Chris had a songwriting conference last weekend, so I had to plan lots of outings for these two rambunctious boys. Day one: Fairyland. Day two: the zoo and a bike/scooter ride.
Not photographed: the 5 loads of laundry that weekend, the two epic tantrums, and the joy on my face when instacart delivered groceries at 8 p.m.
We ran into Ilyse, who took this photo outside of Fairyland.
The Wild West
The toddler merry-go-round
Zeal was a little cautious
Avery felt more relaxed
He's now bigger than Snow White!
Then we stopped at Astrid's 12th birthday party, where we learned about the Yogurt Game. It's pretty hilarious and definitely a party game worth repeating. Blindfolds, spoons, and yogurt. The observers give directions to the blindfolded feeder.
It was chilly in the evening, so we cuddled up and drank warm milk by the faux fire.
Then to the Oakland Zoo!
Avery pushed Zeal through much of the zoo, asking him questions like "Do you want to see the sun bears, little brother?" It was sweet.
The otters were active
Zeal wanted to ride the giraffe's back. "Zeal go giraffe's back!"
Another, more sophisticated merry-go-round.
Zeal finally got into it, doing a forced cackle the whole ride.
Our friends, Naomi and Emmet, had just visited us from New York.
They gave the boys these visibility vests for safe rides to the park.
But safety vests don't keep your scooter from getting caught on a mailbox leg...
nor do they keep you from falling onto your own scooter...
nor from scooter tip overs.
With Zeal's novice scooter skills, it took 20 minutes to go 3 blocks.
And then there is always the chance of two safety vests being drawn to each other and crashing.
We just visited our old friend, Brooke, who has been living in Yosemite for the past 4 months as a volunteer ranger. She spent 2 days showing us around the park. We biked everywhere, even at night by headlamp. We saw some animals - skins, bones, and stuffed - in the museums. Avery's favorites were the marmot and the raccoon. We also did a little hiking along the mist trail. Avery got a special 1:1 tour with head Ranger, Eric. Avery got some training and is now a junior ranger! He knows that his job is to protect the park's animals.
The lovely Brooke
Avery earning a badge for junior rangership just because he has connections in high places. He did not have to do much work for this badge.
Making art with Brooke. She is the fabulous artist who did both boys' birth announcements.
He's cradling a deer!
The mist trail. We got about .5 miles up the trail before heading back with exhausted kids.
Exhausted kid #1
Holding Brooke!
Avery got a marmot (matches Brooke's marmot)
Ranger Kaleb giving a talk to the junior rangers of the park
