A Trip To The Zoo

On Friday my husband had a meeting in Pittsburgh. So, on Thursday, we packed up the kids and made the trek across Pennsylvania. While he was at his meeting, the kids and I went to my sister's house (she lives in Pittsburgh). We spent Friday at the Pittsburgh Zoo (if you ever have the chance to go there, take it...it's a great zoo).
I'm going to try to give you a glimpse of our day through this blog entry. I know, though, that these few pictures won't do it justice...we had SO much fun!!!

the whole crew...seven kids seven and under!

Jay couldn't wait to see the gorillas!

A cute picture of Daniel and Hannah by the elephants.

Julia absolutely LOVED the "ell-mints"!

Joey hugging the deer in the petting area. He kept saying "Hi, Deer!" as if he expected it to respond, "Hi, Joey!"




Ryan and the Naked Mole Rats (by the end of the day, they had a lot in common)! :)

Joey loved the fish!

A pretty picture of my sister Mandie and Bekah.

The polar bears swimming over us (there is a tunnel through their swimming tank). They were so cool to watch!

There, that's a glimpse of our day. I have a ton more pictures, but that will have to do. Hope you enjoyed them!

No Words Necessary...

Pumpkin Seeds

Knowing that I like to roast pumpkin seeds, someone gave us two pumpkins that were damaged (and would therefore rot quickly) so that we could extract the seeds. Today was a beautiful fall day, so I cut open the pumpkins and proceeded to fish out the seeds. Some nearby "helpers" stopped their play and came to see what I was doing...they decided to give it a try. Jay did great: he was a big help. Daniel and Julia were not so found of the (as they called it) "slop" that you had to dig through in order to get to the seeds. I don't mind the process. I love the smell and even the feel of the inside of the pumpkin...it reminds me of childhood.

Oh, and by the way, the seeds taste great!

The Whole Crew

I'm so glad God gave these kids to us...

Little Boys and Girls

Clearly God made boys and girls different... :)

Brady Bunch

We have a frame in our kitchen with pictures of our kids "Brady Bunch" style. I just put in a new picture of Daniel today. I have tried several times, but never was able to get his just right (once he had a strange look on his face, once he looked grumpy (noooo, not Daniel!), once the background looked dark when all the others were light). People often comment on the pictures when they are in the kitchen for the first time.

Men Don't Wear Hats To Bed

Each morning the boys (Jay-5.5 and Daniel 3.5), get out of their bunks and discuss what they will wear that day. Their favorites are anything camo (and then they refer to themselves as "the army brothers") and their matching baseball shirts. If both of those options are dirty then they try to pick out stuff that is similar.

My husband has been trying to make Wednesday nights our "date" night. Last night we walked around the mall after we ate at TGIFridays. On our journey, we found these hats on sale at The Children's Place (I love that store). When we picked the kids up, we told the boys we had something for them that they would have to find when we got home. They were so excited...it was entertaining. Needless to say, I had to tell them that men don't wear hats to bed, and that they could put them on first thing in the morning....they've been wearing them non-stop. They look really cute.

..the funny thing is, as cute as they are, they are currently taking naps because they kept fighting and being crabby.