Our trip to the zoo

The aquarium was a big hit as always:)

Big Dog usually has a pretty strict "Don't touch weird things" policy. But, surprisingly enough he touched lots of interesting things in the Touch Tank at the zoo. Rooster was completely grossed out.

It's hard to be a lefty in a right handed world.

Rooster loved seeing all the birds. We were in the sensory garden in this picture. She loved the toucan, macaw and other assortments of parrots.

Time to pose with some statues.

If you have older kids I suggest taking Skyfari. It looks like a great way to see the rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and birds. I think Big Dog was more interested in the people being flown across the sky than the animals in the exhibits. Maybe next summer we will try it.

Were the otters able to entertain GH?

Nope, they were otter failures:) That's a little Penguins of Madagascar joke. GH did have a great time at the zoo. He seemed to really like the aquarium. He loved the jellyfish. He also enjoyed the jungle.

We had no plans today.....

But, we ended up having a lot of fun. We decided to hop in the SUV and have an adventure. Our first stop was to the Platte River State Park. It was beautiful. The kids loved the horses. Can you blame them? They are beautiful animals. I can see why people fall in love with horses.


Rooster was very impressed with the horses. I really hope Rooster doesn't ask for a pony. If anyone is getting a pony around here, it's gonna be me:)

We saw a lot of turkeys. This really impressed me because I'm not a country girl. These were the most turkeys I've ever seen at one time. We found a wishing well.

The wishing well had a dirt bottom. So Rooster wasn't very impressed.

Do you see the indifference?
I made them pose for a million random photos today:)

We took a trail to find some tee-pees.

They were pretty impressive.

GH was peeved when we left. He screamed and went into a full body temper tantrum. I guess living in a tee-pee down by the river is appealing to him.

Rooster also liked the tee-pees, just not to the degree GH did.

Then we headed over to the Gretna Fishery. They had this nice geological site.

They had tons of ducks. GH kept saying "da, da, da" and followed them around.

The fish were huge so the kids could see them. The kids liked the little museum they had there. The fishing nets were interesting.
I really like this picture:)

Then we went to the aquarium. But, it was so much more than an aquarium. They really packed a lot of interesting things in a relatively small area.

Rooster enjoyed seeing the turtles in this exhibit.

That fish has my baby!!!!!

Rooster and Big Dog were screaming as they ran from tank to tank. They really liked the fish and turtles.

They have an awesome sensory area. People are encouraged to touch items that they wouldn't normally have a chance to experience. There were so many different types of things to touch in this area. (Pelts, wood, rocks, antlers, feathers, jaw bones and teeth). It was awesome.

Big Dog wasn't impressed with the art display;)

While the boys wasted time looking at photographs. Rooster was busy conducting important research:)

Captain Awesome wanted this picture. We're lucky GH didn't lose an eye:)

Rooster liked the bird observatory area. We saw a lot of bluebirds today. But, we weren't able to get good pictures:(

Sweet Dreams Big Dog

cool

The kids loved the new sprinkler ring we got them. Unfortunately it got a big hole in it by the time we were done. Tell me we aren't the only ones who struggle with this.

GH is very proud that he can now climb into this car without help.

Rooster wanted to make sure that Trouble didn't get dehydrated. So she kept bringing Trouble "soup".

GH thought the yard needed to be mowed. I don't see the rush. Creeping Charlie has taken over our yard.....and thats a super short weed.

Captain Awesome is the voice of a generation

He's just like Kanye and P Diddy;) He "writes" music too. Well he kind of copies everyone elses music and passes it off as his own. Captain Awesome is currently working on what I'm sure will be a masterpiece. I know he will truly capture the voice of our generation. It is sung to the chorus of Pina Colada.

"If you like sleazy Obama
Whatchin your money go down the drain
If your not into Socialism
If you have half a brain.
If you hate stayin up til midnight
to complete your taxes."

To me it captures the confusion of our times. It's just a start...but, when he makes some additions I'll let you all know:)

UPDATE: Captain Awesome wants to make this additional version public

"If you like pleasin Obama
Flushin your money down the drain
If your not into saving
If you have half a brain."

