Gutwein Guy and Gals
Then this morning was the parade. Here, Leah and Tiege are waiting for it to begin. Hearing the fire sirens across town, signaling the start of the parade, Leah leaned over to Tiege and said, "Tiege, here they come; seriously, it's starting." (Her favorite word to say right now is "seriously.") Tiege replied with a manly, "Yeah!"
The girls ready with their candy bags! 
~Wee
Once Leah saw that her sisters brushed the goats with no problems, she boldly joined in the fun.
Due to the time of day that we were there, we were fortunate enough to experience several animal feedings, as well as individual question and answer time with some zookeepers.
The orangutans did more than just perch themselves in the windows (which is the only place I have ever seen them sitting). Today, they were swinging on the ropes and climbing from branch to branch. Here, the female is grooming the male.
We just finished reading the chapter on Family Felidae, so seeing one of its kind, a sumatran tiger, this close was amazing! We could look into his eyes, see how long his whiskers are, notice his big paws, examine his stripes, etc.
Ready to venture into the Australian Outback, here are our adventurers.
The sea lion feeding was another highlight! About 15 minutes before the scheduled feeding time, they were very active. Here, one of them is greeting the girls.
Doing tricks during feeding time.
The zoo closes next month, so we hope to go another time or two. Anyone care to join us!?
First, they had to spread out and decide where they wanted to search. A good place was where rushing water was flowing.
They positioned their nets in the water.....
cleared away any debris -- leaves, logs, or rocks.....
then checked to see what their nets might contain. Besides crayfish, frogs and a baby catfish were also caught.
All done, wet, and heading back to the lab.
Back at the observation lab, each one was able to look more closely at, pick up and feel, and learn more about the anatomy of their crayfish.
This is at the end of our picking time and instead of picking and dropping in the bucket, the girls were picking and stuffing their mouths (Don't worry, we received the instructions to be sure we ate our fill :) !) Notice the full bucket in the background.....Megan had accidentally tripped over it, knocking out over half of the berries. Alex and the girls painstakingly picked up those spilled berries and refilled the bucket! We still came away with two full buckets!
Just look what the waves washed ashore!
This sea gull flew right over us.
Taking the girls out one by one, we decided, was much safer, though not quite as eventful. Maybe next time they can try it with the sail!
I love this pic, because it's what being up at the cabin means for our family. Togetherness and relaxation......
Fun times on the water......
and on the boat.....
Right before we left on Sunday night, the girls roasted marshmallows and we enjoyed s'mores for dessert.
Chillin' in the hammock before we hit the road.
Thanks, Dad and Mom G., for the fun family time we enjoyed at the cabin! Can't wait for next year!
In the middle of the fifth inning, they acknowledge all businesses in the audience and announce the names of those celebrating their birthday at the ball park.
This is Megan just after her name was announced. She turned to Alex and asked, "How did they know?" HeeHee....Mom can be sneaky at times :)
The view of downtown from our seats.
The Tin Caps ended up losing 5-9, but it was fun anyway!
Then today, her actual birthday, she opened the rest of her gifts.
We love you, Megan, and are honored to be chosen to raise you! It blesses us to see how the Lord is working in your life, shaping you into the beautiful person He created you to be!
