Fun at the Zoo

For the past week we have been fortunate to get a break from the cold.  The temperatures have been in the 60's with plenty of sun.  Valentine's Weekend saw a continuation of the beautiful weather so we decided to take the kids to one of their favorite places-the Atlanta Zoo.  

Susan and Will both love watching the Flamingos.  They are the first animals you see when you enter the zoo. 

This is a picture of Mei Lan, the panda born at the Atlanta Zoo a little over 2 years ago.  She is almost full grown now.

And this is the new baby panda born at the Atlanta Zoo a couple of months ago.  His name is Xi Lan.  This is a picture of him and his mom Lun Lun.  The 2 of them were playing and we really had fun watching them.   

Within the last year at the zoo there was quite the baby explosion.  These are the not so little lion cubs playing.

Here is the proud daddy and 2 of the lion cubs.  They have official names, but Will refers to the lions as Mufasa, Sirabe, Simba, Nala, and Scar.  If those names sound familiar, it's because they are the names of the lions in the movie "The Lion King".

Will doing his best lion roar.

One of Will's favorite animals at the zoo is the Komodo Dragon.  The is a bronze statue of the Komodo outside the reptile house that Will loves to play on.

Daddy and Susan on the Merry-go-round.

The have recently renovated a play area at the zoo and put in some great new playground equipment.  Of course they have a big, curvy slide that, up until today, Susan had been afraid to go down.  She decided that she was finished watching Will have all the fun and away she went.  After that, there was no stopping her.  She kept saying "1 more minute" so she could down the slide again.

Daddy, Susan, and Will on the train.

All 4 of us having fun on the see-saw.

Let's go swimming now, everybody's learning how...

Growing up, I had the opportunity to try out many different sports.  One of the things that I enjoyed most was swimming.  Fortunately, both Will and Susan have developed a love for the water as well.  Since both of them have no fear and don't hesitate to jump right in, I put them in swim lessons ASAP.  Will started lessons last June and Susan had her first lesson Jan. 7th.  They are both doing great and are having fun!

This is Will and his friend Ethan.  Will met Ethan during his first swim session and the 2 of them became good friends.  They now take private lessons together with Mr. Kyle.

This is Susan and Ethan's sister Emma.  The 2 girls got tired of watching their big brother's learn to swim so we arranged for them to start swim lessons also.

Susan on the kickboard with her swim teacher Ms. Michelle

Susan swimming with a little help from Ms. Michelle.

Susan loves to kick her feet and make big splashes while swimming.

Susan going under.  She does really well and comes up laughing.

Will has come along way since June of last year.  Here he is swimming back to the steps.  He swims independently and is working on learning to use his arms correctly and keeping his face in the water. 

Will working with the kickboard floating on his back.

Happy 4th Birthday, Will!

Ahoy, Mates!  On January 17th we celebrated Will's 4th birthday with a Pirate themed party complete with a treasure hunt.  Despite some of the coldest temperatures we've seen in 6 years and snow flurries, the kids had a great time!  The birthday boy said it was "his best 4th birthday ever!"

When the kids needed to thaw out, they came in for a while and worked on some crafts we had for them.  The girls could made a princess crown and necklace and the boys made a pirate hat, eye patch, and sword.  

What pirate party would be complete without a treasure hunt?!  The kids were all given maps and had to find their way past the dolphins, mermaid lagoon, Skull Island and finally to Treasure Island where the treasure was.  

After the treasure hunt, we headed back inside to warm up and eat cake.

Will opening some of his "Pirate Booty"

Let's go Thrashers!

This past weekend we were able to catch a Thrashers hockey game with Anna and Albert.  The Thrashers are having a rough season, but managed to pull off a win after sudden death and a shoot-out.  Way to go Thrashers!

We had great seats- 4 rows up from the ice so we felt like we were in the middle of the action.  It was Anna and Albert's first hockey game and all Anna wanted to see was a fight.  She got her wish- a fight broke out within the first 5 seconds of the game.

Our mascot- "THRASH"

Reviving an old tradition

When we were growing up, my parents were good friends with 2 other couples-the Page's and the Balun's.  Our families share many found memories together.  For many years we all got together on Christmas Eve.  As our families have grown and changed, getting together for the holidays has become more challenging.  This year, though, we were able to bring almost everyone back together for some fun. 

It all began with these 6... Left to right: Linda, Harry, Sharon, Stan, Paul, and Donna.

Some of the "kids"and a new addition... Left to right: Scott, Chris, Jonathin, and Tim.

Mom, Lesley, and Emma.

The "kids" of the "kids"... Left to right: Will, Hannah, Will, and Rachel.

It is a well known fact amongst our families that if you put our dad's together, there is not much that they can't build, fix, or put together.  For Christmas, we got an air hockey table.  George and my dad spent most of the day putting it together before everyone arrived.  However, reinforcements were necessary.  Before long, Dad, Paul, and Harry were busy at work.

How many grandpa's does it take to put together an air hockey table?

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

In addition to the fun and excitement of Santa visiting our house, we paused to remember the true meaning of Christmas.  What better way to remember the birth of Jesus than with a birthday party!  Mom baked a cake and Will and Susan helped to put the icing on.  After dinner, we put candles on the cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.