Sac Zoo - again:-)

We enjoyed another great (but markedly different) day at the zoo. Last time we went it was winter, this time is was 90+ degrees. However (like everytime we've gone) there were some special moments. To our delight, we were able to enjoy a very talkative parrot this time.

Our traditional picture spot:

I tried to keep the animal pictures to a minimum but. . . well, we're really enjoying our new camera;-)

King of the Jungle yawns:

and bathes:

Baby tiger:

Mommy tiger:

Our parrot friend (look for another post with video ):

Anika:

Kathryn:

Andrew:

Getting a monkey painted on her arm:

Daddy & Kat wait patiently:

Andrew gets his shark:

New piglets:

Refueling & rehydrating:

Top it all off with a carousel ride:

How Kat uses her water table. . .

Locks of Love

We've been talking about this for a LONG time and today was the right day to act. Anika is donating her hair to "Locks of Love". Up until Becky walked in the door, I wasn't sure if Anika was going to go through with it. (She kept asking, "Are you SURE it will grow back?") Now she is bouncing off the walls with delight. She is so happy that she can brush it herself and put it in a ponytail.
A bit nervous:

Measuring and assuring Anika that there is plenty of hair left:-)

The cut!!!!!

Some hair to donate:

Getting her first "real" haircut (not just a trim):

Couldn't be happier:

A low ponytail:

The final look:

Sassy:

Sign of the Season

Yummmmmmmmm! Sweet Corn!

Kathryn's technique is to lick all the butter off and ask for more (butter that is).

Swimming Fun!

The kids LOVED swimming lessons!!!! (Well, until the last few days when Drew was recovering from a terrible sunburn -- I'm so sad that I let them get burned on July 4.) Regardless, they made great progress this year as you can see from the videos in the previous post. (Of course, I had to include a few still shots as well.) I was delighted that two other families from our church also had their kids in lessons at the same time so I had friends to chat with. By the end of the two weeks Anika was doing a version of the front crawl without flippers and loved jumping in the pool. Andrew still preferred the flippers but was able to get around without them and he LOVED jumping in - over and over and even off the starting blocks.

Chatting at the lane marker! Anika and Andrew were in separate classes but they had to keep touching base. (It was that lane marker that Andrew caught on his sunburned shoulder which caused a blister - and MUCH additional pain.)

Getting ready to go with Alex!

Swimming without the kick board

All by herself!

Under she goes!

Hanging at the pool:

Kathryn did surprisingly well. No unexpected dips in the pool!

Swimming Lessons

We've spent the last two weeks at swimming lessons so I haven't been blogging much. It was amazing how much those 45 min. lessons dictated our schedule. However, the kids did an incredible job. I'm so proud of how far they have come. Having them master such an important life skill has calmed my nervous "mom" heart:-)

How potty training is going. . .

A Quick Visit

Not long after we got back from IL, we enjoyed a few days with Nene & Papa as they traveled through from Oregon back to So. Cal. It was fun to see them for a little while as we adjusted to life without constant company.