A Break from Winter

Last Saturday, the boys and I met up with Grandma and Grandpa R at the Como Conservatory to see the beautiful spring flower display. If you're looking for a free (donations accepted) way to kill an afternoon with your kids, Como is the place, year round! In nice weather, we wander outside to see the gorillas, polar bears, seals and giraffes, but I discovered that there is plenty to do indoors as well.

Talk about a photo-friendly setting! Bright flowers, natural lighting... I just couldn't stop snapping away. Max smelled every flower that he encountered, and even Lucian thought the plants were pretty cool.

Close encounter with a flower... note the pollen on his nose

There's something about water that seems to draw kids in. Max couldn't keep his hands out of the pond in the Flower Room, he had to throw a coin into the fountain, and he could have sat staring into the fish pond for hours!




The conservatory had an entire room devoted to ferns. It felt like a rainforest, humid and hot... I can't do that type of weather for long, but boy was it a nice change from Minnesota winter!

This was the best shot out of about six attempts

We also spent a good chunk of time in the Como kids' room, feeding plastic fish to seals, making it rain, planting a garden, and sorting plastic fruit into bins (or, in Louie's case, throwing plastic fruit on the ground...)

"AH!" (Up!)

"Dahhhh...." (Down...)

Grandma and Grandpa treated the boys (and me!) to a snack at the end of the day: smoothies, french fries, a muffin and gummy bears. Everything a body needs. We ended the trip by visiting the tropical animals... Max's favorite stop was, of all things, the ants. He was fascinated! I'm starting to pray now that his next big fixation is NOT bugs.

Max at the anthill... he could watch them carry leaves through a tunnel back to their home.

What a fun way to spend a Saturday!