Disney On Ice

We made it to our first show of Disney On Ice.  Drew was so excited to go to the show, that he even cooperated and took a nap prior to the show.  

We did dinner at Cowboy Jacks.  The place was a mad house because they hosted the polar plunge that day.  The food was pretty good.  The place had a mechanical bull.  It was pretty entertaining watching the polar plunge people ride the bull intoxicated.  The place had 3 levels for Drew to explore.  

It was a cold evening.  We had to walk 3 blocks to get to the Target Center.  John had to carry Drew, and almost slipped on the ice a time or two.

The show was great for Drew.  Pretty average for us, and we were greatly surprised at the cost of the concession items.  This little Mickey cup cost $12 filled with a snow cone.  Needless to say, he'll be taking this cup with him to college.

When we got home Drew asked if we could go back again tomorrow.  A couple days later he was in his music room, MCing Disney on Ice.  That was pretty cute.

Old Piper Inn

We stumbled upon this restaurant when out shopping for gear for our road trip that is coming up.

From the inside the place was a combination of an old bar and a country buffet.  They served an okay Bloody Mary---I prefer Mary's that don't have a lot of Worcestershire sauce.  We thought the idea of a Blood Mary Club was sort of cute.

They had a pinnacle for the kids to try and claw out a stuffed animal, and a golf game that kept Drew and dad busy for awhile.

They serve breakfast all day, presumably to go along with the Bloody Mary Club?

They had a nice kid's menu, with free refills on the soft drinks.  An oreo cookie came with the dinner.  It was a nice incentive for Drew to finish his dinner.

We had a great, friendly server.   We sat in the bar area, because we think it keeps Drew more entertained.  What you say?  Watching stumbling drunks walk around is entertaining.  What do you expect, in addition to a Bloody Mary Club, they have a "Shot" club.  Needless to say, there appeared to be some members of both groups.

In addition, to the tipsy guests in the restaraunt, there other people dining with their families, sipping on soda.  So, the clientele was a mixed bag.

The food was tasty, but as usual, MN fish leaves little to be desired.  The fish was cruncy, and seemed overcooked.   They did serve a side of broccoli with the fish, so perhaps, it was a bit more healthy than the average fish fry.

The waitress offered us a plastic bag to take home our leftovers.   

It was a nice place.  Whether or not we'd return.  Maybe, if we were in the area.  

Blainbrook Entertainment Center

Drew and I had so much fun bowling that we decided to take dad along this time.

We went to Blainbrook Entertainment Center in Blaine.

We should have called ahead because we had to wait over 1/2 an hour for a lane.  While waiting Drew pretended to play on many of the video games that they had in the backroom.  All of the video games explained why it's called Entertainment Center.

We managed to bowl 2 games and rent shoes for $20.  We aren't sure how this compares to other places, since we haven't really done a lot of bowling in the past.

When it was Drew's turn to bowl the bumpers automatically would come up.  That was a nice added feature.
When we were finished we had dinner.  Drew LOVED the pizza.  I had the walleye.  A nice salad came along with it, but as usual the fish breading was overcooked.  We haven't figured out if this is the standard for breading in MN?  Anybody?

Overalll, Blainbrook  Entertainment Center is pretty decent, and fun for the young ones.  We'd go back.  It's a great place to take the kids on a snowy, or rainy day.

Minneapolis Fun!

The month of February has been one big ball of snow!  Literally--we are already at the same amount of snow that MN had at the end of the winter last year.  And of course, it's making the list for the top 5 highest recordings of snowfall since meteorologists began recording snow fall amounts.  Not to mention, it's been brutally cold.  I don't know what the average temp. has been, but let's just say, COLD.  It's been pretty absurd weather throughout the entire country.

Although we've had these treacherous conditions, we still have managed to have some fun.

For our b-days, my husband's(the 12th), mine (the 14th), and Valentine's Day we booked a room at the Foshay, and had dinner at Manny's.    http://www.mannyssteakhouse.com/  This place has won several awards.  The service was pretty good and the steak my husband ordered was pretty darn tasty.  If you like paying a lot for not a lot of food, this place is for you!  We were there pretty late--9:00ish.  We didn't see any kids, that was sort of nice.   Can't imagine people taking their children to this place, but maybe they do?

A couple days later, we all got out to Hell's Kitchen for their Sunday brunch. http://www.hellskitcheninc.com/ We did this in honor of Grandma's 60th b-day.

The heading of their webpage reads, "Damn Good Food!"  I'd have to agree.  They give you a hefty portion.  The burgers were great.  Especially the grass fed bison burger that my mom ordered.  Yum!  Very tender and moist.  My husband ordered Minnesota Icon: Lemon-Ricotta Hotcakes.  He is still dreaming about them.  Grandpa ordered the huevos rancheros.  He thought those were pretty darn good too!

Whether or not this place is kid friendly?  Well, they did have live music.  My son loves to hear live music, but we weren't in the room with the music.  They didn't have crayons, or anything for him to do.  So, he was pretty bored.  If we would have reserved the room with the live music, I think his experience would have been much better.

I'd recommend this place overall, and bring something along for my son to do next time!

Don Julio

We went out to Don Julio in White Bear Lake for my husband's 44th birthday!

This was the first time Drew tried salsa.  He said it was spicy, but it didn't stop him from eating it.  He drank 1 1/2 cups of water.  Advice to parents, if you want to get your kid to drink lots of water, give them spicy food.

Drew loved the food.  I didn't know he liked Mexican food.  I rarely prepare it.

John on the other hand, wasn't impressed.  His Carne Asada seemed over cooked.  The rest of the food was your typical Mexican Restaurant food.  The service was slow, and not really very friendly.   But, we were able to use our Metro Dining Club card to get $7 off.

Wargo Nature Center

Once a month on Thursdays, Wargo Nature Center has a special class for preschoolers.  This class was about winter animals.  The kids made binoculars, and decorated cardinals with feathers.

His teacher's name is Kate.  She does a lot of fun things with the kids.

White Bear Lake Bowling

Last Friday we got out for our first bowling trip at White Bear bowling alley.

They set up the bumpers for us, and had a "guider" for Drew to use.

He absolutely loved it!  I didn't know that it was possible for a 4 year old to be a 40 year old at bumper bowling  But it did happen!

The bowling alley was pretty old, but the lanes were nice and well kept.  The bar menu was a typical "bar menu."  They didn't offer a Friday night fish fry, and that was a real bummer for us.

We are still in pursuit of the best Friday night fish fry.