This is a MASSIVE picture post! Tammy and Jeff treated us to a trip to the Dallas Zoo to celebrate everyone being here all at once (minus Colton, whom we really missed!). We took the DART to the zoo and Derek was finally old enough to appreciate being on a "train." He and Isaac especially loved it.
Isaac was thrilled that we got to go on the train
This is Derek's new "cheese" face. Stinker.
I cannot believe this is the only picture I got of Preston at the zoo! He wasn't asleep for long...
Liz had Isaac and Andrew enthralled with everything from "slippery fish" to chewing gum
Our two explorers extraordinaire and the infamous "copperhead"
The kid's zoo portion had added a walkabout river that was a HUGE hit with the boys
Loved this action shot - Andrew was losing his balance right at the edge of a drop off. Of course, I was ready to dash in to catch him! Luckily he managed to regain his balance before he slipped.
What studly nephews I have!
Cheese!
Andrew spent a lot of time with this little conure. He was loving and hating it.
Isaac didn't like how sharp the talons were, but he allowed the conure to perch on his hat
I love Sereen's look of pure thrill! So glad we got to know her better!
Derek took a leaf out of Isaac's book... look at his hat
I took Isaac through some little tunnels to see the mongooses and the hornbill. He got so excited when a mongoose came right up next to the bubble. He'd stage-whisper and point, "There's one!"
Such a huge contrast to Derek's last encounter with the goats at Dallas Zoo!
Isaac was so earnest about getting Derek to "come see the sheep" with him
Isaac grabbed Derek's hand, led him to the sheep and then led him back to the goats. They took turns leading each other around the rest of the day - it was so cute!
This is such a cool shot - I got a light reflection shot that makes the tiger's eye seem like it glows. I think it was only pretending to be asleep
Isaac begged to go pet the camels; Derek was content to watch from a distance
Holy huge mass of snake, Batman! Pretty sure this albino burmese python could've eaten me - Derek wouldn't have been much more than a snack!
African bullfrog (mentioned in Jurassic Park)
A very large, very unsettling Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake - I think she was fascinated by the blinking red light on my camera
I can't remember what kind of monitor this is, but he sure was photogenic!
Don't remember the name of this turtle either, but he was in the same display as the monitor above. Check out that long neck! Sorry for the blur, but I thought he was too cool not to share.
Isaac got Derek excited about the rhinocerous
A species of vulture - I think it was Sereen or Liz or Lanae who was grossed out by the wattle, hehe
God bless America and the bald eagle
Very large Andean Condor - the female has blood red eyes and the male has golden eyes. Cool
A breeding pair of endangered raptors
Uncle Mitchell had Logan in stitches as he over-exaggerated being hit by Logan. Love that game!
I sure do love that man and his way with kids!
Logan absolutely cracks me up!
We loved the lions! Plus, it was nice to be in an air conditioned place after a hot day at the zoo!
Lions are grumpy when they first wake up
Love this perspective. Lions are much bigger up close than you might think.
The big boys wanted to ride on the carousel with the little boys, so we made that our last stop on the way out of the zoo. Logan picked the okapi!
Loved Andrew's bald eagle. Austin was trying to get Andrew to look at Aunt Lanae for a picture
What a cool triceratops, Isaac!
Derek wasn't too sure about the whole carousel experience. His cheetah was pretty cool though
Headed home on the DART. What a great day!
Rangers Game!!! Mitchell scored some free tickets from work to see a Texas Rangers baseball game! My wonderful sister Amy and her friend Molly agreed to babysit all the grandkids (except Preston who had to come with us) for nearly 6 hours! They did a superb job and had some realyl funny stories to tell us when we got back. For instance, they were really entertained by how enthralled Andrew was with The Lion King. He didn't move after they turned it on. Logan got up to dance during "I Just Can't Wait to be King" and Derek and Isaac joined in. I'll add more of the funny ones as I remember them...
I think Preston loved being at the game! Not one peep of protest from this little stud!
Sisters (in-law)!!
For Amy...
Preston and Jared!
