I have a sudden urge to munch on a tin can.

 

Sunday was a beautiful day to go to the National Zoo. So beautiful in fact that I was quite surprised that we scored a prime parking spot in Lot B. Perhaps because everyone else was hitting up the pumpkin patches and apple orchards?

The little people enjoyed searching for animals if the relatively low number of complaints lodged is any indication. One could also draw a similar conclusion from the lack of decent pictures taken of them--they were too busy running and dancing all over the place to hold still for a photo op. Small price to pay for a peaceful outing, I say.

I did get this one though.

Is it just me, or can you see a glimpse of what she's going to look like in 10 years in this photo? Madness. 

I also got this shot:

Which admittedly did take a minute or two and several discarded attempts. By the looks of Chase though, you'd think that the process had taken hours.

I'm not sure how I can be such a cruel Mama. The guilt was eating me up, so there was only one thing to do:

Bribe away the pain with fresh donuts. I of course benefited in no way from this. While the kids munched away on their sugary treats, I spied this Halloween display across the path.

Tombstones for extinct animal species. Sad. But a very clever display--hard to ignore the massiveness of it.

The only other noteworthy event of the day was when Andy told me he thought that he'd at last discovered what I'd been in a former life.

A goat? Really Drew? Frankly I don't see it at all.

 Yet, it doesn't look like such a bad life, does it? Maaa!

Zoobilee Zoo

Welcome to Zoobilee Zoo! Does anyone remember that show? I still think of the episode where the cockatoo had peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth every time I eat a spoonful of that creamy treat

Anyway, the weather was perfect for a trip to the Reston Zoo on Sunday. I only have these pictures because the battery died AGAIN in the small, black camera. I'm beginning to feel like I'm the starring member of a comedy skit it's getting so ridiculous. But despite the lack of pictures, I can assure you that the children had a delightful time.

Amaya recently learned to say her brother's name, so all day long she chased (ha) after him calling "Chase, Chase". She did cease her stalking long enough to stop and say "hey" to strangers too. Little man didn't seem to mind his shadow of a sister as he was too busy enjoying feeding the barn animals and trying to play cars with the spider monkeys. He kept up a steady stream of chatter as he pointed out all the animals that Diego has rescued. Now tell me TV isn't educational.


I am pretty sure that little miss Amaya is going to at the very least consider some kind of profession that involves working with animals. The girl had no fear, only pure delight as she ran up to all of the animals. She charged after the swan and rooster, jumped up to reach the sheep, and tried to hurl herself into the habitat with the bunnies. Even the scary horned goats didn't phase her. I'm sure she could flip a sheep with no trouble at all, so maybe I'll try to teach her that next time. You know--put that Animal Vet Science degree to some use?

I love this picture. Andy must have been feeling the pressure as all eyes turned to him waiting for more food. Now he knows how I feel every day at dinner time.

Lions and Tigers but We Missed the Bears

Wednesday morning we journeyed to the National Zoo. The weather was perfect, and we needed a place to escape to in order to hide from the kitchen work. It's a bit of a shame that I've lived here for 7 years now, and this is the first time that I've been there. It is a beautiful zoo with lots of trees and shade and places to sit and have a picnic lunch--if you had packed one that is. We of course did not, but we enjoyed a lunch from the snack cart instead.

The only bummer of the zoo is that it's very spread out and hilly, so being 33.5 weeks pregnant I'm sure you can imagine how tired I was after our visit. Even the crossing guard told me I needed to go home and rest. Thus, we only stayed about 2 hours--well that and also Chase was still a bit cranky since he was still recovering from his second bout with strep throat. He adamantly refused to ride in his stroller and only wanted to be carried. He did enjoy seeing the animals. I think the turtles were his favorite. It was nearly impossible to get any good face pictures of him b/c he refused to turn and look at Mommy. Nevertheless, here are a few of the pictures I did get. I hope to go back when Amaya is here...maybe in the fall or early spring when it's cooler, and I've fully recovered from my C-section. Or maybe I'll just wait until they're both old enough to walk themselves...

Running around the grassy area after our picnic.

Big, smelly elephants

Believe it our not, there is a lion up there to the left.

"What happened to turtle? Don know."

Watching the orangutan climb the tower.