Saturday mornings in the Hop household.
Contrast a typical weekday morning with an easy going day, full of relaxation and adventure.
Its Saturday today. Time for an adventure!
Sometimes we make errands an adventure too. Ordinary daily tasks can certainly be turned into a fun time for the little ones. Imagination and mindset are the key to success in filling the day with interest and adventure.
Today’s adventure is shopping on Central Avenue NE!
Dad and daughters head out of the house and walk 3 blocks to Central Avenue and 18th Avenue NE to catch the #10 bus up to 26th Avenue NE. We are on our way to Eastside Food Co-op to do our grocery shopping.
Dad has his backpack and a couple reusable shopping bags, just in case we splurge a bit and buy more than we plan. It happens more often than not. 🙂 Oldest Daughter and Little Daughter are holding hands and having quite the lively discussion about where we are going to sit on the bus and who gets to pull the “Stop Requested” cord.
Once on the bus, a familiar older lady recognizes Little Daughter and comments on her new sparkly shoes. Oldest Daughter says how her sister just got those shoes last week and they look like princess slippers.
Little Daughter remarks “But I AM a princess!”.
We get off the bus at 26th Avenue and walk into the “Little Store” as the girls call it.
In the bread aisle, Oldest Daughter mentions how she remembers these particular Cinnamon rolls from the Nicollet Mall farmer’s Market. Dad and Oldest daughter had a morning routine before Little Daughter was born. We would connect from a Route 10 bus to a Route 22 bus on 8th Street. We would have just enough time to grab a treat from the Farmer’s Market before our bus departed for her Daycare. At this point, Dad is feeling happy that we had those little moments and smiles at her incredible memory.
After we make our selections, Oldest Daughter has a great idea for us. Grab a few items from the hot food bar and have a “picnic” at the store. Sounds good to Dad. Little Daughter couldn’t be happier as she loves the idea of picking her own foods.
We make some selections from the yummy food bar and bring our groceries and lunch items to the checkout.
Our checkout clerk as usual, asks if the girls wants a sticker. Of course both of them say YES!
Once we are packed up, we grab some seats and enjoy our meal while looking onto the street activity out the window. The people and cars go by in all directions and all have destinations in mind. Dad imagines all the different places people are going to and how they are getting there. Dad is kind of a geek… Oldest Daughter knows this already. 😉
The two Daughters are busy inhaling their food like its going out of style, completely focused on the task at hand.
Once we are done with our meal, we walk back onto Central Avenue and make our way back home for nap time.
PS. Dad pulled the “Stop Requested” cord.