Zoo Two

When we arrived at the zoo this morning, and it was raining pretty steadily, I was wondering what in the world we were doing there. But the weatherman was right...it cleared up by the afternoon. Again we had cool weather and small crowds, so it was a perfect day for the zoo!

We got a season pass this year for the first time, and because we had such a fabulous time when we went last week, the kids were very excited to go today. Of course, we had to go visit the dinosaurs again, but there was plenty to see today that we didn't see last time, so we had a very full day. On our way home, we hadn't been in the car for more than ten minutes before all four kids were sound asleep!

The highlight of the whole day was when a lion was just on the other side of a thick window within inches of us. WOW!

Spy vs. Spy

Behold...the wild 4th grader walking through his natural habitat.

I find his kind to be very curious, so I decided to observe them this afternoon. Ok, "observe" as in "spy." (Hey, they started it!) I located a hideout, and saw them making plans with all of their spy equipment.

They started off on their mission, unaware of the super-secret surveillance I had on them.
Until they spotted me.
Its difficult to keep undercover. These fourth-graders are wily...
...and fast.

But it was well worth it, especially to get pictures like this one. :)

Two wheels!

Way to go, Caroline! She is officially a two-wheeler! Check out this clip...

Caroline was so thrilled by her success that she insisted on wearing her helmet at the dinner table tonight. She reasoned that she'd be ready to go riding again right after her last bite! We were able to convince her not to wear her knee and elbow pads, but it did take some doing.
Yum. Frozen barbequed ribs for dinner. In my defense, there was a lot of bike riding and picture-taking tonight. That didn't leave a lot of time to cook. :)

...and, not to be outdone, Evan had his own accomplishments on wheels today. This boy learned how to pedal and steer! Perhaps Caroline inspired him. :)

These kids are all wet.

Here's four wet boys clowning for the camera...can you guess what they were doing right before this picture was taken?
And, to whom it may concern...these are the cookie men! (Henry, Seth and some of their friends had baked some cookies that didn't quite turn out. We made some more today with the friends in the above picture, and then secretly delivered some to the first friends' doorstep. :) They were very stealthy, and even left a phone message with a disguised voice alerting our friends to their secret package.)

Watergun Fun

Ahh, summer...waterguns, popsicles, good friends. What a great afternoon!

Do you think our kids miss school?

I'd love to say that our kids wake up every morning and run downstairs to do some school work, but, of course, that wouldn't be true. But THIS morning it was, and it was fun to see them all quietly working in the dining room. Even Evan. (What a fun phrase!) By the way, don't you love Seth's glasses? Do you think they make his school work 3D?!

Its making me envision what I could be doing with the kids this summer, aside from our outings like we had last week. What I'd like to do is have the morning for chores, play and outings, and the afternoon for Evan's nap and reading and school work for the older kids. We cannot keep up the pace that we had last week. All play and no work makes our home a little messy, and the kids forget some of what they learned last year. I need to find that balance for us. :)

Saaaturrday...in the park...(Please sing this title.)

We rode our bikes over to a local park today.
The kids love this park because there are a LOT of big, old trees there to hide behind. (See if you can see where Waldo, Dave, and the boys are in this picture. Ok, maybe not Waldo. You may need to click on the picture to take a closer look.)They had a great game of hide and seek with Dad.
I have to say, these kids are getting fast.They have to be...in order to avoid what happens if Dad catches them. Poor Seth!

A Day at the Arboretum

We had a fabulous time at the arboretum, but, WOW, am I glad my brother came with us. The kids were a little busy!