A trip to a different type of zoo

So our plans for this weekend were to head down to Nana & Papa's so daddy could get his gun ready for hunting. I found out mid week that the Milwaukee County Zoo was having Free Family Day. On these days it is free admission for everyone, the only thing you pay for is $10 for parking. Not to mention the weather was predicted to be great! For a family of 5 to get in for $10 is AWESOME! On a normal day it would be over $60 to park and get in...so it made a lot of sense to change plans. Unfortunately Nana and Papa could not make it here to go with us. We met Jean, Lexi and Grandma in the parking lot. All the kids were very excited to be at the zoo. The weather was awesome, could not have asked for better. And although it was free, the amount of people was not awful. We had one building (The Big Cats building) where the amount of strollers, wagons and people came to a stand still. Everyone was waiting for the tiger cubs to come out, so we made a bee line out of there. The only other line, which we would have on a normal day, was the food line. I had thought about packing a lunch, but just ran out of time. We still spent less than admission and parking on a normal day...how cool is that?!?!? The kids LOVED it. They loved it when we went to Madison Zoo, but they got to see a lot more animals today. Even with waking early (about 6:15am) and pushing them way past naptime (normally 1:30) they held it together. By the time we headed home it was after 3pm and they were asleep within a few minutes of being on the road. Here are the pictures from our adventure.
Not the best picture of the sign in front, but I took it at the end of the day...
I think they are ready!

Checking out the flamingos...sleeping standing on one leg...

The penguins were swimming around which had the kids mesmerized...

The kids taking front seat to watch two birds (I forget what type) eating breakfast...pumpkins...

The monkeys checking out the monkeys...notice Zachary...trying to climb in, of course!

Daddy and the boys...

Mommy and the kids checking out the gorilla...

Me and my boys...

A break for a quick snack...

I had to take this picture...my 3 bears...

The kids checking out the elk...

Daddy helping Liz get a better view of something...

Liz checking out the camels...

Now this Jaguar is comfortable!

Liz and Grandma checking out the Jaguar...

and daddy and the boys checking him out too.

The lions also enjoying the beautiful day...

Daddy and Alex checking him out...

Liz and Zach checking out the Zebra...

This is a picture of the Big Cat building that we left...can you see all the people??? Daddy is helping the kids look at....

him! He is beautiful...not even sure what he is but the sign said to keep kids off the glass and no sudden movement as the cat is very sensitive...hmmm...glad there is glass between us, right???

Auntie Jean, daddy and the kids checking out the one thing Alex wanted to see badly...

giraffes! We got to them just in time as one was headed in and this one is making a dash to get in for lunch.

Up on daddy shoulders to get a better view of...

the elephants! Everyone got a turn to get up...thanks daddy!After lunch we saw the sea lions...

and the kids got the treasures mom had been collecting along the way...plastic molded animals...A lion for Alex, a tiger for Liz and the three monkeys (hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil) for Zach. I remember these molds from when we'd go to the zoo when I was a kid. Love them! I think they take after me in their love for them...lol!

The last of actual exotic animals was the Hippo...due to it getting late we did skip some animals...there will be future zoo trip and the kids were getting pretty tired so to avoid meltdowns we headed to...

the farm animal areas. Not real exciting for the kids as they have seen most of these animals in person, but there are different types so still something new. Liz checking out the cows...

and daddy with Alex...Zach checking them out from ground level...

We had such a great day as you can probably tell from the pictures. The kids made the adventure even more special by putting their special touches on it! Like the leaves...I won't go into all of it but they all had leaves that they held onto for most of the day...there was leaf hunts too. Also them saying hi and good-bye to the animals. Them being so excited to see a particular animal. As we headed out of the zoo we made one last stop. My mom has the pictures of it, so you'll just have to believe me...lol. We ended our day on the carousel. We look forward to the next visit to the zoo.

Love, Jen

Happy Halloween!!!

Trick or Treat!!! Before leaving daddy needed some help putting his beer away that I picked up earlier...with three willing volunteers it does not take long...
Cheers!

First stop, grandma and grandpa's...Grace needed to check out their first treat...

I debated dressing up as Goldilocks, but I think the 3 bears are pretty simple to figure out...

Time to load back up and head to Auntie Jean's house to go trick or treating...

We are going to have some fun...

We took turns waking up to doors with them. Some high steps along with short porches made for a few stumbles, but we made it thru it warm and dry.

My little three bears...I love em! I had such a great Halloween with them...from pumpkin hunting to ringing doorbells with them!

A Party...

The kids' first Halloween party happened at school/daycare today. I picked out their costumes last year after Halloween. I was quite anxious to see them dressed up. They are the cutest 3 bears I have ever seen. Even though we started off late this morning, I was able to feed, dress in clothes and costumes and get out the door in 45 minutes and on time! The kids had a blast at the party...they came home with a bag of goodies that me and the other mommies made as well as a bag from the school. We also now have dracula teeth that Zach just loves! After school we stopped in at the clinic I work at. It was nice to have my coworkers see the kids as they don't see much of them or me really. Go figure, I got a couple pictures of my teddy bears.
The eldest bear (only by 5 minutes)...Alex

The only girl bear (holds her own very well)...Liz

Our baby bear (but you'd never know it)...Zach...

Let's party!!!!

1st Pumpkin Carving

We finally got to carving the pumpkins. It was so much fun! We were not real sure if the kids would let us cut their pumpkins. Let me tell you how loved these pumpkins are...every morning the kids would say hi to them...give kisses on their stems and hug them...they LOVED them, so cutting was a delicate issue. Jeremy started out by drawing faces on them. The kids got to pick out what shapes daddy would draw.
Here is the crew working on Alex's pumpkin...
Finished faces...

