What to do in the cold?

In my last post, I mentioned that we were looking for ideas of what to do in this cold, Minnesota winter weather.

I wanted to clarify that we are more specifically looking for activities that get us OUT OF THE HOUSE!

There are lots of fun things to do at home such as baking, playing outside in the snow (on slightly warmer days), and playing with toys. I'm never at a loss of what to do when we are at home, it's just that I feel bad keeping the kids cooped up day in and day out in the winter months.

It seems like in the winter, we watch a little more television than normal, get a little less exercise than normal, and take a few more naps than normal :). I'm okay with all of these things, but now that it's January, I've been thinking we need to get out of the house a little more often. And, for reasons other than driving Brady to and from preschool.

Here's some of the ideas we've had in the past:

- Indoor playgrounds (we all LOVE them and they aren't too expensive either--there are lots in the Twin Cities). These are a great way to get in some exercise too.
- Going to the mall. I usually dread going to the mall for any reason, but sometimes it's just nice to get the kids out, take a walk indoors, and play at the indoor mall playground for awhile.
- Play dates. It's been awhile since we've had one, but we used to get together for play dates every week with other stay-at-home moms from our church. What a fun time!
- Going to Grandma's. Occasionally we'll make the one hour drive to Grandma's house just to spend the day and get away from our routine. The boys always have a great time at Grandma's!
- The library. Going to the library can be fun in the winter. We don't go too often these days, since we have so many great books at home already, but it's still fun to go and check out some new ones too.
- Indoor ice skating. Brady's been out twice now and it's so much fun for everyone who participates. I know I had a blast last year!
- Having lunch with Daddy at work. During the first year of Brady's life, Peter used to come home everyday and eat lunch with us. Now that we don't live in Eagan anymore, it's much more rare to have lunch together. Peter works at such a fun, big company, and there are a few different places and tons of choices for lunch. Unfortunately, the last time we went, the boys were too loud near his desk, and he asked us not to come back for awhile (that was over 2 years ago) :).

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I'm still looking for some more ideas to get us away from our house this winter. Do you have any?
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I guess for this week we'll stay home and play with toys. I love toys! We have way too many, but it's so fun to watch the boys imagine with them all and play so well together!

Happy winter! Good luck getting out and doing something fun this winter.