Day 1 of our vacation

I’m finally attempting to post some of our vacation pictures.  (Yes, we actually went somewhere other than Strasburg.)

 

Two days before our vacation, I got a call from the doctor’s office reminding us of Jordyn’s well-child visit.  Only problem was that we were supposed to leave for vacation before the appointment.  They very kindly rescheduled for earlier in the day. 

 

If anyone cares to know, Jordyn is now officially 25 pounds.  (Nathan was that at 11 months.)  She was 90th percentile for height, 75th for weight and off the charts for head size.    When the doctor told me that, I said something like, “That’s okay.  I have a big head.”    The doctor quickly agreed with me.  (A little humbling there)  She then went on to say that parents start freaking out if their child’s head is too big, and she’s looking at their big old noggins thinking What do you expect?  So, the doctor basically confirmed it.  I have a huge watermelon head.

 

Our vacation plan was to head across Pennsylvania, stopping at attractions along the way, until we ended up at my brother Jeff’s house.  Most everything went according to plan with slight adjustments along the way.

 

After Jordyn’s appointment, we headed to the Pittsburgh Zoo.  The last time Nathan went to the zoo, he was really too young to care.  This time, both Nathan and Ben really seemed to enjoy it.

 

As a crazy camera mom, I can’t seem to stop taking pictures.  I took picture after picture of animals, all the while thinking What am I going to do with these?    Since I have already posted several animal photos at my year in photos site, I’m just going to show our 4 favorites.

 

 

 

 

#1 - The Polar Bear

Wow!  The pictures do not do it justice, but this humongous polar bear swimming gracefully through the water was a site to behold.  Pittsburgh Zoo has a totally clear water tunnel that allows people to look up at the polar bears swimming.  There is also a site up above to interact more with the bears.  One of the bears was so social!  She was so fun to watch showing off.

(The tight quarters in the underwater tunnel convinced me that I “needed” a wide-angle lens.)

 

 

 

 

 

#2 - The Caterpillar

Nathan and Ben were in the stroller while Jordyn walked beside them.  (Hmmm…what’s wrong with this picture?) 

After taking this picture, I took a turn pushing the stroller.  Since we were going downhill, I thought it would be fun to let go of the stroller and freak Nathan out a bit.  (He gets very worried with my driving abilities.)  Suddenly, his mild protests changed to Stop the stroller now!  Nathan was determined to save the life of this little guy crossing our path:

 

Let me tell you, this Luna Moth caterpillar provided as much entertainment as any of the zoo exhibits.

 

 

 

 

 

#3 - Komodo Dragon

 

When we stopped by this exhibit, it was feeding time.  I warn you…these photos are GROSS!

The boys found this VERY entertaining.

 

 

 

 

 

#4 – The Monkeys

 

 

 

Oops, I’m sorry.  That’s my family.  :)

 

 

 

Out of all the cool animals and attractions at the zoo, guess what my kids’ favorite thing was?

 

 

 

 

It was so nice of the zoo to provide this free, fun ride that my kids went on over and over.

 

 

 

After we left the zoo, our plan was to go check out the Horseshoe Curves.  We got a bit sidetracked by a sign advertising train tunnels.

 

 

The kids got to see the inside of a caboose.

 

 

The guy in charge thought that a train would be coming by soon, so we stayed and watched for it.    

 

 

Can you sense the anticipation?

 

 

 

 

 

  We waited… 

 

…and waited…

 

 

  …and waited some more.

 

 

 

We never got to see the train, but we had fun just hanging out together.