We hope that this gives you some insights into our family, our home, and community.
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Our Street |
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The Claeys family is a close and busy family. Weekdays are hectic, so we ensure that weekends include family time spent together. Friday is our �Family Fun Night.� Our oldest daughter Taylor picked this name out and tends to decide on our activity, but everyone in the family gets to vote. There are lots of things to do around town and Taylor enjoys being the social director. We had a great time with our first Au Pair Isabell from Gersdorf, Germany; Carla from Braganca, Portugal has enjoyed two years with our family; and Neele from Lower Saxony, Germany has spent the last year with us. Neele has kept up an active Blog. Review her blog for Au Pair's view of our fun.
For our family outings, many of the activities choosen are seasonal, such as picking apples at an orchard, visiting the state fair, going to see Christmas lights or an outing to look at flowers at the Como Conservatory or Minnesota Arboretum . Our Friday night, or other family times might involve cooking together, such as making home-made pizzas, or grilling out by the pool in our backyard. One of Taylor�s favorite activities is going to the Mall of America(MOA) which is the largest shopping mall in the United States. She likes going to Nickelodeon Universe which is an indoor amusement park in the center of the mall, and enjoys rides. Two of her favorite rides are the roller coaster and the leaping frog.
There are many bike trails, lakes, museums, shows and festivals for every season to enjoy here in Minnesota. The Luce Line state trail is close to our house. Some of the lakes have dedicated walking, jogging and biking lanes. Near by lakes are: Minnetonka, Calhoun, Harriet and Isles. In the spring and summer there are free concerts, art fairs and activities by the lakes. One of the bigger art fairs is the Metris Uptown Art fair . Hopkins, our home town, hosts the Raspberry Festival each year in July. We never miss the grand day parade. There are lots of fun events surrounding the festival that we all enjoy such as the ice cream social and Crazy Days.
In addition to our local cities and towns, we are very proud of our state. Minnesota is beautiful with some of the friendliest people in the nation. The state has four seasons and many quaint cities to visit. Our winters can get quite cold, but that is why we visit Jamaica every year for ten days. Each season brings new things to do and see. Visiting some of the local cities can be even more beautiful depending upon the season, such as touring Southern Minnesota when the leaves are changing in the fall. Places we enjoy touring in all seasons have been Duluth, Red Wing and Stillwater. We would enjoy introducing you to all that our home state and town have to offer.
Minnesota is well known for one of our famous residents, Prince. Minnesota has an active music scene and in addition to attracting many well known musicians such as Prince, it also hosts music festivals such as the Basilica Block Party. Minneapolis and St. Paul are also frequent stops for many famous musical artists. If you prefer classical music the state has a wonderful orchestra. There is also a busy opera season here in the state.
Elizabeth enjoys the theater. Minneapolis is often the site for Broadway previews. She has seen many shows but her favorites have been Lion King, Fosse and Phantom of the Opera. St. Paul also has a vibrant theatre scene. If you are an art lover the state also has many museums like the Minneapolis Institute of Arts among others.
For sports fans Minnesota has great teams. Our local teams are The Vikings "football", Twins and Saints "baseball" , Timberwolves "mens basketball", Lynx "womens basketball" and the Minnesota Thunder mens football/soccer".
Minnesota, and specifically the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, has many colleges available. Robert is a graduate of the University of Minnesota for his Bachelor of Arts and he received his Juris Doctorate from the Hamline University of Law . Elizabeth graduated from Augsburg College with a Bachelor of Arts and received her Masters in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas . In addition to colleges and Universities, there are also many Community Education programs offering a variety of classes including English as a Second Language, ESL.
The home we live in was Elizabeth�s childhood home. We moved in after her mother passed away in 1997. Her father died in 1991. Her mother was a homemaker and her dad an engineer. Her three sisters all live close by and we continue the tradition of hosting Sunday dinner for the family. We may host a summer bar-b-que or get Chinese take-out. The home has been dubbed �Camp Jackie,� after Elizabeth�s mother. She was a warm, generous and kind lady. Her motto was that �there is always room for one more�. Friends of her daughters and neighbors who didn�t have a place to celebrate holidays or a family to spend time with were always welcome. Elizabeth is proud to continue this and other childhood traditions. We believe that in addition to our family of birth we have a family we choose. Our close friends are an important part of our family and join in our activities.
Robert�s parents and two sisters live in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents are both teachers. They come to visit about once per year. They are very creative and handy people. Robert�s dad, Bob Sr., helped complete the remodel of our kitchen. Suzanne, Robert�s mother, is an excellent seamstress and has helped with the decorating of our home. Robert�s grandmother, Serena lives in Florida. It is possible your visit with us would include a visit to Georgia or Florida.
We enjoy celebrating holidays and birthdays. For our Sunday dinner when a birthday is celebrated the guest of honor gets to choose their favorite meal and we celebrate together. The Claeys family is also proud to host an annual fall party where, just like her mother, Elizabeth makes some of the best chili around. Neighbors, family and friends come to celebrate. The family hosts gatherings for holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. On holidays and every day our family is full of love, laughter and song.
We are a Christian family. Robert is Catholic and Elizabeth is Lutheran. Robert is very active in his church, Gethsemane Lutheran church. Both houses of worship are close by and you would be welcome to join us or find a place of worship in which you feel comfortable. (Churches -- Synagogues )
Some final quick facts:
Our family is laid back and informal. Even for holidays we don�t as a rule get too fancy. Robert and Elizabeth both dress for work so when they come home they too put on �play clothes.� Jeans, t-shirts and comfortable clothing are the normal uniform for home. Our house is not quiet. There is usually music playing, often classical, and the sound of children playing. We like movies and currently have many DVD�s which we enjoy watching. We are very tactile, which means the children are used to being held and cuddled. We love animals and currently have the three cats: Sasha, Elmslie & Eva.
We know leaving your family and country is a big step. We hope this document serves as a good introduction to our household and your home away from home while you are part of our family as our au pair.