Us at the Zoo for the Second Half

We did make it back to the zoo last week in order to see the second half: North America.

We loved the animals and found out that North America also includes an awesome family and kid play area! 

But, those pictures are for later.

For today, here are the pictures of us enjoying the animal exhibits.

We got to ride the trolley again! 

This may be P's favorite part of the whole zoo.

 Climbing on an enormous bee.

Playing inside a gigantic beehive...

...and looking for the Queen.

We found these awesome binoculars at a thrift shop coming home from the zoo last time.

David was very excited about using them this time!

David's favorite animal of the day... the Harbor Seals!

Playing in "their" cave...

Here is the crew!

Love, Us.

A Snowy Poem on a VERY Hot and Humid Day

Well, I think we found the perfectly opposite day, in comparison to the evening spoken of in this poem.

Well done, T!

Love, Us.

T's New Princess Doorway

If we haven't mentioned it here yet, our daughter sleeps in a closet. True story.

Hey - you have to be creative when you've got a brood of boys and one little lady. 

Don't worry, she DEFINITELY has the best room in the house, especially since the installation of her new entrance!

Previously, she had built-in security - only very skinny thieves and kidnappers could even get into her room!

The door could only open about 10 inches before hitting against the bed.

However, while dad's been away, I've decided to have a little mom and T time right before bed. 

After about two days of squeezing into and our of her quarters, I'd had enough. 

The very next day I did a bit of digging and found these Pretty-Pretty-Princess curtains from my single days.

We popped the hinges off the door, got a piece of string, a hammer and nails, and gave T this awesome new doorway!

Why did I not think of this earlier? We both LOVE it!

Love, Us.

David: Bed in Summer Recitation

Here is David reciting "Bed in Summer". 

It is a very fitting poem for him to have learned. 

I'm sure that if it wasn't for the dark blanket over his window, bedtime would be QUITE the battle with him!

Love, Us.

Our Salivary Glands are Working Over Time!

We were temporarily heart-broken last week when we opened our last jar of Wisconsin maple syrup.

But, a quick pathetic phone call has given us the great hope of getting more soon...

 along with BEEF and TOMATO SOUP and SPAGHETTI SAUCE and APPLESAUCE 

and PIZZA SAUCE and APPLE PIE FILLING and SALSA.... so much goodness! 

I think I need to go get a napkin and clean myself up.

Love, Us.

Our Constant Companions

It looks like most of our little friends around here are going to be cold-blooded. 

There sure are a lot of them.

And they sure are photogenic!

David thinks he found sextuplets (including a runt!).

Love, Us.

This Week's Nature Hike

We checked out a local trail this past week. 

We only made it half-way (we think) before Romie started to get eaten alive by gnats.

Unfortunately, dad brought our bug spray out to the field! 

The kids are super anxious to get out there and see the rest of the trail.

First things first on every hike, of course... getting a walking stick!

T found a "Gandalf" stick.

P, of course, found a pistol instead.

And David... a rifle.

...which, thankfully, also worked as a walking stick.

The kids were more into the hike than the nature on the "way out". 

However, on the return trip, we notices many things that we had walked by without noticing earlier.

Several of these we still need to label, but we did take a few specimens home and successfully "named" them.

We found out that the tree with the neat leaves is a Water Oak.

 T is excited to watch it's acorn mature over the months.

Here are some things we did NOT identify. 

(I need to learn how to use field guides and google searches more efficiently.)

PART Of a mammoth web near the trail.

Now we know what dad means when he talks about encountering these during his endeavors.

These flowering vines were growing everywhere... on the path... WAY up on trees... everywhere.

Love, Us.