"We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo..."

It was a beautiful day to head to the Fort Worth Zoo earlier this week. We went with Craig's siblings and a two cousins and had a very, very nice visit.

Lots of animals. These are just a few of course.

(Yes, there were tigers and bears right next door, but I think that cliche has been done already.)

We stopped for lunch were The Bug and Miss. P. explored the wonders of gravel.


I'm not sure what is going on here with Aunt Cheri.



The highlight for The Bug had to be when we got some ice cream.


He was not to be denied. Everyone else was having some after all.

Everyone except Big I. He was happier with his lollypop.

Ice-bound

Craig was getting a little tired of being stuck in the house...


He said it was pretty good skating as long as you avoided the manhole covers and around the storm drains.


The FedEx guy had to stop in the middle of his (very slow) rounds to take a picture too.

New Pants

Craig got some new hockey pants. He was so excited, he had to share his enthusiasm.


Big I seemed quite comfortable, if a little confused.

Passed Out

Came home this afternoon to this:


Must have been some party. (And where are Big I's pants?!?)

Autumnfest '09

Our church down in Carrollton, St. Catherine of Siena, had its annual Autumnfest. Along with the booths and food and music, they have a 5k/1mile run-walk. Since I haven't been doing much running, we just showed up for the mile.

Big I was ready to go first thing.


I'm happy to report that I jogged most of it and felt fine and Craig also jogged it all while pushing the stroller. I was very proud of him for jogging the whole thing.

Big I, for his part, ran circles around the competition.



He had obviously worked up a big appetite by later in the day. And by the way, if you ever feed him cheese tortellini, keep your hands and feet clear, he loves the stuff. After he finished the pasta, he picked up the bowl and started scooping the sauce out. Then he dipped his tofu and avocado in it. Yum, yum.


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And wouldn't you know it, after days of rain here, my rain lilies bloomed. I thought they were about dead.

My Hero

Big I and I came home late the other night. It was well after his bedtime but he had had a late nap and was not the least bit interested in going to sleep (even though I was). Rather than drive myself batty rocking a squirmy baby, I took him to the family room to play quietly for a while. Or sso I thought.

Unfortunately, I discovered that I had left the pantry door open and we all know the consequences of that mistake. (I was so sure I had double-checked too.) So now, it was almost 10 and there was trash everywhere. Really bad trash...meat containers, unrinsed yogurt containers, fruit pits, stale tortilla chip pieces that were now ground into the carpet. I had been telling myself all day that I needed to take it all out, but never did. To make matters worse, Big I's toys were still on the floor and the dogs mixed all of those up with the trash.

And of course Brisco looked like a stuffed black olive.

Since the little guy was still up, I had to clean it all up with a baby either clinging to me, being held at bay with one hand or sitting on the floor where I plopped him crying. I had to get it taken care of since my niece and nephew were coming over first thing in the morning. Craig was at his hockey game and he usually hangs out for a while afterward with his buddies so I wasn't counting on any help any time soon. I had mentally rehearsed all of the self-pitying, accusatory things I could say as soon as he got back though. (Ha! As if it was anyone's fault but my own!)

Eventually it got mostly cleaned up and Big I went to sleep. And to my surprise, Craig comes bee-bopping through the door much earlier than I expected. Poor guy, he took one look at my face and asked "What happened?". I skipped all of my well-rehearsed retorts and just let him know that he needed to watch his step and I would mop and vacuum in the morning.

"No, I'll take care of it. You go to bed," he says. Wha??

So, my dear, sweet husband, after a long day at work and a hockey game (at least they won) proceeded to to the following at 10:30 at night:

• pick up all the clutter off the floor
• cut the fibers and 'stuff' off of the beater brush on the Roomba
• run the Roomba
• run the dishwasher
  
• mop the kitchen floor
• wash the dishes
• clear off and do a major wipe-down of the kitchen counter

A girl can't ask for more than that.

And they lived happily everafter.

The End