Zoo Trip with Hilary and Noah

Hilary and Noah came up to see us for a couple of days.  We all went to the zoo together.  We had never been to the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, and Eva had never been to a zoo at all.  We had lots of fun; here are a few pics.

 Before the zoo: Lena and Noah playing together.

 Lena checking out the pelicans.

 Noah liked them too.

 Having fun already.

 It was a beautiful day.

 Noah petting some wallaby fur.

 Lena hanging out in the caboose.

 Trying to catch a chicken.

 Eva wanted to catch one too.

 Petting a goat.

 Brushing a goat.

 Noah checking out the tractor.

Daddy and Lena in the birdhouse.

 The stroller brigade.

 Lena, Noah, and Hilary watching the monkeys.

 They have really neat flamingos there.

 We thought it was funny how this duck was hanging out in the shadow of the flamingo.

 Noah having a staring contest with a monkey.

 What a face!

 Lena found something that's actually meant to be banged on.

 The double-headed snake!  (Just kidding; it's two snakes coiled together. But it really looks like a snake with heads at both ends!)

The babes got pretty tired by the end of the zoo.

Who would have thought that riding around in a stroller would be so tiring?

We had so much fun going to the zoo with Hilary and Noah.  Thanks for coming up!

Eva's First Birthday Portraits and Portraits of Both Girls

Last month we had professional photos of the girls taken.  We've always had Lena's picture taken on her birthdays, and we decided since we were going to get Eva's done, we should also get some pics of both girls together.  We did the together pics first, and Eva did pretty well with those.  By the time we got to her solo pics, she wasn't really very interested in sitting still and smiling anymore.  But we still got some good shots.

We are so blessed to have such beautiful daughters!

Maranda Park Party

Last Thursday we got to go to one Maranda's Park Parties.  Maranda Park Parties are thrown 6 times a summer at various locations around the Grand Rapids area.  They feature lots of games and fun events for kids all for free, even including lunch.  We didn't take advantage of the free lunch, but we enjoyed all the other free events.  It was a beautiful day; sunny and not too hot.  The newspaper reported that there were over 6,500 people there.

 We have to use a hat with a chin strap if we want Eva to keep her hat on.  Even with it, the hat ended up on the ground and got run over by the stroller.

 The party was held at the Barry County Fairgrounds between Middleville and Hastings.  It was huge!

 Free ice cream!

 Lena got to pet a pony. . . 

 and brush a pony. . . 

 and ride a pony!  There's a video of her riding the pony on my YouTube channel.

 Eva seemed really interested in the ponies while we were waiting in line, so we thought she would like to ride one too.  The second I set her down on the saddle, she flipped out and started crying.  I tried to calm her down, but it was a no-go.  Maybe next year!

Even after the horrible experience of sitting on a pony, she was happy enough to wave to the camera.  I have a short video of that on my YouTube channel too.

Lena loves pony rides.  She was really good and didn't throw a fit when it was time to get off.

 Eva was much happier back in her stroller with a graham cracker in hand.

 There were lots of celebrities there.  Look, it's Chief Wiggum!

 Lena got to pet a pancake turtle from Africa.

 And we saw a cool falcon.

 Whenever we were standing still in a line, Lena climbed up on the stroller to entertain Eva.

 The bouncy house.

 Another celebrity who was there was Ronald McDonald.  We tried to get Lena to go up and shake his hand, but she made it perfectly clear that she wanted NOTHING to do with him.  She wasn't really acting like herself that day; kind of shy and not as excited about things as she normally would be.

 Bouncing around.

 Pile of kids.

 There was a stage where bands played and weird people danced.  The woman in pink is Maranda and the old guy with the oxygen tank is the mayor of Hastings.

 Lena even got to sit in a Michigan State Police car!  Let's hope the only time she sits in a police car is in the front like this!

She was sad that we had to leave the party when it was over.  Luckily they were giving away suckers near the exit, so that helped smooth things over!

We had lots of fun at the park party.  We're glad they came to our neck of the woods!