Our Own Private Zoo

We have our own private zoo!

The zoo is all ours from 9 to 11:30 on Tuesday mornings, but we'll share it with you if you want to join us!

No one over here!

Usually this tunnel is completely packed with people and the noise level is deafening.  Today all you can hear are goof balls pretending to be fish.  You can see there is a fish hanging out with Grace behind the glass.

Here are some people!  They're cleaning the tank.  This place is always immaculately clean and this is why!

Usually there are so many people around this octopus tank that it is hard to see him.  Today he was moving all over the glass and he was really active!

I didn't get a picture of the penguins, but the girls were racing them back and forth.  Who do you think can move faster, a penguin or a Gracie?  It was pretty hilarious and there were no people obstacles.  Grace said, "I love making friends with the animals!"

No one sitting on these logs, so of course we can count and climb all over them!

Taking in a pond filled with beautiful spotted sting rays.  It is so quiet and peaceful there when we're by ourselves.

This picture is from our zoo trip last week but it was the same story.  No lines for the tree swings, no antsy kids waiting in the wings for their turn.  Go ahead and hog them girls!

The new giraffe indoor facility.  There were four more staring at us off to the right that I couldn't fit in the picture!

The most amazing place to be here in town and we get it all to ourselves.  Lucky us!!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch for the first time!

THE family activity of the season is during a very busy time of the season for us.  Luckily, we carved out (haha) a morning to go and see what all the hubbub is all about!

That pumpkin is heavy!

Grace greets her chosen pumpkin with a hug.

We went for a hay rack ride.  Grace thought all the scary monsters and zombies were hilarious.

It was a beautiful day!

Grace LOVED the zip line swing!

She climbed up to a really tall slide.

They saw some animals.

They made a friend.

We rode a pirate ship.

Grace had a couple bouncy things to herself.  (The beauty of going on a weekday.)

We made them pose.  The girls had a blast and Grace said it was the "best place ever"!

Climbing a Tree

Grace had a playdate this morning and her friend climbed up our tree!  She watched her friend and gathered up the gumption to try it herself.

Now she's been hanging out up there ever since!

She is quite proud of herself, and I only had to rescue her once.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today so I didn't mind the excuse to do nothing but lay in the grass and watch her.

I used to hang out in trees too.  I approve!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins today!

Clara is super excited!  Her pupils look really big here because she just came home from the eye surgeon and they dilated her eyes.  Good news, her eyes are great!  The doctor said her vision is "like a hawk."  We sensed that that was the case; she can point out a digger or a plane from any distance!

Here she is proving to me that she is touching the pumpkin guts.  Sorry, doesn't count missy! 

 I ended up cleaning her pumpkin for her.

Grace on the other hand did a great job cleaning her pumpkin and was all business.  She wanted to carve it herself of course, so we let her try with the knife.  She picked an unusually thick skinned pumpkin, so she just ended up poking holes in it.  She really enjoying herself though, and that is what counts!

Completed pumpkins!

I tried to get a posed picture of the girls and the pumpkins but they weren't cooperating one bit.

Clara enjoys her pumpkin!

Running and Biking

I started running again!

My ankles feel much better, but I was nervous and wanted to be careful, so I did three 12 minute miles.  I did that by taking walking breaks, as suggested by my longtime adult student Peggy.  She is a real runner, so she would know.

Today I did three 10.5 minute miles!  I'm back on track and should be back to where I left off soon.

We tried to solve some puzzles in an escape room and failed miserably.  We still had fun though.

Grace successfully rode her real bike!  I was absolutely thrilled watching her take off after about 30 seconds.

This was pure parenting joy for me!

Grace was thrilled too and so proud of herself.  She asks to go practice every day!

Grace Conquers Park

We've been frequenting some different parks lately.

This park is over by the preschool and is a bit across town from our house, but it has it's merits.

It has a lake as people call it, but I'm not sure it qualifies.  Nevertheless, it is a lovely bit of water with lots of ducks and geese hanging around.

I see people feeding them sometimes and we never do that, but because they are used to people they come right up to you.  The girls enjoy watching them swim around but Grace gets a little nervous when they get too close.  She's a pragmatic girl!

We walked all the way around the lake on Sunday, and that was the longest time I've been on my feet in a weeks.  They don't hurt anymore but I'm nervous about running again.  Clara was in awe of the light reflecting off the lake.  She said "I like it!"

This park has a water pad which is tons of fun in the summer months, but it is winterized right now.  I have to say though, I'm not a fan of the play structure at this park.  I think it is designed for older kids or different kids than mine, haha!  Clara seems to wander aimlessly because she is too little for most of it, and Grace is too cautious to try many of the climbing things.  I'm sure it will be better when they are a little older, but the other problem is that there is very little visibility.  The structure is long with lots of ramps and climbing things, and there are so many poles and things that it is pretty impossible to keep track of one kid, let alone two!  Most of the time I spend running around trying to locate one or the other.  It also has two pretty great slides that are only accessible by climbing.  Grace can climb, but she is also a chicken.  Last Sunday she climbed all the way up to the penultimate rung and then hung there in terror until I carried her down.  As soon as I got Clara back on the swings, Grace was up there again, calling for help.  The other parents looked on sympathetically.  One grandpa called encouraging tips to her, and one dad who looked like a firefighter or something stood nervously underneath her, assuring me he would catch her if needed.  After the 3rd rescue, I told her she should just go play on something else.  No, defeat is not an option.  She finally made it to the top, shouting for the whole park to hear, "I did it Mommy, I did it!"  All the parents couldn't help smiling at that!

Thirty Four

My sweetie turned 34 yesterday!

The girls were both really excited about his birthday.  Grace wanted to decorate all the amazon boxes that came in the mail, haha!  I let her glue some shapes on the boxes; I'm sure the gifters wouldn't mind!  These we wrapped together.  She of course did the butterfly cut outs and the writing.  Clara was excited mainly because she knew there might be some cake involved.

He received a VR device.  Basically it is a cardboard box with two lenses in which you put your smartphone, and it becomes a virtual reality viewer!  The girls liked checking it out.  He also got a massager that he really likes and a couple new video games from me.  One is called The Witcher and he was really itching for that one!

He also received a remote control helicopter.  If you look closely at the picture you can see it hovering off to the left.  The girls desperately wanted daddy to share his toy!

This is the moment where he almost lost it on the neighbor's roof!

We had brownies and Papa Murphys pizza to celebrate.  After the girls were in bed, we got a sitter and went to a movie.  All in all, Jason felt that it was a pretty good birthday!