Papa' s Visit

My dad came to town last week to continue taking courses for his Doctor of Ministry degree. He finished on Friday, but stayed through today to get in some good grandpa time. We went to the park last night and then to the zoo this morning.

I have seen my parents a lot lately, but this will be it, until Christmas, when the whole family (including Mark, Heather and Troy) will fly to California for a Christmas on the coast. I am so excited!

It has taken Jenna a while, but she is starting to enjoy feeding the giraffes. They are the big exhibit at our zoo. We got there as soon as it opened this morning so that we could see them all come out of their cage. It was an amazing sight to see 8 of the 15 or so giraffes walk out in a straight line and obvious pecking order.

Sophie is already so different from Jenna. She loves to swing and is willing to try new things. While we were in Dallas she had no problem getting in the swimming pool for the first time, even though Jenna was wrapped around my head so that she wouldn't have to touch the water! She doesn't necessarily get excited, but she isn't afraid either.

We have two baby giraffes at our zoo right now. This one was born at the beginning of the summer. There is so sweeter picture than a baby with its mother.

The elephant put on a better show for us than this, but this is the best picture that I got. Sophie kept pulling herself forward in her stroller trying to see the animals. She was frustrated to be confined. She is so ready to be moving on her own.

The special exhibit this summer is a room full of little birds that are free to fly around. You can buy sticks with bird seed on them to coax them closer to you. Jenna didn't want to get that close, but after being in there a few minutes she really warmed up. Sophie was fascinated by her new feathered friends.
Jenna is on the "Carousels of the United States" Tour. Her first ride was on a "horsey" in Fashion Island in California. For being so timid I was surprised that she liked it. Since then we go through tremendous heart ache if we pass a carousel and don't get to ride it. She rode one in Grapevine, Texas at the mall when we were visiting Aunt Fluffy and today Papa treated her twice!!! We had to skip Sophie's morning nap to go on our excursion this morning. She fussed for just a moment, but held up well. Mid way through Jenna's second carousel ride she fell asleep in the shade.
We love you Papa. We can't wait to see you at Christmas and play on the beach!