The Mom Chronicles 6

The Mom Chronicles- Cheap Thrills


As the dog days of summer are upon us, and we set our eyes on those last few valuable weeks before everyone goes back to work and school, it seems every one is scrambling to get in one more vacation, adventure or weekend away. While my kids are not yet of school age, there is still a feeling in the air of the carefree days of summer coming to an end, and a desire to make the most of them before the cold and craziness of the fall season are upon us. Before I was a mom and married, summer didn’t seem to hold the same allure for me. Now that I am, however, I find myself wanting to make more of it and to make each weekend count. This in mind, as I would assume is the case for most of you- I am not made of money, and finding things to do on a budget takes some effort. So as to not waste this effort, however, I have decided to share with you some of the things we have done this summer that we all enjoyed and did not break the bank. Keep in mind, my kids are small, so they require much less to excite them! However, seeing as I have enjoyed our ventures as well, I am convinced anywhere can be fun if given the right mind set!

For starters, what would summer be with out parades, fireworks and carnivals? We brought our kids to their first parade this summer, and first firework experience. We were fortunate enough to be at the start of the Hastings Rivertown Days parade, and it seems as if that was the prime spot to be. We didn’t experience the same gaps or shortage of candy and handouts as other areas did. In fact, my son could hardly contain his excitement most of the time. Now granted, he just turned three so it took him a while to get the hang of the candy collecting thing, but once he did he was thrilled. I was in Marching Band in high school so attending a parade had a bit of nostalgia for me. Yes, the Shriners, I agree, got to be a lot, but the whole parade atmosphere was great, and we will certainly find others to attend in future years. Of course earlier in the summer, we found our way to the fourth of July fireworks. I don’t know about all of you, but for me, fireworks never grow old, as my son was born just after the 4th fireworks ended in the wee hours of the fifth of July so it’s a kind of emotional experience and brings me back to the night he was born. Even with the summer’s end fast approaching, there are still several fireworks shows around to catch.

Beaches. Sand. Sun. If the water is more your style, we found a great swimming hole this summer. Thanks to the suggestion of our most fabulous day care provider, we took the kids to the Lake Elmo Park Reserve off of 19 in the Oakdale area. Fabulous. For a five dollar vehicle pass, your family can swim in the most prime of swimming spots, fish off a pier, ride your bikes or hike their trails. They have a “pool” which really isn’t a pool, but a man made swimming hole completely surrounded by great beach. There are no weeds, no fish, and it’s pretty darn clean! At a max of about four and a half feet deep, you can see the bottom almost the whole time, and with life guards all around, it feels much safer then a typical lake beach or park. Not to mention, there are fabulous camp sites there, which I am sure we will be visiting next summer, and so much more to do. We even stopped one of the rare hot summer nights we had this summer and my son and I swam at sunset in our clothes! The water was bathwater warm and we had so much fun. Truly, a great find.

If racecars and demo derby’s are more your pace we have found them, as well. On a venture to my sister’s home near Duluth, we attended dirt track stock car racing. We went towards the mid point of the races, when we no longer had to pay, and were able to catch the feature races. We were there long enough for our son to decide he would one day drive race cars (Yay! Says mom! Perhaps the next Matt Kenseth), but not long enough for him to get bored! In a couple weeks we will be attending the Pierce County Demolition Derby which is a great show, as well. I can’t attest to any local ones, as I haven’t lived here long enough, but the Pierce County Show is always packed and a good night. My son is finally old enough this year to go so my husband can’t wait to take him. I look forward to the frosty beverages that are in abundance across the border, and seeing old friends there, but the sight of guys beating the crap out of each other and destroying their precious vehicles they work so long on to rig up isn’t so bad either. As long as it isn’t my husband getting the concussion doing it as he did the first time I watched him, it’s kind of fun.

Speaking of fun, if you are brave enough to endure the zoo that is their parking lot, the Como Zoo and Como Town are also a great venture. To get in to the zoo is a donation only, which you may choose whether or not to make, and while in the past the animals have been a bit sparse, this year was actually pretty good. Not to mention they have an amazing butterfly exhibit. Next year is the return of the Polar Bears which I can’t wait for. There were a couple babies- most adorable was the baby chimp- that have their own “ooo” factor. Since you can bring in your own food, it’s a potentially cheap day. A word to the wise- we parked at the State Fair grounds and took a shuttle over. My son thought it was GREAT as he got to ride a bus that looked like a Cheetah. Como Town has some great rides for the little ones at a pretty reasonable price. Not so cheap is the MN Zoo, which has a pretty sweet Grizzly Bear exhibit, but with the absence of a dolphin show and population, which is what I look forward to, I was kind of disappointed. No word on when they will be back, which is a shame as they built such a cool new facility for them.

A few other recommendations was another man made lake called Nugget Lake which is north of Ellsworth, Wi. About a 45 minute drive from here they offer a stocked fishing lake, camping, playgrounds for the kids, and pavilions for family get togethers.

As for staying local, I can’t say enough about the parks around town. The Hastings Aquatic Center has a great little kid play area and a big person slide for moms to enjoy. Spring Lake Park is a great place to go hiking, especially in the fall, and on the weekends there are usually several kite fliers. They have prime spots for get togethers and play areas for the kids, not to mention a nice view.

And finally, the highlight of our summer for my son, 2 visits to the Hastings Fire Department has left my son dreaming of one day driving a fire truck himself. Each day we drive by to see if the fire trucks are “awake” (gone) or “sleeping” (parked at the station). Our family made an impromptu stop one afternoon and the crew was thrilled to show us around and let my son climb in the trucks and check out the inside of an ambulance. His daycare has since ventured there as well, and they got to see how quickly the guys and gals can get dressed and out the door. A call to the station was all it took to find out that anyone can stop by at any time for a tour or family visit, though they appreciate non meal times and advanced notice for large groups such as day cares, etc. I can’t say enough about the folks volunteering there. My son looks up to them already and is in awe of all they do, with out even knowing the full extent at his ripe age of 3. That was a well worth it venture for our family and I hope yours will take the opportunity as well. Anything that provides safety awareness is a venture well worth it.

Well, apologies for this being long winded but I hope you and your family may get some ideas for future meaningful, cheap outings.

On a final note, I will be taking a break from the “Chronicles” next week as I am having surgery. I do have a request. Since I will not be able to write, I encourage any moms out there to send in their own mom chronicles, or stories. Do you know a great place to venture that I forgot? Send Chad the tip. Is there something you have learned from your kids this summer? Please share it with us! I look forward to reading what all of YOU have to say next week, as I take a one week hiatus to recover. In the mean time, be safe, take heart in knowing the kids will be back to school VERY SOON, and see you back here in a couple weeks.

Oh, and a last thing, of course we can’t forget the Peterson Family story of the week…. So we pull in to a local fast food joint this weekend while on the run and as we approach the window I hear from the back seat “..ah,yes..sandwhich..no tomatoes. Diet coke. Hashbrowns”. My husband looked at me and was like, “You are going to have a hard time proving you never come HERE with the kids!” I just had to laugh. My wonderfully adorable son. “No tomatoes (mom is allergic)… Diet Coke…” My son knows me all too well.