This post has been in my draft box for days. 
We visited Westwood Hills Nature Center earlier this week. It is on the west side of downtown Minneapolis, about 10 minutes on highway West-394, and 15 minutes from where we live. It’s a short drive if there is no traffic, and once we got there, it was hard to imagine that three busy highways form a frame around the nature center.
Westwood Hills Nature Center is a 160-acre natural area featuring marsh, woods and restored prairie. The preserve is beautiful throughout the seasons and provides homes for many animals including deer, fox, mink and owls.
Source: Westwood Hills Nature Center’s website. 
Winter in Minnesota is brutal, but comes spring and summer, there are a lot of outdoor activities for families with young children. The boys are at the right age this year to begin this kind of exploration and adventures, so I try to bring them out to nature as much as possible. 
The boys are checking out wildlife animals that could be found in Minnesota. 
Top left: tree frog, bottom left: American toad, Right: Bull snake 
Fox Snake, Barred Owl, and a Hawk in the background. 
There were also Tiger Salamanders, and two different kind of turtles. However, the boys gravitated towards the Fox Snake which was slithering along the glass wall. PP knows that I have a phobia for snakes, and tried to protect me the entire time. Yup, I don’t like snakes, or millipedes, or anything that crawl/slither like that, just gross me out. There is a back story about how I developed this phobia, but might write about that some other time. 
Snack time: Chocolate-covered Pocky Sticks and Girl Scout cookies 
Peanut was crying because he stepped on bird drops. He kept wailing, “poop, I don’t want poop!” and refused to walk any further. 
Playtime with new friends. 
Slightly Imperfect 
They are so cute, even when they are crying.
Thank you chị. This Peanut kid has OCD, I think. He thinks everything small piece of brown color thing on the ground were poop. Funny kid!
Looks like it was a fun day, and I agree with the above post, so cute, even when they are crying!
Thang you. As long as they are outdoors with lots of space to run around, they always have fun, and also forget whatever troubled them a few minutes prior.
I share your son’s sentiment about the bird droppings. The geese can be overbearing, and this year the turkeys are everywhere, I just wrote about that yesterday.
I’ll have to check this place out – thanks for posting about it, I didn’t know it was there!
Thank you For stopping by and leaving a comment.
Do you live in the twin cities metro as well? This nature center was recommended to me by some moms in the mom group. I really like it. Can’t wait to come back when trees have more green foliage.
I do! And my lilac is greening up so it won’t be long!
Cưng quá đi nè ❤
Coi chàng nhỏ khóc mà cũng cưng quá xá cưng luôn á. Cho hun chụt chụt cái coai ❤ ❤