It has arrived

Well, it has arrived. "What?" you might ask. The notorious Minnesota cold. The one everyone talks about. Driving home from a youth church activity last night, my car temp read -1. Unfortunately, it doesn't factor in the arctic wind that's dropping down over us, and that freezes those nose hairs once you step outside.

I know. While reading this post, relishing in those balmy temps, you are so jealous.

I have to admit, the cold is invigorating. Feeling tired? Take a step outside to burst some life into your bones. Just don't stay out too long, or the bones will freeze.

So what do people do when it is so cold? Well, I bundle up, I bundle the kids up and life keeps going. We still do all of the usual things. Took the kids swimming on Monday, went to the Zoo on Tuesday, preschool on Wednesday, and taught my class at the gym today. One thing that impressed me so much when we decided to move out here was just that. Life goes on. There is a great infrastructure of indoor things to go and do. And thanks to some kind grandparents and some savings, things like a year membership to some of those places are doable for us.

The Minnesota Zoo is a four season zoo. Different from the traditional zoo, the animals that are outside are indigenous to surviving and living outside. The "tropical" animals spend their time indoors year round. Right now, we're taking advantage of the indoor buildings available, and at some of the enclosed-but-outdoor exhibits. A favorite is called the Minnesota trail. People view from inside, but all of the animals are outside. And, all of the animals in this section are native to Minnesota. It's really fun to see the porcupine, wolverine, wolves and coyotes up close and see how they adapt and survive outdoors.

What do the kids think of the cold? Well, they definitely think it's cold. Our conversation from the parking lot to the indoor zoo building, went a bit like this:

Max: "Mom, I can feel the cold through my pants!"
Me: "I know, but the more you move the warmer you feel."
Max: successfully now running around. "My legs feel better. But, my eyeballs are going to freeze off!"

Another favorite is the Children's Museum. Probably a favorite because 1) there is a lot of variety in the exhibits 2) it's a great way to expend energy from crazy redheads while indoors 3) I can go from my garage to the inside of the museum without ever touching a foot outdoors, thanks to the lovely invention of a sky walk.

And, with the temps dropping sub zero, there are a whole bunch of opportunities for unique science experiments. Tom, a retired grandpa who's a regular in my cycle class, has been so kind to tell me of a few fun outdoor cold experiments to try with the kids. I'll (hopefully) let you know how they go.

What does Mike think of the cold? While the rest of us are looking for everything possible to do inside, Mike has found a way to keep his fitness outdoors. Cross country skiing. Someday he'll take his camera to show pics of the areas he skis in (and then actually post about it). But, he's one of the few people I know that can enjoy the cold enough to come home and talk about the beauty of the sunrise (or sunset), instead of complaining about the temps. He says the full body movements warm him right up, and he regularly feels overdressed. I've yet to try it - for now, I think I'll stick to the teaching-in-a-temperature-controlled-fitness studio.

So, if you were one of the many that commented "you're moving to Minnesota? It's so cold up there?" You are right (although we knew that one coming in). But, there are beautiful blue, sunny skies, the moon's reflection on the snow is as brilliant as it can get, and as a Minnesotan would say, "the cold keeps the riff-raff out."

For me, I'll just keep taking it all in. One breath at a time. And, just feel a bit tougher in the process.



One of the sky walks we take to the Museum.
A karaoke section complete with toy rock-band instruments.


Max's favorite section. A big construction site.
Alexis doesn't hesitate to jump in the construction action.

One spot in the water exhibit. The kids were running boat races.
Max building a skyscraper.

Alexis, caught in the moment of actually sitting, inside the light exhibit. The stuff on their faces is from a do-it-yourself face painting area (I promise, they didn't get into my make up!).

Max driving the bus.


Alexis, a super wiggly passenger. They put a tv screen up to the window and show a bus route from St. Paul to MPLS, complete with actual photos. Too funny.