Another activity-filled weekend with the family.

When we went to the St. Paul Arts Crawl the other day, there was a woman handing out flyers for the opening of a new season of Ballet Minnesota to be celebrated with a free ballet. We definitely had to see it and called for tickets to the Saturday afternoon show.

The show was Beethoven’s 9th at the Fitzgerald Theater. All of us really enjoyed it. For Denna and Corwin’s first time sitting through such a presentation they did a great job. Was wonderful to see them tapping their feet to the music while rapt in the visual display.

On Sunday, we decided to go out for some Halloween pumpkins. After a bit of web searching, we found Minnetonka Orchards. Was a short trip and perfect weather. The kids picked out four pumpkins, one for each of us. Unfortunately, at $4 each for entry, 43 cents a pound for pumpkins, and $25 for a bag of u-pick apples it added up to a notable price. We then spent the rest of the afternoon picking apples, pressing cider, hayrides, and a small children’s play area. Now just to find a night this week to carve our pumpkins and make some pie… I was thinking about using a recipe from My Home Cooking’s Apple Pie Site.

Spent some family time enjoying some art work this weekend. We started out Saturday with a visit to the California Building in NE Minneapolis. The kids had a blast.

Corwin fell in love with a small print of a painting with a frog on it. Cynthia had remembered to bring Corwin’s wallet with and so he was able to buy it with his own money! Later on during the visit, we came across one studio where the artist had taped a blank sheet of paper in the hallway with a bucket of crayons for kids to use. Corwin started drawing his frog. As I held it up for him so he could have an easier time, the artist offered to hang it up so I would not have to stand there holding it.

Next up was the St. Paul Arts Crawl. The Crawl was exciting. Seeing that many artist’s work in a relaxed atmosphere was quite enjoyable. The kids loved the treats that were offered at almost every stop and were nearly exploding with the extra sugar intake, but were still able to hold it together and behaved quite well even staying out past their usual bedtime.

We got a bit of a late start on Saturday and went back again for
more on Sunday. We saw less than we had the night before, but did get to have a fun walk through downtown and ate at Mickey’s Diner for lunch. Afterward, we decided to not press our luck by keeping the kids out all day, and headed home.

Overall an amazing weekend of family art appreciation. It was comforting to see some of the love of art that we have instilled in our kids.

– Some other Studio buildings in NE Mpls