My Funny Valentines...

Here is my crew this morning, dressed in their Valentine's garb.  My first thought on this photo is that it would be better if they would all smile and look at the camera at the same time, and if Maddy had agreed to put down the purple plastic purse (she held onto it for dear life - as if I was trying to take her oxygen away!).  My second thought is, meh, then it wouldn't be natural, right?

In any case, Happy Valentine's Day to one and all, but most especially to my greatest loves, Mitch, Tyler, Evan, and Madelyn. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO *SMOOCHES*

42

Well, in about an hour from now, I will officially be 42 years old.  How did that happen??  Eh, it's not so bad.  I'm in the best shape of my life and I've got a beautfiul little family to share my world with.  I guess I'm just a little taken aback by how I look in all the pictures I tried to take of myself today.  Perhaps it's because my arms aren't long enough and a 42 year old woman should never be photographed this close up - especially with a camera phone.

But for our gas meter crapping out on us this morning and spending the first half of the day with no heat and panicking that the stove wouldn't be fixed on time to get the cupcakes baked, it's been a nice day.  The boys presented me with "surprise" cards this morning, after getting (and remembering!) instructions from daddy last night.  I got lots of lovely calls, emails, and 'posts to my timeline' on Facebook.  The gas DID get fixed on time and mom baked some DELICIOUS cupcakes!  And hubby returned home from work this evening with a dozen beautiful pink roses.  Topping it off tomorrow will be "date night" with Mitch, as the boys will be spending the night with Fammy and Granddad and my mom will be watching Maddy.  It's nice to have a night out alone once a year so we can, you know, talk about the kids!

Ok, I've had my third cupcake and it's time to retire for the night.  But before I go, a parting shot of how the world really gets to see me - sporting my new glasses.... WITH PROGRESSIVE LENSES.  Oy, I'm old! :)



The Zoo!!

Well, it's been nearly a month and a half, but it's still worth posting about.  Friday, December 30th was a particularly mild day, so mom and I decided to pack up the kids and head down to the Smithsonian National Zoo.  One might ask, "Why would you need to VISIT the zoo when you LIVE in one??"  Well, because we all love REAL animals, and sometimes you just need to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!  :)


We didn't tell the boys ahead of time that we were going because a) they wouldn't have shut up about it or stop asking what time we were leaving and b) in case something came up, they wouldn't be disappointed if we had to cancel.  I use this method pretty much whenever I have something fun planned. I learned it the hard way.  Anyway, here is the unveiling of the plan, the morning of:

We decided to be well prepared, and frugal.  We knew the kids wouldn't be able (or willing) to walk around the zoo all day, so we brought the stroller for Mads, and the wagon for Tyler and Evan.  We also packed our own picnic lunch, snacks and drinks.  This saved us a fortune!  As a matter of fact, but for the ice creams we got on the way out of the zoo, the only thing we paid for all day was the parking.

I didn't get a lot of great pictures, but let's see what we have...

Zebra!!!  (in case you didn't know that)

LOVE this gorgeous Cheetah!  Also, love my great zoom lens because obviously we were not this close!

Since we got there when the zoo first opened, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian were still lounging around inside the Panda House eating bamboo instead of wandering around outside.  So we didn't get to see them as well as we wanted, but still got a bit of a look.  This was the only face shot I got:

The rest were all backsides!!  It's as if these crafty pandas know exactly what is going on (I'm SURE they do!), and are purposely not allowing anyone to get a good picture!!

Check this out:

Can you believe they just have this crate out in the open??  Just sitting there in the middle of the walkway through the Panda House for anyone to lean or climb on??  It seems to me it should be held in higher regard... Or maybe I'm just weird.

Red Pandas!  These guys were really cute.  It was hard to get shots of them though because they were really playful and running around.

Awesome elephants.

These Meerkats were a RIOT.  They were crazy and Maddy LOVED them.  One of them charged the glass where she was standing and she didn't even flinch.  She just giggled!

Orangutans. These guys were entertaining as they swung overhead on the "O Line" (the Orangutan Transport System!) 

Ah, and my favorites, the tigers and lions.  Such incredibly beautiful creatures.

At the far end of the zoo, there is a kid's farm with the usual cows and pigs and goats. Nothing too exotic, but the kids enjoyed it.  Tyler particularly enjoyed the fish pond.

After the farm, we hit an ice cream vending machine and started the long (uphill!) walk back to to the parking lot.  It was easy for the kids since they were being pushed/pulled along.  But it was quite a workout for mom and me!!
It was a great day, topped off by a very peaceful ride home!!  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Next adventure??  Who knows!!