A Trip to the Zoo

On Friday we went to the NEW Zoo and enjoyed a beautiful day. It started out a little cool, but by mid-day it had warmed up and gotten sunny. There were tons of kids from field trips, but we were able to navigate through them and find the not-busy areas. Emily enjoyed being outside and having lots of things to look at.

A happy Emily after she woke up from her nap (she fell asleep in the car on the way up, then slept about a half an hour into the zoo)

Andy of course wanted to visit his otter friend :)

We ate an early lunch at the zoo restaurant, then by the time were done, most of the school kids were back to the picnic area eating their lunch. The boys loved their chicken fingers, fries, and fruit slushies.

This trip we went on the carousel instead of the train. Andy was super-excited this time and Jack was a little nervous (role reversal for them!) But in the end, they both enjoyed it and wanted to go on it again.

Jack, holding on tight.

Playing at the park at the zoo. Emily was loving the swing - it kept her entertained the entire time the boys were playing on the slides & forts.

One of our favorite animals of the zoo. The tortoises were moving around A LOT. Actually we saw tons of animals being active that usually aren't (snow leapards, red pandas, and lynxes to name a few)

Of course the giraffes were a big hit. Both of the boys were able to pet him and they liked seeing one of them run pretty fast outside.

At the kids' area park this time. By this time it was 70 and sunny. The boys would have stayed here all afternoon to play if they could. But Emily fell asleep and I wanted her to sleep on the way home. Here's Jack on the dinosaur.

Sleeping, so cute.

Andy playing on the pirate ship

Then, today we went to Buboltz Nature Preserve for a short hike. It was a little muddy in the woods, so we stayed in the meadow mostly. Here's a picture of all 3 kids together - Andy holding the map, Jack with his fireman's helmet, and Emily relaxing in the stroller.
A very cheesy smile from Jack
On the trail, both boys leading the way.

Fun Springtime Stuff

School is done and we're enjoying the spring weather, even if it's been pretty rainy. We've gone to the children's museum, flown kites, participated in "Touch a Truck," visited parks, and hiked at the nature preserve. Softball is in full swing for me, and after missing last season I'm happy to be playing again. Andy has lost 2 teeth now. Emily has had 2 teeth come in! She's 9 months (update to come next week after her doctor's appt) and is army crawling all over the house. She's eating some finger foods and continues to be a pretty easy baby.

Emily was awake ALL morning at the nature preserve today. She was sitting up in her stroller, just looking around and checking out the scenery. She didn't nap until 1:00! Something tells me I'm not going to have a problem getting her down to 1 nap per day when she is 1. The boys had so much fun running around the trails with their friends Ethan and Tyler. Jack was asleep by 6:00 tonight, he wore himself out.

Last week, the boys got to climb in quite a few different vehicles at Touch a Truck - a street cleaner, a garbage truck, a fire truck, a bus, a police tank, a boat... they loved it and are already asking when they get to do it again. The boys did great at the dentist yesterday - Jack was especially brave for a 3 year old :) We also saw a huge rainbow yesterday as we were walking home from the park. The boys thought that was cool. Here are some pictures of our week...

Meeting some new family!

This past weekend we said hello to our new nephew (and the kids' cousin) Jude. He is absolutely adorable and perfect. I enjoyed holding him - he seemed so tiny, although he weighed the same as Andy and more then Emily as a newborn!
Andy was very sweet, saying nice things to Jude...
Here's Emily exploring the hospital room - she looked gigantic compared to Jude!
This past weekend, the kids also got to see their Great Aunt Sue and Great Uncle Doug. Andy had met them once when he was Emily's age, but it was pretty much new for all of the kids! We had a great weekend - hanging out at the house, going to parks, sitting outside, having a campfire. It was wonderful seeing everyone!

Fun with Grandma Graham

At the end of last week my mom came up to visit. She watched Emily and Jack while I went on Andy's field trip, and then we had a fun couple of days. It was nice outside on Thursday afternoon (around 80!) so we went to the park, got Dairy Queen slushies, and then played outside at the house. On Friday, we went to Monkey Joes because Andy was really wanting to try it. Both of the boys had so much fun and played so well together. Andy was more of a daredevil than I've ever seen him be. And Jack had so much fun doing whatever Andy was doing. Emily was her usual easy going self :)