Because Eric's in between projects at the house right now, he was willing to spend the day with me and the kids today. (Otherwise, it's tough to pull him away!) It was supposed to be beautiful day today, so we narrowed it down to either the Zoo or Kings Island. Audrey wanted to go to KI, Conner to the zoo. I made the deciding vote on zoo just because we've spent a lot of time recently at KI and Eric hadn't been to the zoo in a while.
We drove the Jeep (always a fun ride) and made it to the zoo around 12:30. After eating lunch (which I'd packed), we headed off to find the snakes (Audrey's new favorite) and the new Komodo dragon exhibit (Eric's choice). We passed by a couple of zoo workers holding some sort of rainbow boa constrictor - Conner and Aud were more than happy to pet it. Closer to the reptile house there were three more workers holding various sizes of snakes. The smaller one (another type of rainbow constrictor) was being passed around the crowd of kids surrounding it. It was at this point that I realized that I didn't have a camera with me! I hardly ever have my digital camera because my cell phone takes pretty good pictures.... but I didn't even have my phone with me today! I must've left it in the Flex at home. Of course.
Anyway, Conner got his turn to have the snake draped over his shoulders and loved it... Audrey, despite her affinity for snakes, wasn't going for it.
The next worker had another type of constrictor that was bigger. Instead of one person holding it, Eric, Audrey, and Conner all sat down on a bench where she laid it on their laps. I'm not much of a snake person, so I declined their invitation to sit with them. Again, it would've been a great time to have a camera!
On to snake #3. This was the largest constrictor - the worker said it was 42 pounds. We chatted with him (the worker, not the snake) for a few minutes, then Eric asked if he could hold it. The guy said sure and draped it over his shoulders. (Which would've made perfect camera time #3!) Several people were unsure about having a snake so close (one girl absolutely freaked out when her kid got close enough to touch) but the worker was saying that they'd never have anything out there that could injure anyone. Said that they're basically like a golden retriever with scales.
We spent the rest of our afternoon wandering around like normal. The komodo dragon was pretty neat - Eric was amazed to find out that it eats up to 80% of its body weight at every meal (so at a max of 175 lbs, that's 140 lbs per meal!). We didn't make it around to the side of the zoo with the bears and manatees, but did see the giraffes and elephants and ride the train.
It was a great afternoon! I just wish I would've remembered a camera. :(
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Afternoons...
We met Amber and Brenden and Emery at Coney Island this morning to do some swimming - might not have been the best choice for us! Yesterday I met Mom at Jeffersonville around lunchtime to pick up the kids. They'd spent the weekend at the cottage doing all kinds of fun stuff and wearing themselves out. We left Jeffersonville and went to King's Island for the afternoon, then went to Milford for my softball game, then to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. It was close to 9:00 when we got home. After saying hi to Daddy the kids headed up to bed.
I told Conner that he had to stay in bed until 8:00 (knowing that he was tired... and this is sleeping in for him!) and I know Aud slept in, too, but they're both worn out from the past few days' adventures. Audrey had a melt down at Coney (cried the whole way home until she fell asleep) and Conner wasn't too bad aside from some not-listening incidents but I could tell he was tired. I sent both kids up to their rooms when we got home for some quiet time. These couple of late-afternoon hours (say, between 3 and 5) are the worst of the day! We like to get out in the morning to do something (Audrey asks me every night when she goes to bed "Where are we going in the morning?") and usually pack a lunch to take along, but they get tired and it's time to head home soon thereafter.
Right now Audrey's crying upstairs because I won't let her come down yet (I'm hoping she'll lie down and go to sleep) and Conner's been awfully quiet in his room so I'm thinking he nodded off. Here's hoping we can make it to dinner time without too much fuss!
I told Conner that he had to stay in bed until 8:00 (knowing that he was tired... and this is sleeping in for him!) and I know Aud slept in, too, but they're both worn out from the past few days' adventures. Audrey had a melt down at Coney (cried the whole way home until she fell asleep) and Conner wasn't too bad aside from some not-listening incidents but I could tell he was tired. I sent both kids up to their rooms when we got home for some quiet time. These couple of late-afternoon hours (say, between 3 and 5) are the worst of the day! We like to get out in the morning to do something (Audrey asks me every night when she goes to bed "Where are we going in the morning?") and usually pack a lunch to take along, but they get tired and it's time to head home soon thereafter.
