Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Well, we actually missed the Lion's cage by accident so I guess it really should be, "Tigers and Bears, Oh My!"  Anyway, a few weekends ago we visited the Maryland Zoo.  It has been a while since we have been to the zoo, in fact I think this might have been Carter's first time to see the animals.  The Children's part of the zoo was very cool!  There were so many different interactive things the kids could do.  When we were leaving, I asked Thomas what his favorite part was.  He said that he liked the bat cave the best.

My favorite was the Polar Bears.  One of the bears was right by the window the whole time playing and splashing in the water.

Feeding the Giraffes some leaves.

Look at that tongue!

Looking at the penguins.

We took a very short camel ride.  At first Carter was a little unsure, but then got excited when he saw Thomas and me get on.  He kept saying "kiddie up horse" while we were on the ride.

The children's part of the zoo had tons of interactive things for the kids to do.

They tried out some saddles.

Got to run around with a bunch of goats.

They even got to brush them.

I love this picture.

Playing in a gigantic oriole's nest. 

They also pretended to be turtles.

My cute boys

When we got home they were both exhausted and fell asleep.

A Pirate Invasion - July 9th

A few weekends ago, we ventured over to Havre de Grace, to see the pirates invade the town.  I have to admit, the event was not exactly what I had expected, but it was very educational and the kids had fun.  We started at the Lockhouse museum and ended at the Lighthouse and keeper's dwelling.  It was really interesting to learn about the history in this area.  On the way home, Thomas asked me what kind of museums we had just gone to.  I told him that they were history museums, and he said, "I really like history museums."

The Old Lock at the Havre de Grace Lockhouse.  It was amazing to see how narrow the lock was.

Despite his smile, Carter was really not interested in taking a picture with this pirate.  This is as close as he was willing to get.

Most of the people there just looked like nice guys dressed up as pirates.  Except for this guy.  He really did look a little creepy.

This is the Havre de Grace Lighthouse.  It was constructed in 1827 at the point where the Susquehanna River meets the tidal flow of the Chesapeake Bay, where navigation was very hazardous.

Looking out into the Chesapeake Bay.

Ryan and Thomas climbed up to the top of the lighthouse.  Unfortunately, the stairs and ladder were a little too steep for Carter to go up.  Ryan said that at one point it was just a ladder with nothing underneath to catch the fall.  Thomas thought it was really cool and ended up climbing up to the top of the lighthouse again.

Looking out the lighthouse windows.

It has been a while since we have been able to get a picture of all of us together.  Too bad for all the shadows!

Sitting on the dock of the bay.

All Things Space and Science

Thomas is star struck! After going to the planetarium in UT, he has developed an obsession for Space and Science. A while ago we took the kids to the Maryland Science Center and Planetarium. The kids really loved it! In fact, they loved it so much that we went back the very next weekend.

The museum had a really cool dinosaur exhibit.

"That dinosaur is trying to eat me!"

Digging out some dinosaur bones.

"Oh, what a nice dinosaur!"

The museum also had a cool kid's room that Carter and I checked out while Thomas and Ryan were watching some planetarium shows.

This is the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It was fun to watch the boats and walk around the water.

Here are some pictures Thomas drew of the planets. I think this might have been the first time that I have seen Thomas use more than one color and use the whole page.

He saw this planet mobile at the gift shop in the museum and could not stop talking about it. So I ordered it from Amazon, which was way cheaper! He had a lot of fun painting it. I have not taken picture of the final thing, but it is hanging on his ceiling in his room.

My nephew Tyler introduced Thomas to the world of volcanoes. Tyler showed Thomas how to make a volcano in the sandbox using PVC pipe and a water hose. Thomas thought that was the coolest thing ever. So Ryan thought it would be fun to show him another way to make a volcano.

Photo Shoot with My Sister

While we were in Utah, my sister took the boys out to an old barn and took some pictures. She recently started a photography business in UT and I think she is awesome. Here are a few pics.