Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...Oh my!

We had a very busy and productive weekend! On Friday, I drove up to Grand Rapids to see Abby and her gorgeous new house. After lunch we took Matthew to John Ball Zoo! He had a blast. It is a very different zoo than Binder Park. It is very compacted and the exhibits are very close to each other. This zoo offers many different animals than Binder Park too. We saw flamingos, pelicans, lions, a tiger, camels, bears, and penguins to name a few. They have a cool sting ray petting zoo, but Matthew nor I wanted to brave that one. We will wait for our next trip with daddy. They also offer camel rides, which looked fun for Matthew in a year or so. They have this excellent children's areas with a ropes course and petting zoo. I really want to go back and try the zip line over the forest, that looked really fun! Matthew was the most fascinated with the tiger, the bears and the penguins. The tiger was moaning/growling and pacing back in forth, so she was very easy for Matthew to see. One of the bears was also pacing and Matthew kept laughing like it was one of his teddy's. In the penguin encounter Matthew got to watch the penguins swim underwater and right at him. All in all it was a great day.

On Saturday we went to the Brink's house to celebrate Brady's first birthday! We got to see some old friends and their children and took the kids on a pontoon ride around the lake. They boys are getting to be the age where they can interact more with each other and play together. After Brady had some cake he was drinking out of a sippy cup and he and Matthew were hitting their cups together almost to say "cheers"! It was the best weather for the lake.

In a way I am back to work. I have a Mark Dressel writing workshop all week, so Matthew is getting back into the grove of daycare once again. Next week he will go for half days so I can get my room set up and ready before I officially report back on the 27th.

We hope you enjoy the pictures of John Ball Zoo!