Thursday, July 26, 2012

Kangaroo Zoo, TP, and the Station Fire

After a crazy weekend dominated by the baptism and moving into a box-filled home that didn't have a fridge or working washer/dryer, we finally got hooked up on Monday morning and settled in to a point that it seemed reasonable to get out of the house and do something FUN in the afternoon! 

My parents chillin' at Kangaroo Zoo:
Will and Andrew--the adopted brothers neither of them have:

Wizabeff:
Katie-poo:


It was HOT that day, so we thought we better cool down with some Sub Zero ice cream:

Visiting back at home:
I really do intend to rot and die in this house if it means I can look at this every day:


A random dude biking through our completely wild and un-landscaped backyard:
My sister, Elizabeth, and I laughed ourselves to tears over and over again during the week as we mimicked women who pose super deliberately for pictures. Choose your best side, chin down, suck it in, hand on your hip, bend the knee, flex the toe:
This really is my best side. Totally:
Only half joking:
Tuesday we ventured off to Thanksgiving Point. (Like I haven't posted enough pictures of this place already.)


We got a golf cart for my mom and dad (and the youngest, whiniest child) since it is a really big place, but since we couldn't all fit on it at once we had to split up. This led to many hilarious moments of me trying to contact my mother on her infrequently used cell phone to either get directions for where they were or give her directions (to translate to my father) for where we were. In the end, I chased them down and then shuttled everyone back and forth myself since I was the only one who really knew where I was going. (I just wanted my turn to rule the road on the golf cart.)
It's fun to see how the gardens change through the seasons:
Shuttle stop #4:
We ended at the Children's Garden:

Lunch at TP's Trellis Cafe. The kids were so well behaved I couldn't believe it! I think it's because they were sitting by themselves--it made them feel responsible for their own behavior. (Nothing like a nagging parent to rile a child up, right?)
I think this is Kate's best side! We were totally cracking up about the "best side" thing again at lunch:

This is about the 11, 754th picture we made my dad take because we didn't like how any of them turned out. I think it was the lighting:
My cute parents:

Right about then the waitress noticed the huge cloud of smoke up near the mountains, so we headed home to make sure our house wasn't burning down. Of course, it wasn't, but it sure wasn't that far away as you can see from these pictures taken from our back deck:

I took this one with my telephoto lens:
There's nothing quite like watching a massive wild fire in action:


Another day of unpacking, organizing, meeting with the insulation guy, ordering checks with our new address, taking the kids to piano (and Kate to her first stained glass art class tonight--so cool! she paid for half herself), babysitting for a friend who just had ankle surgery, making Andes Candies mint chocolate cookies, and not exercising or showering--which has me feeling a wee bit cranky. Time for bed!
 

8 comments:

  1. I LOVE that despite how busy you are with moving/unpacking/organizing a new house, etc. you still make it a priority to go and do fun things. I'm not like that. I admire that about you. Oh--and the poses--I was beginning to think I'm the only one that doesn't pose for my own photos. Oh geez--why do women do that???

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    1. Not to diminish the wonderful impression you have of me, but we hven't left the compound this entire week! I was mostly catering to my out of town family, but it really was a fun week.

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  2. oh Allyson...you laugh and mock the posing - but if you aren't careful, you really do get too much chin, and lots of arm flab! We are very careful with our friends and we always yell, "chin down!" and "arms out!" because when we don't, someone doesn't like the way they look and oh the drama. I've noticed when I do not prop my arm out, it looks BIGGER than it really is, that said - there are definitely ways of making it look natural (which my mom has not picked up yet but I'm trying to teach her). You have managed to make it super awkward and abnormally stiff in your first photo. make it look natural allison, come on. while we're on the subject, what bugs me more are the women who take lots of photos of themselves. seriously?! ugh.

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    1. Daisy! It is true, and that's what makes it so funny!! What--you think we look stiff and awkward? Touché!

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    2. And women taking lots of pictures of themselves and posting them on their blog TOTALLY BUGS! I so agree!!

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  3. Confession: TOTALLY JEALOUS of your views. I Love it! Congratulations, you are home, sweet home!

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    1. You can be jealous of the views, and I will continue to be jealous that you settled down while your kids were still young. (I guess you never know if you'll move again, though. There's a lot next door!! :D) Moving 3 times in 6 years is crazy disruptive for a family, and especially the mother of that family who has a personality like I do!! So, yes, I am oh, so glad to be HOME SWEET HOME!

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