zoo

Hey - it's sunny and warm! We went to the zoo yesterday to see some animals. Unfortunately, Zoe tripped while running and got a little scrape on her hand and a bunch of dirt in her mouth right after we got there. She was pretty upset and just rode silently in the wagon while I pulled her around. We went to see the new meerkat exhibit, which was not that spectacular. I thought it would be something like that groundhog exhibit at the KC Zoo. But it was just a glass window next to the Kimodo Dragons. We spent the end of our zoo trip in the Zoomazium so that Zoe could climb & slide for an hour. She got going a little fast & crooked and knocked her cheek against the side of the slide and now she has a little bruise and a scrape right there. It must really hurt because she woke me up at 6am today still talking about her "owie" and about how she "bonked her head".

slide at the zoo

window face

Seattle Aquarium Slideshow

bubbles

the weekend

We went to the beach - where it was Super Low Tide. It was a blistering hot day, nearly 70 degrees! Pete nearly melted. We walked out to the water and looked at all of the shells and seaweed laying around. Low tide is pretty smelly.

I found a little park nearby that was refurbished recently. The city added a little water-sprinkler play zone that was turned on for the day. Zoe just ran around the perimeter and got a little damp. We went for a hike in the surrounding jungle and found a hollow tree trunk.

At the farmer's markets there is always somebody selling cupcakes and they always have these tiny cupcakes for $1 [or more]. I can guarantee that they are made from a boxed mix and are topped with a canned frosting. I was curious what the profit margin was so I pulled a box & a can out of the pantry and made 5 dozen of these in about 30 minutes. It cost me less than 5 dollars. I put them in the freezer and can pull one out for Zoe [or me] whenever the mood strikes. I don't really want to go into the cupcake business, but it would be profitable to sell them if someone was buying.

tall ships & slide

On Saturday I took Zoe to Edmonds so that we could go to their farmer's market. It turned out to be a very warm, sunny day and there were lots of shoppers but very few farmers. The one guy who brought a bunch of vegetables over from Yakima really raked in the cash. I bought asparagus, garlic, lettuce & cilantro from him. There were flower vendors and some craft-type people and a cupcake lady, but our constant cold & rainy weather has been stopping people from attending the markets I guess. We tried a different farmer's market on Friday and it was the same story.

After we got our veggies we went back to the car to drive down to the playground at the beach. Surprise - the Edmonds Waterfront Fair is this weekend! Luckily we were in the neighborhood right before lunchtime and before thousands of people realized that it was finally a hot summer day and that this festival was going on. I still had to pay $10 to the Rotary Club to park a 1/2 mile from the park, but it was absolutely the only option and they were running short on empty spots. I had already told Zoe that we were going to the park with the slides and she was not going to forget about it.

We didn't go to the festival but we did wander over to look at the two Tall Ships that are docked here for a couple of weeks. I think it would be super fun to go for a sail on one. They are giving 3 hour rides for $60 over the next couple of weeks.

We did finally make it to the slides & beach, which was practically empty because there was nowhere nearby to park and everybody was in town at the farmer's market or at the festival.

twinkle twinkle

jungle

Zoe loves going to the jungle. Anytime there is a trail through a bunch of trees, which is pretty often around here, she has to go on a hike. Since it wasn't raining today [hooray!] I asked her if she wanted to go to the jungle and she put her hat on and ran to the door. Yesterday we had to go to the city business office and there was even a short walking trail through the woods behind the building and the entire time we were in the office Zoe kept asking to go to the jungle. So we did.

Nana Jo sent this green hat, and a pink one just like it with a bow on the top. Zoe now prefers this one to the beehive hat, which I think might be a little snug. I really love that this green hat matches her raincoat perfectly!

Zoe sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star all the way through for the first time while we were in the car today. She's been singing it for a few weeks, but always repeated some lines or just kind of stopped singing midway. It is so cute. She loves to sing. Hopefully I will be able to get it on video for you soon.

She is also singing the alphabet and the theme to Dora The Explorer. Thanks to Dora she loves maps, hiking, opening gates, and blueberries. I had to delete the episode where Dora goes in search of ice cream and the episode where she helps a chocolate tree. Zoe doesn't understand sometimes that we don't always have things like ice cream or chocolate. It causes a lot of grief. It makes me sad too when we don't have ice cream and chocolate in the house.

overalls again

Zoe pointed out that her overalls are like Widget's because they have a heart on them. Now they are called Widget Pants.

sleep tight 2

I asked "Zoe, are you tired? Why don't you get your blanket and take a nap?"