Going to the Zoo

For the first time ever I did a day trip with my boys. Sure I go out a lot. I do library story times, and play group and park meets. But I have never tried anything like the zoo by myself. Now, let me be clear. The Lehigh Valley Zoo is not anything spectacular. It is small and simple. And yet, it can be a lot of fun.

The boys were very excited when they found out what we were doing. I packed them each a lunch in back-packs. The only one who was a fail was Josh's bag. I didn't have enough real backpacks so I tried to use one of those sports sacks. I think I need more backpacks.

LV Zoo was so empty that my guys could just run and play without bugging other people. Also, I didn't have to worry about losing them in a crowd. Of the three boys. I have one who stays with me, one who lags, and one runs ahead. And they often switch roles mid trip. So when a place is wide open I worry less and shout less for everyone to stay together.

The Animals at this zoo are a mix between the natives to the slightly exotic. And there were opportunities for the kids to get hands on with some of the animals. At one point they were in a bird cage where they could see the birds up close. If we paid more we could have cups of nectar and allow them to land on us (I chose not to do that). Below they are brushing the goats.

All in all it was a great way to spend a day with my boys. I told Catherine that we were going before she left for school. While she was disappointed to be missing out on the adventure, she understood that she would get other opportunities. When we came home I let Catherine see the pictures of the animals that we took and she has a few on her "side" of the computer. With her photo-editing software she can now animate the pictures and have lots of fun with them.

The pro's and cons

I haven't been on here in a while. My thoughts still buzz around my brain but I rarely give myself the time to sit and spill them out for my 4 followers.

Well my small little audience. I'm gonna dish.

We are moving. June 16 is our closing date. Though everything is happening fast in "real-estate" time, in my time things are going slow. The last few weeks have been nuts with negotiations, inspections, and addendum after addendum. I have sign my name more times than I can count. Used the scanner more times than I ever thought I would. So much paper, and email, and phone calls.

And now here we are. Packing. day by day filling up box after box. We reserved the truck. Started calling utility companies. So I am thinking about all the things I look forward to in my new house, and all of the things that I will leave behind.

Walkability

From our current house I can walk to most places. We walk to church on Sundays. The kids love it. They run, Paul hollers, I laugh. Since pre-school Catherine has been walking to and from school when the weather allows for it. I love the walks home because she tells me all about her day. The boys all look forward to those walks because it is a chance for them to run. The stop at every bug and go hunting for a stick they can carry with them.

In addition to Church and School their Doctors office is in walking distance. All of my kids are spring/summer babies and I loved walking them to those first well visits. It was great for me because it got me the exercise I needed and great for them because of the fresh air. I love taking newborns out into the sunshine. With a drugstore in the same building nothing could be more convenient for sick visits. When the receptionist asks: How soon can you be here? I always said 5 minutes. That's all it takes to bundle child up and drive the three blocks if I couldn't walk it.

Wawa is also walking and a pizza place right next door. Now, I won't lie. I never walked a pizza home, but I have ordered sandwiches and walked them home. How many times have I forgotten to get milk and walked over to grab some when Paul gets home? too many to count.

So, I will miss very much the walkablity of this old home.

Big Backyard

Currently we have a cramped backyard. And I maximized the space as much as possible with my gardening skills. I got into gardening the summer I carried Stephen. I found a great hobby and every year I look forward to choosing my seeds and figuring out what I can put in and where I will put it.

I will miss my strawberries. They are blooming now and taste divine. Last year I made jam for the first time. It was a crazy mess but it came out so yummy. I wanted to do it again this year but alas, most of my canning supplies are packed away.

I have worked well with what I have but I can't wait to have more. I already have a design in mind for my strawberry bed, and I look forward to getting Paul to build it for me (I smell a birthday gift idea). Our new place has so much yard space. This is something I really wanted. The kids will be able to run off their energy. We can get a swing set. They will have enough room to kick a soccer ball, hit a baseball and whatever else they desire. Maybe they won't kick balls into my strawberries anymore!

Midnight Trash Collection

I remember when we moved in and our neighbor told us to put our Trash and recycling out on Monday nights and trash only on Thursday nights. We assumed this was because they come early the next morning and putting it out at night avoided a morning rush. Well they came in the morning just a lot early then we could have ever imagined. Startled sometime around 2am Paul jumped out of bed to see what was up, only to find the trash truck doing the pickups. And for the next hour or so 3 more trucks came down the street. (1. Trash, 2. Yard Trash, 3. Glass plastic, 4. Newspaper/Paper)

7 years later and from time to time it still wakes me up. This week one of the trucks had squeaky breaks.

I will not miss this.

Garage

I have a detached garage right now. It has no doors. My new house will have a two-car attached garage, and I have every intention of using it. I know for the first few weeks it will be full of boxes. But That will only motivate me to get unpacked quickly. I have quite a few friends who don't park in their garages simply because the kids toys, garden stuff, and junk fill it up. I don't want that to be me. I want the convenience of not getting out of my car in the pouring rain, or freezing cold. A garage was not a required feature when house hunting. Especially not a two-car one, but now that we have one it will get used.

I can't wait to leave my old one behind for a bigger one. with doors.

Well there are lots more pros and cons but it's time for me to get back to work...