My Minnesota - July

I'm joining up again with my fellow Minnesotans to highlight places we've explored in our state this past month. Be sure to click the link at the bottom of the post to follow the circle around. Also, be prepared for a lot of photos - I went a little nuts with this post.

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June found us exploring pretty hard... and that intensity lead into July, but then we petered out a little as the month went on. We spent the 4th of July on the boat with family, went to the Hamel Rodeo and parade, hung out at a number of local parks, and then finished the month purchasing new plants to replace the ones that the wild bunnies like to eat.

It's been 30 years since I've been to the Hamel Rodeo. I've been talking about it for years, but finally went with Riley and my mother in law. It was a fun girl's night out, and when we shared the experience with my husband, he was bummed he didn't go. I'm hoping this means we go back next year. 

Mid month I realized that we hadn't hit up any of the parks on our list in awhile. We've been trying to mark all 35 playgrounds off our list that are in our city. I thought it would be easy to finish them this year (we started last year), but we still have a lot yet to explore. This last one had a pond and a baseball field next to the playground so we had to check those out as well.

One July morning, we went on a very long walk to a park that we visit quite often. Riley wanted to explore all three playgrounds along the path, plus we were met with 50 or more ducks feeding outside the pond. 

This month I was able to check another item off my bucket list... ride the Como-Harriet Streetcar/Trolley. This was one that we'd been talking about for years - like before Riley was born. I was determined to make this happen and am glad I did as we ran into friends by Lake Harriet who rode the trolley with us. 

And finally, we explored the local lawn and garden center. This may not feel like a very momentous way to explore Minnesota, but we'd finally taken some time to work on the yard and it felt like an important part of July... even if we have a lot of yard work yet to do. We dug up some plants, thinned out others, and bought new plants with the hope that the bunnies that have overtaken the neighborhood wouldn't eat them. Spoiler alert: the bunnies were pleased that we brought them a new food source. The rabbits did not eat the lavender so I'm tempted to line our yard with that and other fragrant plants. 

Riley made glasses like Geronimo Stilton and wore them much of the day - which is what you see on her head here. Jesse and I were also given costumes for character's from the book series, but were not required to wear them in public.

Riley made glasses like Geronimo Stilton and wore them much of the day - which is what you see on her head here. Jesse and I were also given costumes for character's from the book series, but were not required to wear them in public.

And that wraps up our July. It was a hot one, but we tried to embrace it to the fullest. Next make sure to check out the wonderful Carrie Bayless.