Spring Break

You gotta love having two whole weeks for Spring Break...unless one week is spent down with a little nasty virus. 5 out of our 6 family members had high fevers & awful coughs that would not go away. We spent that first week recovering & getting better. The 2nd week of Spring Break had off & on again rain. We made the best of it & found some fun family activites to enjoy.

First stop was the Jelly Belly Factory. This is a perfect rainy day weather kind of field trip. All of us have been to the Jelly Belly Factory before except John. The boys had fun taking Dad on the Factory tour. You gotta love the hats you get to wear while touring the factory. This is one of the few times I am happy to stay behind the camera :-). The boys then convinced Dad to buy them a few treats from the sweet shop.
























































Dad decided to take everyone out to breakfast on Thursday. We grubbed @ IHop-John's favorite breakfast stop. We were hoping for the ZOO but the rain had started up again. While enjoying our breakfast, a very nice man came to our table & made balloon animals/motorcycle for the boys. It was fun to watch him create these super cute animals/motorcycle.
Brody got a motorcycle, Garrett got a monkey in a tree, Carter picked a dog(are you surprised?) & Tanner asked for a penguin.






















We could not have asked for a better San Francisco day! When we left the house @ 8:00am & it was pouring down rain. As we headed farther west, the clouds began to part & the sun began to shine. It was a gorgeous day in the city. We had promised the boys we would take them to the SF Zoo during Sping Break. Well,as stated before,the nasty virus ruined our first week of break & with the rain that poured off & on during the second week, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make good on that promise. We watched the weather all week & decided that Friday would be the best day. We are so glad we waited & were able to enjoy the sunshine.

What was even better was that my nephews were able to join us for a day of fun @ the zoo. You should have seen some of the looks we received as those SEVEN boys ran through the zoo...good times for sure!




















First up, the Giraffe's. There were two baby Giraffes. One was 4 months old & the other was two weeks old. They were so sweet.
































Next we headed over to the Gorilla World. Tami C., these photos are for you :).
John & I decided that when we are empty nesters someday, we are going to go to the zoo, just the two of us & spend half of the Day just watching the Gorillas. I think they are fascinating to watch. The boys just kept snickering every time the Gorilla's would get up & moon us...sorry there are no photos from that angle.

































My nephew Malakai loved this little duo. The baby monkey was so fun to watch. It was very squirmy & that poor Mama kept trying to keep her baby in check. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad these little critters are in cages but it sure makes it hard for good photography :-).




















These two little monkeys were so excited to spend the day together. It is great to watch them interact & have their own little conversations.































Brody's favorite spot was the Little People Zoo - AKA the petting zoo. This photo cracks me up. He wanted to be right up close & personal with the ducks. I was so nervous that one of them was going to bite him on the nose. He would get down to their level & start quacking with them. It was pretty funny. So made me wish I had remembered the video camera.



















He seriously had NO FEAR. He would jump up onto the tree stumps & sit with the goats. Eventually he would bug them enough & they would jump down. He loved feeding them & brushing their hair.































I don't think Kai was a big fan of the goats but he humored me & posed with one!






























Next we saw the Flamingos.


































Here are the boys, mimicing the flamingos...standing on one leg.





















If you know Tanner, you know that he loves penguins. We were able to watch the penguins eat their lunch. Did you know that they swallow their fish in about one second, whole? They were so much fun to watch. They would waddle along the edge of the rock & then dive into the water. This will be another stop for John & I when we are old & grey & go to the zoo by ourselves. We will watch the penguins for the other half of our day!



































Whew, are you still with me? I didn't think I had much to say about the zoo. I will leave you with a few more of my favorite photos from the day.























































































Hope you are enjoying your Saturday! We have been busy doing chores & laundry. We are getting ready for the Big Bunny to make a stop here. We are dying Easter Eggs tonight & leaving the baskets out in hopes that the Big Bunny will fill them.