We checked into Augustana Senior Apartments on Thursday evening. We were greeted by a lovely older gentleman that works at the front desk. I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself before he acknowledged us by saying, "Are you the Adolphson family?" I smiled and felt pretty important...they must have been looking forward to our arrival. :) Then he proceeded to say, "my, there are quite a few of you, aren't there." Um, yeah, and there is about to be one more, I thought.
He took us up the elevator to our apartment. On the way, he asked us where we were from. When he found out we were from Big Lake, and not real familiar with "city living" he proceeded to give us a few good tips. Here were his top five "city tips":
#5. "Never park on the street. If you do, you will be greeted by glass all over the street in the morning"
#4. "Never go outside after dark. It's just not a good idea."
#3. "If you are walking outside, walk quickly and with a purpose."
#2. "Don't talk to anyone. If someone tries to talk to you, just ignore them, and keep going."
#1. "Always lock your door. Our building is secure, but sometimes "they" just get in, and start knocking on doors."
Thank goodness we didn't tell him where were grew up. He might have just told us to turn around and go home, because there is no way we would survive here.
My favorite tip that he gave us, was this...it was about living in a senior community:
"There are a lot of very, very old people who live here. Please take caution with your children. If they are running in the hallway and run to close to an elderly person, that person may just fall right over." Then he turned his attention to the kids, "They are very fragile, you know". So in short, "Kids! Don't buss the old people!!" :)
my building
my view of "ghetto in the sky"
Thursday:
After we moved all our stuff in, and got settled, we ventured out to Target to get a few essentials that I couldn't bring from home. Even this was a little bit of an adventure for us...we had to try to find a Target that wasn't in the hood, but wasn't too far away. This trip was the first time a broke out my wheelchair so I wouldn't be over doing it. It worked out great! The only problem was that everyone (including Carl) was fighting over which one of them got to push me. :) After our shopping trip, we popped in a movie and all went to bed. We made up the pull-out couch and blew up the blow-up mattress so we could all sleep comfortably.
Friday:
We woke up bright and early for my 8:00am appointment. I had another ultrasound where the tech did what was called a Biophysical Profile. It measures how well the baby would do outside the belly. I am happy to say that the baby scored very well and seems to be right on track. It was fun for the girls to be able to see their brother :) After the appointment we made our way to the Como Zoo for our annual summer zoo trip.
Claire and I in our strollers
We then headed over to Roseville to have lunch with my cousin Katy who just happened to be in town for the week. After a great lunch we headed home for a much needed nap. We then had dinner at the apartment and made our way over to Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles for a little stroll (or "roll" in my case) around these beautiful lakes.
a park right on the trail :)
Saturday:
We woke up and had a nice relaxing and lounge-y morning. Once we ventured out, our first stop was IKEA to return a few things. Next, we drove over to St. Paul for a little lunching at Billy's Bar on Grand Ave. It's one of my very favorite streets in the twin cities. Our next activity was the Science Museum where we took in a show at the omnitheater, which was pretty spectacular. Best part? We got VIP seating because of my wheelchair :) Then, we headed back to the apartment for naps and dinner, then headed back over so we could go to church at the St. Paul Cathedral. I am always in awe when I am there.
one of my favorite past-times is sitting on a deck in the summer and having a beer...this was as close as it gets right now.
You see the end of the hallway? That's the cage where we Catholics lock up all the Protestants we can get into the Church...Just Kidding!! :)
Sunday:
We had another non-stress morning, followed by a trip to Minnehaha Falls. This is one place that Carl has wanted to see since we moved here, so he was pretty pumped. When we got there, we realized we were not the only people who had this idea....it was packed. One of the reasons why, is because there was a Swedish festival going on in the park...Carl was tickled pink :) You may have thought he was 100% Polish? Not true. He is 25% Swedish (hence "Adolphson") and proud of it. I went to take a picture of him by the Swedish flag and realized that I had forgotten my memory card...so unfortunately, I have no photos from the Falls, our picnic, or the festival... :( We ended our day with going to a local splash park followed by a Dairy Queen treat.
I would be lying if I said it wasn't depressing packing up the girls' stuff and seeing my family leave for home. It had been looming over my head all weekend. But, my friend Jenine, came to the rescue and took me out for dinner and stayed with me over night. Plus, I also have the warm thoughts of my whole family including my mom, dad, Barb, Carl and the kids coming to have dinner with me tomorrow night. AND my mom is coming today to stay with me all week! So, I really don't have it so bad :)
All for now...more to come.
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