Memorial Day Weekend at the National Zoo

Yesterday we went to the National Zoo. We saw lots of animals. Lily's favorites this time were the elephants and the meerkats. We got to the zoo early and got to see an elephant training session. When the elephant did what he was supposed to, he got a snack. Lily thought that was neat, especially when the trainer told her some of the treats were apple pieces.

"Daddy, do you like the elephants too?"

"That elephant is having a snack!"

"I can pet this bear!"

Lily has always liked the small mammal house, because she can run around and look at the animals behind the glass without being picked up. They also tend to move around more, making them more interesting then the pandas and the lions, who don't move around much. The meerkats were running around and she thought that was HILARIOUS.

Strawberry Picking

This morning, we went to Butler's Orchard for the first day of strawberry picking. The field was full of yummy strawberries, and Lily had a great time picking and eating her way through the field.

"Can I eat this one?"

New Rain Boots

This weekend, we bought Lily a pair of rain boots. Lately, she has enjoyed splashing in puddles and doing that in sneakers is very messy.

French Braids

Lily's teacher Miss Kim managed to french braid her hair today. Apparently there was a lot of jealously in the class because no one else has enough hair to braid and the other girls had to settle for pigtails. :) Here are some shots of the hairdo:

Circus

Today we went to the Cole Bros Circus. It was a great "first circus" for Lily. She loved the tigers, dogs, camels, horses, and of course the ELEPHANTS. Surprisingly, she also liked the clowns a lot. They did one bit where they got into a taxi (a Geo) and as they drove away the car "broke" in two and the front drove away without the back. She kept asking to see that again. :)

"These elephants are really great! Can we just stand here and look a them for a while?"

Sitting on Daddy's lap at the circus.

"Thanks for the giant balloon Grammy!!"

Bubbles

Recently, Lily got a bubble machine. She thinks it is really neat. Enjoy!

Chicago

This weekend, Sarah and Lily joined me in Chicago (I was already there for a conference during the week) and we visited with Uncle Phil, Aunt Lois and cousins Alayne, Dave, Sam, and Mikey. We went to the Kohl Children's Museum and to the Field Museum and ate deep dish pizza. Lily had a great time visiting, playing, and watching "the boys".

"Picking" corn at the Field Museum

Playing drums at the music exhibit

"Elephants!"

"This is a fun house cousin Alayne!"

"The Boys!"

"Love you Aunt Lois and Uncle Phil"