Sunday: zoo and arrived again

 This morning we went to the zoo.  It opened at the wonderful time of 8am, because the boys woke up at 4:23.  I told them they had to go back to sleep for an hour (until their normal wake-up time+time change), but then for the next hour I heard Joshua whisper, "Is it time to get up yet?" and Isaac whisper back, "No, still __ more minutes."

Anyway, the zoo.  A lot of the animals were moving, probably because we got there so early.  The chimp put on a show for us with a ball and the ceiling and then "dismounted" so fast it almost seemed like a fall.  Joshua liked getting pictures with the statues.

The zookeepers were petting the tortoise, so we got to see it move and ask some questions.

The sea lions were a surprise hit.  We watched them under the water for many minutes and then above the water for many minutes.

As fun as the zoo was, the playground at the zoo was probably the most amazing.  While it was large but not huge, I don't think the kids explored the whole thing because they were enjoying the other parts so much.  It was very unique...a place for "kids to behave like animals."

We only had two medical mini-emergencies at the zoo, but I feel like I handled both with the poise of a parent.  In that I really had no idea what I was doing, but whatever I did worked.

Then we had lunch and rested a bit in the car.  We had done a lot of walking.

Then it was time to get in our house!  We drove up just as Katy and Ryan were getting there and we all explored the house.  The kids did it quickly, loudly, and several times.  It is a large house and plenty big for all of us.  I didn't take many pictures, so I guess you'll have to wait a bit to see it.  It is obviously a rental though in that some of the small things are not ideal.  (The microwave is confusing, there are no dish towels, and somehow there are fewer smoke alarms than there should be.)  But it is clean*, there is plenty of seating, and the kids enjoyed the pool.

We also got most of the groceries.  The Wal-Mart pick-up was easy, but weird.  (It was a super small sign with the phone number to let them know we're there, and then they asked for our spot number.  But they hadn't numbered the spots anywhere, so it was confusing.)  The girls also all went to Costco and did a speed shopping too.  It's amazing how much food you need for 12 people for a week.

*Except for some furniture polish that was put on the tables and was making everything black.