Behind the scenes at Underwater Adventures

We have enjoyed going to the Underwater Adventures. I hadn't really planned on going again this summer, but an opportunity to go behind the scenes with some kids we know from a homeschool group prompted us to plan another trip. It was really nice to have a guided tour--people can learn a lot of interesting facts they may not know if they just do a self guided walk through the aquarium. We got to visit the lab where they care for the smaller animals and do water quality testing. We also saw the kitchen where they prepare the food for the animals. Under Minnesota law, the food given to animals cannot be garbage. If you have ever eaten at Red Lobster, you have eaten food from the same source as the animals there. It was funny to see the kids scrunch their noses up and comment about the smell and their "need to clean it." Our tour guide explained that they have the cleanest kitchen in the entire Mall of America. I've heard that on the news...it really is the cleanest kitchen in the Mega Mall. Fish heads anyone? Hmmmmm, yummy.


The kids got to hold a dried egg pouch. The pouches are nicknamed the mermaid's purse because the egg pouch has a handle that allows it to hang from rocks in the ocean. The aquarium has live ones hanging from hooks in the tanks that will eventually hatch. Well, some of them will. The aquarium will then use them for other zoos and aquariums.


Many of their animals are rescued animals. The areas of fish are more noticeably divided than they appear in the tube. We went through the exhibit after the tour. It was a different experience. Since tours were still being held when we were in, it was the first time we had seen the water completely lit up. It has been darker when we have gone before--you would not think it would be that noticeable, but it was. Near the end of the tube, we saw some of the fish getting fed what had been being prepared. We saw several stingrays eating. I always thought the face of the stingray reminded me of Face from the Nickelodeon network.

The aquarium changed the exhibit at the end and has opened a touch tank for crabs. The kids played with the crabs, careful to not get their fingers near the pinchers. We ended the trip with some iced coffee and chocolate from the mall.

Opera at the Ordway

Last Friday we went to the Minnesota Opera at the Ordway. We saw the Barber of Seville. My mother was still with us and got to see the production as well. I was really, really impressed with my boys. It can be hard for them to sit through an hour--and this was two and a half hours long when the twenty minute intermission is included.


The Ordway is a beautiful building that is located downtown St. Paul. It border the same small park that the James J. Hill Library and the Landmark Center do on different edges of the area. We sat in the upper balcony. I actually prefer the balcony because the lower floor has so many people and I feel overwhelmed by big crowds. It was also easier for my mom who is starting to have issues walking. This week really made me think about Dad and that Mom probably won't be with me for a really long time. It was hard to have that moment of realization.



It was a good time, a great experience and I truly enjoyed the production. I would like to do another next year, but not sure the kids will buy it. They did it once and I will probably let them pass for a couple years if they really don't want to. I hope that the experience opens their hearts to things that may not be what they always first think of. The Barber of Seville is an incredibly funny and a wise choice for a first production.

Kids marathon at the University of Minnesota field house

Medtronic, a Twin Cities based company that manufactures health devices, sponsors the Twin Cities Marathon each fall. They also sponsor children's and family friendly events throughout the year to help promote healthier habits in children. My kids have participated in some of them the past few years.

Last month, they held an indoor track event at the University of Minnesota. My daughter is getting older and only ran in one, but the boys are still young enough and they enjoy the event. This past event was harder for them than the ones that have been held in the spring. I think part of that was due to the winter cold that kept them in more than summer.

I like these events because it encourages everyone, no matter the shape that the kids are in or if they come in first or last. Every kid gets an award. The medals are cute and have the event mascots--Shelly and Harry, on them. They usually also get a t-shirt or hat that they can wear. For me, they remind me of the track and field days at the end of the school year. So often people assume homeschool children miss out on everything--and I think the opposite is usually the case. I love homeschooling!!

Minnesota Orchestra: Jay Greenburg

Celebrating the music of Jay Greenburg, the Minnesota Orchestra played several pieces for students yesterday under Conductor, Sarah Hicks. Greenburg's fifth symphony was composed 4 years ago when he was just 13 years old. He stated that his greatest influences of the period were classical and included Tchaikovsky. His current work is more influenced with modern music, he explained. The selection was a part of a concert introducing the orchestra to the young audience. They also played other selections including the Farewell Symphony.

Orchestra hall had a large screen for students to watch close ups on different musicians playing their instruments. It was a marvelous concert. It is wonderful that my kids can go to different concerts that focus on different themes. We picked up tickets in January and went with some friends and they heard music with explanations of different music theories by Leonard Bernstein's daughter.


