monkeying around at the zoo

it's monday and the pool's closed. mom's always saying we live in a zoo. well, today we got to see the real deal.

i am a great navigator (even if i am looking at the wrong side of the map).

the first thing we saw were the warthogs. this mama warthog sure does have a mean comb-over! warthogs are funny looking...but not as smelly as the elephants.

dad and i got to sit in a giant bird's nest in the tree house exhibit. i didn't see any eggs in there.

i wasn't too interested in the gorillas, but my mom likes to watch them. they sort of act like real people. this big guy was having a vegetarian lunch.

after we had a picnic lunch of our own, my mom faced her fears in the reptile exhibit. we saw a full-grown copperhead snake that looked just like the one she and grandma saw at the trail last week. this one was less scary because it was behind glass. we also saw an enormous python...like the one in harry potter.

this lion was taking an afternoon siesta just like ollie t. he has been sleeping both times we've been to the zoo. i guess he runs around at night like my cat.

at first i thought this goat was a bunny rabbit because of his long ears. then my dad told me it was a goat. i liked getting all of the different colored brushes to scratch the goats and sheep.

before we went home i got to ride the train and the carousel. i had to make sure my mom wasn't touching the leopard while i rode it. i wanted to do it all by myself! it was a great day at the real zoo.

happy dad's day

to the best dad ever!

i hope everybody had a great day. we had brunch with granddaddy and grammy, went to the pool, and ate chocolate cake. it doesn't get much better than that!

summer project 2010: a new backyard

what started out as just putting together a swing set turned out to be a major renovation, thanks to my mom. she is always getting these big ideas for my dad to do.

so, while some people wonder what my dad the physics teacher does during his summer "vacation," they should know that my mom has all kinds of fun plans. here my dad and uncle benno are working out a real-life physics problem. luckily i was at grandma's while this was going on.

that tree eventually crushed and buried dad's chain saw, so he called in the pros to take down the last 5 giant pine trees to clear the yard for my new playground.

barley is feeling a little worried...

how are mom and dad going to lay 10 palettes of sod in one day?

here's what my yard looked like before we got new grass. it was really, really muddy from the floods and all that snow we had.

thankfully uncle benno showed up after lunch to help my mom and dad. they weren't getting much done on their own.

there is still lots of work to do, and i don't have a swing set yet, but it sure is nice having a new yard to play in!

me in my hefner robe...

this leopard robe keeps the hair off my neck while my mom cuts my hair...and i look really cool too.

my mom misses the curls when she cuts my hair, but at least i don't keep complaining about having "bees in my ears." my dad's not allowed to use the no. 2 guard on my head yet. maybe when mom is out running errands one day...

fun in the sun

nothing beats a cool gulf breeze and crystal-clear waters. i had so much fun in captiva with my family.

riding the trolly bus was one of the best parts of the trip. it was really, really hot, but there are these big windows and you can hold your hand out and let the breeze touch it.

me and charlie got to ride the bus to the general store where we got hagan daz ice cream bars...

and then we did a little window shopping. this looked like the coolest store ever!

when you wait for the trolly bus, you have to be patient. and you have to watch out for those no see-ums. just ask my mom about that. she got a few bites.

when your hands are sweaty, the sand is really, really sticky. i liked watching the sunset and getting my feet wet in the water, but this year the sticky sand bothered me more than it did last year.

here i am with my grandma, watching the sunset. we saw a manatee and porpoises in the water!

on our trip we watched more tv than the law allows! charlie introduced me to toy story, and whenever i see buzz lightyear i announce, "that's charlie's." claire never gets tired. she can hang with the big boys like a champ.

we even built a sea turtle on the beach with my dad. mom wanted us to put the shells on the turtle's back, but me and charlie decided they looked better on the turtle's head.

the best part was when we got to knock it down. that made my mom frustrated.

my favorite thing to do is swim by myself with my floats. i can blow bubbles and kick all around the pool. i really liked throwing the diving balls in the pool and having my mom and my dad go get them.

i think claire is up way past her bedtime. i am showing her how to put cards in cups. what a fun trip i had!