Early November

My grandpa came from Utah to visit my mom, so we went up to see him. Samson just adores his Gamma! (He can actually say Gramma now, but then it was still Gamma)

While I was helping my mom get dinner ready, Katie came into the kitchen and said words I have never in my life heard before: Grandpa Wayne is fun! Fun. I don't know that he's ever been described as fun. Cranky, cantankerous, OCD, yes. But never fun. He was playing doctor and restaurant with Katie and Dancy.

{Thora, Katie, Dancy, Grandpa Wayne, Katie, Tommy}

Thora and her bestest buddy, Lori!

Thora didn't want to leave and refused to get her shoes on, so Lori and Grandpa Wayne tackled her into them.

BFFs! And a reflective slap bracelet from that trip to the firefighter museum.

Popcorn movie nights!

{Samson, Dancy, Tommy}

Oh, goodness! Starting on October 14, our kids spent about 4 weeks throwing up out of the blue. That really plays on parent nerves! Not to mention the extra laundry and scrubbing couches and carpet, or using towels under them so they don't make messes on furniture. It was insanity! But then Shad started work on November 13, and read in one of his training manuals that two symptoms of dehydration are irritability and vomiting. So I immediately got all the kids' water bottles, filled them up and told everyone what their daily quota is. Now when they meet their water quota, they get a piece of Halloween candy. No more vomiting!

During that period of dehydration, though, Shad and I had exhausted kids falling asleep on us. That never happens!

I gave the kids hot chocolate one day and Dancy came to tell me, with chocolate all over her face, "That was sooooo gooooood!"

We went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo again, and the orangutans went all out for entertaining us! The baby was climbing all over his mom and the enclosure fence.

The dad came out and scraped all the snow off a tree stump into his mouth. His mouth was so full he couldn't close it. He just had to wait for it to melt a bit so he could chew it. Then the baby came out and Shad and I got a good laugh watching the dad eat his treat in front of the baby, begging, and not share! It's fun to see some aspects of parent life cross species!

Got a stare-down when Sam pounded on the glass. Sorry, guys!

When Dad wouldn't share, Baby went back to climbing.

When we found some tables to eat lunch, a well-fed squirrel came out begging.

Followed by a peacock.

When we didn't share willingly, the squirrel tried to steal.

I took Katie, Thora, and Samson into the goat pen. We got to pet and brush the goats. Tommy and Dancy had no interest, so Shad took them to a scenic spot and pulled out binoculars. Samson went through a phase of wearing his snowboots daily. That's what I get for pulling out all the winter gear and seeing what sizes everyone needs.

Katie brought Lindsey in her baby carrier.

I'm pretty sure this is the same goat Thora loved on and named Ella just two weeks ago!

Shad and I were amazed at how close we were to the eagles. Both are rescued birds.

Eagles always win in a stare-down.

I was so fascinated by these birds! I've never seen them before! Leadbeater's (Southern) Ground Hornbills

Our zoo is creative with naming their animals. All of the goats have cheese names: Muenster, Colby, Asiago, etc. There are a pair of skunk brothers named Fred and George. A raven named Poe. An American Kestrel named Marty McFly. It makes things more amusing and gives us more motivation to learn the animals' names.