on the move

This is Elise's latest thing. She has figured out her push toy, and she loves to "walk" around the house. This video isn't great, but you'll get the idea. Now, if we could just teach her how to turn......

"International" fun

We've had a little bit of 'international" fun the last two weekends. First, we traveled to Canada to visit a college friend of mine. The DeVrieses, Nymans, and us left on Friday evening and drove to London, Ontario to visit the Kooys. Between the four families, we had 5 kids under 2 1/2 years old. Elise was the only girl! Needless to say, we had a very busy, fun time with everyone. We spent a better part of our day on Saturday at Storybook Gardens right in London. It was a huge park with animals, storybook statues, a train, a jungle gym, and a splash pad. The kids had a riot, and Elise enjoyed playing with Bryan at the splash pad. It was Elise's first time to stay in a hotel, and she did very well. We never really love sharing a room with her because she's kind of a noisy sleeper, but we all slept well after playing so hard. It was a short weekend as we left right after brunch on Sunday, but we all promised to do it again soon.

Elise loved playing with her daddy at the splash pad. The water was cold, but she did great!

The girls: Tara (with Luke), Beth, Erica, and me. Rooks girls forever. :)

Our picnic at the gardens: this picture doesn't quite capture the chaos and mayhem. :)

Our next little "international" adventure took us to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek where we met up with Bryan's whole family for the afternoon. We met for a great picnic lunch at noon on Saturday and then enjoyed the zoo all day. The best part of Binder Park Zoo is definitely the "Wild Africa" exhibit, which requires a tram ride to get to and entertained us for most of our stay at the zoo. We saw all kinds of African animals, and the best part was feeding the giraffes. They are right at eye level and eat out of your hand! Elise wasn't afraid of any of the animals, and it was no surprise that the wild dogs kept her attention the best. She also waved at the goats and laughed at the prairie dogs. I think that the zoo may become a favorite outing in the years to come.

The best way to see the zoo is definitely on daddy's shoulders!

Gma and Gpa Linn with their grand kids: Elise , Charlotte (2yr), and Isaac (3yr)

Waving at the goats. Okay, so this is kind of a silly picture, but I was just so surprised how much she actually paid attention to the animals. :)