Guess where we went...

That's right....the ZOO! It's almost like going to the park, or library....invariably one of the 3 are going to happen during the week. And since you can't just go to the library from October-March due to weather restrictions, we bundled everyone up as if we were going sledding just to walk around outdoors while admiring the exotic habitat.

After checking out the varieties of ducks from the bridge, we ran over to Madagascar. I can never go to this exhibit and not think of my brother Scott and his love for the movie Madagascar. Especially late at night...when leaving the front title page on before pushing play....so you can watch him do the King Julien dance....I'm still kicking myself for not grabbing my video camera.

They have a place to push a button and listen for the different types of Lemur sounds...ie "I'm here! Where are you?" or "Get out, this is my turf!" or "Run! There's danger!"

Lazy Lemurs. No dancing today.

Llama, alpaca, camel....take your pick.

Kyleigh, it was a camel. hehehe

What? I could have sworn the sign said Alpaca!




Condors are HUGE

The above photo reminds me of the video below:


 Bats. And my flash to take their picture probably interrupted their beauty sleep. Incarcerated and woken up at all hours of the 'night'. Inconsiderate.

Just like at Hogle zoo in Salt Lake, all the big cats roam around and put on more of a show during the low temps than during the summer when the heat makes them lazy. Kyleigh and Brenden probably sat at this exhibit the longest.

Or maybe it was checking these cats out that kept their rapt attention. We watched Lion King recently. Maybe Simba will be born in a few months.

Barking deer. And they really do bark. Did you know, before reading this post, that these things existed? I didn't before going to the Zoo. How does an animal of these subspecies come about??...I don't want to know.

Red Panda. We are a politically correct zoo. Carry all types of species equally.

This was our last stop before going home. Toes and hands were sufficiently frozen.

Kyleigh, even after this initial run, went again. Surprising. 



"Mom, are you getting this? Brenden is about to go down.....hehehe"

Happy little guy. Freezing weather, fingers and toes numb, wet slippery surface all over the play area, but pretty content.

Maybe this is why we keep going to the zoo....

Sometimes you just need a good walking stick

And who are we to disagree when its used on concrete instead of jagged mountain-side terrain? They were just getting their practice in when we try out the trails as soon as the snow melts....oh wait, you need mountains too. Hmmm...well we wouldn't want them to get out of practice for when we go back west.

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Construction zone

Kids were VERY busy constructing everything from ships, to castles, snakes, and cannons.

Who knew a couple of marbles could provide a couple hours of entertainment?

(But don't tell Kyleigh they are marbles. She swears they are cannon balls.)

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Just hangin' around

Reminds me of my brother Scotty. He usually has the most awkward or strange seating positions.

Snow, chair, arrow.

A few weeks ago, we had another storm pass through and dump a couple inches on us. Kyleigh and Brenden wanted to go outside, and since I'm still incapable of making a good snowman on my own, we made a snow chair for the kids to sit and enjoy the cold outdoors. 

Just another guy sitting in his front yard on his favorite snow chair.

Kyleigh tried to make her own snow chair.

She lasts outside just about as long as she stays dry. Once snow gets inside her gloves or the chill is too strong, she wants to go back into the warmth. I don't blame her. Pink hands are no fun. Hot chocolate is.

For awhile, Brenden helped attempt to make another snow chair. But that only lasted until he found something better to do with a mound of snow.

More arrow shooting. I guess I'm glad he doesn't do gun poses and it's some kind of arrow shot pose.

 

And Kyleigh has now picked up on the arrow thing. Leg up, one hand forward and usually a shooting sound to accompany.

I particularly like how Brenden is looking at Kyleigh in this shot. He can be a big tease, but generally, he is very happy to have an in-house play pal and treats her very well.

Brenden likes to grab a hold of Trent's foot and be dragged around the kitchen. Kyleigh likes to hitch a ride on his back.

She usually instigates this...

Somebody's going to get it. Chicken with a ball and dump truck. It's all fun and games when Dad comes home. The next house we move into will probably need to have a circular race track through a couple rooms.

Last ones, I promise.

These are the last photos of Christmas/New Years vacation. And I think they're probably pretty redundant (bikes and more food), but it reminds me of home, and the kids look like they're enjoying themselves, and that's what I want included in the blog book 2011. The other day, as we were driving in the car, Kyleigh asked where we were going and when I told her the library, she said no, she wanted to go to Poppy's house. Trent told me that he asked Brenden what he would like to do this coming weekend, and he said go to Poppy's house. It was a big hit, and I really can't blame them for wanting to go back. (Trent also checked out their weather this week...in the 70s!!!! Tomorrow I take the kids to Lake Farmpark where they have free admission for kids for President's day, and I was ecstatic that we'll hit 40 with 0% chance of rain!)

There's a reason why Brenden asked if he could ride his bike instead of go on a walk with Trent while Kyleigh was taking a nap. Bikes are for cool kids.

And Abby is definitely included in that group.

Tandem ride.

Home cookin'

Trent took the kids to climb all over Red Rock one afternoon while I ran up to St. George to see an old friend.

Besides riding bikes, they really like walking around wide open spaces. (I wish I could add food to their list of favorites. They are getting better. Or maybe it's the constant bribe of ice cream or oreo shakes or apple cider or plain ol' marshmallows to come if they eat more than a bird's portion).

Bike was a little too big, but it didn't keep her from constantly trying every time she went outside. She is getting better at her own bike here in Ohio.

 

Fun trip.