Zoo Doings

Today Craig and Collin were scheduled to arrive home after a week of helping at a local camp. Craig tends to be a little, um, grouchy, when he gets back, largely due to a lack of sleep the previous nights. Past experience has taught me that it's better to get out of the house on the day camp ends. Therefore, I loaded up Cami, Evan and Grandma into the van and we headed to a zoo in Sioux Falls.

While at the zoo, we viewed the usual array of animals. We also rode the merry-go-round and the train. Evan ate a $2.50 ice cream bar. We strolled through the Asian section of the zoo. We also entered Africa where we learned that giraffes only sleep about 35 minutes in a 24 hour period and that this 35 minutes is broken up into several short naps (sounds like a newborn at night). We passed on the $5.00 camel rides. Evan fed the ducks. Grandma warned us not to touch any of the animals in the petting zoo or we might get fatal diseases- so we only looked. We saw the reindeer baking in the 80 degree temps. Cami was absolutely fascinated with all the animals. Evan was a little trooper and only complained once about all the walking he had to do.

We then returned to the parking lot. Somewhere along our zoo treck, Cami lost her happy meal toy she got from McD's. We didn't know this until we got to the van and we didn't exactly want to retrace our steps through the zoo. Evan had the exact same happy meal toy, which Cami wanted, of course. Evan wasn't willing to share his new toy, so you can only imagine the shrieking that occurred in the van. Evan had to go potty before we left, so against my better judgment, I told him to use the mulch bed in front of our parked vehicle. We were in a far part of the parking lot and he was shielded from public view by the van on one side and a tree on the other. A quick scan of the lot showed me that no one else was walking nearby. Evan pulled his pants down and it was then that he said, "Mommy, that man is looking at me." Sure enough, the one other person in the entire parking lot happened to be parked next to us on the passenger side. He also happened to have his windows rolled down. Thus, he had heard me instruct Evan to pee in the mulch, saw Evan's bareness and was probably wondering what kind of weird mother I was. After that moment, loading up the van seemed to take an eternity since I couldn't get out of there soon enough.

The kids fell asleep on the way home and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Zoo Pics

Up close and personal with the cheetah.
Cami and the kookaburra (sp?) exchange glances.
Evan said the highlight of his day was feeding the ducks.
This goat is hoping for a snack.
You could pay $8 to pan for a bag of "gems." We passed.
The train ride. Evan had to sit in the front seat, of course.
Sitting like a big girl on the train
Evan kicks the gong.
Something about this arch seems familiar to Cami.

On the Road Again

Yesterday we caravaned (is that a word?) nearly two hours (OK, that's not very far, but it seems like an eternity with three small children.) with our friends from WI to Storybook Land in Aberdeen. Karl, Lori, Isaac and Emma visit us every other summer. In the past it's always been too hot to attempt this excursion, but summer seems to have bypassed us this year. As a result, we had a perfect temp for a day of reconnecting with our favorite fairy tale characters: The Three Little Pigs, Humpty Dumpty, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, The Three Bears, the Three Little Kittens, Paul Bunyan, and the list goes on.

During our visit, we also stopped by the petting zoo, rode a train, rode a merry-go-round, experienced a simulated tornado inside Dorothy's house, followed the Yellow Brick Road, ate ice cream, used a lot of hand sanitizer, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and took a gajillion pictures.

It was a good thing that the weather cooperated this year. Collin seems to be getting a bit big for Storybook Land. He thought it was a little boring. The other kids had a blast.

Storybook Land

Can you believe we got all five kids to look at the camera?
Emma is caught in the spider's web
Collin and Isaac try out a different kind of teeter totter
Evan with his trusty sidekick, Emma
Munchkin gathering
Chillin out in the hollow log
The Old Woman in the Shoe releases one of her children
Escaping the pirate ship
Cami is still little enough to sit on Bambi
Collin is loved by the ladies
Daddy and Cami enter the castle
Four diggers at work

Halloween in July?

Last year Evan was supposed to be a kitty for Halloween. When the big day arrived, he absolutely refused to wear his costume. After much cajoling, I did convince him to put it on, but he was by no means happy about it. I have one picture of him in this particular costume, with a big pout, right before we trick-or-treated downtown. We came home, had supper and prepared to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Evan would NOT put his costume on for the second round. When people asked him what he was supposed to be, Craig replied, "A four-year-old who won't wear a costume."

Fast forward nine months. Today, for no particular reason, he went into Cami's closet (I've sinced passed the kitty costume on to her.), yanked the costume off the hanger, and put it on. He wore it around the house half the day, and was disappointed when I told him he had to take it off to eat supper or go outside (didn't want it to get dirty). Now where was this enthusiasm last October?

