Friday, August 05, 2011

Welcome visit and zoo outing

Up Close and in Person
We got to spend some time with our #1 daughter the day before yesterday.
The kids were thrilled, even though Genevieve looks a bit put out. She was reacting to something totally apart from this reunion and was not in the mood for photos.
Joylynn looks great!

Warm Greetings from the Zoo!
The weather report said it was going to be a cool day to start out with, so we wore long sleeves and long pants to the zoo. By the time we left we realized that we could have worn tank tops and shorts and been fine the whole time.

I wonder how many families of kids have had their picture taken with this statue. It sure is a great place for a photo op.

Mr Interactive





















Garrett was interested in experiencing the zoo. This was the first time that he actually noticed the animals though in this shot he is more interested in the bridge structure.
He reached out and touched a lot of exhibits along the way.
Another traditional place for photos.

I love the whole farm area. The garden and the animals. I think the kids like the hand-washing station more than the critters but it's all part of the fun.
Lots of pics have been taken along this fence not too far from the elk meadow.

A GEYSER!


















It's a little hard to see in the photo with Rowan and Danika but there is a stream off water that is supposed to show how waves and tides can cause spray to blow up through holes in rocks. The kids kept referring to it as a geyser.

Another water feature
This wall has water running down so the kids could touch it. We had lots of water running off of elbows inside those long sleeves that I insisted on :-0
Another thing I love about our zoo is that there are areas that are just fun to play around on and get away from the main stream of visitors.

Tribal music



















At the beginning of the African exhibits is a hut with drums and what looked like rustic bells in it. It is very much hands on which was a big "hit" with the Grands.

Into Africa
The zebra was eating back in a cave at the far side of the exhibit but, with ultimate zoomage, I got one picture. I remember the song on Captain Kangaroo that talked about a "horse in striped pajamas". That's just about what it looks like.

















Look at these boys trying to see the giraffe! Love to watch them enjoying themselves.


A place of solitude
All of the kiddoes were sitting at this table at one point but Danika wanted me to take a picture of her. There are a few tables placed in a nicely bark dusted patch. Would be a great place for a picnic is we'd had thought to plan ahead.

Whistler and his friend
This little bronze guy and his lunch box are fastened to a bench. He is puckered up to whistle so Wyatt puckered to whistle too. Genevieve and Wyatt are both pretty good whistlers.
They didn't get ICEEs but wanted their picture taken with the sign anyway.

Two for the Road



















Two final photos from the zoo. Logan's brother, Ty and his fiancee Caroline, joined us for our zoo outing. They are visiting from New Zealand so it was nice to be able to treat them.
Hadn't gotten one photo of Alyssa and her (Evelyn) bump all morning so she humored me when we got all the kids buckled and ready to role.

Lunch at Mickey D's
Since the Grand 4 were going home for a visit we stopped at the McDonald's closest to their house for lunch. Happy Meals all around!
Katie girl lovin' herself some french fries.
They have a great play structure at his one. It looks like a kids fort out in the forest. It was large and had a slide that Katie loved too. This is going to be one that we come to again.

Wish it were so
Bought a couple of these salad kits on Ry's birthday because I loved the name. Endless Summer... it's exactly what seasonal veggies and fruit taste like right now. Need to capture the essence to revisit in the months ahead.

School starts in a couple of weeks for our guys. Don't have any idea what it's going to look like for the other 3 little kids. We will know soon enough.

But I'm not going to think about all that right now because I am enjoying our first full week of summer and it feels like a vacation!

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