Beautiful Fall Day at the Zoo

My cousin Trisha was in town for a conference so she was nice enough to join the kiddos and I at the zoo.  It was a beautiful day and we got to see a lot of animals and enjoy some gorgeous fall weather.  We started the day off by catching the last 1/2 of the bird show.  The kiddos both got to hand a dollar to the raven in support of bird conservation.  We then headed over to see the monkeys, tigers, koalas and other animals along that path.  The tiger was making some vocalizitions, half roar half chuff (I learned that from Wild Kratts) and the kiddos didn’t like it one bit so we got out of there.We also got to check out the creepy crawlies in the bug room.  There are a lot of bugs in Texas and some of them are not good…so I took the opportunity to study the bad poisonous bugs for our own safety.  Like most kiddos Thomas and Elin love bugs but I am so afraid of the ones that can hurt them so I have had a in general “No touching Texas bugs” policy with them.  It is working about 50% of the time. 

Then we headed to the elephants and giraffes stopping to grab lunch.  The kiddos love feeding the giraffes and it is honestly one of the coolest things I have experienced as well.   William woke up when we sat down for lunch, had his lunch, and then was ready to do the zoo!  He looked around at all the animals and even got up close and personal with a giraffe…what a lucky 3 month old!

We took a break to let the kiddos legs rest and get a few pictures and then we were on for a long trek back to see the cheetah experience.  One of the favorite episodes of Wild Kratts is the on on cheetahs, so I thought the cheetah experience would be cool for them to see…and I wanted to see it too.  The cheetah and his black lab “brother” are about a year old and it is one of handful of cheetah/dog pairings in zoos.  They do it as to help the cheetah’s become ambassadors for the other cheetahs in the wild as the labs help show the cheetah that being around people is ok.  We watched them and listened to their story for a bit before Elin and William got too tired and we needed to sneak away.  Then it was time for the dreaded ride home…dreaded because William refuses to enjoy his car rides…big boo!  We made it home in one piece after several stops to calm him down.  The positive was that both Thomas and Elin got naps in after a big zoo adventure! 

Park Day

The kiddos and I went on a park hunt before Thomas had his second dentist appointment (a second opinion on his cavity being filled and the need for surgery to remove his tooth).   We headed closer to his dentist’s office and then found a great new park to explore.  The kiddos loved the climbing wall…especially Elin my itty bitty rock climber!  Later that night we met some friends at the park and William tried out the big boy swing.  He loved it and thought he was pretty cool as well.  Loving the cooler fall days and being able to get outside without sweating or too many layers just yet!

Halloween 2014

The kiddos and I started Halloween day off with some spooky shows and breakfast.  Then it was time to start crafting…I had a list of things I wanted to make, but always forget how long one thing takes.  So we got a couple crafts done and then changed for our lion walk before lunch.  After lunch it was naptime and W and I snuck away for a few errands.  When we got home Halloween was in full swing.  We attempted William in the pumpkin like we had in years prior with Thomas and Elin…he hated every single miserable second.  In fact I am certain that he thought it was the worst thing that has ever happened to him.  After we gave up on that, Thomas and Elin Mike and I carved pumpkins.Then it was time for a quick dinner and TRICK OR TREATING!  The kiddos were so excited to go this year.  We had been reading books, watching shows, talking about trick or treating and maybe just maybe they both remembered a bit from last year.  Thomas for sure did, Elin might have?  We took our family photo out front again and again had a lot to piece through to get a good one…This year Thomas was originally going to be Bumblebee the Transformer from Rescue Bots, but then he decided he wanted to be a farmer.  Elin, along with many other little girls out there was Elsa or “Frozen Girl.”  William started the day off in what Elin called his Pumpkin Patch outfit and ended up being a cross between a farmer and a scarecrow. We met up with a group of neighbors and the kiddos ran door to door as we made our way to the neighborhoods block party.  Once we arrived at the block party it was mass chaos. There were bounce houses, a scary Halloween movie playing, a haunted house and trunk trick or treating to be had.  After trying to survive there for a bit we ended up over at the pumpkin painting and then called it a night.  We trick or treated back home and then the kiddos got to check out their candy haul.  After they got to fill their belly with some of their sugary treats we all headed to bed.  At some point when we were sleeping the switch witch came to our house.  We didn’t get a note or anything but she left a couple of Lego toys and a few candy treats, but the rest she took with her.  The kiddos were pleasantly surprised with how “nice the witch was” to leave them some candy and a toy.   What a great and safe Halloween night! 

The help is here…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When everything started to spiral and William’s birth was coming early our Mom’s, the Grandma’s mobilized and were on their way to Texas.  They both got in on Sunday the 20th and then my mom left the 28th shortly after William go home and Kathy left the 2nd of August.  My mom then came back the 6th of August (her original ticket for his August 15th due date) and was here until the 22nd.  It was the most help I have ever had after having a baby and it was so so needed.  I don’t know how Mike or I would have done it without them.  There was so much help, running around, laundry, cleaning, taking care of the kids….without these two coming down we for sure would have been left hanging and not knowing how to piece everything together.  A huge thank you to them for all of their help!