Monkeying around at the zoo

I had been trying to decide for a few days what I should do with the kids today. Dh was going to Daytona for the day for some car stereo show thingy so we would be on our own. After much thought and a last minute decision this morning I decided to surprise the kids with a trip to the zoo. It turned out to be a beautiful day for it. Eighty degrees and sunny with a light breeze. Our passes expired last year and I guess today was a good day to get new ones as we got 2 ride wristbands free today so the boys got to ride anything they wanted all day.

Our first ride was the carousel. While it wasn't Bella's first ride on a carousel (we've done Disney but I wore her) it was her first ride on an actual horse and she really wasn't sure about it. I don't think she felt safe even though my arms were around her. She whined the entire time but never cried. She looked so cute though on her white horse. Just like a little princess. :)


I felt for this poor mama. I know how she feels.


My boys love roller coasters!! I had no idea this was even there. It took the place of a car ride that they used to ride.


The meerkats are always so adorable. They were up close today and almost seemed to pose for the camera. Say *Insects*. (instead of cheese, get it? ;))


This picture just fits their personalities so well.


I bribed Logan into riding the camel with Ian. Ian really wanted to go. What did I bribe him with? Fruit Pearls. They were yummy!



They were itching to play in the water by this time. Bella fell asleep once we sat down so she didn't go in to play.


My wild boy


Sleeping beauty


They've changed this since I was there last too. Now it's a very shallow pool. Just a few inches deep.


Look who woke up!


Oh and for my local friends, there are new restaurants!
This one is at the Safari Lodge at the beginning of Africa near the meerkats.


This one is across from the zebras/giraffes. It's a sit down/table service restaurant.

Zoo day!

I called up my friend Jen last week to see if she wanted to take advantage of this lovely weather and head to the zoo. So that's where we were this morning. It was so quiet- unless you count those loud siamang/gibbons and even the lemurs at one point. They are right next to each other and I swear the lemurs were telling the gibbons to shut up already! :) The boys had a great time together. Ian took a few minutes to warm up to them (as he does with anyone) but after that, he and Zane took off together. I was able to wear Bella all day which I love. I even got her up on my back by myself, not once but twice (scared Jen when she saw me fling Bella up there. LOL). I stole the pic from her blog so I could post it here.

Brothers

Believe it or not, this was taken with my Nokia N95 camera phone! I did crop and turn it B&W on the PC though.

Where to begin??

I haven't blogged in a few days so this will be a mish mash (is that a word?) of things.

Let's see.....Friday night we went to the zoo for Summer Safari Nights. The weather was looking very bad- tons of lightning in the distance as we were driving towards the zoo but luckily for us, it moved past us so we had a good time. They opened a new penguin exhibit which we didn't see. The line was ridiculously long. We did see a lot of other animals though and the kids all had a great time. Julie and I like to people watch and boy did we see something. I'm not sure what this woman was thinking but I'll let you look and decide...

While I'm glad she's confident in her body, this isn't something I'd expect to see at the zoo!
Before it did start raining on us, I did get a few shots of the kids.
Ian on the carousel

The gang of older kids

And the double rainbow!


What else... Logan went to bed with real underwear on last night. Wow and yippee! He's been very good at staying dry all night (knock on wood) but he still feels dependent on his Goodnites. That will be over by tomorrow though. He has none left.

Oh yes, my BOC (see a few posts back). Well, my real BOCs have shipped so I can't tell you what I got yet, but I did get my Roomba which we've named Mickey (mouse) courtesy of Logan and I got my BBCBOC from the Babycenter gals. Here's what was in there...

Want me to list everything? Good. LOL
Johnsons Lotion, Caraway seed paint sample, butterfly napkins, Atlanta Zoo bumper sticker, brush, pink stretchy band, wood owl thing, USA puzzle, hairband, pez, Lindt chocolates (obviously melted Oops!), 1 pregnancy test, You are my sunshine plaque with stand, Aerosole tote bag and wine pourer with handle. Lots of good crap! LOL I can't wait to see what 's in the real BOC.

The boys are doing so well in swimming. I'm very proud of both of them.
A few swimming pictures:
Ian

Logan just after he jumped in.


Oh and one more pic tonight... me! I'm at my lowest weight so far- lost 74.4lbs.

Here's a BEFORE picture

I have around 12lbs to go to my goal weight. I've gone from a plus size 18 to a 10. It feels good.