This morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the San Diego Zoo with Sydni and Aunt Paula. As we drove to their house to pick them up my mom started pointing out the sights as we drove through San Diego. Norah, however, was focused on her goal for the day, and so responded to her tour guide with, "Grandma, I told you I want to see the baby elephant in the jungle." Eyes on the prize Grandma, eyes on the prize. Our kids can be very focused at times!
We eventually found the elephants, and while mom and Aunt Paula rested, Sydni, the kids and I went in search of the baby elephant. We started off on what appeared to be a very straight-forward path that looped back to the beginning. It was only when we reached the end of the exhibit, and the end of the kids' patience, that we discovered that it did NOT actually loop back around.
So we decided to look again for that elusive baby elephant and dragged ourselves retreating back the way we came. To Norah's delight we found a statue of a baby elephant that she could climb on, pet, and hug!
After walking through the never ending elephant exhibit, we were hungry enough to well.....eat an elephant, so decided to stop for lunch. During lunch, Justin, who's not shy when it comes to food, noticed that he didn't have french fries. To rectify this situation he begged from the rest of us. Aunt Paula readily offered to share hers, but soon found out that with Justin sometimes it's simply not that easy. Justin definitely wanted some fries, but only (as he put it) "the big ones." She thought this was hilarious and would offer him the choice between two, one small and one big to see which one he wanted (I'll let you guess which one he picked) .
When it got down to the last fry, she broke it, then held it to make it seem as though it were still in one piece. When she offered it to him, he accepted, until she showed him that it was actually two pieces. He looked at it, then glanced over at Sydni's plate (just moving his eyes), and declared that he would like one of her "big ones." We all broke into giggles. Thank goodness Norah was eating politely and not begging food off of other people too. Yes, we do in fact feed them on a regular basis.
As we prepared to leave the lunch area, we asked the kids if they were ready to ride in the stroller. Justin very firmly said, "NO!" Then looked over at Aunt Paula, riding in a motorized wheelchair, pointed at her and said, "You need to walk!" This set everyone laughing, especially Aunt Paula who decided that this might be the time to, and I quote, "Pull the cancer card!" When we asked him who would ride in the wheel chair, he pointed to Grandma.
The rest of our visit was great. As we were waiting in line to take the suspended bucket ride across the park, Norah and Justin horrified a lady as they displayed their unique cleaning method. They frequently snatch a babywipe and clean off the surface of whatever germ infested item is nearest them, when parents look away they scrub their hands and face in like manner with the same wipe. Immediately after this episode, Justin spied a trash can with the green liner protruding. He was obviously fascinated by it as he touched it, and then leaned in to try and lick it. Did we mention he is a tactile learner?
Norah was thrilled to get to spend so much time with Sydni, talking to her and sitting next to her at every opportunity. By the time we left we were exhausted, but could not have asked for a better day. The weather was perfect, the kids only had a couple of melt downs, Aunt Paula was feeling pretty good the majority of the day, the animals were out and moving around, there were no crowds to fight through, and we got to see Debbie during the bus tour. Debbie the elephant (yes elephants again - we couldn't escape them). The leader of the pack, with the small ears and the stubby tail. Mom demanded that what happens at the zoo stays at the zoo. We all thought that was pretty funny too!
That evening we headed back to my grandparent's house for dinner, where we enjoyed great food and the company of family. After dinner Grandpa asked the kids if they wanted to see all his tools.
Great-grandpa was thrilled to show off his "shop" where he keeps all his tools and other equipment. Katie and I were pretty sure we had never received such a grand tour of the shop, though everyone denies it!
Grandpa was demonstrating his air compressor, showing the kids what it does, when Norah eagerly pointed to something that caught her interest. She asked, "What's that!" He looked at it and said in a confused tone, "It's a coffee can lid." One can never tell what's going to capture the interest of a 3 year old!
There is no denying that the day was an exhausting one, but our adventure at the zoo was great, and dinner in the company of loved ones was the perfect ending to the day.
This morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the San Diego Zoo with Sydni and Aunt Paula. As we drove to their house to pick them up my mom started pointing out the sights as we drove through San Diego. Norah, however, was focused on her goal for the day, and so responded to her tour guide with, "Grandma, I told you I want to see the baby elephant in the jungle." Eyes on the prize Grandma, eyes on the prize. Our kids can be very focused at times!
We eventually found the elephants, and while mom and Aunt Paula rested, Sydni, the kids and I went in search of the baby elephant. We started off on what appeared to be a very straight-forward path that looped back to the beginning. It was only when we reached the end of the exhibit, and the end of the kids' patience, that we discovered that it did NOT actually loop back around.
So we decided to look again for that elusive baby elephant and dragged ourselves retreating back the way we came. To Norah's delight we found a statue of a baby elephant that she could climb on, pet, and hug!
After walking through the never ending elephant exhibit, we were hungry enough to well.....eat an elephant, so decided to stop for lunch. During lunch, Justin, who's not shy when it comes to food, noticed that he didn't have french fries. To rectify this situation he begged from the rest of us. Aunt Paula readily offered to share hers, but soon found out that with Justin sometimes it's simply not that easy. Justin definitely wanted some fries, but only (as he put it) "the big ones." She thought this was hilarious and would offer him the choice between two, one small and one big to see which one he wanted (I'll let you guess which one he picked) .
When it got down to the last fry, she broke it, then held it to make it seem as though it were still in one piece. When she offered it to him, he accepted, until she showed him that it was actually two pieces. He looked at it, then glanced over at Sydni's plate (just moving his eyes), and declared that he would like one of her "big ones." We all broke into giggles. Thank goodness Norah was eating politely and not begging food off of other people too. Yes, we do in fact feed them on a regular basis.
As we prepared to leave the lunch area, we asked the kids if they were ready to ride in the stroller. Justin very firmly said, "NO!" Then looked over at Aunt Paula, riding in a motorized wheelchair, pointed at her and said, "You need to walk!" This set everyone laughing, especially Aunt Paula who decided that this might be the time to, and I quote, "Pull the cancer card!" When we asked him who would ride in the wheel chair, he pointed to Grandma.
The rest of our visit was great. As we were waiting in line to take the suspended bucket ride across the park, Norah and Justin horrified a lady as they displayed their unique cleaning method. They frequently snatch a babywipe and clean off the surface of whatever germ infested item is nearest them, when parents look away they scrub their hands and face in like manner with the same wipe. Immediately after this episode, Justin spied a trash can with the green liner protruding. He was obviously fascinated by it as he touched it, and then leaned in to try and lick it. Did we mention he is a tactile learner?
Norah was thrilled to get to spend so much time with Sydni, talking to her and sitting next to her at every opportunity. By the time we left we were exhausted, but could not have asked for a better day. The weather was perfect, the kids only had a couple of melt downs, Aunt Paula was feeling pretty good the majority of the day, the animals were out and moving around, there were no crowds to fight through, and we got to see Debbie during the bus tour. Debbie the elephant (yes elephants again - we couldn't escape them). The leader of the pack, with the small ears and the stubby tail. Mom demanded that what happens at the zoo stays at the zoo. We all thought that was pretty funny too!
That evening we headed back to my grandparent's house for dinner, where we enjoyed great food and the company of family. After dinner Grandpa asked the kids if they wanted to see all his tools.
Great-grandpa was thrilled to show off his "shop" where he keeps all his tools and other equipment. Katie and I were pretty sure we had never received such a grand tour of the shop, though everyone denies it!
Grandpa was demonstrating his air compressor, showing the kids what it does, when Norah eagerly pointed to something that caught her interest. She asked, "What's that!" He looked at it and said in a confused tone, "It's a coffee can lid." One can never tell what's going to capture the interest of a 3 year old!
There is no denying that the day was an exhausting one, but our adventure at the zoo was great, and dinner in the company of loved ones was the perfect ending to the day.
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