The Zoo

I decided we needed to get out and do something fun today so I surprised Grant and Kate with a trip to the zoo.  On the way, Grant was so excited and tried to guess where we were going:

Are we going to Disneyland? Legoland? Magic Mountain?  A regular mountain?

He was very pleased that we ended up at the zoo.

 Here the kids are watching construction through the fence.  There are animals everywhere, but where do the kids crowd around?  This is one of those moments when parents question their decision to purchase tickets and wonder if we should've just gone down the street to watch the trucks.

 We got to see a hedgehog--it was SO cute.

 Here we found the prairie dogs.  But I thought my monkeys were more fun to look at, so you can't actually see any prairie dogs in the picture.

Grant got to touch the snake which he thought was pretty cool.

We decided that next time we should bring the allergy medication and try the petting area.  Grant has had some pretty bad allergies to animals in the past, but since he's doing better we might give it a shot.  It was a really fun day and PERFECT weather...I can't wait for our next adventure at the zoo!  

An Oldie but a Goodie

The RIGHT Way to Wear Flip Flops

Kate showed me today how my flip flops were supposed to be worn.  I tried, but it was quite uncomfortable and garnered lots of strange looks.  I think I'll stick with the good old fashioned way.

She's really into shoes and is determined to find a way to wear them, no matter what.  Flip flops end up around her ankles and she can frequently be heard with either her shoes or Grant's shoes on her hands and clopping around the house.  And for some reason socks always end up on her hands as puppets.  Not sure where that came from since I can't remember me or Nate ever doing that.  It's sort of gross, though, because she'll find a sock that Grant discarded and put it on her hand then make kissy noises and expect us to kiss the puppet.  Um, no thanks.

I Love Random Conversations

This evening, Grant was chatting with us and said "Right is this way and left is that way."  He had them correct and I was a little surprised so I asked him how he knew.  He said, "I learned it."  I assumed it was from school so asked him and he said "No, upstairs."  So I asked him who taught it to him.  He replied, "Nobody--I just thinked about it."

Earlier I was telling him what a good big brother he is and how proud I am of him.  He told me "I used to not be able to be kind to Kate Kate but now I can."  I asked him what had changed and he said "I tried and I tried and then I could.  It's a Christmas marigold!"

Sometimes when Grant's praying, he asks Jesus questions and tries to wait for Him to answer.  I told him that God doesn't talk to us so we can hear Him.  I told him that God used to speak to people sometimes, but He doesn't do that any more.  He's very curious about that.  "Why?  Did He lose His voice?"  Then he thought about Jesus being born and decided "Maybe you can teach Him how to talk since He was a baby."  I clearly was not doing a good job of explaining why God doesn't speak audibly to us.

Kate at Chuck E. Cheese

We finally got to visit Chuck E. Cheese today.  Grant had a great time and chose to get a slinky with his tickets.   Kate didn't get the full experience since she couldn't walk around, but she got to dance with Lola and watch Chuck E. Cheese do his little interaction with the kids and she thought it was GREAT.

Updated Living Room

I promised my mom I would post pictures once the flooring and painting were done, but never got around to it.  I had to take all the "after" pictures at night, so it's a little dim.