The Zoo

We are back to our Saturday adventures after a bit of a break for visitors and illnesses. Yesterday it was off to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I wasn't sure how substantial of a zoo it was before we went to check it out. Our previous zoo foray as a family was at the Santa Ana Zoo, so we had pretty low expectations after that! (Don't get me wrong, it's a nice little place, but all they have are birds and monkeys. Not much value for $16/person!) But this is a full sized zoo with lots of animals, exhibits, and fun little play areas! We were on a time limit because we had gotten off to a really late start, and were hoping to salvage some semblance of nap time. So here's what we did: feed the giraffes, feed ourselves (food was actually really good, but not cheap), go through the monkey house (to which Claire kept exclaiming "Cool! Awesome!"), and rode the sky tram.

We bought a membership that includes one free guest with every visit. So, when you come see us, you can come to the zoo for free! Because our time was limited, our trip was part recon for next time. We quickly peeked at the lions on the way by, scoped out the train for next time, found a neat kids playground/splash zone to try out, and plan on actually seeing more animals in the future.

Sky Tram (It was windy!)

Hello giraffes!

In other news, aren't these the cutest kids you have ever seen?!!

This is my life these days. Are you jealous?

High Five!

Jude is a week away from 8 months!


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Two Children, Two Temperaments

Raucous:

Halcyon:

(Also, I like the thesaurus)


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Picture update

I got this for $.99 from The Children's Place during their monster sale. Claire calls it her crown and loves it. (It also looks adorable when worn correctly!)




This is Claire playing with Kevin at the splash pool at our gym.







This is Jude hanging out with Auntie Mikkele.




This is our amazing sky.




Love to you all!



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What to get a three year old?

Claire's third birthday is in a few months! Wow! For the first time she is starting to request things for her birthday. Everything she sees she says, "Maybe I'll get that for my birthday!" I'm compiling a list of things I want to get her. Of course I will only get her one of these, but it's nice to have them all down. It's also a good tool for grandparents!! (I'd love any advice you may have too!)

1. A doll house. Claire has been obsessed with making houses out of legos for her toys. She is also scripting play and pretending like crazy!

2. A PlasmaCar: She rode one if these in a toy store and loved it!

3. A Cars Race Track: She played with this at a friends house and loved it! And Cars is her new favorite movie.

4. This cute sprinkler: She would love this!

5. A crawling tunnel:

Any other suggestions??! I'm debating some sort of leap frog system, but I'm not sure she needs more electronic toys. But, they do make educational ones. What are your thoughts?

Empty

This blog has always been mainly used as a way to show friends and family pictures of the kids and keep them updated on our lives. But it also was occasionally fueled by some little something I wanted to express. It used to be a creative outlet for me. The only creative outlet I've ever really had. But lately, nothing. It's not just that I haven't been documenting anything profound. It's that I don't think I've even thought about anything profound to document. It's like my mind has gone blah. See, I don't even have good adverbs to express it! [or adjectives. gerunds? whatever, grammar was never really that interesting to me.]

I have always been a thinker. I constantly write manuscripts in my brain. But I've run out of material that goes beyond "look how cute my kids are." Over the last few months I have felt zapped- like I have become this dull person that just makes it through the day and then collapses in front of the TV until bed. Any fleeting whispers about life and love and why drift away before I have a chance to catch hold of them. I have always felt that one of the main ways God speaks to me is through my introspection. But when that goes, so does God's wisdom.

I have recently re-read some of my old posts. The ones that captured my dreams. The ones that pushed me toward truth. Even the funny ones about how I struggle with daily life. I can't even muster the creativity to be funny anymore.

I miss that me. Where has she gone?