Sunday at the Zoo, or, A Break in the Heat

If any of you are wondering why there was no blog post of our weekend activities last week, the answer is simple: we barely left the house. We were bad parents. It was hot, and we were exhausted. Such is life. To rectify, and because there was a break in the heat on Sunday morning, it was off the zoo. Sean's parents were also in town on Friday and Saturday, so we hit the Farmers Market on Saturday morning, but Farmers Market mornings are crazy, and I spend 90% of the time making sure neither of our children are lost or kidnapped (this is a typical parental fear, right?), and the other 10% of the time scoping fruits and veg, thus there is no picture taking.

First stop, Happy Gills Cafe and Hangout. We need energy for the zoo walking. Lauren can have nuts now, and went nuts (sorry) for the yogurt with fruit and granola.



Half of the fun in going to the zoo is riding on the various forms of transportation: trains, trams and sky lifts. Above and below, Lauren checking out some of the animals from the tram (today's favorite animal: elephants).

Above, Lauren is almost too close for comfort to one of the gorillas (there were two more to her right). I think the glass could be thicker. Personal opinion.

The pictures below are from the new sky tram at the Kansas City Zoo, which takes you through the air over "Africa." Jack and I stayed behind, but the reviews were positive. And Lauren even came back with her boots on (I was sure they would fall off, which of course I didn't think about until they were well on their way, but Sean thought of it, too, and held them on). I like the progression from terrified to enjoying the ride. Next stop: skiing in Colorado this winter.

And there you have it. Now we're back to oppressive heat. It was nice while it lasted!

Sunday at Powell Gardens

This 4th of July weekend, as most if not all since we moved into this house, was unseasonably tolerable, weather-wise. Saturday was still mind-numblingly hot, so off Sean and Lauren headed to the pool, while Jack and I went to a friend's house to stay cool (Jack inherited Irish skin from his father and breaks out in a heat rash every time he's out of A/C).

But then Sunday morning, rain, and a heat break. Off we headed to Powell Gardens, a botanical garden about 40 miles outside of Kansas City, for their Jurassic exhibit.

I should note first that really this is a post for our new Power Family blog, but as Sean and I have yet to come up with an awesome name, such Power Family blog does not yet exist. But it will. In the meantime, let's be honest, even with a new baby in the house it's still all about Lauren. So her blog gets the post. Also, I forgot my camera for this adventure (insert gasp from Aunt Jane, on behalf of both herself and my mother), so these were taken with my phone. Apologies for the photo quality, but what would we do without camera phones?!?

First, a stop at You Say Tomato for brunch. You need lots of energy to spot dinosaurs.

Lauren attracts quite a bit of attention with her green rain boots. Some of you might be thinking, "smart girl! It's raining!" But you would be ignoring the fact that she's worn them for three months straight, rain or shine. This is her second pair, she literally wore the soles off of the first pair. Here, Sean and Lauren head back to the car...Lauren insisted on carrying her own 'brella:

Baby Jack arrives at Powell Gardens.

Sean and Lauren spot a dinosaur. Pretty sure it's a T-Rex. Also pretty sure that 1) Lauren thought they were real and 2) she obviously doesn't understand the ferocity of a T-Rex, as she asked to "pet him."

Honestly, water features were just as good as dinosaurs.

Waiting for the trolley...in case you can't tell, Lauren is in full meltdown mode.

They also had this cool harvest garden exhibit, and of course it included Lauren's favorite fruit: apples. Not necessarily to eat, although she like them, more just her favorite fruit to spot out and about.

Today for the 4th we drove around a bit, hit Home Depot, made pizzas...you know, the typical 4th of July traditions. Currently our neighborhood is celebrating the 4th in true Westside style...there are a billion fireworks shows all across the horizon, and our neighbors on either side are putting on quite a show of their own as well. Our street is packed with partygoers and Sean and I realize that we've gotten old, or gotten old enough to have children, rather, as we wonder aloud when is an appropriate time to throw open the windows and yell "enough already! We have children sleeping in here!" as quarter sticks of dynamite explode outside Jack's room. So far we have exercised great restraint.

Hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and everyone still has their fingers and eyeballs. And now off to bed to the sounds of Chinese-manufactured explosives....