The Zoo

Last Saturday was such a gorgeous day that Jeff and I wanted to do something fun outside. So we took the kids to the zoo! The last time we went was 2 years ago when I was pregnant with Ethan (and not thrilled with all the walking), it was blazing hot, and Kaitlyn had a total meltdown when she got sunscreen in her eyes. A lot of the animals were not very visible and we decided to leave after seeing less than half of the exhibits. Did I mention that I was pregnant and miserable?? Yeah, not such a fun time for me.

But THIS time was much different. The weather was perfect, the animals were happy to be out and close to the viewing areas, the kids were having a blast, and I was most definitely not pregnant :) We got an awesome view of the giraffe (can you see its tongue sticking out?) and the monkeys decided to show off by swinging through the trees and calling out to each other. It was the coolest thing to watch--I had no idea monkeys could be so loud! We walked around the entire zoo and ended up on the really awesome playground. Now that we've had such a great experience there, maybe we won't wait 2 years until our next visit!

Here are some other pictures from our trip.

At the new flamingo exhibit

At the petting zoo

Jumping in the play area

Halloween Fun

Halloween is so much fun when you have cute little kiddos to dress up. This year, Kaitlyn was a cat (because she loves cats and it was a really simple costume to put together) and Ethan was a monkey. We went to our church's annual Trunk-or-Treat on Sunday and the kids got loads of candy.

Ethan wasn't too sure about the monkey costume. He cried when we first put it on him, but he finally decided to tolerate it...although I don't think he ever smiled while it was on.

Is he not the cutest little monkey? Of course it was 75 degrees out and the costume was fleece, so that may have had something to do with his dislike of the costume!

We didn't want him to overheat, so we let him take a break while Kaitlyn finished her rounds. He was quite content to empty out the contents of his pumpkin one by one and then put them all back in one at a time.

Here's Kaitlyn in her cat costume before her preschool party. She loved the face paint.

And no Halloween festivities would be complete without the carving of the jack-o-lantern! Kaitlyn helped me scoop out all the seeds and goop. Then the kids watched with fascination as Jeff carved the pumpkin.

What is it about candles that are so mesmerizing to little kids?

One last noteworthy event. Jeff and I spent most of Halloween weekend in the mountains of North Carolina by ourselves...no kids! Thanks, mom, for letting us enjoy some much-needed adult time!