Regardless of the time of year, he's just so darned cute in this costume that I had to take a picture.

More Out of the Mouths of Babes

Someone told me I should keep track of all the things my kids say. They can be very mouthy, and a good portion of what they say I'd just as soon never hear again. Sometimes, however, they say something that is so darn cute. Today I heard the following:

(from Collin): Evan didn't want to help Collin sweep up a mess on the kitchen floor. Collin came upstairs and complained, "Evan is being a lazy susan!" (I don't think Collin knows what a lazy susan is???)

(from Evan): I had the doorprize basket for MOPS in the car. In the basket are some lotions, candles, etc. Evan opened the van door (not knowing the basket was inside) and remarked, "It smells like GIRLS in here." (He does not like girls - at all.)

The Rainbow Connection

I've seen my share of rainbows. This evening, however, for the first time that I can recall, I saw a complete rainbow. Not just the right or left half, but the entire package. Each hue was very vivid. There was even a double rainbow. It was definitely a moment to capture on film. This was a perfect final chapter to a less-than-perfect day. Actually, the day wasn't too bad. There were just the bandaid incident.

Ahhh, the bandaid incident. I phoned a business long distance in Sioux Falls. During my three minute conversation, Miss Cami toddled upstairs, entered our bathroom and pulled open a drawer. Now, this drawer has a childproof lock on it which prevents anyone from opening said drawer more than about three inches. Due to the size of her arms, Cami can still reach pretty far into this drawer. She was able to grab two boxes of bandaids: junior and regular size. She dumped out the contents of both boxes and commenced unwrapping bandaids. Some of them became affixed to the carpet. During this time she also somehow managed to put her two-piece swimsuit on over her clothes. Oh, and she emptied out her pajama drawer, pulled the bedding off her crib and drug the whole works into our bedroom where she placed the items next to her bandaid mountain. I ended my conversation and came upstairs to discover a little girl, wearing a swimsuit, sitting in a pile of clothing and bandaids. My only regret was that I did not have my camera ready.

Vacation Photos

Our Grand Adventure

We were privileged to spend a week at Shing Wako Resort in Merrifield, MN (near Brainerd). We rented a cabin on Lake Edward. I spent about a quarter of my life packing for this trip. Seriously. For those of you who have never embarked on such a vacation, renting a cabin at a resort is similar to camping. They supply the bedding and cooking utensils. If you're really lucky, like we were this time, they will also supply the toilet paper. AND, to our delightment, they even supplied dish soap. We were living high! I only needed to pack bath towels, beach towels, paper towels, toys, toiletries, baby items, clothes, swimwear, bike helmets, a stroller, sand toys, fishing equipment, lawn chairs, bug spray, sunscreen and the kids. All this is well worth the effort however because: #1. Once we're there, I buy groceries and cook our own food. It's cheaper and less stressful than taking kids to eat in a restaurant three times per day. #2. A cabin is more conducive to relaxation because we don't all have to sleep in one room like we do in a hotel and I'm not worried about the kids making too much noise and getting us kicked out. #3. We have no set agenda. We can relax (I even got a book read.) and do things at our own pace.

Now that you have been educated about resort vacationing (whether you wanted to be or not), I will share some of the activities we pursued. I have published photos in the next post illustrating some of these activities. We biked the Paul Bunyan Trail (or at least four miles of it). Note to self: Always check to make sure bike rental facility is located near bike trail so your kids are not worn out biking TO the trail leaving them with little energy left to bike the actual trail. We rode some rides at Paul Bunyan Land. I did a little shopping at the quirky stores in Nisswa. The males went hiking. We made some smores at our campfire. We visited an indoor waterpark on one of the overcast days. We got a little sunburned. We got some mosquito bites. We lounged on the beach. We played in the park. We collected a gallon of dead snails and brought them home (I was not impressed). The males rode some go-karts. Cami collected a lot of sand in her diaper. The males did some paddleboating and kayaking. Evan got hit in the head with a paddle. You could hear the scream halfway across the lake. We all ate waaay too much ice cream.

Shing Wako was a nice resort. You could choose from a 1947 rustic cabin, a luxury condo or something in between. We did the something in between. The resort was immaculate and well-maintained. There was not a rusty piece of metal, broken glass, dead tree, rotted board, piece of litter, etc. to be seen. Lake Edward had clear, warm, shallow water. Cami loved laying on her tummy in the "surf." One could venture out 300 feet and still be standing in waist deep water.

The boys did not want to leave. We made it back safely, caught up on laundry, and are now returning to the daily grind.

I see I've published another novel. Until later.