Cousin Max

 Cousin Max came to visit Tha-tha and Grandma Judy too.  They took us to the Rochester Athletic Center.  Max and I had fun there.  We climbed....

 We played miniature golf.... 

 kicked a ball and

 jumped on a trampoline!

We also took turns playing Minecraft on my lap top.

Quinn, the boy next door even played with us.  He shared his slip and slide!

We had a ton of fun!  

Vesterheim Museum

My mom and Grandma Judy drove me to NE Iowa (Decorah) today so that mom could go visit the Vesterheim Museum-The national Norwegian American Museum and heritage center.  I was really good and did not ruin her day.

 That's me by a fjord!

This was painted on a wall of an old cabin from the 1790's!

There was a lot of rosemaling-or painted furniture.

This is a small ship that some Norwegian immigrants sailed on to America.

Another old cabin.  Mom was amazed at how wide the planks of wood were.

 Woodcarving!

Rosemaling!

 Paintings of old Norway!

Mom was sad that she was going to miss this!

A small house from Norway.  We ate lunch in downtown Decorah and walked around.  It was hot and not terribly interesting.  We did find this sign though:

It was an hour and 20 minutes back to Rochester.  We did get to drive past several Amish carriages and farms.  Here's hoping that tomorrow will me a much more interesting day.

Quarry Hill Nature Center

My parents love this place when they lived in Minnesota.  I enjoyed the visitor center.  They had turtles, snakes and fish and this T-Rex skull!

 

 Below is the main entrance to the nature center-they were having afternoon summer camps.  Mom tried to sign me up for one, but they were full.

We decided to walk the shorter trail up to the old Quarry.

On the way, we found the old caves carved out of stone.  They we made in 1890, as a produce storage cooler for a nearby hospital.

 

It was a climb up to the Quarry, and we had to push Grandma Judy up the hill but we made it.  Trees and plants have grown back in the Quarry.

I was glad when we started heading back towards the nature center.

The woods in Minnesota are full of deciduous trees, with a lot of oaks.

The pond is next to the nature center.  I was ready to get in the car.

 

I did not enjoy Quarry Hill as much as my folks and grand parents do.

Seattle Center-AGAIN!

My mother tends to bring me here several times a year.  She heard that there was a new playground by the EMP and wanted to check it out with Andrea, Elloit, Andy and Colin (not my uncle).

 It was crazy!  Lots of ropes and platforms.  The slides were up really high!

 The slides were a little too high for me, but not for Elliot, Andy and Colin.  I stayed low but still had fun.

 

 After the jungle gym, we decided to go geocaching.  Colin had never done it.  We hit the Dinosaur Train one behind the PBS station.  The next one was in the Opera House parking garage.  We trekked over and it was hard to find.  There was a community garden on top of the parking garage!

 It was really lovely up here, but I found the sun too bright and had to wear Mom's sunglasses!

There were even plants growing out of this car!!!

 

 

It turned out that the cache was not in the garden, but on the wall of the parking garage.  We are signing the book above.

 Time for lunch at the Armory/Center House.  We walked through this fountain at the Opera House.

 Those Betsy Johnson glasses look awesome on me!  After waiting in LONG LONG lines (Dota 2 International gaming competitors) to get Subway sandwiches, we ate and set out for .....

 The International Fountain!!!!!

 This fountain is so much fun.

 Andy and I are right next to it, waiting for the water to explode from it.

Like this!!!!!!  That's me in action!

 Andy and I took a break before we went back in.  Then I was ready to head home.  It was a good day .