Right now Audrey's crying upstairs because I won't let her come down yet (I'm hoping she'll lie down and go to sleep) and Conner's been awfully quiet in his room so I'm thinking he nodded off. Here's hoping we can make it to dinner time without too much fuss!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A big day at Coney
We made it home from our Panama City Beach vacation on Sunday afternoon (I'll post more on that with pictures later) and have since been trying to get back into our normal summer routine. Usually our (the kids and my) day consists of sleeping til 8:30 or so (ok, that's just me usually - the kids get up earlier and head down to watch tv and play) then deciding on a plan of action for the day. Coney Island is a frequent choice, especially when our friends Amber, Brenden, and Emery can go with us.
Today I woke up to a rainy, gloomy day. We went over to Walmart and got Conner's school supplies (he was pretty excited to pick out some new stuff!) then to the library to find some books and videos. I'd originally told the kids that we could go to McDonald's for lunch but then reconsidered and decided to go home for lunch, take naps, and head down to Coney in the late afternoon. Conner wasn't too excited about the change of plans, but I could tell by his behavior on the way home that a nap was definitely a necessity.
They both took great naps after lunch (without any extra prompting/yelling/nagging on my part!) so we all got our suits on and headed down to Coney around 4:00. As we were walking in I could hear an announcement saying that the pool was temporarily closed because of lightning in the vicinity. The kids and I spent some time in the pool store (Aud needed a new float and Conner some new goggles) then found a dry spot under a big umbrella to wait it out.
Once they made the announcement that the pool was back open, the kids rushed on in. It was actually pretty nice - there weren't very many people there and we were able to head to the "island" for the kids to jump without running into anyone. Audrey did fantastic - she grew much more confident in the water last week and was actually swimming back to the ladder on her own after jumping to me. She was so excited to tell Daddy about it when she got home!
Conner rediscovered the pool slide this summer (with a little encouraging on my part) and had gone down it several times when I asked Aud if she'd like to go. I wasn't sure how she'd respond, but she said she wanted to try it and headed up the ladder with Conner on his next go-round. I was a little worried that she was going to change her mind once she reached the top, but with just a little bit of hesitation, Audrey made her way down. Her face was priceless (I'm not sure I've ever seen her eyes that big!) and she looked terrified, but as soon as she hit the bottom she popped up and was ready to go again. I think she ended up making 4 or 5 trips and was ready for more (but it had started raining again and it was time to head home). I know where we'll be spending the rest of our trips to Coney Island!
More big news from this week - the director of the preschool at New Richmond Elementary called on Monday. This was the school that I'd taken Audrey for screenings in the spring but she didn't get a spot for next year. I guess someone dropped out and now there's room for Aud! She'll go every morning on the bus (which will pick her up and drop her off at our babysitter's - perfect!!) and will be an example of a "typical" child in a special needs class - just like Conner was when he was 4. I'm so excited for her!
Today I woke up to a rainy, gloomy day. We went over to Walmart and got Conner's school supplies (he was pretty excited to pick out some new stuff!) then to the library to find some books and videos. I'd originally told the kids that we could go to McDonald's for lunch but then reconsidered and decided to go home for lunch, take naps, and head down to Coney in the late afternoon. Conner wasn't too excited about the change of plans, but I could tell by his behavior on the way home that a nap was definitely a necessity.
They both took great naps after lunch (without any extra prompting/yelling/nagging on my part!) so we all got our suits on and headed down to Coney around 4:00. As we were walking in I could hear an announcement saying that the pool was temporarily closed because of lightning in the vicinity. The kids and I spent some time in the pool store (Aud needed a new float and Conner some new goggles) then found a dry spot under a big umbrella to wait it out.
Once they made the announcement that the pool was back open, the kids rushed on in. It was actually pretty nice - there weren't very many people there and we were able to head to the "island" for the kids to jump without running into anyone. Audrey did fantastic - she grew much more confident in the water last week and was actually swimming back to the ladder on her own after jumping to me. She was so excited to tell Daddy about it when she got home!
More big news from this week - the director of the preschool at New Richmond Elementary called on Monday. This was the school that I'd taken Audrey for screenings in the spring but she didn't get a spot for next year. I guess someone dropped out and now there's room for Aud! She'll go every morning on the bus (which will pick her up and drop her off at our babysitter's - perfect!!) and will be an example of a "typical" child in a special needs class - just like Conner was when he was 4. I'm so excited for her!
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