Potter Park Zoo

We have a small zoo in Lansing that we try to take the kids to once in a while.  We keep saying that we are going to plan a trip to a bigger zoo soon (Binder Park or the Detroit Zoo), but I want to try and go when Jimmy is just a bit older -- probably next summer.  In another year, everyone will be able to walk on their own and we can plan on spending more time there without it bordering on "nap time."

We made a spontaneous plan to go one Saturday morning and I'm glad that we did.  The weather was threatening rain (geeeezzz ... we haven't had rain in a long time and desperately need it), so the zoo wasn't very crowded.  I packed a picnic lunch and we ate there after walking around and seeing most of the exhibits.  Jimmy fell asleep on the way home (of course!), so we stopped at the grocery store and I ran in while he was napping.  It kind of worked out well.  He didn't have as long of a nap as he needed, but it took the edge off and saved me the trouble of running to the store later.  Win, win.

Jack was intrigued with the bald eagle in the background:

Inside the barnyard area on top of a stone turtle.  They barely all fit, but I did a happy dance after I was able to capture a group picture of everyone looking at the camera.  That is no small feat.  Trust me.

The goat almost ate Jack's map. 

Jimmy was hesitant, but managed to pet the goat with no major incident.

Sophia loved the peacock.

Samantha spent most of her time with this beauty and her baby calf.

These giraffe statues evoke so many memories for me.  Each time that we go to this zoo, I always take a picture with the kid(s) on them.  Next year, we'll have to settle for just standing next to them because the kids are growing so much.

Inside the tiger house ... and just look at Sophia's hand on Jimmy's back.  Both of the girls are like little mothers to him.

There was a glare off of the glass window, but doesn't the tiger almost look fake?!  I assure you that he was as real as can be ... and we were lucky to be able to see him outside, as well.

Yup, he was pretty incredible.

Sophia spied this white peacock and ran back to ask me to take a picture with her in it. 

The rhino was one of my favorites.

So huge.  And so powerful looking.

One of the last exhibits that we saw was the penguins.  It was made clear from the beginning that Sophia wanted to be sure to see them.  She LOVES penguins!  The exhibit was nice, but it was hard to capture them (see them in the background) because they kept ducking into the water.

The girls both wanted to try this jumping apparatus and we obliged.

They were lifted high up into the air and then they could jump or flip.

Sam did a lot of back-flips.

And managed to jump pretty high.  Sam loved it more than Sophia, but they both had quite a bit of fun.

A happy momma and her brood.

The camels.

The flowers were gorgeous in the pots all around the zoo, so I snagged the girls and had Steve take a quick picture of us.  You can see that the sky was a bit overcast (there were even a few sprinkles in the air), but it made for a nice morning -- not so hot!

4th of July - 2018

Steve and I were commenting earlier that we have been celebrating eight years' worth of 4th of July holidays in our subdivision (and the neighborhood does it up BIG!) ... and never once has it rained.  It is always scorching hot and everyone is a sweaty mess before the day is over.  But that is what summer at the lake is about -- the beach, bikes, food, fireworks and lots of RED, WHITE and BLUE!

Our American flag was flying waving proudly in the faint morning breeze.  I wanted to be sure to capture that in the background because Steve was able to install our new one just in time for the holiday.  The aluminum pole on our previous one bent right over onto the ground (just missing our vehicles in the driveway) during a windstorm earlier this Spring.  Such a weird thing to see.

The bike parade started at 10:00 am and the kids were all ready to go.  We opted to join in once the parade made it past our driveway.  This is something that we learned after years of doing this -- if we try to walk or bike the WHOLE parade, the kids become too tired only partway through.

This boy is a bike-riding champ.  He never used any training wheels and was successfully riding this bike before he even turned four last year.

Sam opted to decorate her scooter and Sophia's bike was still fully adorned with decorations from last year's parade. 

I wasn't sure if Jimmy would choose to ride his balance bike (he, too, is getting the hang of biking already) or if he would want to ride in the wagon.  I was prepared either way.

Waiting at the end of the driveway for the parade to come by ...

At the park, there was juice and donuts for everyone.  And lots of games.

There were volleyball and corn hole tournaments and lots of cupcakes.

Yes, we celebrate this holiday in a big way with our neighbors and friends.

After lots of time in the sun and a nap for Jimmy, we did some fireworks of our own in the driveway.  It's been a while since we used sparklers and the kids really had a great time.

Even as the sun started to set, we were still decked out in our festive holiday wear.

This *might* just have been the highlight of Jack's day.  He takes sparklers and fireworks seriously.

And then, around 10 pm, we settled in at the end of our driveway with more neighbors to watch the magnificent fireworks over the lake.  It was truly spectacular!