Between visits with grandparents and parents, Peter visited the Minnesota State Fair three times this year. We figure he was there for at least 29 hours over the three visits.

The animals and barns were a big hit, so were the huge pretzels and the kiddie rides. Peter rode his first roller coaster. He declared the ride “bumpy”. Photos of our trips to the State Fair are available in our photo gallery.

This picture is of myself and Peter admiring the “Mars Rover Rover” snoopy doghouse stature at the Fair. It was created by Dave Brynestad & Go East and sponsored by Met Life Auto & Home. This was one of many snoopy doghouse statues on display at the fair.

The Snoopy doghouse statues were part of Saint Paul’s Doghouse Days of Summer celebration. There were 104 Snoopy doghouse statues scattered around Saint Paul this summer, each designed and created by different local artists.

We spent a wonderful summer afternoon having a picnic at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in August. This was one of those “found” days where we had an unexpected free Saturday. We spread out on top of a hill overlooking an apple orchard. This was a great way to enjoy a beautiful summer afternoon. I’ve added a few pictures of the afternoon to the website.

The Landscape Arboretum was running their Totally Terrific Treehouses exhibit. They had set up 12 one-of-a-kind treehouses around the grounds of the Arboretum. Each was designed by different artists and architects. Kids were able to climb around in and on the treehouses.

For more information about the Arboretum, visit www.arboretum.umn.edu.

We celebrated Elaine’s birthday at Kafe 421 early in July. Elaine celebrated with her mother, husband, her sons and their wives, and her three grandchildren.

Kafe 421 is a wonderful bistro in Dinkytown that serves a fusion of Greek and Russian food. I’ve added photos of the Elaine’s birthday to the website.

To learn more about Kafe 421, read Jeremy Iggers’ review from the StarTribune or visit www.kafe421.com.

We celebrated Independence Day this year at Sam’s uncle and aunt’s house. Manny and Becky live in Saint Anthony Park in Saint Paul. This is the home where Sam’s grandparent’s raised their family. Saint Anthony Park has been hosting a small town style 4th of July celebration for many years.

We had a wonderful afternoon with Sam’s family. We cheered her relatives on as they competed in the volleyball competitions at the park and we enjoyed zydeco music from the bandshell in the evening.

I’ve included some photos of the afternoon on the website.

The last week in June, Samantha, Peter and I rode the new Hiawatha Light Rail line from downtown Minneapolis out to Fort Snelling.

We’ve been excitedly waiting for the light rail line to open up for quite a while. At the moment, with only one “line”, you really can’t call this a light rail “system”, but it’s still a great addition to our public transportation infrastructure here in the Twin Cities.

After arriving at the Fort Snelling station, we walked over to the historic old fort. I think the highlight of the trip for Peter was getting Gettysburg civil war army men from the gift shop.

I’ve added pictures of the trip to our photo gallery.

Here’s a little taste of springtime in Minnesota. These are pictures from last spring as we enjoyed the season.

I’ve included pictures our Easter celebration, a visit to the spring flower show at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park, the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, and a trip to the Minneapolis waterfront.

With fall approaching, I began to think about how recent it was that the snow melted and everything had that bright green spring color. I realized I hadn’t added any pictures to our gallery in a long time. Well, better late than never…