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Our friend Ryker has been in the hospital since Thursday evening with a bad case of pneumonia and a couple of viruses to boot. We offered to take Kingston for a chunk of the day to give Amber and Nick a little break. It has been a long couple of days for them to say the least. We are hoping Ryker can come home in the next day or two.
Amber dropped off Kingston this morning at our house and we loaded all three kids in the car (sort of a flash forward to when Peter comes home) and headed to Cracker Barrel for a BIG breakfast with our friends Carey and her son Charlie. The kids did so well and everyone ate a whole lot of food! From there we headed to our zoo and Carey's husband BJ and their daughter Lucy came along too! It was windy but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.
Lillie was loving the cool swinging bridge.....
Charlie and Paul were checking out a bird flying overhead.
Love these two....Kingston and his pal Lillie sitting in the dino egg.
Everyone but Miss Lucy hanging out in the dino eggs. She wasn't so sure about being in the picture with these crazy kids! Charlie and Paul were making chicken noises at this point.
Lillie the Wallaby Lady.
Lillie the Queen of the Frogs.
We spent a lot of time on the playground - everyone ended up with static hair from the slide.
We can't pass up feeding the goats and llamas!These goats were patiently waiting for Lillie to toss them a kibble.
Paul had fun feeding the llamas today. We saw a creepy guy who was teasing the llama get spit on by said llama....it was actually pretty funny when karma comes a knocking. That llama got him good and right in his eye. That will teach him to tease that animal again.
And then he moved on to the goats.
He even taught the goat a new trick to sit up to get the food over the fence.
All the kids jumped in the safari truck in the tiger exhibit. SO surprised that they took turns getting in and sitting in front of the steering wheel.
Loving the sunshine today.
Kingston and Lillie had a fun moment at the rhino statue.
African drums were a HUGE hit today. So many smiles.
Paul and Charlie really hit it off today....it was our first time hanging with him but they told secrets all day long.
I love the way our kids welcome new friends with open arms. And I love the way our kids can enjoy spending time with kids that are older than them or younger. Charlie is 2 years younger than Paul but you couldn't tell today because it looked like they were best friends. Kingston and Lillie always have a fun time together and today was no different.
We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. And while we had a lot of fun today, it wasn't lost on us that our good friends are going through a tough time right now and we are so glad we can be there to help support them.
Yesterday we decided to make a Sunday drive to the Omaha Zoo.....sort of last minute and sort of spontaneous....well at least as spontaneous as planning for a two hour drive to go to a zoo can be. We got up early today and made it to the zoo by 9:30 which I think is pretty impressive. It was chilly when we first arrived which was made a little chillier with the gusts of wind. The crowds started off light and got heavier as the temps warmed up and the day went on. We hit up some indoor exhibits to start while it got a little warmer outside.
Our new tradition of a selfie in front of the Mutual of Omaha building.
They were so excited to be at the zoo.
Lillie kept asking me to take her picture - she had her big beaming smile on this morning.
We headed over to the aquarium which was pretty cool. We didn't make it to this building the last time we went so it was fun to explore it for the first time.
Had to poke the nose of the penguin pictures.....
They had a tunnel under the aquarium which was a lot of fun. Tons of sharks, stingrays and fish swimming all around.
Check out this HUGE octopus.....
On to the butterfly garden - we only saw a few but it was still beautiful.
Well hello pretty lady.
You must sit on the butterfly bench when leaving the butterfly house.
The rhino was sleeping but still pretty impressive.
We love the meerkats! Such a fun bunch to watch.
Goofing around.......
The petting zoo is ALWAYS a favorite. Paul went gaga for the goats again.
He got to pet a chicken/rooster......
She did NOT pet a chicken/rooster.....
But she got into the goat brushing too....
The highlight of her day was riding the carousel. She picked a big bunny and road with Daddy.
He picked a rooster (big surprise there) and rode with Mommy. I love my ham ball!
My monkeys on the gorillas.
It was a super fun day - although exhausting.There is something about the wind that makes me feel more tired than normal. Could be the early morning and the two hour drive and the massive amount of walking....you know, whatever. I snoozed briefly in the car and we laid low when we got home. Chinese takeout for dinner rounded out our day. I kept thinking about how these types of trips will be changed when Peter gets home - more heads to keep track of in the crowds. I can't wait to give it a try.
Amazingly it has been 6 years since we held Paul in our arms for good on that fateful day in Korea.The time has flown and yet stood still all at the same time. I left work early on Friday so we could spend some time with just Paul while Lillie stayed in school. His choice - the Science Center - so that is where we headed.
They have a really cool dinosaur exhibit right now and we all had fun checking it out! Paul's best impression of the dinosaur behind him.
Several big displays.....
Each section had a cool embossed stamp to add to the guidebook.
Checking out the big dinosaur....
Lots of cool technology to help learn.
Oh no....don't eat me big dinosaur!
Thought it was funny to pick the dino's nose.....
Dinosaur selfie.
Paul loves to build and race Lego cars on the track.
He spent lots of time making dams in the water exhibit.
We left the Science Center and headed to grab a snack at a local brewery.
Drinking walrus style.
My boys.
It was Friday during Lent so we hit the fish fry at our church and then headed home to play outside. Basketball all around.
Gotcha Day spanned two days this year. After some organizing at home this morning and then some furniture shopping this afternoon, we headed to the park to soak up the sun.
Paul got to pick his dinner choice....and he chose a local diner so he could have a big belgian waffle. Here we are waiting for dinner.
Not sure if Daddy liked this kiss on the cheek or not....
His prized waffle....with strawberries and whipped cream.
And then a HUGE banana split. We do Gotcha Day food style.
Lillie got a cherry sundae. She was pretty pumped about it.
I have so many memories of the day we took Paul back to our hotel room 6 years ago. The look on his foster mom's face when he was put in the back of the van with us will forever be etched in my mind. Such a humbling day - so many happy feelings mixed with the sadness. We are blessed to call him our oldest son.
