Our BBQ and the Zoo

Last weekend we were supposed to go camping, but a series of events prevented us from going - after I bought all the food. We were stuck with a bunch of hot dogs and chips and stuff like that, so we decided to have a barbecue instead, which was a lot of fun. Cory used a gift car to buy a small fire pit, and we invited our friends the Bunkers (Lear's fiancee's family) and some family. We ate all the food we bought for the camping trip, and had S'Mores in the fire pit. Ella was trying to roast her own marshmallows on a stick, but she kept just digging it into the ashes. After we lost about three or four marshmallows, I took the stick away from her and told her I was going to help her - which is when she said "Dang it!" with a very crusty expression on her face. We all had a very good laugh about it.

Saturday, we went to the zoo. Lear and Ella both loved it. Ella kept pointing to animals and delineating their families. For example, "Mommy eh-fant! Daddy eh-fant! Baby eh-fant!" Regardless of the size of the animals in questions - the elephants were all adult females, but Ella didn't care. When there were only two of an animal, like the zebras, she'd say "Mommy zeba! Daddy zeba! Where baby?" Or she'd ask where the daddy or mommy was. Can you tell that family is her whole world right now? It's very sweet, actually. Lear of course had a great time, too. He loves the zebras and penguins the best. The zoo has added a carousel, which we didn't let the kids ride because it cost extra money. Lear was ok with it because he wanted to see more animals, but Ella refused to budge, and stood in the middle of the courtyard in front if it. We walked away, pretending to leave her behind, and she held her ground! That little girl is stubborn. She was just standing there with this determined expression on her face, all by herself. Cory wanted to get out of sight, to see if she'd freak out, but I couldn't do it. It would've just been too easy for someone to just pick her up and run off with her. Mommy instincts kicked in, I suppose. 

So, apparently, I look pregnant, because I've had four different people in two states ask me if I'm pregnant. Even my friend Brei asked me! Et tu, Brei? I seem to have gotten used to it, or at least numb, because I'm not particularly offended by it anymore. So, to quell all the rumors out there, no, I'm not pregnant! Spend a couple of hours with my kids, and you'll know why! 

Last thing - if anyone wants a Trailblazer, buy ours! We'll give you a good price. We really need to get rid of it, so tell your friends.

Lear quote of the week: "Mommy, your tummy gets bigger and bigger every day." Ouch!

Ella quote of the week: (said while playing hide and seek) "A-two, a-fee, a-two, a-fee, I come!"