Birds Of a Feather Flock Together

 Finally with a free weekend,

and nothing on our calender

we celebrated with some family time

at the Dallas Zoo.

Happy Kids...

you can tell by their happy faces.

Except for Keira, she's a little moody.

Let's get Dan in the picture too!

When did they all grow so big?

Our first stop?

The new Safari exhibit was 

being built during the last time

we had a year pass, but didn't

get to reep the rewards of it before

our pass expired.

This giraffe home is great.  It really puts

us right next to these fabulous animals.

So grown up at 8  1/2!!

Reading the passports they gave

too all the kids to get "stamps" in.

Do you see how close the kids are?

Literally...right there!!!

This extra friendly giraffe was new

to the zoo and was very curious to

all the on-lookers.

Plus she couldn't say no to the

offered lettuce leaves.

Check out that long tongue!!!

She even let some people

pet her!!

I love this new exhibit!!

Keira likes the "cats".

I had to pry her away from the window.

Odd enough, the steering wheel

is on the opposite side.

Cutest baby monkey laying there with

all the big ones.

(awww!!)

Time for a refill of the sports bottle,

a diaper change and a potty break.

And thanks to 2 free passes

that came with our new year pass,

we only had to spend $5 to get

all 3 of these kids a 45 second

camel ride.

(I can't believe people pay for that!)

A chance of a lifetime!!

Sydney was a little annoyed that Emma

was taller then her,

which blocked her view.

We had a great time!

But I couldn't help but remember

the past times we've 

hiked around this zoo...

this one, and this one

and this one

especially this one!!!

It's That Time Again

 We've taught 3 other kids how to

use the toilet 

and now after some VERY DIRTY
 experiences of cleaning finger paintings of

poop off her bedroom walls

and window,

it's time for Keira to master the art.

Mentally I'm cringing right now

because potty training has got

to be one of the WORST

jobs for a parent.

It takes buckets full of patience,

bottles of carpet cleaner,

a constant watchful eye

and a 30 min timer.

Complete and Total

DEDICATION.

And after 2 days of this "dedication",

 and giving Keira 1 gallon of kool-aid

to giver her lots of chances to use

the toilet...

WE HAVE SUCCESS!!

She even did well on the trip to CA.

Daniel 8 months old

This post is a little late,

but I wanted to remember

just how cute our baby boy is!

At 8 months old he's still

content as can be.

He enjoys laying on his back...

and that's about it.

He barely mastered the "sit down",

but still launches himself backwards

because of his straight leg reflex.

He still drools like crazy,

finally popped through 2

bottom teeth,

sleeps through the night like

a champion,

takes 2 naps

and his "burp ups" are more

controlled with soy formula.

Pit Stops

 Thank heavens Grandma and Grandpa's house

in Tucson is along the way on our trip

We wouldn't have made it without

their generosity or my brothers

Joel and Dave.

They let us sleep in their beds,

played with our kids,

feds us and

made us laugh!

Grandma appeases two funny little girls,

Klaire and Keira.

Good thing that towel is there

for them to sit on

because that AZ sun is brutal.

And with a 78 degree pool

my kids convince grandpa

to let them swim.

Such cute kids!

Grandma wants a photo!

Keira shows off her muscles

and takes Klaire for a pull.

I think Klaire is ready

for this ride to be over!

What a treat!

A car detailing from Joel's business.

We were so pampered by my family.

Dave & Laura took our kids for most of 

Sunday so Larry and I could sleep.

And we ate the traditional Spaghetti

Dinner at Joel & Kaissa's that night.

(secret sauce ingredient:  M&M's)

Maybe they are trying to convince

us to stop by AZ more often.

Family BBQ

 It had been ages since

Larry and his siblings

had been together.

Especially with the complete

family.

They hadn't met Keira or Dan.

It was great to see these

long lost cousins finally

realize who it was

we've been talking about

all these years.

 Good ol' California delivered

its typical sunny weekend

with temps high enough

that we could swim in April!!

Auntie Candace with her

boys Samuel and Luke.

top to bottom: Sydney, Emma, Ben,

Luke, Garrison, Annika, Keira, Samuel

Popsicle Power!!

Our Adventure

 I tried to build up this 22 hr long drive

to California for the kids by calling

it an "adventure".

I have a feeling they'll never believe me again.

Plus the ride ends up being at least 5 hrs more

then what mapquest predicts

for miscellaneous pit stops

and gas guzzling.

90% of our trip was during the night

and the kids did great!

But it is sure hard on us parents.

Driving at night is obviously tiring,

boring, and for most of Texas...

SLOW.

Because the speed limit drops

to 65mph at night.

Which is lame, because

there isn't anything out there.

Proof at how boring the scenery was.

This is pretty much what most of west Texas,

New Mexico, Arizona and eastern California

look like.

We rearranged the car seats so

that Sydney and Emma

could take care of Dan

for us.

Which moved the more energetic

kids away from any

innocent bystanders.

And did I mention how this trip

wouldn't have been possible

with out that trusty

DVD player?

I owe it my life!

Or maybe the kids owe the

DVD player their lives.