Fossil Rim

This weekend we took the girls to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Conservation Center, which was more like a huge drive-through zoo. All of the animals except the cheetahs and rhinos roamed free and came to our car for food. The girls all seemed to like the smaller deer-type animals...I think their size and eating style was unintimidating to them. We had to continually tell them to stop shouting when they got excited.

Sam, as usual, was such a great father. He drove a max of 10 mph for over 4 hours, up and down plateaus, stopping to point out camoflauged animals or anytime the girls saw something they wanted to feed or watch. We picniced halfway-through, but spent the rest of the day in the car.

Everyone, especially me, disliked the emus. I'm trying not to pass-on my fear of birds to my kids.This friendly fellow put his head completely through the window and wiped dirty slobber on Madeline's arm. We all laughed, but Madeline didn't appreciate that.

We saw several quiet herds of zebra, which we all enjoyed watching, but one herd was larger and came looking for food a little too aggressively for our taste. Even though we rolled the back windows up, Grace and Madeline ran to the far back seat and Charlotte started crying.

Our giraffe encounters were wonderful. I had no idea how slow and gentle they are. Grace and Madeline were very nervous, but Madeline sat on my lap while I fed one from my hand, and after Sam helped Grace feed one, she didn't want to leave it.

Summer's end

Now that school has started back, the pool we swim at is closing it's weekday hours. For the past 2 summers we've spent most of our afternoons here, and I finally brought a camera on our last day. They have a great indoor pool area that we use through the winter...but we'll miss the outside pool. Even in the triple-digit weather, it always feels a little like vacation to be outside.

Ballet

Grace started ballet and tap class, which she's been looking forward to all summer. I actually think she's been more excited about the outfit and shoes than the class itself. At a restaurant a few months ago, she saw a little girl her age with her ballet outfit on...since then she's been looking forward to eating out after the class too.
Grace was a ballerina for Halloween when she was 2, so Madeline wore her old leotard to Grace's class. She was very happy to dress-up, but rightly so, her attitude changed when she saw all the 4-year old girls go into their room for class without her. I took this picture right before she threw herself on the ground, kicking and screaming when she realized she couldn't go. Sam found a lollipop to give her, so she forgot about the class. We have no problem anymore using candy for bribes or to cheer them up.

Bye,bye training wheels

Trip away

For our 10th anniversary this month, Sam and I spent 5 days in The Bahamas...our first trip away together since Charlotte was born. We are so thankful that my parents were able to fly here to stay with the girls. Time with their grandparents seems to get more and more precious when I see how fast they're growing.

Morning at the farm

A farm a few miles from our house had a day last week when they let small children come help with some of their farm chores. All the milking goats got hay, the baby goats were bottle-fed, the chickens were fed (a little aggressively by Madeline), and the eggs were collected.

Charlotte's 1st birthday!

Charlotte's first birthday was on August 15th, and she had both sets of grandparents, her great-grandma, and great aunt and uncle here for her party. Thankfully, Charlotte didn't mind having all of her presents opened by her 2 older sisters. After playing with presents and eating lunch, Charlotte had her first cake, which she was not shy with. Probably encouraged by our laughter, she kept picking it up off the plate, taking a bite and dropping it in her lap.

Charlotte seemed happy and ended her party the way every first birthday should...in the bathtub.