Rock Band
This gets brought up from the basement every time we're at Dad and Thomas'. And on Sunday before we left...Ella even got on the mic. Too funny!!
Wild animals. Literally. Not just a figure of speech this time.
I took another trip with the kids up to Minneapolis this past weekend. Lauren had been begging to go to the zoo since the beginning of the summer and since Labor Day had passed and school had officially started I figured I better hurry up and do it or the zoos would close for the year. We headed up on Thursday after Josh got out of school and I hadn't even gotten out of our neighborhood before I realized it was going to be a long trip.
I literally went hoarse from all the yelling on the car ride up. Like....threatened to turn the car around at Charles City and honestly meant it. It was bad. Like....it's gonna be awhile before I do that again, bad.
But for as bad as they were on Thursday, we had an absolute blast at the Como Zoo and Conservatory on Friday. This zoo is the perfect size for people with small children. So many times you take kids to the zoo and they are so large that you can't possibly get to see every animal because it is just TOO BIG! And the best part....it cost us $5 for all of us to get in. I know, right?!?
I even packed us lunch and we had a picnic right next to the seals. We honestly just had the greatest time!
We went into the Primate Exhibit and I had Ella sitting in the stroller as Josh, Lauren and I were focusing on one monkey in particular. All of a sudden I heard Ella scream because an chimp had taken interest in her and sat right in front of her, staring at her while eating his/her lettuce. I hate to laugh at a child's terror...but it was hysterical!
We were looking at the lions and tigers when a zoo keeper came out and told us it was feeding time. We went and got a better view of the lions and the kids loved how the lioness got to the food before the lion. ;-)
And then we came to Josh's favorite part: the polar bear.
And then Ella's favorite part: the penguins.
And then Lauren's favorite part: the seal. Only because he was playing with his food and throwing a fish around like it was a ball.
And my favorite part: the mosaic plant. Coolest plant I've ever seen. It's like a lilly pad and floats on top of the water. Amazing.
I literally went hoarse from all the yelling on the car ride up. Like....threatened to turn the car around at Charles City and honestly meant it. It was bad. Like....it's gonna be awhile before I do that again, bad.
But for as bad as they were on Thursday, we had an absolute blast at the Como Zoo and Conservatory on Friday. This zoo is the perfect size for people with small children. So many times you take kids to the zoo and they are so large that you can't possibly get to see every animal because it is just TOO BIG! And the best part....it cost us $5 for all of us to get in. I know, right?!?
I even packed us lunch and we had a picnic right next to the seals. We honestly just had the greatest time!
We went into the Primate Exhibit and I had Ella sitting in the stroller as Josh, Lauren and I were focusing on one monkey in particular. All of a sudden I heard Ella scream because an chimp had taken interest in her and sat right in front of her, staring at her while eating his/her lettuce. I hate to laugh at a child's terror...but it was hysterical!
We were looking at the lions and tigers when a zoo keeper came out and told us it was feeding time. We went and got a better view of the lions and the kids loved how the lioness got to the food before the lion. ;-)
And then we came to Josh's favorite part: the polar bear.
And then Ella's favorite part: the penguins.
And then Lauren's favorite part: the seal. Only because he was playing with his food and throwing a fish around like it was a ball.
And my favorite part: the mosaic plant. Coolest plant I've ever seen. It's like a lilly pad and floats on top of the water. Amazing.
Swamp Fox Parade
After the run there was a parade through Marion. Now, I know that Marion's not a big town but they sure do know how to put on a parade!! It was over an hour long and the kids got TONS of candy!!!
And I even caught a moment of affection between Josh and Lauren. He was telling her what a good job she was doing about waving and getting candy. Too CUTE! Every time I hear them fighting I need to remember this moment. Even better....I should blow the picture up to poster size and hang it in the hallway as a daily reminder!
And I even caught a moment of affection between Josh and Lauren. He was telling her what a good job she was doing about waving and getting candy. Too CUTE! Every time I hear them fighting I need to remember this moment. Even better....I should blow the picture up to poster size and hang it in the hallway as a daily reminder!
Another milestone
I am not really a runner as much as I am a jogger. I have been on a running schedule of three times a week and at least four miles each time. I'm fine with the distance but now I've just been working on my speed. So these last few weeks I've been bumping up my speed .1 mph each time and it paid off!!
This weekend was the Swamp Fox 5k and I officially cut off over a minutes from each mile! My goal was to finish under 40 minutes and I crossed the line at 39:11. Now, I know that's slow....but HELLO, for me that's great! I had an average mile of 12:36! Sooooo happy!!! I actually cried a little because it was so big for me. Now my next goal is to finish in under 35 minutes. And by God...I'm gonna do it!
Another fun moment of that morning was running into a client that I only have contact with via email 99% of the time. I hadn't seen her in over a year but in our conversations via email she told me she had started running and the Swamp Fox 5k was going to be her first. So I saw her after getting my chip in the morning and she didn't even recognize me! Best.feeling.ever. Well, aside from crossing the finish line! ;-)
This weekend was the Swamp Fox 5k and I officially cut off over a minutes from each mile! My goal was to finish under 40 minutes and I crossed the line at 39:11. Now, I know that's slow....but HELLO, for me that's great! I had an average mile of 12:36! Sooooo happy!!! I actually cried a little because it was so big for me. Now my next goal is to finish in under 35 minutes. And by God...I'm gonna do it!
Another fun moment of that morning was running into a client that I only have contact with via email 99% of the time. I hadn't seen her in over a year but in our conversations via email she told me she had started running and the Swamp Fox 5k was going to be her first. So I saw her after getting my chip in the morning and she didn't even recognize me! Best.feeling.ever. Well, aside from crossing the finish line! ;-)