It is a joy to see my children not only develop musical skills and appreciation, but to see my kids grow. When we first moved home 4 years ago, my boys had the hardest time sitting for any production. Even when we went to watch the Children's Theater's production of Tom Sawyer, it was a chore to sit through. I was amazed that the story didn't seem to captivate their interest. Yesterday, they all sat through the concert. I was so impressed with them as we all watched, listened and enjoyed the selections. It was fun to watch the kids excitedly navigate through the Minneapolis skyway system to and from the parking garage, completely remembering how to get there themselves.

Underwater Adventures

Yesterday afternoon we went to the Mall of America--the "mega mall," to go to Underwater Adventures--an aquarium. Joining for the first time late last year, this was only the second time we have ever been to the aquarium.

The beginning of the aquarium is an exhibit with several animals that are found in the wild in Minnesota. It is neat to look at the really big turtle they have. It weighs 165 pounds and takes five staff members to move it. There is also an indoor waterfall. Some of the exhibits had changed from last time. There were still some rather large fish that came near the edge of the pond; it reminded us of some fish at Colonial Williamsburg that were enormous and so tame that when people came near the pond, they came up near the edge opening their mouths begging for bread. It was weird to feed fish by hand and I wonder if these fish have come to expect the same thing because of the staff.



Visiting, we can choose to either walk on the right or left for the people mover. We normally walk, but occasionally wind up on it to get around people. It doesn't take too long to get through the aquarium--but we slow down to take our time. There are usually touch tanks at the end of the aquarium. The kids got to see a star fish up close and learned about its digestive habits. The graphic information was too much for my taste, but the kids liked it.

Traces: documenting the WWII POW experiences in Minnesota

Traces museum, which had been located at the Landmark center closed last November. A truly sad day, not just Minnesota lost with this institution's doors closing. Dedicated to several lesser known parts of World War Two, the museum worked to inform people both about what American men suffered in German POW camps, and how, through compassionate treatment, German POW's in the United States had to address the differences between what Germans had learned to expect because of propaganda at home and the realities of the treatments they received here while removed from their homeland.

It is unfortunate that I waited to visit the museum. Upon looking for the hours tonight for a planned visit tomorrow. I was sad to discover it was too late--reminding me once more to try to make efforts to seize the moment because moments may not be there the next day. I learned of this museum two years ago when visiting a function at the Landmark and I had always intended to go back, too busy to make the time tight then. I am sad and it truly is a loss--not just for the Twin Cities, the region, or the United States. This organization really had significant impact.

I hope beyond any measurable intensity, that the mission of Traces survives. People may still visit them online. I wish them all the best.

Minnesota Orchestra and Underwater Aquarium

My mom is still here with us. She goes home tomorrow afternoon. We have been trying to bring her to places that she will enjoy. Friday, our homeschool had tickets to the school performance of the Minnesota Orchestra. They had dancers with them doing scenes from the nutcracker. It was wonderful to see them--they had ballerinas and less traditional dancers. They also had two very young dancers--the girl did some gymnastics. They were truly wonderful. I was glad we came.

We had been running late that morning. Alex had to work on the farm so it took longer than normal and we were late. I zipped up 52 over to Minneapolis. We would have been okay, but then traffic was completely stalled on 35 to downtown. We were lucky--we had only missed a little of the performance when we finally got to our seats. We had VERY good seats since were in the VIP box. We had been very lucky to get those seats and we enjoyed it tremendously.

I had to work on Saturday to cover some Christmas events. I had to write that evening and Sunday morning to make deadline at noon. I was done around 1:30 with some of the questions that I had gotten back from my editor. We had wanted to go to Underwater Adventures last week with mom, but just got sidetracked with things to do and not feeling well. Mom had spent the night before with my sister so she had been tired. Even though it was snowing pretty heavily yesterday, we wanted to get there and did go.


We went through the aquarium. It was really neat--and we enjoyed it. I was kind of surprised that isn't bigger for the price, but it is at the Mall of America and the animals need proper care. They also had an exhibit of crystal sculptures representing each state of the union. It was actually cheaper for us to get a membership than it was to pay a daily admission. I am happy that we did it. Now we can go back if we want to for the next year.



I am not normally a fan of the mega mall, but we go occasionally. There are a few things we like to see--Legoland is really fun. I wanted to make sure my mom saw those. The mall has been around for a long time, but she has never been inside of it. I think she discovered that she even enjoyed part of it. We went to the food court with her and asked her what she wanted for dinner. My mom never went to the mall--even a smaller mall so we actually had to explain to her that we didn't have to eat at the same place. My mom is older and we never had money--any money, to do stuff like that so it isn't that surprising that she wouldn't understand the food court...She had fun though...we watched the theme park rides zip past us on the third floor. Since it was evening, the mall was lit in a way that was really fun to watch and reflected evening rides that are outside. All in all--a good time.