New Park

Mom brought me to a new park today. 

It has some fun slides, and A LOT of sand.

It includes a small, separate area for toddlers, too.

At first I tried playing on the bigger section, but the slides were all wet. It was already cold outside, and I didn't want to be colder.

Besides, I found the bouncy toys in the toddler area to be a lot more fun.

I spent a little time digging in the sand.

Then I got bored with the playground and wanted to go chasing after birds.

Finally, I ended up at the swings. I tried the big swings first, but was more comfortable in the seat swing.

Mom's Menu Review: Qdoba

There's not a whole lot to say about Qdoba Mexican Grill. They offer the following to kids under the age of 12:

Lil' Naked Chicken Burrito
Lil' Chicken Quesadilla
Lil' Cheese Quesadilla
Lil' Chicken Nachos
Single Taco

The meals include a side of applesauce, beans, or tortilla chips and 100% juice, 1% milk, or a small fountain drink. We went with the applesauce and milk. The applesauce was a cup of the Mott's brand.

The options are fair enough, and even a little better than some other fast food type places. We ordered the chicken quesadilla for Evie. It wasn't greasy, and Evie really enjoyed it.

Cool Days of Spring

It was a cool day yesterday, but Mom got me outside. We went to the lake nearby, walked around, then I played at the playground. On the way around the the lake, I fell asleep, so Mom explored the details of the life around the lake for me.

Blossoms

Little purple flowers (anyone know the name?)

Me sleeping. Mom's neck hurts just looking at me.

Abandoned spider web

Little yellow flowers (again, anyone know the name?)

Columbine

Mom's Menu Review: Dos Amigos Mexican Restaurant

Saturday afternoon found our family in Rochester, MN. The tree climbing competition my husband attended had ended, and we were preparing to drive back home. All three of us were hungry, so we looked for a place to eat close to the highway. We saw a restaurant called Dos Amigos on Google maps, and we chose to eat there (this was the Highway 52 location).

The decor of the restaurant was a bit tacky, it was on the smaller side, and a little dark inside. I wasn't sure about it when I pulled into the parking lot, but having had a long day, and looking at a long drive back home, I was in no mood to look for somewhere else to eat.

We were immediately taken back to a table, and we asked for a booster seat this time rather than a highchair. Evie did much better sitting at the table in a booster. Maybe somehow it felt a little more like she was sitting like Mom and Dad. We were handed our menus, including a white sheet of paper with a kid menu printed on it, and we were given four crayons for Evie to use to color.

The kid menu included these six entrees:

1. One taco, Mexican rice and fried beans
2. Enchilada, rice and beans
3. One burrito and order of rice
4. Cheese quesadilla and order of rice
5. Mexican hamburger with fries
6. Chicken nuggets with fries

There was no information on the menu about what the taco included as far as type of meat, or if any vegetables, like lettuce or tomatoes, would be added. There also was no information about whether the burrito would include just beans or if it came with any meat. Besides the fries, which really don't count, I don't think any meal included anything from the vegetable category.

The meal included a drink, but only soda (and water) were included at no extra charge. If you wanted milk or orange juice for your child, you had to pay $.35 extra. We opted to just go with water.

We ordered the cheese quesadilla with rice for Evie. And it was just that, a flour tortilla with cheese melted in the middle, and a big pile of seasoned rice taking up the other half of her plate. Evie ate much of her food, but I was less than impressed.

As we finished our meals and waited for the check to arrive, I asked Jon if he would mind changing Evie's diaper before we got on the road. He checked the men's restroom for a baby changing station, but none was in there. I needed to use the restroom before we left, and upon entering the women's bathroom (it was just a small room with one toilet), lo-and-behold, there was a baby changing station. I ended up changing Evie's diaper, but not without giving my husband an earful about how frustrating it is to patronize a business that won't provide a changing pad in BOTH restrooms. (And I've yet to encounter a business with only a baby changing station in the men's bathroom.)

I can say I will never return to Dos Amigos. It was a very unpleasant eating experience.

Post Tornado, Pre Police

It rained a lot over the weekend, and we had severe thunder storms Saturday night and throughout Sunday. Thankfully, the storms don't wake me up at night, and during the day I hardly notice them. A tornado touched down not far from where we were doing some shopping Sunday afternoon. We didn't see it, but we got soaked from the downpour of rain that hit just before the tornado while running from one store to another.

After the storm passed through, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day. Dad needed to go for a run, so we headed to the park close to home. Mom walked with me while Dad did his run.

When Mom and I got about halfway around the lake Dad finished his run and met back up with us. I was able to get out of my stroller and walk the rest of the way around.

I insisted on spending some time at the playground, even though it was covered in water.

I only got a couple trips down the slide before a guy approached Mom and Dad. He said there were police cars all around the area, that they were blocking off a part of a neighborhood close by, and that we should leave the playground because there was someone dangerous around, possibly with a gun. I wasn't happy, but Mom and Dad put me in the car and drove home. On the way, we passed by all the cop cars, where at least one officer stood outside with a shotgun in his hands. Hopefully they caught who they were looking for.

Road Trip

Dad had to work today, representing his company at a tree climbing competition in Rochester, MN. Even though the location was two hours away, Mom agreed to take me down to the competition so Dad could have some extra time hanging out with me.

Not that I was awake for it, but the entire drive down it rained. At first, it was just some sprinkles. Then it turned into a heavy mist that left Mom feeling like she was driving with blurry eyes. And for the last half of the drive, Mom endured downpour after downpour. By the time she arrived at the park, she was just a little exhausted. It turned out that Mom happened to hit a long, skinny band of severe storms, and if she had left the house maybe ten or twenty minutes later, she could have completely avoided them. At least the skies cleared within minutes of Mom and me arriving at the competition.

We hung out with Dad a little bit.

I chased some ducklings (and made the mom really mad), I fed a goose, and even let the goose bite my finger (I thought it was funny, even though the goose was the same size as me). I also played in the mud left over from all the rain. It was quite tasty. Too bad I only got one lick in.

Dad got a little busy, so Mom took me for a little walk. The area we were in was really pretty.

Towards the end of the afternoon Mom let me play at the playground (after a bunch of other kids mopped up the water from the slides with their clothes). I even made a friend. 

It was fun. And even though I slept almost the whole way home and got home just minutes before my bed time, I still went to bed without a problem.