead line. I cannot believe how confident they both were sitting up on those big horses!




We were located right next to Rafters bar and after the children were asleep we would walk a few paces and have some drinks with the family. It was lovely because we could see our hotel room from the bar and thus keep an eye on the children but still enjoy ourselves after 10pm.


The kids woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed every day. They enjoyed playing at the park and playing with their favorite big kid Uncle Ross. He would swim with them in the pool for hours and Lily loved to jump off the ledge into his arm.
They also loved swimming with mommy and Daddy and Logan finally got the courage to go into the deep end. He was doggy paddling like a pro by the end of our vacation. Mommy got to have a back rub at the spa and Daddy got to play a round of golf with my dad and brother. We all had a great time eating out at the deck bar or enjoying brunch at The Lakes hotel restaurant.

I look forward to making wonderful memories with my kids at this place. I have so many from my childhood and it feels like the right thing to do to pass this family tradition on. Who knows, maybe my kids will bring their children to Raddisson Arrowood when they are grown ups! I don't doubt it will still be there, better than ever.

Munsinger Gardens Field Trip

One thing I always loved about summer when I was a child was going on field trips. I've done my best to continue the tradition with my kiddos and so we've been on plenty of adventures this summer! One of these was visiting the Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud. It was wonderful because both Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Ross joined us. The kiddos also got to tour their possible future college - Saint Cloud State.

The Munsinger Gardens were absolutely beautiful! There were so many flowers and winding paths. The kids really enjoyed playing by the water fountain, and Lily kept chasing a duck that had stopped to cool itself off.

We ate ice cream sandwiches, sat on boulder rocks and looked out at the river, ran up and down whimsical paths and admired wonderful water gardens. Lily was dressed in a cute little sundress perfect for the occasion. She loved hanging on to "papa's" hand and trying to do everything big brother Logan did.

We also visited the park that was only a block away. It had a wonderful playground and a little above ground water park. It was really just a glorified sprinkler system but
it looked so neat! There were tall metal flowers that sprayed water and the kids had a blast running through. It was such a hot day that they were dry in no time.

We then finished the day with a tour of the St. Cloud campus. Then grandpa bought each of the kids a Huskies T-Shirt from the gift shop. We have a running joke about where they will attend college, Augsburg, UWRF or St. Cloud State?
My money is on Augsburg. :) Finally to end the day we visited their favorite restaurant in the whole world - McDonald's.



By the time we got home, they were worn out and had quiet time. I know they really enjoyed the field trip because Logan asked me the other day if we could go visit "the big garden" again!

Memorial Day Weekend

This past Memorial Day Weekend we were lucky to be invited by our friends Erin and Adam Farrell to Erin's family cabin in Luck, Wisconsin. It was such a great time! The kiddos enjoyed playing in the lake and on the beach, running amok, and sleeping in a different place than home.

We had three families visit the cabin for the weekend. Brett & Bethany Runge and their son Henry, Mike, Marissa, Logan and Lily Partridge and our gracious hosts Adam & Erin Farrell and their daughters Maya and Maggie.

I can't tell you how much fun it was to see the kids play so well together! Maya, Lily and Logan were fast friends. They kept each other entertained whether it was playing on the swings, splashing in the lake or watching a movie to wind down. Maya and Lily played in the lake almost the whole day together! They just couldn't get enough of it. We didn't even bother getting them dressed, they just stayed in their swimsuits the entire day.


There were so many funny moments during this vacation! One of them being Maya insisting on kissing Logan goodbye. It was so sweet and cute!


We did all sorts of fun activities with the kiddos! We took them on a paddle boat ride (which they loved!) and Puck, the Farrell's dog jumped in the water and swam after us so he ended up on the boat. Mike and Adam also took Logan, Lily and Maya on a canoe ride but it ended up raining right in the middle of the ride. They had to put some strength into it and paddle back as fast as they could! The kids loved it and the guys took them out again the next day when there was better weather.



The grown ups had quite the good time as well. ;D It was fun to be surrounded by friends, have some brewskies by the bonfire, and eat good BBQ and home cooked meals. At the end of the day we were all tuckered out and slept well. Some mornings were rougher than others but well worth it. We even made friends with some night owl neighbors who sauntered over to our fire for awhile. I SWEAR WE ARE GOOD PARENTS BUT THIS PHOTO IS FUNNY! Yes, Brett is still the same.

This was truly a Memorial Day weekend to remember and we all had such a great time! I hope that we can get together with these friends every year, even if it is just for a backyard BBQ. It is my hope that someday Mike and I will be able to afford lake front property up North and share it with our friends and family. Until that day, we are blessed to have friends and relatives that have been so generous to us with theirs!!