Toledo Zoo

Jim's boss, Todd, is taking a transfer to a course in Tennessee, and for now, he is not going to be replaced here in Michigan. Jim is going to be very busy these next few months as he does his own work, takes over Todd's responsibilities, and loses most of his seasonal staff. Knowing that he will be working many hours in the next few months, Jim decided to take a day off yesterday to do something fun with Drew and me. Todd and his wife, Sarah, live in Toledo, and Sarah works at the Toledo Zoo. They gave us tickets to the zoo, and we decided to spend the day there yesterday.
The Toledo Zoo is one of the Top Ten zoos in the country, and after spending the day there, we could see why. We loved it! Because of the threat of rain, it wasn't at all crowded yesterday, and the weather was in the low 70's. The animals were fairly active because of the mild weather, and we were amazed at how close many of them came to the windows. We were able to see these animals so well!
Our first stop was at the Arctic exhibit to see the Polar bears. We loved watching them swim around. Then we went to the African safari area to see the giraffes and zebras. There is a train that goes around this area, and we were disappointed that it wasn't running yesterday. I'm sure it would have been a neat experience.

After we got through the Arctic and African areas, we went up a ramp and across a bridge that passed over a road.

We saw penguins. It was interesting to see them outdoors.

Meercats.

This sloth bear was so funny. He was sitting propped up against the window sleeping. He was so out of it!

A huge rhino.

Elephant.

A little petting farm of goats.

A chimpanzee that was right up by the glass.

This orangutan was absolutely huge!

These guys were putting on quite a show. They were running and swinging all around. We stayed there for quite a while.

This guy was sitting right up in the window. He was sitting in the bin that his food had come in, and he was eating. Drew enjoyed watching him eat, and he kept telling us what was on the monkey's menu.

This huge gorilla was sitting up by the window too. He was enormous, and it was amazing to be able to look right into his face and study him so closely!

We went back to the Arctic exhibit again at the end, and we were able to see the seals swimming and being fed.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Toledo Zoo, and we can't wait to go back again!

Ice Cream Sandwich

When I was at the store the other day, I found a box of mini ice cream sandwiches, and I knew that they would be a popular treat with someone at our house. I gave him one this afternoon and let him eat it on the porch. Drew always holds his food with his thumbs and pointer fingers as he eats.

Drew loved his ice cream sandwich, but he was very messy by the end!

What a fun summer treat!

Our Little Reader

Drew loves reading! He often asks us to read him stories, and he loves to go to the library. The chair in his bedroom is one of his favorite reading spots. We read to him in this chair before his naps and before bed. Recently, we've been finding him sitting in his chair and reading on his own. This book, "Dinosaur Roar," is a favorite of his, and it is one of several books that he has memorized. It is so cute to hear him say the words that go along with each page.

Jim and I both love to read, so we are thrilled that Drew enjoys it too.

"Baxaball" and Easter Egg Hunt

Today I want to share a few scrapbook pages I've made this summer. These pages are both based on sketches from http://letsscrap.ning.com
We bought Drew a basketball hoop early this summer, and he loves to play with it. He shoots his little Nerf basketball, and when he makes a basket, he says that he "hooped it." When he misses, he says, "I miss!" He calls this game "baxaball," and Jim and I are often recruited to play with him. This is a page I made with pictures from Drew's first Easter Egg hunt. He and I were in Greenville at Easter, so he hunted for eggs in my parents' front yard.

You can see these pages better by clicking on them to enlarge them.

Tooth Fairy Pillow

After a month of blog neglect, I am finally back. We've had a busy month! My parents were here the first week of July, and then Drew and I travelled home to Greenville, SC with them (by way of St. Louis, MO and Paducka, KY) and then spent the next week there. When we got back, our laptop started having problems, and we've been without it for the past two weeks. We got it back from the computer repair shop over the weekend (while my sister Nora and her boyfriend Clarke were here visiting). Our computer seems to be in good working order at last, and all of our out-of-town guests have come and gone for the summer, and our travelling is done as well, so perhaps I can get back into some kind of normal blogging routine again now.
Jocelyn, our friends' daughter, turned 7 last week, and for her birthday, I decided to make her a tooth fairy pillow. I had seen some cute ones on http://etsy.com, and since owls are so popular right now, I decided to try to make one. I sketched out my own pattern and used it for everything but the pocket. I had bought Drew a pair of brown corduroy pants from the thrift store, and when I got home, I realized that the knees were more worn than I had thought. I decided to cut them up and recycle them as part of my pillow. I used one of the back pockets (which already had the button and the flap) and just finished the edges and attached it to the owl's back. I was even able to use the pocket lining as the backing on the owl's ears (horns?). The eyes and beak are felt, and I blanket stitched around the eyes. It turned out as I had pictured it in my mind, so I was pleased. It ended up being the perfect gift because Jocelyn has lost 2 teeth since we gave her the pillow!

Cook's Dairy Farm

Mom, Dad, Drew, and I drove up to Ortonville, MI one day last week for an afternoon at Cook's Dairy Farm.

We got ice cream right away - first things first! Mom and Dad got Cowpuchino, and I got Cow Pie. Both were so good!

We looked at the cows while we ate.

Drew shared with everyone.

Drew enjoyed looking at the cows but was a little nervous.

Once we got over to the baby calves, he wasn't nervous anymore. He wanted to pet them.

Now brave, he also wanted to pet the pigs, but we didn't think that was the best idea.

We came back around to look at the big cows again.

Drew and my dad in front of the huge tractor

We had a great time at the farm, and Drew has been talking about cows ever since!

Our Fourth of July

We celebrated Fourth of July with my parents again this year. July 4th is my mom's birthday, so we were especially glad that she decided to spend her birthday with us this year! Jim was busy at work all day, but the rest of us had fun shopping and relaxing, and we had bruschetta chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans for Mom's birthday dinner - yum! After dinner we took Drew out to the yard for a few pictures with his little flag.

Drew and the birthday girl

We went out to Rackham Golf Course to see the fireworks that evening. We were happy to spend time waiting for dark with the Johns, Weirichs, Scallys, and several other people from our church. Drew enjoyed a snow cone.

The little guys played with the football for a while.

Drew and Nathan blew bubbles for a long time.

We had a great Fourth of July!