Once we cut one pumpkin, everyone jumped on board with the idea. Daddy could not cut them fast enough. Alex used the spoon the whole time...

Liz did not mind getting her hands dirty...

Zach was more interested in putting on and taking off the "lid"...and tipping the pumpkin over to dump out the seeds...

The work area...

The aftermath...Alex's finished pumpkin...Liz's finished pumpkin...

Zach's finished pumpkin...

The trio...Alex and Zach's are looking at Liz's and hers is looking at both of them...lol.

From pumpkins to Jack-o-lanterns

Hotel Lenzendorf

As you may remember from a previous post my family went on vacation to Florida. I took care of both of my sisters' animals while there were gone. During that same time I also took care of my aunt's dog as she was headed south to go motorcycling in the mountains.
First to check in at our hotel was my aunt's dog, Waldo. He is a bassett hound that has quite the personality! Roxy just loved having him here, not sure if Waldo liked her excitement or not. The kids love Waldo too! They were always making sure that he was with us. And who does Waldo like best...Jeremy. He would get so happy once Jeremy got home. I think the kids wore Waldo out...he loved bedtime the best! We would put his bed by Jeremy's chair and he would fall asleep and have some great dreams. I guess he slept in the morning he was back with my aunt...lol.
Zach and Waldo talking face to face...
Liz giving Wally a hug before he leaves us...

Zach and Wally hanging out on his last day with us....

Waldo asleep after a long day with the kids....

Second guest to check in, check out and check back in was Sadie. Jean dropped off Lexi and Sadie to be watched for the day then decided to take her home so Willie could say goodbye, then he brought her back. Luckily she is somewhat use to the chaos at our house. But even though she is use to it she still got lack of sleep, due to following me EVERYWHERE! I tried to tell her just to relax while the kids were napping but everytime I moved she was right there with me. She would start falling asleep wherever she was sitting. She went on all rides to the kids school (Waldo did not get to....just not enough room with 3 kids and 3 dogs). She slept in bed with us (I just did not have the heart to kennel her up), so that means Roxy got to sleep in bed too...it was a full bed...2 adults, 2 dogs and 2 cats...oy! She also slept like a rock after leaving here...hmmm, do we see a pattern?!?!?
The last guests to check in (at 1am....way past my bedtime) were my younger sister, Jackie's 3 cats and bunny. They got the guest bedroom all to themselves. Now if you know my sister you will totally understand that her animals are high maintenance (right Jackie???). Honestly they were not that bad. Roxy just loves when her kitties are here...she is always at the door when it is about to be opened.
Cat #1 is Josie aka Jo Jo...things I figured out about her...she likes to hide under covers, so the sheet I placed on the bed was great for her...she also loves to play with the water dish...found that out by stepping on the wet towel under the water dish...lol.
I let the kids in to help give attention to our guests...here is Alex giving Jo a pet or two...
Cat #2 (orange tabby) is Libby and cat #3 (black) is Inky...they are the lazy ones... but they loved to be pet...Zach giving Libby some much needed attention...

and Liz doing her part by giving Inky some attention...

The kids' favorite guest and a possible future pet for us...the bunny...Sal. We used the bunny to bribe them for most everything. They just wanted to pet him and see him.

Liz got to the point that she walk into the room and open the cage herself...

Alex just liked seeing the bunny...but also liked how soft he was...

Our rough tough guy Zach was very gentle with Sal...

Waldo stayed with us from Wednesday morning until Sunday night and the others were here from Thursday night until Wednesday afternoon. It was work to have them all here but the kids liked having so many pets around. They helped do the feeding and letting them in and out to go potty. They also made sure Sadie's kennel was ok for her to be in...

Not only did the kids like the extra pets, but Roxy like the 4-legged company as well. She was tired as well...

Fall Fun

Unfortunately the weather has been horrible for fall fun. We have had a bunch of rainy days, so it seems we can never get out to have fun. Today the kids got out for a bit even though it is a mess outside. We are in desparate need of some sunshine to help dry up the leaves. I let the kids play outside while I prepared lunch and snapped these pictures from the house windows.
Alex working hard on raking the leaves...
then wondering when the leaves will stop falling. :)

Zach wondering what Liz has found in the bucket...

nothing important as Liz dumps the leaves and sand out.

Zach playing with a stick...shocking, right?!?!

By the time we actually get to raking all the leaves will be off the tree...normally we rake a few times...not this year!

Alex using the tractor and wagon to pick up sticks...

while Zach and Liz headed to the burning bush in the corner of our yard.

Alex decides to join them and bring a wagon, much bigger then the bucket the two were using...

Here the three are picking the berries off of the bush as well as the rest of the leaves.

We got a pony and the kids are driving!

Ok not a *real* pony...were not nuts....um...wait we are a little...lol. Our mailman has been generous enough to think of us. This is not the first time that he has let us look thru toys that his kids have outgrown prior to taking them to the consignment store or Goodwill. He called me this afternoon, so I packed up the kids and headed over to his place. I got a horse and a winter sled. The horse is one that is on spring...I think now they make them so the springs are not showing for safety purposes. I figured we made it thru "dangerous" toys when we were growing up...right?!?!? Anyways, the kids were super excited to go get a horse...lol. We stopped to visit daddy cutting wood prior to going to pick it up and the kids told him we were going to get a horsey...lol! The kids LOVE it! Surprisingly the horse does not have a name yet. Here is Liz bouncing...

The kids are driving too...not in a real car...but with Bun-Bun and Sammie. They have a Leap Frog interactive system that one of the activities is "going for a drive"...there is some snazzy music/song that goes with it. Every time it begins the kids go nuts and start "driving". Here Liz and Alex driving...aren't they cute!