Atlanta Zoo (Part 3)

In the African exhibits, we saw elephants. It was feeding time when we stopped by, and this guy had quite the mouthful. Elephants are so impressive...and so BIG.

We went on to see zebras as well.
Here is Junior standing in the forefront of the zebra exhibit. You can see the zebras in the distance at the top of the picture.
Right in front of us was the rhino exhibit. This guy gave us stern look as he turned our way. Notice the rhino is actually a Georgian Rhino (Rhinoceros Atlantas), having shed his normal coloring for a coat of good old Georgia red clay. I guess Red rhino likes to roll in the mud a little.
Syndi posing with the rhino in the distance.

Did I mention the rhino exhibit was RIGHT in front of us? A fish-faced Junior stands with the rhino no far beyond him. Fortunately there was a huge pit between Junior and the beast.
Syndi stands with the zebras in the distance.
It was feeding time for the giraffes also.
As we were leaving the rhino-zebra-giraffe area, Red Rhino and his gray rhino companion got into a little tiff, with lots of snorting, scraping the dirt, and charging at one another. By the time I snapped this shot, they had separated, and Red Rhino was turning the other cheek.
Herein lies our disappointment. Before we came to the zoo, we'd gone online to the Atlanta Zoo web site and downloaded some kids educational packets. One form Syndi enjoyed filling out was a page that asked what animal she would like to learn about, asking what she already knew and what she wanted to learn. Syndi has been fascinated by cats, and was eager to see the king of cats - the lion - and tigers at the zoo. Unfortunately both exhibits were closed. What a disappointment. Jon loves tiugers and was eager to see them as well. This is a picture of the empty lions den, closed for habitat repairs.
Grandma passed along this photo she took of the family on the train. What a happy group! In the final installment, Part 4, we'll see the kids going ape!

Atlanta Zoo (Part 2)

We went to lunch at a little picnic area near the wetlands. We heard lots of comments throughout the day about our matching shirts. People asked if we'd been to the Tennessee Aquarium (ya think?), and some thought it was neet that we all matched. We took this photo (well actually, someone else did, as you might have guessed) while we were in the picnic area.


Junior was a climbing maniac in the picnic area. Here is a photo of him on another rock. He liked using it as a step stool to the railing beyond him. It was nice to let him run free for a while.

Syndi put her tiger mask on Stephen. I'd like to say he's mimicking a tiger with his claws out and growling, but I believe this was more of a desperate reach for help and a cry of "who turned out the lights?"

Stephen left the mask on for a moment, then quickly removed it. Cutie Pie!

Here is Grandma with three of her favorite things: her grandaughter Syndi, her grandson Junior, and her map of the Atlanta Zoo. Grandma always has to have her map. She is a master navigator. (Did I mention they got lost following us to the zoo?)

Grandpa just hanging out, looking cool, enjoying lunch.

Some of the GRACE homeschool folks joined us for lunch.

After lunch we went to the carousel. There we took a family photo. Syndi likes taking family photos. Junior doesn't. Can you tell?Then we enjoyed a ride on the train, which looped around part of the park. Syndi made friends with some other girls facing rearward on the caboose. Stephen and Junior looked in wonder as we passed different exhibits. They like trains.

Stevie Boy.

June Bug.
Part 3 will have our trip through the African exhibits, but there was some disappointment on our part.

Atlanta Zoo (Part 1)

We had a wonderful trip to the Atlanta Zoo last week. Sylvia organized a group of homeschool families, and Jon took the day off and the six of us (including Julia) headed for downtown Atlanta.
The first exhibit we saw was the flamingo habitat, just inside the entrance. They looked cool, but boy did they stink! Syndi and Junior liked their pink color.
We visited the Panda exhibit, where we saw Yang Yang (above) and Mei Lan (the cub, who was sleeping), and Lun Lun (the mom).
Syndi enjoyed pretending to be various animals throughout the day. Here she posed as a panda.
Junior wasn't the only kid who liked this rock outside the panda exhibit. I've heard of a rocking chair, but is this a rock chair?
Here was saw a joey checking out his momma's pouch. Cute, eh?

Syndi and Sylvia posing as kangaroos while Junior waits for his turn.

They had a petting zoo. The kids enjoyed it. This particular goat decided to go to the bathroom right in front of our family.

Junior hanging out at the petting zoo...literally.

They had a wetlands area, and you can see the turtles camouflaged on the far shore.

Junior and daddy pointing out the turtles. Lunch followed this. We'll have to share more in Part 2.

It's a GIRL!

No, we haven't had the baby yet, but we did have an ultrasound last week. We were all pleased to find out we're having a girl! Either way, it would have been wonderful just knowing, but we'd all been pulling for a girl. Above you can see a great profile of Julia Grace's head and face. Above is another side view of Julia's face. The technician even put her name on the screen.
Syndi wanted a little sister soooo badly. Grandma wanted Syndi to have a sister. Jon and Sylvia wanted another little girl. In fact, everyone in our church wanted us to have a girl! Seems everyone else is having a boy, and people want a girl in the nursery, too. In fact, Pastor Mac announced Sunday morning to our congregation (all 400+) that Jon & Sylvia were having a girl, noting that all the other 7 or so pregnancies are boys.
Above is a 3D image of Julia's face. Pretty ugly if you ask me. In 5-10 years they'll be looking back saying what horrible 3D imagery we had. Well, praise God, Julia is healthy, Sylvia is healthy, everything seems perfect. Glory be to God for His creation, Julia Grace!

Swing Around the Rosie

Syndi, Junior and Stephen enjoyed a fun evening outside recently. The weather here in Georgia has been beautiful! Seems we may have skipped spring and gone straight to summer. Bicycle rides, walks, and playground fun often punctuate our day. Watching the sun set up the street makes it all the more beautiful. Here you'll see Syndi and Junior going toe-to-toe on the slide and standing on their swings. Stephen really enjoyed his ride. Junior (a much bigger risk-taker than Syndi ever was) went backwards down the slide and also enjoyed a push from his big sister. Oh, and CiCi looked on enviously, barking loudly at times. After we went inside, the kids asked to take pictures, so we had Syndi take a picture of Sylvia and Jon together. (Junior's attempts at the same produced some interesting views of shirts, the couch, partial faces, etc.) It was a good end to a fun evening. [Click on a picture to see a larger version of it.]

Smiths & Caruvanas 1

Last Friday night we had the Smith family over and had a wonderful time visiting with them. We ate some brisket for dinner (from a side of beef we recently purchased from the Smiths - Syl always tries the new recipes on guests!), played some games, and did lots of chatting. We had a blast! They have seven kids and we have three (with a fourth on the way, remember). The Smiths are a great family, and we hope to get together with them more. We took a big group picture to remember the occasion.

Your Accent Is...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Midland
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

OK, so I (Jon) was born in North Jersey, and lived a little while (as a baby) in Brooklyn, NY. I was raised in Philadelphia (which shows 80% versus my 85% Northeast), but my Mom grew up in North Jersey, and my Dad grew up in Brooklyn. So I'd say they had me pegged. I was pretty impressed with the results, as was the person who sent it to our family. It pegged Sylvia, too. So if you want to know what accent YOU have, go to What American accent do you have?