The Accidental Boilermaker

Today the zoo celebrated World Otter Day and World Sea Lion day.  It was supposed to rain all day, but it actually turned out to be a beautiful afternoon so we decided to check it out.  We started out in Africa. We saw a baby monkey. The lion was napping right by the glass. A couple giraffes were up at the platform. The zebras. Finally the river otters! There were several stations throughout the zoo with information and activities about otters and sea lions.  Here the kids got to fish because sea lions eat fish. At 3:00 we caught the sea lion feeding. All done, final picture with the sign.

More rain was predicted for this afternoon so we decided to bike to the park in the morning.  It’s about 1.5 miles to the park which is the farthest Evelyn or Jameson have ever ridden. I was little worried about Jameson since he only has the balance bike but he did great. He did get tired on the way home but we made it. Evelyn fell on the way out going downhill on wet sidewalk but she got up and wanted to keep going. They had a blast playing in the water.  Back home and time for lunch. 

We took advantage of the nice weather and took a trip to the zoo. Jameson hasn’t gotten the message that school is out for summer.  He continues to wake up early so he fell asleep in the car. We saw the monkeys, alligators, fishes, Komodo dragon, orangutans, and a bunch others. 

Today was Evelyn's last day of preK.  The preschool and AM and PM preK had their end of the year program tonight also.  All the kids did a great job singing different songs, reciting their Bible verses and other various things they learned throughout the year. Evelyn and Jameson with Mrs Hahn.  I think we all are going to miss Mrs. Hahn.  She was a wonderful teacher who loved Evelyn but she also made sure Jameson always felt included.   Nathan goes back to work tomorrow so today after we picked up Evelyn, we all went to the botanical gardens to see the butterflies.

Evelyn had her spring ballet recital on Saturday. The ballet I class had 10 students which is a big class.  Evelyn appeared to have memorized most of the piece and didn't need to look over at the teacher very often.  Nate and I were most impressed with her plie saute.   We tried to take some pictures outside after but it was really sunny. After dinner we got ice cream at Zesto's. My mom and Mimi had come over for the recital on Thursday and then left on Sunday.

After school we met Natalya and Tamber at the zoo. It was pretty busy when we first got there so we jumped ahead to the rainforest (spoiler alert: I took no pictures of any animals).  We ate lunch and then rode the carousel.  We back tracked to Africa and it was practically empty.  The kids set up a mini picnic on the path and we didn’t even have to worry they’d be in anyone’s way.  Ok I lied; I got a picture of a giraffe.

I had a very nice Mother’s Day. I got to go for a run and when I came home, Evelyn and Jameson had made me cards and wrapped some presents. I got a new wooden spoon (because mine were either broken or cracked) and new popsicle molds. Later in the day we went out for coffee and a treat. The kids played dress up today too. 

 Nate had his back surgery on Tuesday which also happened to be Evelyn’s class field trip to the zoo. So my parents came over to help. The surgery went well and hopefully as Nate recovers, he will be free from the pain and discomfort he has experienced for the last few months.  The zoo field trip sounded like a great time.  It was much cooler on Tuesday but the rain stayed away.  Evelyn and Jameson got to wear their new rain boots anyway.  After the class trip ended, Evelyn, Jameson, and my parents stayed for a picnic lunch and then got to ride the train. 

We went to a Tin caps baseball game last night with Evelyn’s school. It was also Star Wars night.  Evelyn got to sit with her classmates Adeline and Sofia. At one point Evelyn and Sofia traded baseball cap for headband and thought they were so silly because now no one could tell who was who.  The game was super boring. The tin caps lost 3-10. The game finally ended at 10:30 and it was time for the long awaited fireworks. We were happy we stuck it out; the fireworks were really cool. And it was the first time Evelyn and Jameson saw fireworks in person. Jameson was sitting four seats down from me next to Sofia’s mom and she said he was so transfixed but kept blinking every time a firework went off. She said it was super cute.