Trip to the Knoxville Zoo

We love the Knoxville Zoo. Sammi loves it so much, in fact, that we haven't really seen anything else in Knoxville! So when Grandma Devine was visiting we just HAD to take her. Here are our adventures from this visit.
The Wee Play Zoo is like a mini Discovery Gateway Children's Museum centered on animal themes. Above Sammi is wearing a dress up hat for a seal or otter. Below she is dressed as a Vet and playing in the animal hospital room.
We also got to see the baby chimpanzee, George. He appears to be curious just like Sammi's favorite cartoon character.
I was so excited the lion was posed just perfectly for this regal shot. Lions are my favorite (next to cougars, of course!) and this was the best view of him we'd seen yet.
Sammi and Elli are turning into such sweet sisters and friends. They hold hands and take turns leading each other around. Sometimes they take my hand and we become a train. Such fun times.
Here's a rare shot: all three of us! Thanks, Mom. What's not so rare: we're all wearing the same color. That seems to happen frequently. Unfortunately, we forgot to get one of Grandma with the girls.

We've Settled In!

So, that was a WAY LONG break! It took forever to get the internet up and running. I was going to have great pictures of our drive across the country, but the camera died a few days before we left and I didn't want to pick out a new one without Brent's input. But, we finally got a new one once we got here, so I have a few things to share from our new home (away from home).

Sammi was a little princess on her birthday. She wore the tiara and balloon everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised when she decided to share it with Elli. What cute sisters. They have really started to playing together and even getting into trouble together.

We met a lot of med school LDS families at a 4th of July BBQ. It was fun to be surrounded by instant friends. The kids played in a little pool and then lit sparklers. IT was fun to visit and eat yummy food.

We went to the Knoxville Zoo. We bought a membership because we only have to go twice and we'll have saved money! It also gets us into the Hogle Zoo back in Utah and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. We learned a lot about the local turtles and the not-so-local rhinos. The zoo keepers were very friendly and informative.

We have one more week until Brent starts orientation and then classes. While I'm nervous about him starting and how little we're going to see him for the first several months, I think the anticipation is starting to eat us up. It's hard to be in such limbo, especially for Brent who is usually getting up and going to work everyday. But he's working hard around the house to make us feel at home. We have a garden and he is currently working on a snadbox for the girls. We also finally found chairs for our dining table and we bought paint today for them. I really hope we get that project doen before school starts!

Adventures with Grandpa

My dad was here quite a while ago and these are some of the fun things we did with him. Kim was here over labor day weekend, but somehow I don't have any pictures of her visit or our trip to the aquarium! How did that happen?

First we went to the Bean Life Science Museum (My favorite at BYU):

We also went to the zoo:

Zoo 2008

We took a family trip to the zoo March 15th. It was an overcast slightly windy day, but it was a perfect day for an outing to the zoo. All of the animals were out and about. It was breakfast time for most of them (or maybe an early lunch) and Sammi loved seeing them eating. We got two pictures before the batteries died in the camera (of course we weren't prepared with extra ones!)

Sammi's favorites were the snakes--she actually touched two!--and the alligator. She was fascinated by the white alligator that is in a house all by itself. She would tell any adult who would look at her, "Alligator! Alligator!" while pointing to it. She also liked the penguins who were walking around. There was a baby giraffe that she thought was pretty cute.

In the reptile house there are two crocodiles and she loved them too. After seeing them the first time, she ran around the whole house again looking for them at every corner. She thought they were pretty awesome. So of course we just had to go see the white alligator again before we left.

I would say that it was a successful outing. The weather was just right for being outside. The animals must have thought it was perfect, too, because they were so active. The two cougars were running all around and up and down on their branches and batting at the big ball in their enclosure. Sammi saw them and said, "Pet them! Pet them!" She also wanted to pet the alligator. So we have a little bit to go before she has animal safety down. But animal enthusiasm is a great start. Maybe she'll be a zoo keeper...

Vacation!

I love vacation! It's the recovery from vacation that's always a bit rough. We had an awesome vacation in Washington this last week. Our vacation started at 3:45 am on Wednesday morning and ended at 1:00 Wednesday morning the next week. We took an early flight to Seattle Washington. Samantha woke up at 4:00 am and stayed awake until about 30 minutes into our flight. She didn't seem bothered by flying in the least. She fell asleep and then we put her on the floor in front of us. Isn't she cute! We rented a car and drove into Seattle. We were lost several times but eventually found the Seattle Center and made it to the Science Museum. It was fun with lots of cool exhibits. They had a special dinosaur one that I particularly liked. The stuff for kids was fun and Sam just wanted to walk everywhere! She would hold our fingers or push the stroller, but she wasn't up for letting go...yet! After the museum we drove to Shelton and stayed with Brent's grandpa.

On Thursday we went with him into Tacoma and went to lunch at a nice sandwich shop and then to the Glass Museum. They have a workshop where you can watch glass artists making cool things. It was awesome. They also had a really cool, education exhibit about glass art including technique, medium, purpose and stuff. It helped me appreciate everything we saw a bit more. Sam learned the fine art of carrying a purse! We got in trouble for taking this picture inside the museum. But they were nice since it wasn't of any of the art.

Friday was a relaxing day. We stayed at Grandpa and Ann's house enjoying the beauty of Puget Sound and all the pretty flowers that grow in Washington. We helped Grandpa water the flowers (it took us about two and a half hours) and when we finished it started raining! All that water. That afternoon Brent, Sam, Grandpa and I dug clams down on the beach. I haden ver dug clams before. Sam and I had fun picking them up, after Brent and Grandpa dug them up, and putting them in the bucket. If Brent and Grandpa didn't go fast enough Sam would take the clams out and make a pile of them and then put them back in the bucket! That night Brent and I went on a date! We went to Xinh's for seafood and then to the Shelton bowling alley for an hour of bowling. We had such a nice time. Sam had a nice time while we were gone; she decided to take her first steps! Caitlyn got her to take seven steps!

Saturday was a busy day. We went back to Tacoma and went to the zoo and aquarium. Sam loved how close she could get to the animals and the water-life. There was a fascinating exhibit on seahorses. They had some pretty fantastical looking seahorses! We also saw a herd of caribou that were all perched on the edge of their little cliff staring intently at the yak in the neighboring area. They also had sea otters, walruses, whales and polar bears. It was a fun zoo.

Well, this post is getting long so I'll finish the rest of our trip in another one. Enjoy the pictures!