Complete with the 3 little pigs!
And, of course, PUMPKINS (they each got a free pumpkin as big as they wanted!)
We are grateful for this experience and for the chance we had to share it with family who live near by. We are enjoying all the time we get to share with them....and are looking forward to even MORE time together.
Below are some of the more unusual animals at the zoo. There were located in horrible cages behind 2 different fences, so getting good pictures wasn't easy. The first charming fellow you can't see very well is distantly related to the raccoon and was busy trying to chew it's own leg off. Next we found 2 charming little "Joeys", as Kayla kept referring to them. We wandered around and located the very cool 3 month old Tiger and Lion cubs. SO playful (and Brian's favorite part of the visit). But the winner of the weird, hands down, belonged to the final figure below. To appreciate it, you might need to click on the image to get a clearer shot. This unfortunate animal is what you would get if you crossed a DEER (a very small one) and a RABBIT (a very large one). The head looked like a deer, and it had LONG skinny front legs like a deer. BUT it had the body of a rabbit. It was classified as a member of the rodent family. It was the freakiest thing we have ever seen. It could walk around like a deer, but also jump like a rabbit. So wrong. It joins the platypus as one of those animals that shows us that God does indeed have a sense of humor...or, nature messed up.
There was also a field of HUGE white pumpkins begging to be climbed on. Our kids kindly obliged such an obvious ploy.
And here we have the cousins lined up in a row. From Left to Right: Zoey, Cassidy, Brogan, Abby, Kayla and Jack. (Sadly baby Ben stayed home to take a nap. He really didn't miss much though).
Now, this place might look fine. The photos make it look cooler then it really is. Everything was SOOOO icky and dirty and not well kept. In order to take part in any of the activities, you had to pay...cash only...which you had to get from the ATM with a $4.00 service charge. And, it smelled like urine. So, although the kids probably count this as a cool experience, the adults involved give it a big FAIL. Too bad. Fortunately, it sets the bar pretty low and we left from here and directly drove to Joe's Farm. 10 minutes from our home. Lovely. Charming. Clean. Perfect. We are hoping to try 1 or 2 more pumpkin patches before the season ends, or the rain begins to fall.
Cassidy came back ooo-ing and awwww-ing over this sweet little bundle. We are all looking forward to spending some time cuddling her this Christmas. Hooray for extended family! We love you!
First part of the day is awesome, lots of climbing and pretty wild terrain, but lots of fun.
Our guide book was published in 2005, which unfortunately pre-dates the massive landslides that shook up the west side of St. Helens a few years ago. We ride around the corner and the trail just drops away into a huge ravine. We have to find a way down, across, and then back up to where the trail continues on. We lose a lot of time on this one.
Five minutes after conquering the first ravine, we run into another one.
Brian is now wondering about our initial time frame and our ability to be done before dark.
The ravines are not easy to get across when lugging a 28 pound full-suspension bicycle.
And then there was ANOTHER ravine! And another! AND ANOTHER! I stop counting after the tenth one.
We finally get above the tree line at 4,800 feet, but it's after 4pm and Brian is seriously concerned about how long it will take to get back down.
We ride until we enjoy a beautiful sunset and then hunker down on a rock next to the trail after our wives call Search and Rescue, who find us at 2:30 in the morning. The give us hot chocolate, snacks, and flashlights and we all start down together. We get to the bottom just before 5:00 where we meet some of the 18 people who spent the night looking for us and get a stern talking-to from the Sheriff. We load up the bikes into the car and drive home in time to see the girls off to school. We were very lucky that we had nice weather all night and so many helpful S.A.R. folks who are real pros.
Puppets! A frog and an alligator told me a lovely story.
Brogan and his "nice jobs"....he lined these up over and over again. They are actually separate pieces that are magnetic. After a while, we had some impressive sculptures going.
"I SEE YOU, MOMMY!"
Time for lunch in these adorable overstuffed chairs. Dino chicken nuggets (gluten free!), fish crackers, fresh fruit and apple juice. Tasty. One of the dino's got a little over done. Brogan studied it for a moment and declared, "This one rolled in the mud" and refused to eat it. Oh well.
We will probably be spending rainy afternoons here. And I think it's gonna be a "Brogan and Mommy" secret place. Just the 2 of us for special days. We have a punch card now. :)
In the picture below you can see our children brushing up on their dental habits, at lest, they are helping the huge alligator keep up.
Kayla loved the pretend grocery store...she was caught snatching groceries from Cassidy's abandoned cart and filling her own. 
Brian, Brogan and I took a time out in a HUGE hollowed out tree with a comfy cushion installed.
We'll be going back.....many many many more times (we bought a membership).
That's a clock he's holding....it's 12:30am on September 14th.
Kayla is a remarkable little girl. She is bright and clever. She LOVES people. She has a flare for the dramatic (and has recently joined the drama club at school). She makes friends easily. She has a gift for making people feel important....like YOU have a special bond with HER. And the truth of the matter is, SHE feels that way too. She really does have a special bond with everyone and it is legit. She's a pretty great little girl. If you've met her, you love her. She captures hearts and makes us SO proud and happy.
Yep...her Grandma signed the waver absolving all folks involved of any blame should an injury occur to Cassidy while involved in this event. Of course, Cassidy LOVED it and was a star. She stayed on the Bronco for 4 whole minutes. She is a true cowgirl at heart. Just look at this precious face....
There were a couple "big kid" rides. Among them the Eagle Claw and the Spider. Both spin you in multiple ways and caused some impressive distress for a few members of our party. Riding once is great fun. Riding a second time decreases the fun factor dramatically. I've seen people feel sick on rides, but this was the first time witnessing anyone actually turning GREEN after the ride. Maybe spinning rides aren't for our whole family after all.
