While at the zoo, Benjamin was dicussing exactly why this fish has such a long nose with another nearly 4 year old boy. Benjamin's explaination...
"Probably because he eats too many hot dogs...and straight things."
...Obviously! Haha.
This was a crazy weekend for us. As I said earlier, Mike was busy with his Winterfest Trifecta activities (see video below) and also was completing any last minute things for the Lace Up Against Breast Cancer race, which was on Sunday.
Our Valentine's celebrations actually began on Thursday with Benjamin's daycare party. The kids invited their parents to snack time. There were games, a special snack, some crafts and the whole room was decorated in a jungle theme. All the kids wore their pajamas that day as well, which Benjamin always loves. Friday evening Ethan came over to play. The two boys played so well together, they really get along and are so cute together. Benjamin and I decorated the kitchen with hearts and balloons as a Valentine's surprise for Mike on Saturday, however Mike actually surprised US when he came home early from his Stairclimb while we were in the middle of decorating! We were caught red-handed! In the afternoon, Benjamin and I headed out to Foster-Arends lake to watch the Plunge. We were lucky to get there at the perfect time to not only get a seat on the bleachers, but also to get a decent parking spot. When we left, after Mike's group jumped, it was insanity! The weather was cold, but not terrible and it was nice that the sun decided to shine as well. We were both pretty bundled up, so it wasn't too bad. It was a lot of fun to be able to watch the madness.
Later that evening, we came home and opened up all of our Valentine's Day presents. Benjamin got a Disney cd and a Donald Duck toy (for his "Mickey Mouse thing"), Mike got the new Muppets Show Season 3 dvd set and I got 2 beautiful wall hangings for the basement. That reminds me, I have to get those on the wall before Sunday night, which is our annual Academy Awards party.
Sunday was the Lace Up Against Breast Cancer race and Mike was out the door early to prepare with his fellow race committee members. Benjamin and I met everyone at the YMCA at around 9am, just as the runners were all gathering together for their run. Mike decided at the last minute to run the 5k race instead of the half marathon because he wanted to be back at the Y to help everyone out before the majority of the runners got back. I manned the food table, which consisted of donated chili, bananas, bread rolls, apples/caramel, and lots of cookies. It was fun seeing all of the runners come through the line for chili. One of our favorite bloggers Steve Stenzel even came down from St. Paul for the race and it was great to meet him in person! Benjamin spent his time munching on snacks and chatting up the runners. He was a really good boy all day. After we all relaxed a bit following the race, Benjamin went over to Ethan's house to play and we were able to celebrate Valentine's Day as a couple. We finally were able to see Slumdog Millionaire, which was outstanding. After the movie we cashed in Mike's silent auction winnings (a Whistle Binkie's giftcard) for our dinner. It was a great evening!
You would think that after a weekend like that, we would use our day off on Monday to relax, but no way! Benjamin and I drove up to the Minnesota Zoo where we met Grandma Chris and Grandpa Ed, who had the day off for the President's Day holiday (sadly IBM does not celebrate the holiday, so Mike was stuck at work). We walked all around the zoo and because it was a mild day (32 and sunny), we were even able to walk around outside and see the new Grizzly Bear exhibit. Who would even imagine visiting a zoo in mid-February?? That's Minnesota for ya! We also saw an Imax movie called Under the Sea, which was in 3d. It was spectacular and Benjamin was trying to reach out and touch the fish the whole time, so funny. It was a great day and a great chance to take advantage of the fact that Mom and Dad are so close to us now!
I should be uploading pictures from the Polar Bear Plunge and our Valentine's weekend soon. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home the day we went to the zoo, which was a huge bummer since I wanted try out some techniques I learned in my class. Bah!
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What a busy weekend! I also was debating taking the kids to the zoo this week...maybe a little early for me yet. I bet the daycare party was fun. I always loved being invited to have snack and to how the kids are in their element.
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