Freedom

My summer is officially ending. I finished at the hospital last Friday, and I'm back at the school this week trying to get everything as ready as possible - because vacation starts on Saturday! The tricky bit is that we get back on the following Saturday and football starts Monday [insert big crazy grin of trepidation here]. So it's been a few days of cleaning and sorting and organizing, as always. I need to take my camera with me so I can show you my new toy. Really have to get into the paperwork today, boo.

But there's other stuff going on around here as well. Like a trip to the zoo!
We took a different approach this year, and road the tram up to the Primate/Fish house first thing (because we never manage to make it up there) and the kids loved it! Mason and Aubrey are very big fans of the monkeys. We saw this adorable (but supposedly fierce) cat and I wanted to take him home.
He was most agitated and vigilant. And this was why.
His new neighbor. Poor little kitty - didn't seem to be a big fan of a bigger kitty moving in next door. The big kitty was unfazed by it all.

I think Mason could have watched the monkeys all day, the gorilla too.
Even though the gorilla wasn't as exciting, no swinging on ropes or anything fun like that.
Elliott is very good at impersonating the gorilla. I should have gotten a video. After the gorillas, it was down the hill, and a ride on the Australian train. I was really good this year, and took very few pictures of the animals. But then, I didn't get very many with people in them either, and neither did mom. Odd. After the roos and koalas, it was over to the dinos.
Not the best photo ever, but it's got all three of the kids, which isn't the easiest thing to do. Paul and Peg took pictures too, so I'm hoping they got some good ones. Then we headed over to see the giraffes.
Aubrey is definitely an animal lover. Which means that I can use her as my excuse to go to the zoo for years to come!

We went and saw the wolves, but the beavers didn't swim for us.
Should we worry that both boys felt the need to put their fingers up the nose?

We saw the bears and the seals/sea lions next.
A view from the upper deck at the seals, as I attempted to keep the boys from falling through the railing into the pool. It was time for lunch, and then we went to the Rainforest (again something we normally don't make it too because everyone has had enough).
The orangutan's are my favorite, and the baby was so cute, trying to get attention from this big guy.

A great day - even if it was crazy hot.

I've been trying to finish up as many of my knitting and spinning projects as I can before we leave. Monday night, I hit a speed bump.
And there was carnage. This is what happens when a knitter can't find the things she needs. This is me searching for blocking pins (which ended up being in a bag upstairs, where they totally do not belong). And after I had made a trip to the store to get new darning needles because mine had gone missing (and are still missing!) but before I couldn't find my blocking boards (which ended up being in the front hall closet?!). All around, not a good night.

And though I don' t have pictures yet, I've finished up the Tudor Grace scarf out of my handspun, and the spinning project I did for the month - "Life, Love, Laughter" - all 8 oz of it. Will hopefully be able to finish the Shaelyn shawl tonight or tomorrow so that it can be blocked before vacation.

Then comes the tricky bit - deciding what knitting projects to take with me!