Best Dance Moves: The Running Man and The Sprinkler

Last weekend we got out the sprinkler to water the garden and the kids got in on the fun too. 

They loved running into the cold water on a hot day!

Ansel was especially thrilled with our backyard water park. We could barely convince him to come inside for lunch!!

Mama's taking us to the zoo...

We got to spend a day at the zoo with Papa and Nana and we had a fantastic time!  The weather was perfect and we found a shaded picnic table for our lunch. The kids got snow leopard toys that they are still sleeping with, so it was a pretty great day for all of us. Here's some of our best shots. 

The chairs are a perennial favorite!!

Ansel couldn't wait to see the lion. It was our first stop!

The tiger pacing in his cage was fun too. 

The elephants put on a show for us. First they ate. 

Then they took a mud bath!

The elusive polar bear emerged (first time we've seen it!!). 

We also got to ride the train and the carousel. 

Amita really enjoyed all the fancy animals on the "merry-go-round"!

4th Was Last

The 4th of July was spent recovering from more than a week of vacation. We did a lot of laundry, worked in the yard, and did various other chores. We did squeeze in some fun too. 

What's more American than corn on the cob?

Here's Ansel hanging out. Both kids insisted on rain boots even though it was as dry as a bone!

Both of the kids enjoyed playing outside for a while in the afternoon before crashing for an early bedtime. 

The view from our back porch after the kids went to bed. 

Bishop Wins

While in the UP, we took the kids to the Bishop Baraga shrine. Selfies fail to capture the sheer size of the statue. The kids weren't sure if it was cool or scary. Either way we had fun running around!

It was pretty quiet when we were there so the kids could explore and make all the noise they wanted. 

For perspective, the snowshoes are 10 feet high, so the entire statue is really impressive.