I live in Bloomington, Minnesota with my mom Nancy, Joe and our dogs Paws & Gracie and our cat Maxwell. It's a great place to live and we love our home.  We moved to Bloomington from a different city, so I know it can be scary making new friends.  But don't worry, we have a saying here, "Minnesota Nice" and it is true, people are friendly, especially the kids.

I graduated from Jefferson H.S.last year - it's a great school.  I used to go to Ridgeview which was only a block from our home.  Both schools are great.  Bloomington and Minnesota are known for their great schools.  You can get more information on schools in the community section of this web site.

There are four distinct seasons here with lots to do in all of them.  I'll start with my favorite time.

Summer Time & Summer Vacation: 
We live close to Hyland Park and Bush Lake where there's biking, hiking, roller blading, canoeing, fishing and a really fun place called Chutes and Ladders.  Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes and just as many parks. I love to golf. Joe can tell you about all the great courses around here and give you some excellent recommendations. 
We go to Valley Fair a lot.  It's an awesome amusement park in Shakopee with great rides.  The Wild Thing (a huge roller coaster), the Hurricane (a cool water ride), and the Corkscrew are my favorites.
ExploreMinnesota is a great web site and it will tell you a lot about Minnesota.

Fall: We still do a lot of the things we do in the summer, except for maybe swimming and running through the sprinkler.  It's not cold yet but about mid Sept. you start wearing sweaters, the leaves start to change colors and it's really pretty.  If you haven't had four seasons before I think you'll enjoy it.  A really fun trip is going north to Duluth, Mn. and the North Shore of Lake Superior. Besides the pretty colors you can look for agates on the shoreline of Lake Superior.  The lake is pretty but don't go it the water, it's really cold, even in the summer.

Fall goes until Thanksgiving, although it has snowed on Halloween - that's a drag.  This is also a great time of the year to shop.  I love the Mall of America. Besides shopping they have Mini -Golf, movie theatres and lots of cool places to eat.

The Minnesota Zoo is open all year long and it's the best in the Fall.  The tigers are my favorites.  Como Zoo is located in St. Paul and is a lot of fun too. Besides the zoos there is the Science Museum, some neat art places and the Omni Threatre.

Winter Time:
I really enjoy winter.  Sure it gets cold but you can dress for it and it's a lot of fun playing outside.  Our home backs up to St. Edwards Pond and every winter we make a huge skating rink.  The pond freezes over and when it snows, Joe cleans it off with the snow blower.  We also clean a path around the pond for skating.  Hockey and
figure skating are huge sports in Minnesota for both boys and girls.

We don't have any really big mountains in Minnesota but there are a lot of places to ski, both cross country and downhill.  There are a couple of ski jumps close to us, great to watch. Instead of the ski jump we build a luge run in our back yard.  Here's the Recipe:
1. One huge pile of snow.  2. Make a curving path to the pond.  3. Ice path with water.  4.  Jump on saucer and fly.  Winter is wonderful, you just have to bundle up and enjoy it!

TwinCities.Sidewalk.com and StarTribune.com are other great web sites that will tell you and your parents about the Twin Cities area and other things to do.

The Holiday Season:
After Thanksgiving we go to a tree farm with a bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins to find the family Christmas tree.  The tree has to be the right height and filled in just right - it takes awhile because we have to agree.  I usually start a snowball fight in the middle of the search, hit Joe with a couple of snowballs and quick call a truce.
After everyone has found their tree we tie them to the cars and go for lunch where we brag about our tree.  It's a lot of fun and if Christmas and trees are a part of your Holiday celebration, I'd be happy to tell you where the really great trees can be found.  P.S.  If you're going to hit your Dad with snowballs - hide behind your Mom, toss a couple and quick call a truce.  Safer.

Springtime in Minnesota:
Towards the end of March, Springtime explodes in Minnesota.  The snow  melts, trees start to bud, flowers peek from the ground and Spring rains wash away the remains of winter. A goose named Annabelle makes her nest in the reeds, a pair of ducks nest in our front yard and Gabby the chipmunk has a couple of babies. Soon baby ducks, chipmunks, geese and baby creatures of all models are in our yard.  It's a pretty special time. 

Spring is the time to put away the sleds, saucers, skates and skis and get the bikes, canoe, golf clubs and rollerblades out.  When I trade in my heavy coat and hat for a jacket and baseball cap, I know we're getting close to my favorite season - summer vacation!

If you're moving, I know you'll miss your friends but I guarantee you'll meet great kids here in the Twin Cities.

If you have any questions I or Joe can answer, please E-mail me, or  E-mail Joe at the same address.  You can also call Joe at
952-830-0060 but you better ask your folks before you start calling long distance.

I'm in College now which is a great new experience. I have friends from all over the country but I still think growing up in Minnesota was pretty cool.

We want you to have a Great Adventure, have Fun and Feel Good! Welcome to Minnesota!