He likes to change it up. You know...keep it real.

Magic Marker Monday

Big Dog was excited to work with magic markers today.

The following are some of Roosters pieces of artwork from today.

Rooster titled this artwork "Submarine".

Rooster titled this one "Mommy and Ruzenka".

Rooster titled this one "Monster":D

Umm sorry thats a duplicate

This morning

The kids spent a good 20 minutes looking out the back door. This gave me time to fill up sippy cups for today and cut a bowl full of strawberries. Talk about lucky for me. The boys really enjoyed watching the contruction workers tear off the shingles of the house next door. Rooster kept saying "What a mess....clean it up"


We went to the park this morning. The kids had a blast. Before we left I had to put a hat on GH. He has really delicate skin and can burn even when he has sunscreen on. Doesn't he look cute? Of course he does:) Well, Big Dog thought he needed to wear a hat to the park too. So guess what he picked to wear................:D

I told GH this was his sensory box for today.

The Republican Rollercoaster....I think I'm gonna vomit

Well I'm sure most people have seen the video of Sarah Palin announcing the resignation as Governor of Alaska. She did not seem herself. She seemed really on edge, definitely not the confident Sarah we usually see. There are two main theories for her odd behavior. 1) A real big scandal 2) She is running for president in 2012. If the second theory is correct I wonder how confident she is in her decision? Her behavior wouldn't indicate confidence in my opinion. I personally feel she should have finished her term. But, perhaps a third theory that she has cracked would explain whats going on. Ok, so she probably didn't "crack" but, I wish Mark Sanford, would.

Governor Mark Sanford has refused to step down as Governor of South Carolina. I don't think he should step down because he is "easy". That's between him, his wife and his mistress(es). But to me he just reeks of selfishness. His comparison of himself to David from the Bible is laughable. Talk about desperately seeking a reason to remain in power.


I know they "cleared" him of misusing tax payers money to visit his mistress in Argentina. But, in the same article the following is said.

Sanford, who stepped down as chairman of the Republican Governors Association when he first confessed to the affair, has said he will repay state funds he used for the Argentine leg of the trade mission.

Does that sound innocent to you? It doesn't to me.

Fourth of July stuff

We watched the Macy's Fourth of July Celebration on the big screen. There was a band playing during the fireworks show. Big Dog was very impressed with the fireworks and the instruments. He found a chopstick and started to "play" it around the house. I thought he looked pretty cute so I snapped this photo:) The kids loved it and wanted to see more fireworks. My kids have never been fans of fireworks. But, since they asked we decided to take them out for a ride around town. We ended up staying in the car but we were able to see the towns fireworks up close, and bug free:) Big Dog thought the fireworks were awesome and he kept asking for more. As if I have any control over the fireworks display:D Rooster thought they were beautiful and asked me to be quiet a few times because she was watching:O

Happy Fourth of July

We hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July!

Saturday Seven

Seven Things That Happened This Week
1) GH learned to blow kisses. He also loves to put on hats and wear them around the house.
2) GH also learned to climb onto the small slide using the steps. See video of kids playing on the slip and slide.
3) GH likes to mess with Trouble by taking her dog dish and loading it into his dump truck and driving it around.
4) The kids (or KG) lost the door handle of the downstairs bathroom. So we have to find it before someone gets locked in:) Can you imagine that it has been hard to find? You wouldn't think it would be with the piles of toys laying around the house;)
5) Big Dog flooded two sinks this week. This week his water play has reached an estimated $152 worth of damages. ($150 for a new cell & $2 for a bottle of Dawn detergent that was 2/3 full) We're hoping next week is a bit cheaper:)
6) Roosters room is complete. She and the boys are always in that room. I think Big Dog is jealous. I did purchase paint for his room. So I'll get to work on it soon:)
7) Captain Awesome came home from work today and made a great BBQ for us. We had T-bones, crab, salads, corn on the cob. It was awesome. April was right we made too many crab legs. There was no way we could finish them. Why didn't I listen to her? She lives in Alaska for heavens sake...she might know a little bit about how much to prepare:D