We're going to the zoo zoo zoo, how about you you you?

Some pics from our most recent trip to the zoo: (So that nobody is left out of the joke, 'Whazzat' is pretty much the only thing that Ella says - and she says it a LOT.)

"Whazzat?" (It's a chameleon.)

"Whazzat?" (It's a meerkat.)

Two little dinosaurs just hatching.

"Whazzat?" (It's a reindeer.)

Again, 2 kids, 2 levels of enjoyment.

For 34 years I would have sworn that the raccoon enclosure was a cruel joke - but I've seen the raccoon like 10000000 times this year. Proves me wrong, I guess!

"Whazzat?" (It's a prairie dog.)

"Whazzat?" (It's Ben being a prairie dog.)

The next two pictures show Ben rolling down a hill and Ella trying to copy him:

Tonight on CSI: Zoo - We're pretty sure that the standing camel did it. Perhaps it was hump envy.

"Whazzat?" (It's a skeleton, according to Ben.)

2 kids, 2 levels of enjoyment redux:

"Whazzat?" (It's an incredibly friendly and sociable prairie dog.)


Two birds: one caged and one flying free:

p.s. I was going to update you on Dottie (Dorrie? Debby? DooBee?) the really old Polar Bear but her enclosure was empty and they were cleaning it out. Another case for CSI: Zoo perhaps.

It's gotta be a food group...

Yep, they're eating Doritos for supper. Aren't I the best mom ever!

In my defense, we're having taco salad. But they eat the salad fixin's separately. So there!

Fun at Tinkertown!

We spent Thursday this week at Tinkertown, an amusement park for smaller kids found just East of Winnipeg. I thought I would post some of the 136 pictures I took before the camera battery died.

At least Ella is paying attention to the road!

"Is that a cow? What kind of car ride is this?"

"Seriously...What kind of ride did you put me on here?"

Ben giving the "I'm ready to take off!" signal.

"Okay...a boat? Seriously, what is going on here?"

"Oh, a bell. This is kind of fun!"

"Okay Dad, seriously now. What are you doing to me?"

Speaks for itself.

2 kids, 2 levels of enjoyment.

Ella is a little late with the wave.

"Put me on one more ride and I'm seriously going to hurt you. Look at my hair!"

Ben and Mommy riding the stupidest ride ever invented - the Tilt-a-Whirl.

Ben and Daddy riding the second stupidest ride ever invented - Spin the Apple. (If you look closely at the second picture you can see me pretending to enjoy the ride for Ben's benefit.)

This coaster terrified Daddy as a kid.

Apparently it terrifies Mommy too.

3 pics of Ben having fun:

"Oh YEAH. There IS a cow."

Little ingrate sticking out his tongue.

Here's a little animated gif of Mommy and Ben on the Superslide. (It doesn't seem to be working right now. I'll work on it):

Lastly, I went to get some gravel to put in with my fenceposts to hold them up. Here is a cute picture of Ben-Ben helping me vacuum the extra gravel out of the car:

The 2 Week Deck or WOW! That's a Lot of Pictures!

Well, we are overdue for a picture update, so I'll start with the kiddies:


How about a montage of Ella grabbing the camera...(every blog needs a montage!)

(I love this picture - the overexposure just adds to the Blair Witch / Emperor from Star Wars vibe.)

Ben being the serious young man we are raising him to be:

As you all know, serious young go-getters ALWAYS sit IN the sandbox. (Think inside the box - that's my boy!)

Caught on Film - A brother and sister moment where nobody is fighting or crying! (I'm just kidding - it's like this at LEAST 4.2% of the time)

For a quick break from the kiddies, I'd like to share that this bear (named Debby, I believe) just made the Guinness Book of Records for being the oldest polar bear alive in captivity at 40 years old. She is apparently in good health and the zoo is hoping that she will beat the all-time recorded record of 41 years. (I'm not sure how that all works either - I'm trying to remember the newspaper article that I skimmed while stuffing my face at Burger King). Ah! Read all about it here: Polar Bear is really, really old. I mean, ready to be stuffed old.

Here's Ella making sure her teeth are level:


and phoning Grandma (Joan? Susan? Who Knows? Who Cares?) on her level-phone (soon to be showcased in the new Get Smart movie starring Steve Carell - I'm pretty sure EVERY movie stars Steve Carell; I shouldn't have to mention it here.)


This exceptionally cute picture is otherwise unexceptional except, if you look closely, you can actually see Gord doing something that might be work. (At least I'm standing upright, which is a huge step in the right direction! Go, Gordo, Go! Vamanos, El Gordo, Vamanos!)


No comment funny enough:



And lastly, a nice new deck in a messy, messy yard:

p.s. I did not finish this deck in two weeks.