a cold day in...Cincinnati

A couple of weekends ago, we decided that the best thing to do coming off of a mid-70° week was head to the Cincinnati Zoo on a 41° day. We had plans to meet friends from college, the Skinners, who now reside in central Ohio. Sam and Grace were pumped to see their little pals, Wes and Riley, again, and the kids all seemed to pick up right where they left off the last time we met up in July. And their parents couldn't be more thrilled that they all get along so well :) Here is our day at the zoo in pictures...

All four kids were excited to happen upon the most sought-out animal at the zoo...the pig!

It was this moment that Grace fell in love. A few moments later, she was let down gently when Wes politely explained to her that he couldn't ride in the wagon with her because "I'm just not used to being around girls."


Sam and Wes...new best buds.
The fact that the day was chilly was actually pretty nice...it made for a relatively empty zoo which meant we were able to let these two run all around without worrying about them getting lost in a crowd.


Posing for fall pics...one of the few photos I have with Riley in it. He was the sensible one who actually kept his hat on and spent the better part of his day at the zoo in the stroller under a blanket.

Apparently at this zoo, the peacocks don't have their own exhibit. Instead, they just roam freely all over the zoo. I was lucky enough to catch one who had a touch of anxiety and refused to let his guard down (okay, he was actually completely freaking out and probably could have used a little something to calm him down)...made for a nice pic, though...

And then there was this guy who couldn't decide whether he wanted a hot apple cider or a hot chocolate to warm him up.

Grace can be seen here posing where the boys had wanted to get their picture taken but just couldn't seem to stay still long enough for me to get it...

Kris checking his wingspan...too bad none of us thought to make a note of whose wingspan measured up with his! This was inside the eagle exhibit which was a little frightening with small children as you are standing right inside the pen with the eagles. Of course, they have branches strategically positioned between the observation area and the habitat, but it all felt just a bit too open for this mama.

Playing with Mark...burning off a little energy before we get back in the car...
And the ride home...nice and peaceful :)

Sam and Wes hit it off so well, that we decided to get them together again this past weekend, since I was heading to Columbus to meet up with some Cleveland friends for a shopping day. I woke Sam up bright and early on Saturday. We packed breakfast and three toy garbage trucks and snuck out of the house before Kris and Grace woke up.

Mark and Brook were kind enough to come get him from the mall and take him to a movie (have I ever mentioned that Sam freaks out at any remotely scary character in any movie...no?...I forgot to mention that to Brook, too...) then back to their house while I got some quality time walking around in the rainy, cold outdoor mall with Holly and Sheila. We didn't get much shopping done, but, to be honest, I was just using shopping as an excuse...I really needed Cleveland friend time...feeling a little "home"sick lately.

It was an enjoyable two weekends and actually really impressive that we got Skinner time in two weekends in a row (and just 4 months after our last rendezvous) considering we have been pretty lax at coordinating our schedules for a visit the last few years. Now that we have these visits behind us, I am really feeling the crunch of the fast-approaching holiday season...we're all getting excited to have family down for Thanksgiving in just a week and a half!