Wordless Wednesday

Zoo Part 2: Dinosaurs

The zoo has a secondary exhibit called Dinosauria.  It costs an extra $4 a person, but I thought Cal might enjoy it because the "animals" were up close and not hiding in their dens.  Best money we spent all day.  The exhibit is set along a half mile path through the woods with the dinos set back among the trees.  They are animatronic so they move and growl and hiss.  Cal was a big fan of this.  He liked to yell back.

I really hope they have this exhibit again when he is older.  At the end there is an activity area where kids can hunt for fossils that looks like fun.

The Pros: The shady location and the mist make this a great stop on a hot day.  The dinos are close to the path and move, so it is much more interactive and interesting than some of the other animal exhibits.  There are neat info cards by each dino that give a phonetic spelling of their name and some other information (carnivore or herbivore, weight, habitat, etc).

The Cons:  It costs extra, which can get expensive on top of zoo admission.  A few of the exhibits are graphic (dino eating another dino, dead dino with blood coming out of his mouth and nose) which could be tough for some kids.  They force you through the gift shop at the end, which made no difference to us now, but I am sure that an older kid would really want an expensive toy.

A Trip to the Zoo

Billy kept asking what I wanted to do for my 30th birthday and was a little surprised that I chose the zoo.  We hadn't been (and I felt like a bad mommy for that) and summer was rapidly coming to a close.  It was a perfect day, not too hot or cold.  Cal did pretty well.  Here he is enjoying the reptile house:

The nice weather meant quite a few of the animals were out and active.

Some were more active than others! (Yes, those are humping kangaroos!)

Cal fell asleep somewhere between the Outback and the Arctic.  He also missed the penguins, but that's okay.  We enjoyed it so much that there is a zoo membership in our future!

Every party has a pooper...

...and evidently that pooper is my child! 

I was searching through old pictures looking for an entry for my mom group's weekly photo contest when I started to see a theme:

Christmas

Get this thing off me!

Valentine's Day

Pink? Seriously?

 Easter

This is child abuse.

Fourth of July

Another themed bib?  WTF!

Methinks he does not appreciate mom's penchant for holiday tomfoolery.



Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

I swear I have been posting since April, but none of my posts show up.  I can see them, but I can't get them to publish correctly.  I have to copy and paste the text and re-upload all the pictures.

I'm slowly working on it. In the mean time, please bear with me...

(Costco Bear gets around.  Become a fan on Facebook)

Dream Cruising

BC (before Callahan), Billy and I enjoyed cruising Woodward in the Lightning.  We never went on the day of the Dream Cruise itself (too crowded), but usually a few week nights leading up to it.  I love the atomosphere.  Tons of people, peacefully chilling up and down the road. 

This year things had to change.  The Lightning only seats two.  Cal and I went to Gymboree (a block off Woodward) and Billy met us down there after class.  Parking on the street is tough to find, so when Cal and I spotted a prime spot being vacated, we stood in it until Billy pulled in.

Cal is a big fan of cars.  Last year he did somersaults in my belly every time a loud car rolled by.  This year he just sat and stared (and ocasionally yelled out his appreciation).

Do these pictures look familiar?



My boys:

We stayed until dark that night.  We went back the next night (Friday) too.  Billy's parents, grandparents, uncle and cousin were there too.  Four generations, sitting in lawn chairs, watching the cars cruise by.

Going to Camp

My summer has officially started!  Summer school is over, all my meetings are done, and I have a full, glorious month to spend as a stay-at-home mom before I have to return to work.  Cal and I started off our summer adventures by visiting my cousin Charlotte at her horse camp.  They do a big show at the end of the session and I had never been to one before.  It was about 2 hours away, but we timed the drive around nap time and Cal did great.

We used the backpack so Cal could see over the crowds and he was fascinated by the show.

Checking out the horses

The only hat he will keep on



Charlotte on her horse

  After the show, we went to Reid and Diana's cabin for lunch. Cal enjoyed swinging in the hammock.

Happy boy!

Cal and Charlotte slept together in the back seat all the way home.  All that fresh air must be exhausting!