Night at the Zoo

Yesterday just as we were getting ready to start dinner, I was on Facebook and saw a post that it was Member Appreciation Night at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.  The zoo normally closes at 5:00, but it would be open from 6:00 until 9:00 for members only.  So Pat and I quickly got dinner on the table, cleaned up and got the kids in the car with no idea where we were headed.  Max and Leah guessed all the normal places but never mentioned the zoo, which was surprising.  They were so excited when we got there.

This turtle greeted us at the entrance...he is 34 years old!

It was a perfect night to go.  It was cloudy and not too 'hot' and not too 'humid.'  We easily found a place to park and it was surprisingly not busy.  We were there for about 2.5 hours.  Pat and I even had a beer!

We saw all of our favorite animals, but of course the giraffes were the hit of the night.  Kimba, the male, was out in the yard.  But all the females, including Tessa and her two babies Lulu and Nasha (the newest one) were inside.  We were able to see them through a window.  All of a sudden, one of the giraffes was right up against the glass...the highlight of the evening.

Noah's favorite part of the night were the goats.  I think one day he might own a farm of goats...he loves them!

We ate popcorn and were even able to ride the train and carousel without a wait!

We saw the baby gorilla, Gladys, attached to her "mom's" back but we were not able to get a good picture of here.  The polar bears were pretty active and put on a good show.

One of my favorite activities of the night was the canvas painting.  A local art studio had canvases set up for kids to add their own strokes to.  Max added some yellow, Leah added a pink butterfly and Noah added some red.

The girl behind Noah looks like Leah, but it is not!

We had a great time!

VBS

This week Leah attended Vacation Bible School at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church.  Each day she learned something new about the Bible and Church.  Each day had a new theme...everything from the games, songs and snacks related to the daily theme.  All week the kids participated in a service project, the Summer Lunch Program.  Leah took individual packages of pretzels for her donation.

On the first day, Leah received a T-shirt to color, and she wore her shirt the remainder of the week.

Today, the final day, parents were invited to the Church to watch the kids perform all the songs they had learned throughout the week.  I wasn't able to attend since I was at a math seminar, so Pat had to take the video with Noah crawling all over him.  Leah is in the center of the video.

Eden Park

Today after church we decided we would head down to the Krohn Conservatory for the Butterfly Show.  We packed a picnic lunch and parked at the Twin Lakes section of Eden Park.  The boys enjoyed chasing and feeding the ducks.  The butterflies were from Costa Rica and were beautiful.  Pat had several land on his shoulder, and Noah had one land on his back.  I was able to get a few on my finger from a leaf.  The kids didn't last too long in the Conservatory...it was hot!  We walked back to where we had parked and enjoyed the playground and views of the Ohio River.

This Month So Far...

Finally... All caught up!  Let's hope I can keep this current :-)

While Pat was golfing with his buddies Monday night, I took Leah, Max and Noah up to Miami to enjoy their 'splash pad.'  It's just a small section of their sidewalk with water fountains...but the kids love to go there.

Pat took the kids to Graeter's while I was out with some friends...

Beautiful...love the freckles...

This picture reminds me so much of my brother from when he was a child...

Pat and Noah enjoying a little Nascar...Noah LOVES Nascar...

TBall Videos...

Max Goes to Safety Town

Last week Max was at the Hamilton Safety Town.  Leah spent the past two summers there and Pat did as a child, too.  Max learned about strangers, what a police uniform consists of, lots of songs and most importantly (to Max anyway), learned how to drive the Kettcar.

On Wednesday, the kids learned how to ride a school bus, got to go through a smoke house at the fire department and had a treat at Flub's.

Max graduated on Friday!  Way to go!

Leah had to bring her babies

Noah wanted to go ride the cars so bad

Max with Officer Collins